How to Work with Cross-Brand

Can you get quality traffic from cross-brand? And does it really carry more risks and mislead than benefits?

Let's break down these questions and explain how to use cross-brand when running gambling campaigns profitably.

Cross-brand in detail

Cross-brand is a traffic acquisition method where affiliates drive traffic to one gambling product using branded keywords of another, more well-known product. Cross-brand traffic can be cheaper than branded traffic, while still being in demand among advertisers and delivering solid profit when approached correctly.

We've previously published a case study with $6,290 revenue from cross-brand targeting the Poland GEO. The case clearly demonstrates that cross-brand can be worked with minimal risks. 

You can review the full stats and case study in this article. 

The non-obvious advantages of cross-brand

1. The ability to better understand your audience and find the right approach — when collecting keywords for cross-brand, you immediately see which bonuses, games, slots, and promotions your audience is interested in.
2. The opportunity to reach a new player segment — with the right keywords, you can attract a broader audience to your offer.
3. Greater visibility — cross-brand allows you to quickly appear in search results.
4. Increased conversions. You acquire players who are already interested in gaming and are more likely to become active users.

The downside of cross-brand is the risk of mislead. You need to be prepared for a portion of players to drop off when they land on a site different from the one they were looking for.

Track what percentage of users stop engaging with you to understand how significantly the mislead risk is affecting your offer.

Reputational risks also fall under the cross-brand risk category, since not every brand can be used to promote your offers.

Finding the right approach to cross-brand

To make cross-brand work for you, keep the following in mind:

1. Compile a list of your competitors. These are the brands most popular among players. Check which of them you can use to promote your offer.
2. Account for potential reputational risks. Using keywords and brand names that are prohibited can lead to legal consequences. Collect your semantics carefully to avoid running into problems. Use Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, and SEMrush for keyword research.
3. Target both high-frequency and mid-frequency queries — this will help you achieve a reasonable level of competition and drive more players to your offer.
4. Consider the brand's reputation. A well-known brand name doesn't always guarantee you can use it to attract users to your offer. It's important that the brand whose keywords you're using to promote your product doesn't have a controversial reputation. A name may be widely recognized, yet have a track record of anti-case studies and scam accusations — which will ultimately reflect negatively on your offer as well. 
5. When working with cross-brand, make sure your landing pages are properly set up. All information and bonuses for the player must be filled in accurately and in line with the official site, with no errors or inaccuracies.

Additional tips for keyword collection

When building your semantics, pay attention to:

1. queries ranked by popularity and search volume,
2. keywords containing the full brand name,
3. queries with partial brand mentions,
4. phrases with misspellings of the brand name that players commonly type,
5. queries entered with a wrong keyboard layout.

All of these can be valuable and work in favor of your offer.

By accounting for all the specifics of cross-brand, you can achieve a high CTR and build greater trust in your offer by leveraging the recognition of other, more established brands.

Conclusions

Cross-brand remains a controversial traffic source for many due to reputational risks and the risk of mislead. However, when working correctly with permitted brand keywords that carry no controversial reputation, cross-brand can deliver quality traffic to your offer. 

Big Traff Partners accepts cross-brand traffic. For offers and to discuss all the details of cooperation, reach out directly to the manager.