Discover the Hottest GEOs in Africa and Find Out How to Succeed
Not only newcomers but also experienced affiliates rarely consider Africa as a potential source of income. Well, of course, all of us are aiming at prosperous and rich countries, where thousands of crispy dollars teem around. However, dear affiliates, no matter how shiny Tier 1 list is, you just cannot fix upon it alone.
Take a look at Africa! It is full of promising GEOs. This is a huge and extremely diverse continent, where countries vary by numerous traces. Looking at the African map, you will see a vast amount of wealthy and interesting regions, neighbouring upon less developed ones.
Today, we are going to discuss the most profitable African GEOs, like ZA (South Africa), KE (Kenya), and EG (Egypt).
You will find out which verticals perform best of all, how to adjust your targeting, which creatives convert, and more. Get tips, tricks, insights, and the most crucial – the stats. Read and discover the best approaches to catch up to Africa.
The background: general facts about Africa
Africa is a densely populated and rapidly developing continent. To make your campaigns precise and thoughtful, you should be aware of the general facts:
#1 Not all GEOs are equally great for affiliate marketing
If you aim at Africa, make sure to choose the right GEO. Remember that each of them is special and has its own peculiarities regarding language, culture, and customers’ habits. In this article, we will discuss three top GEOs, so you are highly recommended to consider them for your campaigns.
Affiliate Review: India. The audience, Stats, Creatives [FREE PDF]
#2 A half population of Africa uses the Internet
According to Internet World Stats, the Internet penetration in Africa was 39.3% last year. It’s almost half the population and the numbers continue growing. For instance, in rich South Africa, 56.2% of locals use the Internet daily.
#3 There is money out there
Just to let you know, Africa can boast of huge traffic volumes for very low prices. The competition is low because of the stereotypes shared by most affiliates. There is a belief that Africa is a poor country and people never heard of the blessing of civilization there. It’s not true, especially if you focus on the right GEOs.
How to make your creatives flawless (and converting)?
Which creatives fit when you work with African GEOs? Are they any different from European ones? Well, we have a couple of amazing insights to share. So, here is what you need to know:
- Don’t be shy with your ideas
As ZA, KE, and EG are relatively green GEOs for affiliate marketing, the locals don’t really mind simple and sometimes – a bit aggressive creatives. Pick something really bright, appealing, and clickable. Remember that locals haven’t seen most of the creatives that finished blooming around Tier 1 and Tier 2 countries. They still work here.
Learn how to test your creatives and make the most of them!
- Brands and local celebrities
If you see a creative template with a person who looks similar to a local African celebrity, grab it immediately – the locals are crazy about such ads. This is especially true for such verticals as Finance and namely – crypto offers. People perceive recommendations from their idols extremely positively, but make sure not to use the photos of celebrities directly. The similarity is key.
- Videos
Short videos and interactive ads perform great in ZA, KE, and EG. Pay special attention to Dating offers with such ad elements – the locals love them. And nothing attracts attention more intensively than such banners.
- Success stories
Even those Africans who live in rather wealthy countries share the same dream – they want to be successful and rich. Most locals are excited when they see dazzling stories of their fellow countrymen who achieved striking prosperity. Such content works amazingly well with Finance offers, especially crypto and loans – they are so inspiring.
As you can see, some of the tendencies are pretty standard, but there are some special aspects to consider. Make your creatives straightforward and simple, use stories, videos, and offer something irresistible, like bonuses, discounts, promos, etc.
Targeting specifics
Africa seems unusual when you observe it from far. Yes, there are peculiarities unique to this continent, but this is not a wild mix at all. Let’s see:
Languages
Africa is a leader when it comes to dialects and language groups. South Africa, one of the GEOs that interest us, is a real champion here. No literally! This GEO entered the Guinness Book of Records with its 11 official languages: Afrikaans, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho… And, yes, English is included, so don’t panic).
When working with Egypt, you should use English as well as Arab language. The latter is widely used all around the African Internet and most continent dwellers understand it. Still, the locals do speak English pretty well, too. The explanation is elementary – Egypt is a resort region located not so far from Europe.
The official languages of Kenya are English and Swahili. While Swahili is the language of primary education and small-scale trade, English is a language of government, business, and higher education. You can still use it for your campaigns – most Internet users in Kenya know it.
