Standing out from the crowd is essential for attracting and retaining British bingo players. We sat down with Kati Saari, Bojoko’s bingo expert, to explore how bingo sites can optimise their bonuses for maximum affiliate marketing potential.

Saari has over a decade of experience in the online iGaming industry and has led the bingo section at Bojoko since its launch. Her expertise in market trends and player preferences has made her a trusted voice in the community.

In this interview, Saari shares her insights on the importance of affiliate marketing, the types of bonuses that most appeal to British players, and the strategies bingo sites can employ to stand out in a crowded market.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and Bojoko?

I’m Kati Saari, a dedicated bingo enthusiast and expert at the affiliate marketing platform Bojoko.com. I run the bingo vertical, which includes testing and reviewing UKGC-licensed bingo sites. It is a tall task. Bojoko.com is one of the biggest iGaming comparison platforms in the UK, and thousands upon thousands of Brits use our service when they pick a new gambling site.

Bojoko is designed to players make informed decisions by offering transparent and unbiased reviews. We cover various gambling sites, including bingo, casinos, and sports betting. Our team works tirelessly to ensure that our users have access to the best bonuses, games, and customer support available in the market.

What role does affiliate marketing play in the bingo industry?

Affiliate marketing is crucial in the bingo industry. It helps bingo sites reach a broader audience by partnering with websites and influencers that promote their services. Affiliates earn commissions for driving traffic and conversions, creating a win-win situation.

At Bojoko, we emphasise building strong relationships with affiliates to ensure that our promotions are effective and beneficial for both parties.

What types of bonuses are most attractive to British bingo players?

British bingo players are particularly drawn to no-deposit bonuses, free bingo tickets or bingo room passes, and high-percentage match deposit bonuses. These offers allow players to try out a site without risking their own money or getting more value from their deposits.

Of course, no-deposit offers come with financial risks for bingo sites, which may not be viable without a proper retention strategy. However, high-percentage deposit bonuses can be quite safe and bring in a lot of players.

Bingo sites should regularly update their bonuses and offer competitive deals to keep players engaged and coming back.

How can bingo sites optimise their bonuses to stand out in a crowded market?

To stand out, bingo sites should simply offer more unique and enticing bonuses, and this is not actually difficult. Simply changing a bonus from the standard 100% welcome bonus to the more unusual 200% gives you an instant push.

It is also disappointing to see that many bingo sites do not have bonuses designed specifically for bingo players. Most sites keep their bonuses very generic, and they seem to forget bingo games, so they offer standard casino offers, including free spins instead of bingo tickets or free bingo games.

What many bingo sites may not think of is that more and more players are using affiliate sites, like Bojoko, when choosing their next bingo brand.  They will actively look for overviews of bingo bonuses, and the offers of 100% do not stand out. Any tweak on that formula can get you seen.

If you go to Bojoko’s list of the best bingo bonus offers in the UK, you will quickly see offers of 200%, tickets and more. You need to look over your competition and decide what you can do to stand out.

The better your offer is, the likelier you are to convert, and the more likely you are to convert, the more likely you are to get more exposure. Essentially, you can get a marketing edge more or less for free.

How can bingo sites ensure their bonuses do not hurt their bottom line?

It’s crucial for bingo sites to find a balance between offering attractive bonuses and managing costs. The easiest way to do this is by offering lower bonus amounts with higher match percentages, which can still be very appealing to players.

For instance, a 200% match bonus on a smaller deposit amount can attract interest without significantly increasing costs. By carefully structuring the terms and conditions, such as reasonable wagering requirements and clear guidelines, bingo sites can offer appealing bonuses that convert well while keeping their expenses in check.

You can also consider setting low maximum bet limits or a maximum win limit to decrease volatility and have more predictable results.

What strategies can bingo sites use to enhance their affiliate marketing efforts?

Bingo sites should focus on building strong, transparent relationships with their affiliates. Providing affiliates with high-quality marketing materials, regular updates on promotions, and timely payments can significantly boost their efforts. Moreover, tracking and analysing the performance of different affiliates can help sites understand what works best and optimise their strategies accordingly.

What advice would you give to new bingo sites looking to attract British players?

New bingo sites should focus on understanding their target audience and what appeals to them. Key factors include offering generous and easy-to-understand bonuses, ensuring a seamless user experience, and providing all the popular payment options.

It is paramount to go live on as many of the top UK affiliate sites as possible. Unless you have a large TV and radio advertising budget, most traffic will likely come from your affiliate partners.

Additionally, leveraging social media and other digital marketing channels can help build a strong online presence and attract more players.

In a highly competitive “bonus blitzing” affiliate market, the only real winner is the bonus hunter. These affiliates may be sending traffic through to their partners in volume, but many of their users are just looking to play through a good deal, never to return.

