22 January 2024
Reading: 5 min

Player Retention: Underestimated Web Metric That Safeguards Affiliate Income

Modern affiliates and webmasters are fighting for user attention, clicks, and of course, profit. In the ruthless environment of digital competition, the one who wields not only the sword of creativity but also the shield created from understanding and managing retention — the secret key to the hearts and wallets of the online audience, survives.
Let’s look at how these technological indicators become catalysts for success for affiliates, turning data into long-term strategies and optimized algorithms.

How retention operates and its importance for affiliates

Retaining users after their first interaction with an offer becomes a determining factor in the development of an effective marketing strategy. It is not just an element, but rather a key component of a successful approach designed to keep users’ attention and interest throughout the work, as specialists face constant Google updates, account blocks, and bans.
And while many additional reasons can affect the level of results and income, retention continues to keep the stat afloat.
CatAffs, an affiliate network focused on gambling, shared a recent case study of one of its partners. The team shared that one of the publishers stopped driving traffic a month ago due to a campaign change. Instead of losing their audience, they successfully changed the deal and the partner continues to retain players. Compare the data on the screenshots.

(Active traffic)

Player Retention: Underestimated Web Metric That Safeguards Affiliate Income

(Statistics after the campaign was stopped) 1.0

Player Retention: Underestimated Web Metric That Safeguards Affiliate Income

1.1

Player Retention: Underestimated Web Metric That Safeguards Affiliate Income

This underscores the importance of not only attracting new users but also retaining the existing ones.

What affects the retention metric?

An effective combination of gaming mechanics helps to retain players in gambling products, creating an attractive and engaging gaming environment.

The most popular among them are:

  • Push notifications
  • Chests, free spins
  • Bonuses and promotions
  • Attractive design and gameplay
  • Quick rewards
  • The ability to communicate with other players supports social activity and engagement
  • Tournaments and competitions
  • Loyalty and trust between the brand and users

A bright example of all these implemented mechanics is the Daddy project from the CatAffs affiliate program. Below, we will consider the functionality and its direct impact on retention. By the way, Daddy is still among the CatAffs partners and players, showing record figures from August 2023 to this day.

How affiliate programs work with offers: the case of the Daddy brand

As mentioned earlier, additional gaming mechanics are of great importance for retention. In addition, intense competition and high costs of attracting users force developers to create effective and original gaming mechanics that can be successfully implemented not only within the same genre but also in games of other genres.

What unique mechanics were developed for Daddy?

  • Achievement system

A unique scheme that impacts increasing player loyalty and increasing player engagement. It also improves the gaming experience and helps to collect data on player activity. In addition, this is one of the things that attracts new players, because when completing tasks on the platform, players can receive many gifts: free spins, a monetary bonus, loyalty points, and experience, and move through the level system from the first deposit.

  • Hot games category

A section with the most popular games is displayed in a prominent place, which immediately increases the likelihood of deposits. Due to the transparency of the policy, the offer gains more trust from partners, and webmasters gain an additional opportunity to get granular data and choose the best options for their campaigns. It’s a win-win situation.
Streamer influence is one of the largest for retention and engagement metrics. Several unique mechanics have been allocated for this in the case of Daddy.

  • Streamers’ win page with integration on YouTube

Social Proof for players — those who are loved and watched play and win on the platform
“Wheel of fortune for streamers” feature
An additional touch in an interactive format, increasing the number of deposits. Streamers can hold their draws on the platform, thereby attracting more interest to the offer.

  • Bonus wagering

Quick access to games where you can wager bonus balance is an additional motivation to make deposits. The feature is available from the second level, which in turn increases the motivation to level up

  • Total balance

Speaking of fast and native navigation that increases gaming activity. Users of Daddy see both real and bonus balance, which has a positive impact on the desire to continue the game.

  • Trust page

Reviews about us, links to pages with ratings of our casinos, and good testimonials

Conclusions

Retention adds depth to the analysis of strategy effectiveness. It becomes a reflection of the audience’s loyalty, which is important not only for the current results but also for long-term success. It reduces marketing costs for attracting new users, as it maximizes the potential of the current audience.

A high retention rate not only supports a stable flow of income but also indicates a quality audience that is ready to interact with the offer in the long run. It is not only the volume of traffic that is essential, but also its qualitative characteristics, which retention reveals.

Given the unique nature of gambling, where player loyalty is the basis for sustainable revenue, affiliates find that paying attention to retention helps minimize the cost of acquiring new users. This also allows for the creation of personalized marketing strategies focused on retaining existing audiences.

Therefore, in the world of gambling affiliate marketing, retention is not only a useful indicator but also a fundamental strategic metric that provides a successful path to stable income and sustainable development in this dynamic industry.
CatAffs is an industry leader in terms of retention, and you can become a partner of this cool team right now. Register via the direct link.

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