How to promote betting on YouTube: an interview with the affiliate manager of Partners1xBet

Facebook, ASO, SEO are the hottest sources right now. But there’s a lot of money not only here, and Max Fister, senior affiliate manager at Partners1xBet, is sure of it. Our colleagues from ProTraffic spoke to him and found out why it's worth considering YouTube as a traffic source and what to do to start earning.

 

Who's on the line today

Hello. Introduce yourself to our readers.

Hello! I'm Max Fister. I've been involved in gaming channels on YouTube since 2012. In 2015, I promoted some white-hat products on YT. Since 2018 I’ve worked in arbitrage teams. In 2021, I became an affiliate manager at Partners1xBet. Since we work mostly on RevShare with everyone, most of my partners are YouTubers and SEO specialists. 

 

General questions about the source

Why should you consider YouTube?

First: traffic volume. YouTube is the second most visited site after Facebook.

 

Second: almost no blocking for betting advertising. Surprisingly, if there's a direct referral link on the channel, it can get banned. But if you're just talking about a promo code, there's a 99% chance of no blockage. 

 

Third: it's practically free. Yes, you need to invest a lot of time, ideally buy VidIQ. You might have to buy channels. But it’s all minor compared to something like Facebook.

 

Fourth: the ability to convert YouTube traffic to Telegram/Facebook or another resource.

 

Is there competition in this source? In which GEOs?

Certainly, there is. For example, there's a lot of content related to 1xBet in the CIS countries and Bangladesh. But I can't say that these GEOs are completely tapped, especially Bangladesh. It's a poor and Muslim country, but a huge number of people gamble there.  I'm only talking about the amount of content related to my brand, as I don't have expertise with other bookmakers.

 

You can focus on one GEO, especially if you know languages other than Russian and English. For instance, a good part of Africa speaks French. It's quite easy to rank at the top of YouTube for the query 'Code promo bonus 1xbet Cameroon,' and it can bring in over 100 FTDs per month. One of my partners with a 10K subscriber channel and a French Telegram funnel makes over $32000 per month and almost 1300 FTDs.

 

Example of statistics for March:

 

 

And all of this without investments. So, I recommend looking for countries where the product is available, YouTube is popular, and there's little converting video content (videos showing how to register with a bookmaker, get a bonus, make a deposit, and withdraw winnings).

Which GEOs are targeted from YouTube?

From YouTube all GEOs are targeted except the eight where it's prohibited (China, Iran, North Korea, Turkmenistan, Eritrea, Syria, Sudan, and Tajikistan). YouTube is accessible in all other countries. Knowing either English or local languages, you can drive traffic from these GEOs. Plus, check with the affiliate manager which GEOs the brand doesn't operate in. It's your foundation.

 

What yields a higher profit: regular videos or shorts?

Regular videos are generally better because they can contain more valuable information, and they're also easier to rank for specific search queries. However, it's a good idea to release shorts occasionally because they can reach a broader audience and give your channel a boost.

 

How long does it take to achieve a stable income from YouTube?

About six months if you release two videos per week. By the way, it's easy to edit two videos over a weekend. I've seen people from Pakistan who started two channels from scratch and were making a stable $500+ by the beginning of the second month. They were creating one video every two days for each channel.

 

I won't say that everyone who follows this approach can achieve such income. I'm more in favor of steady channel development, where no more than two videos and one short are released per week. I think it's possible to achieve a stable income within 3-4 months, especially if you continually improve your content, thumbnail, and optimization.

 

Creating and uploading videos

What tools are needed for work? Extensions (VidIQ/YouMe.gg), video editors?

The most important tool is your brain! If you want to start working on YouTube, first learn how videos rank. It's like studying SEO but much simpler. It’s enough to spend 10-20 hours on theory to understand how the video hosting works.

 

Then, master video editors. Honestly, most iGaming content on tier 2 and 3 is recorded on a phone using screen recording, and then the video is edited in ordinary InShot. More professional videos are created using Movavi – it's easy to learn. But if you want to create masterpieces, use Sony Vegas Pro or Adobe Premiere Pro. However, even with simple InShot, you can make videos that generate income.