At Slots Temple, we believe the “stack ‘em high, watch ‘em fly” approach to aggressive bonus-driven traffic no longer flies. We wanted to focus on improving the quality of the traffic and that meant doing things differently.

We began life as a site that offered free demo games and slots tournaments, and this helped to build a highly engaged base of players that genuinely loved playing slots. But we wanted to take this to the next level.

When we were awarded a UKGC gambling license in 2022, it meant we could offer cash prizes for our free tournaments. And then the next logical step was real-money tournaments in the UK with juiced-up prize pools, and ultimately real-money slots.

To create better quality traffic, you need to engage with your customers to better understand them and foster loyalty. It helps if you have a unique value proposition to increase the stickiness of your brand and engage audiences more effectively.

Our real money tournaments are a real UVP and are proving wildly popular with our users. The stakes we offer are low. You can play a slots tournament for as little as 1p, and the free-play model remains a large part of what we do – exclusively so outside the UK.

Ultimately, we want to be a safe place for players, which is why offering low stakes games is important. It’s about fostering a player base that trusts us and feels comfortable playing with us.

Yes, we’re blurring the lines between affiliate and operator, but our players know we’re not just chasing profits at the expense of everything else. Ultimately, our players see us primarily as a destination for fun play and prizes, and it’s important that we maintain that balance. If they thought we were simply out to rinse them, we’d lose their trust, and they wouldn’t come back.

Instead, it’s about offering more choice and increasing that stickiness. It also helps us better understand what games our players like to play so that we can offer more personalized recommendations.

And this is how real-money slots tournaments can really increase the quality of traffic. If a player has been playing a certain slot in a real-money tournament, for example, and wants to play at a partner site, we can guarantee that we are referring a player who is already highly engaged with the game and is ready to transition to higher stakes.

Of course, within the framework of real-money tournaments, it’s important to continue diversifying offerings by devising new formats. We have turbo tournaments, risk tournaments — a multitude of formats and price points so everyone can play the way they want to.

Our real-money tournaments are further enhanced by what was always a highly gamified platform. So, we have leaderboards, Xpoints, rewards chests, and challenges.

Continuous challenges, incentives and rewards keep users engaged over the long term. These elements can appeal to users’ competitive nature and desire for achievement, as they play for bragging rights. This enhances social elements and encourages them to engage frequently with the product

Adding fun and playful elements enhances the user experience beyond the tournaments themselves. Regular rewards and recognition prevent burnout and keep users motivated. And engaged and motivated players are more likely to become passionate about the brand.

Creating a player base that produces true value to your affiliate partners requires a number of the right ingredients, plus a lot of care and attention. But the affiliate landscape is changing, and affiliates need to get creative to get sticky.

Author: Fraser Linkleter, CEO at Slots Temple

Casinosites.co.uk, the UK’s leading casino site aggregation platform, announced its relaunch under Leon Hughes, an experienced gambling affiliate and operator owner. With a credible network of products covering global GEOS, Hughes has ambitious plans to rejuvenate and elevate the platform, offering an unparalleled user experience to UK casino enthusiasts.

Leon Hughes and his team have been hard at work, consulting extensively with industry experts and players to conduct multiple focus groups. This has been with the aim of delivering exactly what UK casino players want.

“The consensus from our consultations was clear: players desire a clean, easy-to-navigate website where online casino options are readily accessible. This is precisely what we have delivered,” said Hughes.

Casinosites.co.uk is not just a reimagined platform; it is been transformed into a comprehensive hub for casino fans. The site shines a spotlight on the best casinos, provides an inventory of new casinos and features expert ratings, new bonuses, free spins and more. The relaunch promises to enhance the user experience by forming relationships with casinos across the industry, from trusted brands to crypto casinos and those specialising in certain game types.

“We have seen that tastes are changing in gambling. From the rise in crypto casinos to live game shows, no two players log onto a casino site with the same ambition. This is why we’ve established partnerships with casinos in every corner of the industry. Our aim is to provide our users with the most reliable and diverse range of options available, ensuring there’s something for every type of player,” said Hughes.

In this new chapter, Casinosites.co.uk will continue to offer its signature in-depth casino analysis, providing accurate and insightful evaluations to help players make informed decisions. The platform is designed to be intuitive, making it easier than ever for users to find their preferred online casinos and take advantage of the latest offers and promotions.

“We are incredibly proud of the work we’ve done to bring Casinosites.co.uk back to life. Our team has worked tirelessly to create a platform that not only meets but exceeds the expectations of UK casino players. This relaunch marks the beginning of a new era for Casinosites.co.uk, and we are excited for what the future holds,” said Hughes.