How to assess affiliate traffic quality: from registration to repeat deposits

Many registrations do not necessarily mean useful traffic. Assess the event sequence, cost per approved result and reasons for rejection. In iGaming, deposit growth also needs to be considered alongside responsible gambling requirements.

Build one consistent funnel

Separate clicks, registrations, first-time deposits (FTDs), event approval and subsequent activity. Define a unique identifier and data source at every stage. Resending one event must not increase the result count.

Measure movement between adjacent stages. FTD share among registrations equals unique first-time depositors divided by registered users in the same group. Do not mix people counts with transaction counts.

Compare groups of equal age

Use the same acquisition period and observation window. Comparing yesterday's campaign with a month-old campaign advantages the older group. Google Analytics defines a cohort as a group sharing a characteristic, a useful approach to retention analysis.

Also segment by geography, device and source. Audience differences may explain results better than the publisher's name.

Calculate cost per approved result

Illustrative example: source A costs $600 and delivers 20 approved FTDs, or $30 each. Source B costs $500 for 10 FTDs, or $50 each. This does not establish A's profitability: agreed revenue, fees and later adjustments are still needed. Deposits are not the operator's revenue or profit.

Investigate causes, not just signals

Bursts of identical events, unusually short intervals and high rejection rates warrant investigation. A shared IP or unusual conversion rate alone does not prove fraud. Define review criteria and an appeal process.

Act on reconciled findings

Adjust budgets gradually after reconciling data. Track repeat deposits separately: their occurrence does not automatically trigger another CPA reward. Payment depends on offer terms. Use the S2S postback guide to prepare event tracking.