Faster data, faster decisions

Levon Nikoghosyan, CEO of PartnerMatrix, explains how live data impacts affiliate business, and why operators should be using real-time data to improve relations between their affiliate managers and affiliates.

PartnerMatrix recently introduced a new API development which helps casino and betting websites to have a better understanding of their affiliate marketing programs.

The real-time data API feature allows Affiliate Managers to track users’ actions in real-time, without delay or inaccuracy, view instant reports and access the users’ full history and flow. INTERGAMINGi sat down with PartnerMatrix CEO Levon Nikoghosyan to get the lowdown.

Could you explain the benefits of your real-time data API feature for affiliate managers?

Affiliate managers deal with delays in reports. Sometimes, these delays cause real and unpleasant problems, such as suspicious traffic or activity from one of the channels. With real-time data, operators can trace the source and prevent or stop any harmful activity or threat.

API-based solutions offer instant data transfer and are widely used in iGaming, in both casino and sports betting products. But you can rarely find affiliate software providers using APIs. At PartnerMatrix, we are constantly looking in the market to see what methods or old technologies we can improve or revamp completely.

For example, we launched a feature that allows affiliates to reactivate already registered players and get a commission for that. Both affiliates and operators highly requested this feature due to high and ever-increasing acquisition costs. The same goes for API-driven data. Affiliate managers can now use it in numerous ways, significantly improving day to day operations.

What is the importance of instant, transparent data within the crucial operator-affiliate relationship?

Today, most affiliate software providers offer reports via FTP integration on both operator and affiliate sides. It can take up to one day to receive the data results. The new API integration allows instant reporting, which can lead to more transparency, allowing campaign optimization, building trust and dynamic cooperation between operators and their affiliates.

We’ve integrated this API solution with two casino providers so far and the results are already satisfying. Operators can now trace the whole circle of user flow brought by affiliates, from the first second they register on the website.

What is the value of instant reporting?

For operators and affiliates, this simply allows to keep your finger on the pulse of the industry and instantly take action when (and if) required. Affiliates can try out different marketing tools and, depending on the results, they can develop better marketing activities or tweak their ongoing campaigns. While if they use the old daily feed, they need to wait another day in order to check out the results of a certain campaign and decide if it’s worth to keep it up or do something else.

Could you describe why campaign optimization is important and how important a component player data is within this aspect?

When you can learn about user behaviour instantly, at the same moment in which they perform specific actions, you are truly in control of your marketing. What types of users are coming in? What kind of activities they complete? Is that a good or a bad source of traffic? Should you boost a particular channel, or maybe shut down one affiliate for a fraud? You can find answers to all these questions using live data. There is no more guessing or waiting for incomplete reports.

From a broader perspective, real-time data is becoming not only a trend, but a necessity for modern businesses. You can’t wait another day when your competitor already has the information and uses it to boost their campaigns and activities. We just introduced this feature to iGaming affiliate marketing, but it’s also spreading across other industries.

How has the use of player data evolved in iGaming, and what developments do you foresee ahead in the future?

Transparency is the most valuable direction that all the businesses are moving towards. Without proper transparency, you cannot be up to the modern challenges and build a fast-growing partnership. Today, we have a whole new reality. The digital world is growing like never before, also due to the COVID-19 outbreak. You simply cannot avoid mentioning it over and over again.

Now we have a dynamic market of new tools, apps and plug-ins to boost your campaigns, get pure data, analyze instant reports. And this works, companies look for new ways of reaching and retaining their users. Within this context, PartnerMatrix introduced a tool that fits perfectly the needs of modern iGaming affiliate market. Because not only the affiliate market, but the whole industry has already reached a new level of digitalization. The rule of easy and fast services is dominating the business, and our niche is not an exception.

Could you tell us about any other important work that PartnerMatrix is involved in right now?

First of all, we are constantly investing in our existing products and features. Second of all, we are keen on creating and implementing new tools and features based on market requests. When introducing a new tool or planning an upcoming project, we value research and feedback from our clients and industry leaders. We aim to give our customers world-class service, so we put a lot of importance on our

relationship, always keeping communications channels open. This way, we ensure that our new tools or features will be well received and truly helpful to our partners.

Along with new features, we work on the simplicity of our product, to make it more flexible and intuitive in the hands of affiliate managers and affiliates. This is another important issue in the affiliate world. Most of the software providers out there tend to overcomplicate their product, without thinking about the end-user of the software. Our goal is to enable smart development and innovation while providing every tool and feature needed for starting an affiliate marketing business from scratch.

The original version of this interview has been published in Issue 4 of INTERGAMINGi magazine.