Turkey : GEO for Gambling
Turkey is one of the most attractive geographical regions for pouring traffic to online casino offers. Residents of the country have a great interest in gambling and the opportunity to win large sums thanks to a successful game. Analysts predict that by 2027, the gambling market in Turkey will grow by 8.79% compared to 2022, which certainly attracts the attention of arbitrageurs interested in its development.
Let's get to know GEO
Turkey stands out as an unusual Tier-2 country where the cultural traditions of the West and the East are harmoniously intertwined. The target audience here is diverse, which allows each webmaster to determine the optimal group of potential customers.
What do you need to know about Turkey to effectively plan an advertising campaign?
1. The total population of the country exceeds 86 million people, of whom about 75 million actively use various Internet services, social networks and specialized platforms, including YouTube.
2. The gender balance in the country is fairly uniform: about 49.9% are women and 50.1% are men.
3. More than 8 million users between the ages of 18 and 50 are interested in offers in the gambling and betting segments.
4. The average age of the population is 32 years old, which indicates that Turks are mostly young, able-bodied and open to new trends, including gambling.
5. About 77.6% of the country's citizens live in urban conditions. The largest megacities are Istanbul, Bursa, Izmir, Adana, Antalya and Konya.
6. Most Turkish residents have access to high-speed Internet and actively use modern mobile devices.
7. Most gamblers in Turkey have higher education, which indirectly indicates the solvency of the target audience.
8. The Southern mentality makes Turks gambling and impulsive, prone to seeking thrills. They respond positively to promotional offers that promise an interesting pastime and the opportunity to receive winnings.
9. The national currency of Turkey is the Turkish lira (TRY), which is worth focusing on when creating promotional materials. However, American dollars and euros are freely accepted in shops, restaurants and other points of sale.
10. The official language of Turkey is Turkish. Many residents of the country also speak English, but reading texts in this language can be difficult, so it is better to prepare content taking into account the familiar sign system for customers.
Among the main advantages of the Turkish GEO, experienced arbitrators note:
1. The presence of an interested audience ready to invest in gambling offers: the minimum wage in Turkey is about $580, and the average monthly income of a citizen reaches $ 1,000.
2. The ability of a webmaster to attract huge amounts of traffic.
3. The abundance of tourists in the country: about 25 million travelers from all over the world visit Turkey every year.
4. Freedom of religion and the legislative separation of religion from private and public life. At the same time, Islam is the predominant religion, which is important to take into account when planning advertising campaigns — during mass holidays, the effectiveness of advertising may be low.
5. The relaxation and friendliness of local residents is combined with a penchant for excitement: potential customers of online casinos do not place high demands on creative materials if they promise vivid emotions.
6. The presence of gambling entertainment in the culture: the tradition of "coffee games" is ancient, and sections with entertainment options for two can often be found even in the catalogs of local online casinos.
The number of bets and spins of an average Turkish player exceeds that of a European player by 2-3 times. Inquiries regarding online casinos, bookmakers and their ratings are the most frequent here.
The only disadvantage of GEO is the strictness of legislators who do not want to accept gambling as an organic part of the daily life of a modern person. Gambling taxes are quite high, reaching 14%.
The main regulatory document hindering the development of the iGaming industry in Turkey concerns issues of violation of morality. He denies players the right to indulge in gambling in public places. Non-governmental gambling enterprises are prohibited.
Gambling advertising is also banned. All this, however, does not prevent local ludomaniacs from betting using VPN services and cryptocurrency.
3 traffic sources
Choosing the right traffic source is a key success factor when working with iGaming offers in Turkey
Social networks
The Turkish population actively uses social networks. Facebook Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and the X platform (formerly Twitter) provide the most traffic for arbitrageurs among them. The Russian VK platform is also very popular.
The Turkish government regularly takes measures to combat the negative impact of social media, but it has not yet been possible to achieve noticeable results. In order to successfully promote gambling offers on these platforms, they must be carefully masked. It is recommended to launch advertising campaigns in the evening and at night, avoiding days when mass religious holidays are celebrated in the country.