Platforms
According to our statistics, the majority of African users prefer mobile Internet, so we recommend targeting portable devices only. Namely – Android OS. People use Samsung devices and Google Chrome browsers here, so targeting iOS doesn’t make too much sense. Statista reports:
Also, keep in mind that 3G traffic is extremely widespread around ZA, EG, and KE. Mind this when choosing the offer.
Preferences
Currently, African GEOs are in the course of their development. The locals are fresh to numerous offers and creatives that have known better days around Europe.
Africans are likely to buy affordable software, pay for mobile subscriptions, and purchase entertaining content online. Also, they are new to lotteries and giveaways, especially with luxury prizes.
You can find thousands of such offers and start earning money with ease.
As we have already started discussing potentially successful offers, let’s move to the best-performing verticals and see what is happening there.
Want to make your targeting more focused? Check this case study!
What do Africans want: the best-performing verticals and ad formats
Here are the stats for seven days, gathered around the campaigns launched in ZA, KE, and EG. Take a look at the numbers and enjoy!
Country: ZA
| Format | Impressions | Clicks | Traffic share |
| Onclick | 26,702,843 | – | 62% |
| Push | 322,446,417 | 1,928,021 | 36% |
| Interstitial | 5,465,076 | 307,513 | 1% |
In general, when it comes to Impressions, Push is victorious in ZA. Onclick is the second-best, while Interstitials – the third.
South Africans love sports, especially their local football matches. Sports offers are really popular here, so don’t you miss the next event relevant for the locals!
| Onclick | |||
| Vertical | Impressions | Traffic share | Average CPM |
| Sports | 6,562,084 | 26% | $2.82 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 2,255,453 | 21% | $6.46 |
| iGaming | 3,410,283 | 14% | $2.93 |
Keep this cool interactive calendar at hand not to miss any of the upcoming sports events!
Mobile subscriptions are also popular here – they offer paid content for a smartphone, be it a game, application, or anything like that. Africans use mobile devices actively and therefore – eagerly buy such content.
And iGaming closes the chain of absolute leaders. As you may know, this vertical interplays with football matches, box, and other similar events perfectly, just like Sports offers do.
| Push notifications | |||||
| Vertical | Impressions | Clicks | Traffic share | Average CTR | Average CPC |
| Dating | 76,874,977 | 531,360 | 35% | 0.69% | $0.027 |
| Sweepstakes | 41,565,035 | 306,963 | 21% | 0.74% | $0.028 |
| Sports | 18,466,069 | 166,375 | 13% | 0.90% | $0.031 |
Dating really strikes when it comes to Push notifications. Well, 531K clicks is a worthy result, don’t you agree? Also, Sweepstakes are great for this format and show worthy results, as well. Sports is in the last place – as we have seen from the previous table, it works better with Onclick.
| Interstitial | |||||
| Vertical | Impressions | Clicks | Traffic share | Average CTR | Average CPM |
| Mobile subscriptions | 1,248,373 | 130,228 | 61% | 10.43% | $0.007 |
| Utilities | 683,224 | 33,280 | 15% | 4.87% | $0.006 |
| Finance | 1,172,599 | 29,373 | 4% | 2.50% | $0.002 |
Interstitials perform well with Mobile subscriptions – 130,228 clicks is a significant amount. The next vertical we see is Utilities, and the last one – Finance. Remember that Interstitials perform much better when you combine them with other ad formats. Experiment and find the most harmonious mix!
Learn how to make your Interstitials campaign great!
Country: KE
| Format | Impressions | Clicks | Traffic share |
| Onclick | 7,275,266 | – | 50% |
| Push | 137,959,082 | 992,477 | 49% |
| Interstitial | 1,169,809 | 60,561 | 1% |
Just like in South Africa, Push is a leading format in Kenya. The Internet in Kenya is less widespread than in South Africa (40% and 64% accordingly). That is why the number of impressions in ZA is larger than in KE.
| Onclick | |||
| Vertical | Impressions | Traffic share | Average CPM |
| Mobile subscriptions | 593,250 | 24% | $3.89 |
| Sports | 1,354,348 | 23% | $1.63 |
| Finance | 813,801 | 10% | $1.18 |
Onclick works great with Sports, Finance, and Mobile subscriptions. The Sports vertical can boast of a great number of Impressions – 1,354,348! When it comes to Traffic share, Sports almost ties for first place with mobile subscriptions – 24% and 23% accordingly.
