A new season for affiliate marketing is almost upon is, which means it’s time to expand our horizons. Where are affiliate marketing campaigns in different verticals already taking off, and where should you be running traffic next year? Here’s a fresh look at GEO trends for affiliates in 2022-2023.
Why the choice of GEO is important
Finding a unique profitable offer is only one part of having a successful campaign. Tier 1 regions have always been leaders in conversion rates. But every year it becomes more and more difficult to find the right approach and optimizations for expensive regions. Therefore, finding new GEOs to run in is important and requires a new approach.
In 2022, many pros discovered Africa (literally). African regions continue to show steady growth in profitability, especially in the gaming and trading verticals. Let’s start by taking a look at the benefits of driving traffic to new GEOs, highlighted by top affiliates and partnerships around the world.
- A fresh audience is not slammed by the flow of advertising numerous offers.
- With more newcomers leads are easier to work with as they have fewer requirements for the offer.
- Due to the small amount of competition in newer GEOs, there are always higher conversion rates.
- New regions can be tested in semi-private mode with offers from trusted partners.
- Relatively low competition gives decent auctions for the purchase of advertising.
- New GEOs open up the possibility of working with cool new offers and ads.
- Gaming is almost always a great shot at new GEOs (monetised gaming is a steady leader in African regions in 2022).
Before pouring into new countries, it is important to study the cultural background, nuances, and specifics of the audience beforehand. For this, partners are helped by constant monitoring of fresh reviews from trusted affiliate networks.
MENA: Africa and the Middle East
Countries in North Africa and the Middle East (MENA) have a total of about 370 million inhabitants. A huge portion of them are potential customers for trading and gaming offers. Let’s take a closer look at these regions.
Let’s go over some general facts regard MENA:
- 90% of the population has access to the Internet;
- MENA users spend an average of 170 minutes a day online;
- 81% of the 18-44 year-old population uses Facebook;
- YouTube is the most popular resource in the regions;
- Facebook Messenger (64%) and WhatsApp (80%) are the favorite messengers in these GEOs.
Locals mostly use Google to search for information. Also in the top five most visited sites are Wikipedia and Khaleej Times (news in English). The average CPL on gaming varies from $0.4 to $2.8.
Nuances to consider when draining to MENA regions
- The most profitable regions in terms of resources and opportunities are AE, TN, SA, KW and BH.
- Magic, esotericism, and other exotica, which so many GEOs love, are forbidden in MENA regions.
- Strict censorship also applies to creatives with body parts (remember that Islamic countries are in the lead in MENA).
- MENA countries have a huge number of migrant workers who are also part of your CA (mostly Pakistanis).
- You can adapt the creatives into Arabic, but about 90% of the population here speaks English.
- Residents of MENA give preference to creatives with bright numbers and facts on an attractive background, and they love detailed images.
Another peculiarity is that during holidays, especially religious holidays, the volume of traffic drops significantly. So you should study the calendar of important events in the region you are targeting.
New (old) Latam regions
For some time it was accepted that the regions of Brazil, Peru, Venezuela and Bolivia were good GEOs for affiliates. Other regions including Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Dominican Republic, and Haiti, have been gaining momentum. Ecuador, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Guatemala are also breaking into the game. In total, the population of the attractive Latam regions for affiliates is estimated at 660 million people.
Let’s look at current figures and facts by Latam region:
- 70% of residents have access to the Internet;
- BR, VE, BO and PE show the highest volumes of gaming traffic;
- The main focus is on mobile traffic;
- The level of education in many regions leaves much to be desired;
- Gaming offers - the priority for promotion on the new (old) GEO Latam;
- Local players are impulsive and prone to unreasonable risk.
- Creatives are best prepared in the native language of the country, mostly Spanish, but also Portuguese in Brazil.
The main source of traffic for Latam is Facebook. Among social networks, TikTok and Kwai are also popular here. The average cost per lead here is slightly higher than in the MENA countries - about $1.3 - $3.2.
South Africa
The regions of South Africa (ZA), Botswana (BW), Lesotho (LS), Eswatini (SZ) and Namibia (NA) are attractive for partners. The total population by region is approximately 62.8 million people. Let’s analyze a few key facts about the SA countries.
- 58% of the residents of these GEOs have stable access to the Internet.
- 75% of users shop online.
- There are many languages and dialects, but the most common are Kosa and Zulu.
- The majority of the target audience speaks English.
- Gaming and dating are the top verticals with excellent traffic volumes.
- There is virtually no censorship in advertising!
In terms of popularity to Internet resources Google, Facebook and Youtube are steadily leading here. Bookmaking sites are breaking all the traffic records, showing up to 30 million unique users. The dating sites market is very large (more than 1,000 sites), but the gaming sites still have a high chance of success without the crazy competition. The most attractive figure for South Africa is the cost per lead in the range of $0.4 - $0.7.
The Bottom Line
The most promising GEOs for affiliates in 2022-2023 are the MENA regions, North and South Africa, and an expanded list of Latin American countries.
Let’s look at the key factors under which fresh GEOs will bring the desired level of conversions:
- Always conduct a thorough analysis of CA before launching campaigns in new GEOs;
- In the Tier-3 region creatives, pay attention to details as even color of the buttons on clothes can make a difference because of the strict religious orthodoxy of the population.;
- Whenever possible, involve native speakers in translating and adapting creatives, since automatic translation will often sound silly to locals;
- Use at least 3-5 creatives in your tests and feel free to scale successful campaigns up to your budget limit, because new GEOs bring in a steep volume of traffic.
In the Converting Team affiliate network you will find unique offers on the top GEOs, as well as support and access to the best tools for making money online.
Contact us now to start earning even more from gaming, trading and leadgen!