 

Also, learn Canva or Photoshop because high-quality, clickable thumbnails are half the success when working with YouTube. Clickable covers can be used even for similar content videos on different channels. As an example:

 

Now, extensions. I personally use VidIQ. I have the Pro version on my manager's channel, which costs $10/month or $100/year. And all my partners also use this extension.

 

I've watched many reviews of YouMe.gg and talked to YouTubers who use it. I can say their functions are almost the same. But VidIQ's interface and idea generation attract me more. So, I recommend using it.

 

 

The ability to view keywords by channel allows you to create a content plan for at least six months.

 

And the last reason why VidIQ appeals to me more is a great deal of free information on using this tool.

 

Do you need to select “this video is intended for viewers over 18”?

Yes, but choose it like in the screenshot:

 

 

If you select “Video only for those who are 18+”, users will need to confirm their age to watch the video. If you specify the settings as shown in the screenshot, such videos won't come across to children, and other viewers can watch the video without restrictions.

In the screenshot, I show how videos rank in this case:

 

 

Can you artificially increase subscribers/views/comments? Does this give a boost?

From all the cases I've encountered, all channels perform poorly in rankings after such an artificial boost. YouTube detects manipulations. Initially, the channel will grow, but as soon as the boost ends, the channel will stop generating views. It's better to buy channels with at least 1000 subscribers from the start. Such an investment will work much better. The only thing that can temporarily boost a video to the top for 1-2 weeks is comments.

 

But be cautious with them. Here, for example, comments under a video that only talks about the registration process on one of the gambling websites. At the same time, there are no comment spam or gameplays.In other words, the comments and the video content are not related to each other. I don't recommend doing this.

 

 

How often should you upload videos?

As I mentioned above, the best tactic is two major videos plus one short. You can also make one video per week. But it's important to release them consistently. The best option is to choose specific days of the week, such as Thursday and Sunday, and plan for at least three months. In this case, each new video should accumulate more views than the previous one until one of them “takes off”.

 

When the channel consistently has many views, is it okay to re-upload the very first videos that had 10-15 views?

Evaluate the quality of those videos. If they are significantly worse than new videos, it's better to simply re-record such publications. If the quality is fine, delete the old videos and upload them again.

 

In your opinion, what's better: to hire freelancers for voiceovers or to use neural networks for text-to-speech? Is there a difference in conversion when using a live person and a robot for voiceovers? 

A human, at the time of the interview, is the best option by 100%. There is a good neural network from Amazon called Amazon Polly. It has two advantages:

 

1. Many languages to generate voice files in.
2. Maximum realistic speech.

 

But only a human can convey genuine emotions, and iGaming relies on emotions. I've tested many other AIs, but all of them had too “robotic” voices. If any readers know a better neural network than Amazon Polly, please write in the comments or message me directly.

 

Where do you recommend finding freelancers?

LinkedIn and Facebook are the best places to find freelancers.

 

How to collect tags (keywords) for videos?

This can be done in three ways.

 

The first way: take competitive videos and download their tags. It's very convenient to do this in the VidIQ extension panel because you can download them in CSV format and then work in Excel, sorting the collected queries into clusters. This is SEO clustering – just like with websites.

 

 

The second way: search for keywords using the VidIQ panel itself. There's also an option to download a file for clustering in Excel.

 

 

The third way, which is not very convenient but free, is to use Google's keyword planner. The Planner doesn't have up-to-date information specifically for YouTube queries, but it can still be useful for a start.

 

Once you've collected at least 200-250 keywords, divide them into thematic clusters. Based on these clusters, create a content plan.

 

What mistakes do arbitrageurs make when gathering keywords for videos?

If we're talking specifically about keyword collection, it's the absence of proper clustering. For example, making videos based on tags like 1xbet crash trick and aviator trick would be correct because the Crash game is an equivalent of Aviator. However, creating tags like 1xbet registration Argentina and 1xbet registration India in the same video would be a mistake. Such a video won't rank in either of the countries.