| Push notifications | |||||
| Vertical | Impressions | Clicks | Traffic share | Average CTR | Average CPC |
| Sports | 23,352,841 | 97,248 | 20% | 0.42% | $0.020 |
| Finance | 27,270,524 | 114,339 | 20% | 0.42% | $0.016 |
| Dating | 26,855,983 | 266,391 | 16% | 0.99% | $0.006 |
Finance is perfectly combined with Push – 27,270,524 impressions and 114K clicks look pretty good. Sports is somewhere near, so consider this type of offer as well – this vertical is less competitive than stuffed Finance.
| Interstitial | |||||
| Vertical | Impressions | Clicks | Traffic share | Average CTR | Average CPM |
| Sports | 614,357 | 11,438 | 72% | 1.86% | $0.016 |
| Utilities | 71,254 | 18,929 | 11% | 26.57% | $0.001 |
| Finance | 208,104 | 11,006 | 9% | 5.29% | $0.002 |
Interstitials show pretty inspiring results in the Sports vertical – 11K clicks and 72% of traffic share. Finance is here again, well, it works everywhere. However, it is the first time when we see Utilities on the list of Kenyan top verticals – mind this nuance!
Country: EG
| Format | Impressions | Clicks | Traffic share |
| Onclick | 87,879,829 | – | 63% |
| Push | 831,141,698 | 2 884 673 | 36% |
| Interstitial | 5,687,627 | 199 879 | 1% |
Look at these numbers! Push skyrockets in Egypt and makes 831,141,698 impressions per week. Onclick can boast a significant traffic share – 63%. Interstitials, as an add-on format, make 5,687,627 impressions.
| Onclick | |||
| Vertical | Impressions | Traffic share | Average CPM |
| Mobile subscriptions | 4,378,331 | 19% | $0.67 |
| Games | 8,823,755 | 17% | $0.29 |
| Media | 33,433,791 | 14% | $0.06 |
Mobile subscriptions are also popular in Egypt and show nice results regarding traffic share – 19%. As for the impressions, Media vertical (on-demand content) performs exceptionally well and shows 33,433,791 impressions. Also, Egyptians really like games – 8,823,755 impressions and 17% of traffic share speak for themselves.
| Push notifications | |||||
| Vertical | Impressions | Clicks | Traffic share | Average CTR | Average CPC |
| Dating | 151,568,287 | 1,156,309 | 27% | 0.76% | $0.002 |
| Sweepstakes | 61,521,852 | 358,929 | 26% | 0.58% | $0.006 |
| Utilities | 145,979,678 | 461,882 | 18% | 0.32% | $0.003 |
Dating wins! When combined with Push, this vertical shows great results. Also, this format performs well with Utilities and Sweepstakes – relatively unoccupied niches and potentially fruitful fields for your campaigns.
| Interstitial | |||||
| Vertical | Impressions | Clicks | Traffic share | Average CTR | Average CPM |
| VPN | 1,266,878 | 57,684 | 32% | 4.55% | $0.001 |
| Dating | 454,445 | 4,546 | 4% | 1.00% | $0.002 |
| Finance | 329,879 | 22,754 | 4% | 6.90% | $0.000 |
Interstitials make a really good showing when it comes to VPNs – 1,266,878 impressions is a fancy number. Also, the format works well with Dating and Finance – two ever-green verticals.
Summing up
So if you never thought about launching an African campaign, most probably you have changed your mind after reading this article! Ready for experiments? Then here are the main things to keep in mind:
- Diversity
Not all African GEOs are equally great for affiliate marketing. Focus on the top ones – ZA, KE, EG. Also, you may want to try SN (Sinegal) and NI (Nigeria).
- Specifics
Mind the language issue, target mobile devices (Android), aim at 3G Internet users, and use GEO-related creatives.
- Verticals
The best verticals for ZA, KE, and EG are Sports, Dating, iGaming, Mobile subscriptions, Sweepstakes, Finance, and Utilities.
- Ad formats
Push is an undeniable leader for all verticals and GEOs we have analyzed. Onclick goes second and the third one is Interstitials.
Now you know that Africa is a very hot continent – not only weatherwise but also for your affiliate campaigns! African GEOs are not so crowded at the moment, but the profit potential is pretty high.
It really is the best time to…
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