iGB Affiliate 97_iGB L!VE 2025 | Page 39

EMERGING MARKETS

and approach to Argentina. Other provinces: Rules vary, and while some are overtly opening up( e. g., Mendoza, Córdoba), others are closed or silent on affiliates.
Advertising restrictions
Marketing must comply with each province’ s advertising guidelines, adding complexity and potential stress for those with limited time and resources. Most provinces explicitly prohibit advertising unlicensed platforms within their territory with platforms often seemingly eager to help manage this to protect position and reputation in the country.
What this means is Argentina has a lot of the market traits that investors like in the form of a young( median age 32), digitally active population with particularly large followings for football, esports and traditionally‘ secondary’ or‘ tertiary’ sports like basketball. Yet, there are barriers and potential pitfalls for fully white hat affiliates.
As ever, while regulations are often intended to protect players and create a fair playing field, uncertainty and constraints can also encourage offshore operators to take root, and these brands present a competitive advantage to those who are abiding by the rules.
That said, with 40 million estimated internet users, savvy audiences who are familiar with fantasy sports and the more general, inflation-driven shift to lowcost, high-reward entertainment, there are gains to be made.
More than this, affiliates who have learned lessons from other Spanish-speaking markets in LatAm may be feeling bullish about the prospects for growth and ability to make fewer missteps.
To de-risk strategy in Argentina, there are several back-to-basics steps that affiliates can take to build local visibility in authentic ways across interconnected, organic marketing initiatives.
1. Geo-targeted SEO
Use province-specific landing pages:“ Apuestas online en Buenos Aires” vs.“ Casinos en Córdoba” are examples of maximising topical relevance. As we’ ve seen in other regulating markets, trust is key. Reconfirming your brand’ s affinity and understanding of the local dimension and local preferences can help you get ahead, particularly as an affiliate where knowledge and authority is key to becoming a
trusted resource.
Implement hreflang tags or subdirectories for regional content: / ba /, / cordoba / make it easier for search engines to rank the most relevant content. This can also act as another trust-building signal with local audiences.
Local keyword research is essential: This feels like an obvious but sometimes neglected point in this age of AI, but it’ s important to develop a plan based on real understanding of local search trends and real data. If using tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs and so on, focus on Argentinian Spanish. The popularity of emerging Latin American markets often leads marketers to take rash decisions when localising their marketing approach so that they can start making money straight away.
2. Build local For those with a sports focus, target Argentinian sports blogs, news sites and forums for backlinks, particularly with topical content accompanying each link focused on the major points of local interest – for example, rivalries between Boca Juniors and River Plate, the performance of international players and so on. Consider sponsorships or content partnerships with local football teams or influencers, where permitted. While the market has many crucial differences, there are intriguing examples of success in Brazil for these methodologies.
Use Argentinian Spanish anchor text that matches your target keywords – but don’ t be tempted
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