“Is it worth directing ASO traffic to Bangladesh, and why is it becoming a hot spot?” The case of Apps4You and Kheli

Bangladesh—a golden market for ASO, or a big risk for media buyers? We talked with Timur, the owner of the mobile app rental service Apps4You, and Slava, the head of the affiliate department at Kheli, about how to work in this geo. Which creatives are best to launch, and how not to waste your entire budget. 

ASO often comes down to language and visual style. What creative approaches to icons/screenshots/descriptions work best in the region?

Timur:

In our apps, icons in the style of casual games work best, such as an animal or mascot (for example, the well-known chicken), a ball, sometimes a cricket ball or stadium.

The colors are usually bright and contrasting: green, red, yellow. The text is also important. Descriptions should be very simple, without complex terms, with an emphasis on the game, fun, and bonuses.

From the perspective of a service that makes dozens of apps for traffic, what have you noticed in Bangladesh over the past year? Is there organic growth?

Over the past year, Bangladesh has become noticeably more active in terms of organic growth. For webview apps in gambling, organic growth is approximately 20-35% per year, and the share of organic installs has grown from approximately 35-40%. 

This suggests that the market is gradually warming up: users are starting to search for such apps directly in the store more often, repeat installs are appearing, and awareness of formats is growing.

It is clear that there is growth, but what types of apps are performing best in Bangladesh according to Apps4You data?

Chicken Road, Plinko, and Ice Fishing are the most popular. We have noticed that users respond best to game-like and colorful designs, as they make them want to stay longer. This approach helps us bring in a steady number of players per day through our apps. 

Minimalist or premium designs don’t work as well here. Emotion is very important: color, movement, the feeling of winning. This approach not only increases installs, but also influences behavior within the app. When expectations match what happens after installation, retention is higher.

As a result, this helps us bring in a stable number of players per day through our apps and maintain predictable traffic dynamics without sharp drops. 

What makes this GEO attractive for ASO and affiliate marketing?

Timur:

Quality, ROI, a large Android market — all this makes Bangladesh a hot geo for market entry. First and foremost, it is a combination of traffic volume and cost. At the same time, competition in ASO is lower than in overheated regions, so it is easier to get to the top for keywords and gain organic traffic faster.

What are the risks and limitations of Bangladesh as a market for ASO?

Timur:

We often encounter issues such as app bans in stores, possible changes to Google’s policies, and restrictions on payment methods. All of this reduces conversion and results. 

Therefore, in this geo, it is important to:

— not get tied to one source or one app,

— regularly update and maintain apps,

— keep in touch with the affiliate department about quality,

— be ready to change your approach quickly.

Bangladesh offers good potential, but requires flexibility and constant monitoring.

What should media buyers pay attention to first and foremost in order not to drain their budget?

Timur: 

The Apps4You team pays attention to traffic quality, which is key. In Bangladesh, player quality is low, but considering that ASO is search traffic, we didn’t have any particular problems.

Slava: 

In this geo, you can’t show huge amounts of millions of dollars in creatives. It’s important to remember that this is a Tier 3 geo, so we indicate winnings of up to $5k in creatives, ideally around $1-3k.

We also recommend using male images more often in creatives — according to our statistics, they show a higher conversion rate in this geo. At the same time, it is important to test different types and formats, as audience response may vary depending on the approach and specific offer.

How to improve cooperation between the ASO team and the Affiliate department for better results?

Timur:

The ASO team creates and promotes as many apps as possible, while the affiliate team looks for as many offers as possible, monitors quality, and increases bids. If everyone focuses on their part, the result will be good. When there is a constant exchange of data, ASO can quickly strengthen working apps and disable weak ones.

It is also important not to enter into a single offer with a single app. It is better when ASO provides a pool of apps with different approaches, and the affiliate looks at which one performs better in terms of quality and rate.

Slava: 

I think the best results are achieved through constant contact and information exchange. For example, before the spill begins, the webmaster needs to discuss quality benchmarks with the advertiser, and after the launch of the advertising campaign, it is necessary to maintain constant contact with the affiliate manager and request regular quality reports. This will ensure stable results.

Are there any problems with the audience’s solvency?

Slava:

We have been working in Bangladesh for over four years and have not observed any issues with the population’s solvency. It is evident that it is a Tier 3 market, but those who are skilled at their work can easily increase the average check to $30+ per FTD. In this case, the check is specified on our part. 

Are there any difficulties with fraud or low-quality traffic?

Timur:

Since ASO is primarily search traffic, the level of fraud is lower than in classic purchasing. The main risk is not fraud, but the low quality of part of the audience if the keywords are incorrectly selected or the target is too broad.

With competent work with semantics and a gradual increase in installations, we have not observed any serious quality issues.

Slava:

Fraud, as in any Tier-3, is present, but compared to Latam or India, for example, the situation is much better. 

It is important not to ignore analytics on retention and deposits — if you see a drop at an early stage, you can quickly adjust the campaign and not waste your budget.

What other pitfalls are there in this geo?

Timur:

One of the pitfalls is the instability of the store. In Bangladesh, you can quickly reach the top in terms of keywords, but you can just as quickly fall if you don’t maintain the momentum of installations and ratings.

It’s also important to understand that if the app isn’t updated for a long time or technical bugs appear, users quickly lower their ratings, and this directly affects conversion to installation.

Slava:

Since this is a classic Tier 3 market, from time to time there is a small storm of payment issues, and sometimes there are interruptions in users’ mobile internet connections. But such cases are quite rare; we usually encounter this only 1-2 days per quarter.

What budget makes sense for testing Bangladesh?

Timur:

When it comes to ASO specifically, entering the market with a single app and a minimal budget is not the best strategy. A comfortable test starts at around $2-3k to get enough data: installs, behavior, retention. A smaller budget often does not give a complete picture and can lead to incorrect conclusions about the market.

Slava:

As an affiliate manager, I would allocate $3-5k for a full test. This allows you to split several offers, test different creatives and landing pages, collect quality data, and make decisions about scaling based on the numbers.

A budget that is too small is almost always a blind test, without proper optimization.

What is the best timing for advertising campaigns in this region? 

Slava: 

The main peak for deposits is 9:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. (UTC+6).

Secondary peak (earlier in time, but weaker in terms of deposits, a good time to warm up advertising campaigns): 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (UTC+6)

Dead time (relatively): 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (UTC+6)

Finally, what ASO advice would you give to those just entering Bangladesh?

Timur: 

We recommend keeping an eye on quality and trends in this and new geos, constantly learning and looking for new information. We would also advise promoting more apps with approaches that convert well. 

If you really need good quality and speed, contact Apps4You for traffic apps. We offer both development from scratch and rental services. By the way, we often attend conferences, and will soon have a booth at Warsaw Conversion Conf on April 1-2, so follow our social media and come discuss cooperation with our PR team. You can also write directly to Andrey for collaboration. 

Slava: 

I recommend not spreading yourself too thin. First, select several offers in your target region that you will split. Then study the most popular approaches for your selected region. This will give you many hypotheses for different approaches (crash, mix, slot, cross), take several landing pages into the split at once, and launch the advertising campaign.

If you look at the numbers and optimize the funnel, you can already see the first results at the start. Good luck to everyone in this geo, and come work with us.