In this edition of Affiliate Spotlight, we speak to Will Edwards – Owner of Betify. Betify is a new tool which allows operators to create UKGC-compliant ads, before passing these on for their affiliates to use.
Will discusses the problems with banner ads in their current form, as well as the inspiration behind starting Betify and more.
Affiverse: What inspired you to start Betify?
Will Edwards: “I have been an affiliate for just over four years now and find it harder to maintain attractive iGaming ads on my websites. As regulations tighten, they are becoming harder for both brands and affiliates to manage; no materials worth using are provided to affiliates.
“I started Betify as a way to eliminate this problem, designing ads for affiliates to use when promoting iGaming brands. Our ads allow affiliates to embed their tracking link, generate a code and paste it on their website to start delivering better results. Whenever there is an update to any of the brands promoted using Betify-powered ads, we make the changes in our system, and they are updated automatically across all affiliate websites.”
AI: What are the problems with affiliate banner ads?
WE: “Firstly, they look outdated (which they are). In 2020, people are bombarded with ads so much that it has become somewhat hardwired into our brains to ignore them. Banners are an obvious advertisement, and if it isn’t the way they flash at you, it’s the way they look out of place on every website ever to use them. They are associated with spam and not a trustworthy source to click on, which is why more and more affiliates are leaving them behind in an attempt to source new ways to generate leads.
“Another problem with banners is that they don’t update as they should. Affiliate networks will often require that affiliates change banners from time-to-time to display a new offer or promote their brand in a more compliant manner. A quick insight for the brands who read this: Even if your banners update automatically, the affiliates who actually use them are manually downloading them as it’s the only way to make them responsive on their website. Therefore, manual updates are still required.”
AI: In your opinion, what are the most significant issues holding affiliates back from improving their conversion rates?
WE: “Brands are displayed in a way deemed untrustworthy on most affiliate sites. One big contributor to high bounce rates is due to the website’s content not being trustworthy or clear enough to its users. A great way to increase user trust, when displaying affiliate ads, is to use ones that are both pleasing to the eye and recognisable from other trustworthy sources seen in the past. Betify analyses the internet and extracts elements from well known worldwide sources, constructing great advertising tools for affiliates to use when promoting iGaming brands.
“Another issue is the forever changing regulations outlined by the UK Gambling Commission. These regularly require affiliates to make changes and remain compliant. Many affiliates are not website designers and use content management systems with limited functionalities to control their websites. This leads to updates implemented very poorly, or not at all. Further resulting in the loss of partnerships for many brands as they cannot risk fines due to affiliate in-compliance.
“Some networks now have a zero-tolerance policy towards any in-compliant advertising of their brands, but we believe that with the assistance of Betify, this can be eliminated. When affiliates use our ads to promote the brands they work with, we take care of all updates, including changes to the welcome offers / T&Cs / rebranding and regulatory amendments. Brands can offer Betify to their affiliates who are struggling to keep up to date, as an alternative to striking them off.”
AI: How big of a role do affiliates play in responsible gambling as the UK market becomes more regulated?
WE: “Affiliates play a huge role in the iGaming industry as many operators rely on them to represent their brands. Affiliates spend millions of pounds each year in advertising to build a name for themselves as the go-to place for gambling comparison and also out-rank numerous brands on search engines for their own keywords.
“Some networks are now closed to the UK market while others have employed compliance teams, which is a great way to keep affiliates in order. The only downfall is that they can be swift to suspend affiliate accounts, as it’s not their role to walk affiliates through the process of becoming compliant (which is understandable, they have the brands best interest at heart).
“Brands are therefore losing many of their affiliates, but I strongly believe Betify is the answer to this continuous problem as it is also usable as a compliance tool. If the compliance team can refer offending affiliates to Betify, the opportunity is there for a second chance and peace of mind that they are compliant. Not to mention, the partnership remains strong.”
AI: Aside from advertising, what other hacks can affiliates adopt to improve their conversion rates?
“How affiliates manage their operations is essential in the process of improvisation.
“Betify takes the stress away from affiliates in the organisation of their websites. With a single account, they can store affiliate links for the brands they work with on each of their marketing sources. They can view where each affiliate link is used, on which source and which ad. Any time sources or links need updating, this isn’t a problem. Data can be selected, edited and saved in just a few clicks, updating any live ads in the process. Changes can also be applied directly to live ads, allowing alterations to the way they look or the brands they display.”
This promoted content was produced by an advertiser of Affiverse. This is a paid-for advertorial supplied by Betify, a UK-facing affiliate advertising compliance site.
