Manual: Building a Webview App for Gambling in 15 Minutes 🙌🏻 | + iGaming Smartlink Breakdown

To maximize earnings, an affiliate marketer needs to stay on top of industry trends and constantly look for ways to reduce traffic acquisition costs. In recent years, CPA networks have been actively helping with this. In this article, we break down two new features we discovered in ClickDealer – a free webview app builder called AppBuilder and an iGaming smartlink. In short: we signed up → clicked around → came away impressed.

What is a smartlink

A smartlink is an intelligent link with a set of offers embedded inside it. When a user clicks the link, smart algorithms select the most relevant product for that specific user. This mechanism ensures high conversion rates.

Smartlinks are available in many affiliate networks, especially dating CPA networks. Most funnels for dating offers are roughly the same, so smart targeting of the ad proposition remains the decisive factor.

What is Webview

Webview technology allows you to wrap landing pages inside a mobile app shell. The tool helps you leverage the full potential of ASO. Webview apps are typically disguised as white-hat apps, allowing them to stay live in the Play Market for a long time.

You can create a Webview app using various services, but you'll also need a Google Play developer account. You can purchase one from specialized shops to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy.

A gambling smartlink embedded inside your own mobile app

Given that the vast majority of affiliates are currently running gambling traffic through mobile apps, the convenience of a free app builder with an iGaming smartlink already embedded inside seems, at first glance, like a genuinely useful solution that makes life significantly easier. So we decided to take a look under the hood and build a mobile app for gambling traffic ourselves.

Especially since we were assured that this technology has been thoroughly tested by several teams. You can try it yourself here (you'll need to register with the CPA network first). 

But first, let's talk about what kind of app we get out of AppBuilder: 

• scripts that don't get banned in Google Play, so the app will pass moderation quickly and without issues;
• push notification setup via OneSignal SDK (the technical team assists with this after registration, so no coding skills or knowledge required);
• lifetime access to the app from your account, along with your own active pushes to re-engage players and motivate them to deposit — helping you earn more on RevShare;
• localized reviews for any GEO (at an additional cost), which helps drive organic traffic. 

In addition, directly within the affiliate network's personal account, you can independently configure app-to-FB linking, event-based optimization, full in-app user tracking, first-link hashing, and other useful features. 

Average FTD payouts in the smartlink by GEO (assuming you're running FB traffic to apps):

• BR – $50.00 
• IT – $210.00 
• PH – $50.00 
• AU – $183.00 
• PL – $180.00 
• DE – $240.00 
• SK – $120.00 
• AT – $180.00 
• ES – $153.00 
• IE – $230.00  

Average eCPM for the most popular countries among the network's FB affiliates at the current moment:

With that covered, let's walk through how to get this mobile app. The process involves 2 steps – the actual app generation and technical setup, and working with the required macros integration. Let's go through it step by step. 

Creating an Android app

First, navigate to the smartlink section and submit an access request. Wait for approval — if it's taking too long, ping your manager. Then, in the affiliate network's personal account, go to Tools → Webview Apps Integration. Click on "Android App Builder" (the "Manage In-App Content" section will be needed later). You'll see "Create New Build". Here you need to:

• choose a name for your future app (up to 30 characters). The name should be neutral for moderation purposes — no mentions of well-known brands, celebrities, etc. — but should naturally complement the app's content so as not to mislead potential players
• enter the package name – a unique identifier for the Android app that identifies your application on the device and in Google Play Market. The name is arbitrary but must be unique, since if that name is already in use in the Play Market by another app, the system will ask you to replace it before proceeding (HOWEVER, if a Package Name was previously uploaded to the store and the app was banned, AppBuilder will allow you to create the app, but Google Play will reject it during publishing, stating that such an app already exists. So we recommend making the name as unique as possible). Example of a valid Package Name – com.fastchat.hot.app.

Next, click "Generate App" and upload the graphic assets. The rules are the same: no stars, brands, or copyrighted characters, no hints of adult content, alcohol, or tobacco. The images on banners must match the content of the app's final appearance.

In the first field, upload the app icon (strictly in the specified size and format); in the second — the splash screen, or welcome screen, that the user will see while the app loads in the background. Also follow the specified size and format requirements. 

Next, in the "Landing Page" field, upload a zip archive containing your White Page — the page that Google Play moderators will see. It must include an HTML file, CSS, images, JS, etc. If you're not sure where to get a white page — contact your manager and they'll help you out. 

In "Private Policy," upload an HTML file with the privacy policy (again, the affiliate network will provide everything). You'll need to use it later when publishing the Webview in your Google Dev account, in the designated field. So save the file to your computer to have it on hand, or you can return to AppBuilder and generate it again.  

Next, the system will prompt you to configure Facebook SDK (if you're not planning to run traffic from FB, toggle the switch to "Off"). The data is taken from your Facebook APP ID, and the Client Access Token from the FB Developer page.

OneSignal Push Notifications: here you'll need to create your own Firebase project and retrieve the Server Key and Sender ID from it. 

To get the key, you need to: 

1. Register on the Firebase platform (standard registration).
2. Then go to "Project settings"

3. Next, go to the "Cloud Messaging" tab, click the three dots next to "Cloud Messaging API," and follow the pop-up prompt.

4. Click through and agree to all system settings, then go back and copy your Server Key and Sender ID.

All that's left is In-App Tracking. Here you only need to provide an email address for access (send the email you use to your manager and they'll share access with it). Once configured on the affiliate network's side, you'll be able to see full statistics for the Webview app. 

As a result, you receive a signed, publish-ready release-signed.aab file (the "bundle" format for Android apps), a keystore file with passwords for signing your app, a debug.apk (for testing), a link to the privacy policy, and a manual for publishing the app on Google Play Market.  

Configuring Mobile App Content

Now go to "Manage In-App Content." Here you can:

• download the app archive, the publishing guide, and the privacy policy;
• toggle the app's visibility for organic traffic;
• select the list of countries (all or specific GEOs) where the offer will be available to organic users;
• choose the content for the Android Webview app.

Here you also configure the link and all required macros: add the Affiliate_id and Smcampaign_id from the Smartlink URL in your ClickDealer account, along with the s3–s5 parameters (optional). s1={campaign_info} and s2={click_id} are fixed.

Also, if you're running traffic from Facebook, add the identifiers "facebook.com, Property ID, RESELLER, c3e20eee3f780d68" from the app-ads.txt file:

• Property ID — the identifier associated with your account in the ad network (Property ID, Business ID, or app ID);
• RESELLER — the account type specification (DIRECT or RESELLER);
• c3e20eee3f780d68 — the identifier that uniquely identifies the ad network within the certification authority (a constant). 

Important! To run traffic from Facebook, you must add a link to the app's privacy policy when publishing it. 

And Finally, a Few Words About the iGaming Smartlink Technology Itself

The gambling smartlink has already been tested by several leading teams in the market, so there is initial statistics to rely on when buying traffic. The best-converting traffic in the iGaming Smartlink comes from: social media traffic to mobile apps (Android and iOS). Restrictions: incentivized traffic, spam, brand mentions, fraud, traffic from minors. 

Overall, the dating smartlink from ClickDealer has long proven itself in the market. So, after our own research and hands-on testing of AppBuilder with Smartlink, the Palai editorial team can confidently say — it's definitely worth testing!