Search services
Despite the ban on gambling, Turkish residents actively search for information about them on the Internet and use available tools to bypass the blockages. Google remains the undisputed leader among search engines in this region.
Contextual advertising on the Google platform allows arbitrageurs working in the field of gambling to generate high-quality traffic. Users who purposefully enter online casino requests are already ready to play and make a real deposit.
1. Advertising campaigns in Google Ads should be aimed at a male audience aged 25 to 45 years old using mobile devices with the Android 9 operating system and higher.
2. Focusing on requests with medium and low frequency, you can significantly reduce the cost per click to the minimum values.
3. Some keywords are automatically blacklisted by Google. Using such words can lead to the blocking or complete ban of an advertising account, so you should test different sets of keys from different, unrelated accounts.
Google strictly regulates the rules for placing advertisements, especially those related to the promotion of online casinos. In order to minimize risks, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the requirements of the platform in advance.
A properly prepared advertising campaign on Google allows you to get clicks at a price of about $ 0.11-0.14.
SEO
SEO is an important source of traffic that is appreciated by all advertisers and partner platforms. To use the potential of SEO, a webmaster needs to create his own website and invest significant efforts and funds in its internal and external optimization. To develop content in Turkish, it is recommended to use the services of a professional copywriter who is a native speaker.
Among the most effective strategies for attracting SEO traffic are the following:
1. Generation of a series of single-page sites, each of which is dedicated to a specific slot and is promoted by narrow groups of low-frequency queries.
2. Creating a medium-sized website that describes in detail a specific online casino brand.
3. Development of a large portal in the form of an aggregator with reviews and ratings of famous online casinos in Turkey, reviews of gambling industry news in the country or a blog with thematic articles.
The most important goal of an arbitrageur promoting gambling offers using SEO technology is to reach the top positions in search results. At the same time, the webmaster will need to take into account the exceptionally strict attitude towards iGaming enterprises on the part of the Turkish government, choosing in advance a hosting service with maximum abuse tolerance.
Preparing creatives
To create an effective advertising offer that can ensure high conversions, the arbitrageur needs to take into account the peculiarities of the mentality of potential customers. Here are the key aspects worth paying attention to:
1. Despite the high level of development, Turkey remains a patriarchal society, and therefore it is important to focus on men aged 25 to 44 in advertising creatives.
2. Like other religious groups, Turks tend to look to the future, which makes them susceptible to offers related to "magic" games that promise quick and vivid emotions, as well as possible large winning sums.
3. Turks are open to communication and have a friendly character. It is important for them to see real human emotions, even in promotional materials. The joy of winning at the casino is more important to them than just the amount of the cash prize.
4. Elements indicating nationality play an important role in effective creatives. The use of images of the Turkish currency, the national flag, famous Turkish personalities and popular places in major cities of the country can significantly increase the attractiveness of advertising.
5. If the awards in the images or videos are indicated in dollars or other foreign currency, be sure to complete the information by converting it into Turkish lira when crediting to the winner's account.
6. It is not recommended to use explicit photos or images of semi-naked women in advertising in Turkey. The religious beliefs of most local residents do not contribute to a positive reaction to such commercial offers.
7. In the texts of advertising creatives, you can mention recommendations from family members, especially from brothers, fathers and other men. This can make the offers more attractive to the target audience.
Each creative will have to be fully tested. In the case of gambling, an ad that allows you to receive the first deposits on the third day of the advertising campaign is considered workable.
If there is no profit, it is necessary to stop an unproductive advertising campaign for 7-10 days. When correcting, it is advisable not only to change the creo, but also to reconfigure targeting, for example, by expanding the age of the target audience.
Conclusion
Today, experts in the field of arbitration consider Turkey as a promising, but not the easiest direction. Some analysts even call the country a "rising star" in the iGaming market. To successfully enter this promising market, webmasters need to take into account the specifics of local legislation and determine how to work with relatively complex and expensive traffic sources.