The world of affiliate marketing is pretty unpredictable – there are numerous events happening here, including changes and updates implemented by platforms (potentially profitable traffic sources) you are dependent on. 

If you work with Facebook and AppStore, then this article will come in handy – there are significant social media updates you should keep in mind as well as suggestions on alternative ways to advertise. 

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Apple Is on a Hunt: Beware, iGaming!

iGaming is a highly regulated vertical, so working with it has never been easy. However, these days, things become even tougher, especially for those who target iOS users. 

As you know, iGaming apps are allowed by Apple as long as they are not prohibited around particular GEOs. Recently, the company discovered a classical “camouflage” application – it was an endless runner game with a secret iGaming level activated by means of a VPN. 

Propeller On Air #8: How to champion iGaming campaigns this summer? [Live Podcast]

As Apple representatives discovered that in-game purchases were made bypassing their payment system, they deleted the game and tightened control over similar applications in general.

Even though a GEO-restricted iGaming is not prohibited, such apps are in danger of being removed.

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Embrace Yourself: IDFA Update Is Coming

Apple’s Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) is a tracking mechanism for iPhone owners. It follows the same principles as habitual cookies and namely – gathers users’ interaction data. Advertisers use this information to learn more about the audience’s interests and target the right people.

The tracker was a default earlier, but now it is an opt-in mechanism for iOS 14 users and they can choose whether they want to be tracked or not.

This means that the data about users’ actions and preferences won’t be available anymore.

They can just turn the IDFA off and – puff! – your targeting efforts fail. 

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Aggregated Event Measurement on Facebook Makes Things Even More Complex

Facebook’s Aggregated Event Measurement allows for measuring the actions of iOS 14 owners. The protocol restricts the number of conversion events to eight per domain. 

The list includes standard pixel events (adding to cart, purchasing, checkout, etc.), custom conversions on a specific URL, value sets with value optimization, and unique events set up with Facebook Conversions API.

For different types of affiliates, this update can be more or less harmful. To say the truth, this is a real problem for the eCommerce sphere – advertisers will lose a chance to multiply specific events for their marketing funnels. Long sales will need more attention and efforts to balance online and offline users’ steps. 

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Facebook Becomes Even More Serious about Harmful Content 

Facebook toughens restrictions regarding harmful content and misinformation. The new rules will be applied to groups and people that seem problematic – whether they produce hate speech or publish misleading content. 

Even though Facebook strives for creating a positive and open-minded community, its actions are aimed at limiting and deleting everything that doesn’t seem right. And the problem with misinformation is pretty anxious. 

This term means an error without an intention to harm anyone. At the same time, there is such a thing as “disinformation”, which is more like a manipulation with facts aimed at deceiving people. 

As misinformation is just something uncertain or wrong, but unintentional, too many things can be considered as being misleading, too many groups and people will be banned and excluded from a suggestions list. The situation with censorship is getting really hot. 

Advertising content is at gunpoint since Facebook can find your promotional materials or creatives as something forbidden and therefore – ban you. Misinformation is a blurry thing and too many affiliates will definitely experience difficulties first-hand. 

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The hard times

Facebook and AppStore have become really hard fields to advertise on. The latest restrictions make the advertising process significantly more challenging than ever. The main troubles to tackle are:

• Tougher control 

Censorship and verification are associated with removal of content that doesn’t meet the platforms’ rules. The saddest thing: sometimes, the rules are too blurry to meet. 

• Less data to process

The platforms are concerned about users’ privacy and data protection technologies. For instance, Apple’s IDFA allows iPhone 14 owners to switch off the online behavior tracker. As such, gathering data for precise targeting becomes restricted. 

• Strict offer filtering 

Some offers are dubious and don’t always fit the rules of Facebook and Apple. For example, iGaming or Dating offers are not very welcome around these environments. As the control level grows, advertisers will have less chances to work with habitual verticals. 

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What Is to Do?

Are there any alternatives for affiliates? Well, yes, trusted traffic sources independent of restrictions and turbulence that happen around various public platforms exist. Definitely, the best one is an SSP (Self-Serve Platform) for advertisers. 

PropellerAds offers a great deal of benefits and opens your way to successful online advertising. With us, all the restrictions and rules revealed above are not your problems anymore. We have a flexible policy regarding creatives and accept verticals that are not very tolerated by Facebook and Apple.

We offer:

• Simple tools for the campaign launch, management, and optimization; 

• Anti-fraud technologies and cooperation with reliable traffic providers only; 

• AI system to fine-tune your campaigns smartly and exclude needless manual work. 

SSPs like PropellerAds not only simplify your advertising practices, but also increase your chances for success. With us, affiliates get safety, reliability, and high-quality traffic. 

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