 

Promoting the content

What is a normal CTR for videos?

Almost always, a CTR above 5% is good. And if the CTR is above 10%, that's perfect.

 

Usually, my partners achieve a CTR of 7-9%. We observe such figures on videos for Asian countries with texts in local languages and individuals displaying emotions. My best CTR was 13.7%. But that video featured Eva Elfie, and she gets a lot of clicks.

 

 

If views were steadily coming in and suddenly stopped, and new videos aren't getting any views at all, what is it? What should be done about this?

Some say there's a shadow ban. I don't believe in that. I haven't encountered this problem on channels that have been posting content for over six months. Usually, this happens on new channels where content is not consistently produced. I can't stress this enough: consistency is crucial in working with YouTube. If you work on a channel consistently for at least six months, your videos will start getting views and deposits.

 

What to do if videos have hit a view ceiling and aren't gaining any more views? 

If it has 200-300 views, it might be that the content isn't interesting. If a video has over a thousand views, try creating something similar with a different thumbnail and a changed title. It's actually hard to determine when a video hits a ceiling. Sometimes, but not always, old videos from half a year ago start to suddenly take off.

 

Scaling

Do you need to create a bunch of channels and upload videos to them, or can you just focus on one channel and make a lot of profit?

Both options are good in their own way. If you have a lot of time or a team, it's better to create a network of channels. And it's essential to have a funnel in Telegram or Facebook. If you're alone and your time is limited by 3-5 hours on weekends, focus on one channel and make a second one as a duplicate with the same videos but different thumbnails.

 

Do you need to warm up accounts before uploading videos? If yes, how?

Newly registered YouTube accounts often get banned if there are any links involved. The best option is either to purchase pre-existing accounts that were registered 2-3 years ago or to create an account, watch videos and leave comments from that account for 3-5 days. Afterward, you should upload 2-3 neutral videos. For example, record yourself playing Minecraft or Dota.

 

After 2-3 weeks, you can start uploading ready thematic videos to the channel. However, avoid adding links in the beginning. After uploading two or three gambling/betting videos, you need to hide the neutral ones. You can certainly skip all of this and start with gambling/betting videos right away. But then there's about a 20-30% chance that your account will be banned without warnings or strikes.

 

You can recover from a ban if there were no links under your videos. To do that, submit an appeal, stating that you're a great new creator, didn't break any rules, and don't even understand why you were banned, and you want to continue working on your account. And here, I don't quite understand the unblocking mechanism, but some accounts can be easily removed from the ban.

 

 

However, other accounts may remain banned. Neither I nor my partners have understood on what principle support can leave an account in the ban or remove it from one.

 

 

Do you need to register accounts with proxies/VPN, collect cookies before registration, or work in antidetect?

If you're working with just one or two accounts, it's not necessary. If you want to work with a network of channels from scratch, you'll need at least an antidetect. If you have a network of purchased channels, you can't do without proxies and antidetect.

 

Avoiding bans

A few months ago, there was news that YouTube was banning for any gambling/betting advertisements. Are channels getting banned, or is everything okay?

YouTube can ban for a referral link to a betting/gambling resource if someone complains. It can also ban if you show slots in videos/streams. So, I advise only showing how to register, make deposits, and withdraw winnings, with a call to join a Telegram or Facebook group. And then, you can publish videos there with bets and games, motivating players to make new deposits.

 

However, channels with regular bets don't get banned. If you make a video breaking down all the odds for the latest IPL game or any football match, the channel won't get banned, but will have a high number of views and likely many deposits.

 

If there are many channels on YouTube, will they all get banned? How often?

Make it a rule: one Google account, one YouTube channel. Because if you create multiple accounts on one email, and one of them gets banned, the rest will follow in a chain.

 

And I'll add a little bit from myself. Free traffic from YouTube is the perfect option for people who just want to get into affiliate marketing. BUT if you're not ready to spend at least 3-5 hours every week for the next 5-6 months, it's better not to start. After all, only consistency will help you start earning on this platform.

I'll be happy to answer all the questions related to the Partners1xBet affiliate program in private messages.