In affiliate programs and advertising networks, there is a division of countries into categories (Tier 1, 2, 3). In the article, we will consider the division, and look at the examples of payments and the cost of traffic for Tier 1 and other countries.
What are Tier 1, 2, 3 countries?
“Tier 1, 2, 3” categories are a conditional division of countries according to the solvency of users and development of states.
- Tier 1 – countries with stable economies and high living standards of the population. There are more rich citizens than poor ones. New technologies appear faster than in Tier 2 and Tier 3 countries
- Tier 2 – countries with middle-income citizens and developing economies.
- Tier 3 are low-income countries with a high gap between the poor and rich. Many countries are a source of cheap raw materials and labor for developed countries.
Table of Tier 1,2,3 countries
| Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | Andorra | Azerbaijan |
| Austria | Argentina | Albania |
| Belgium | Bahamas | Algeria |
| United Kingdom | Belarus | Angola |
| Germany | Bulgaria | Armenia |
| Denmark | Bolivia | Bangladesh |
| Ireland | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Barbados |
| Spain | Brazil | Bahrain |
| Italy | Brunei | Belize |
| Canada | Vanuatu | Benin |
| Luxembourg | Hungary | Botswana |
| Netherlands | Guyana | Burkina Faso |
| New Zealand | Hong Kong | Burundi |
| Norway | Greece | Vietnam |
| United States | Dominican Republic | Gabon |
| Finland | Egypt | Haiti |
| France | Israel | Guatemala |
| Switzerland | Indonesia | Guinea |
| Sweden | Iceland | Honduras |
| Kazakhstan | Georgia | |
| Qatar | Zambia | |
| Cyprus | India | |
| China | Jordan | |
| Colombia | Iraq | |
| Costa Rica | Cape Verde | |
| Latvia | Cambodia | |
| Lithuania | Cameroon | |
| Macao | Kenya | |
| Malaysia | Comoros | |
| Malta | Congo | |
| Morocco | Kuwait | |
| Mexico | Kyrgyzstan | |
| Nepal | Laos | |
| United Arab Emirates (UAE) | Lesotho | |
| Oman | Lebanon | |
| Panama | Mauritius | |
| Paraguay | Mauritania | |
| Peru | Madagascar | |
| Poland | Macedonia | |
| Portugal | Mali | |
| Puerto Rico | Mozambique | |
| Republic of Korea (South) | Moldova | |
| Russian Federation | Mongolia | |
| Romania | Namibia | |
| Saudi Arabia | Niger | |
| Serbia | Nigeria | |
| Singapore | Nicaragua | |
| Slovakia | Pakistan | |
| Slovenia | El Salvador | |
| Thailand | Swaziland | |
| Turkey | Senegal | |
| Ukraine | Suriname | |
| Uruguay | Tajikistan | |
| Uruguay | Tanzania | |
| Fiji | Togo | |
| Philippines | Trinidad and Tobago | |
| Croatia | Tunisia | |
| Montenegro | Turkmenistan | |
| Czech Republic | Uganda | |
| Chile | Uzbekistan | |
| Ecuador | Chad | |
| Estonia | Sri Lanka | |
| Republic of South Africa (RSA) | Ethiopia | |
| Japan | Jamaica |
Payments in Tier 1, 2, 3 countries
The affiliates’ income depends on the development of the country and the standard of living of the population. The higher the rating of the country is, the more advertisers are ready to pay out for orders, deposits, and sign-ups from this GEO.
Let’s consider the example of AdCombo CPA-network offers. Let’s start with dating offers.
If you attract traffic from Tier 1 countries, you can earn about $4 per lead.
If you receive traffic from Tier 2 countries then you will get payouts several times lower.
Very small payouts for leads from Tier 3 countries.
Another point is that few offers are created for specific Tier 3 countries. Traffic from these countries is received on SmartLink or large products that work with multiple GEOs (as in the example above, the advertiser receives traffic from 143 countries).
The situation is similar in other verticals. For example, there are high payouts from Tier 1 countries in the Nutra vertical.
Less is paid out for orders from Tier 2 countries.
Even fewer advertisers pay out for leads from Tier 3 countries.
Traffic costs in Tier 1, 2, 3 countries
As you can see, the payouts in Tier 1 countries are much higher than in Tier 3 countries. But this doesn’t mean that you can buy traffic, for example, from the UK and go to the sea in a week. Why?
The reason is the cost of traffic. Attracting users from Tier 1 countries is more expensive than buying traffic from Tier 2 and Tier 3 countries. The higher the solvency of the country’s residents, the more advertisers customize advertising for this GEO. Accordingly, there is higher competition and higher rates on ad networks.
Since some advertising networks provide open statistics on traffic, we can see the difference in the cost of traffic.
On the PropellerAds advertising network, you can see the traffic information.
Here the maximum CPM rate and optimal CPM rate in Tier 1 countries are higher than for other GEOs.
There is similar information on the MGID advertising network. It shows the minimum recommended price per click in cents. Let’s consider the example of traffic in the “content” category.
The situation is similar – traffic from Tier 1 countries is more expensive than from other GEOs.
Conclusion
Based on the information above, let’s make a conclusion about countries.
- You can get high payouts for orders from Tier 1 countries. But the traffic is expensive. You need a big budget to start.
- Tier 2 countries have average payouts and average traffic costs.
- Tier 3 countries have a lot of cheap traffic. Low price per lead.
It’s worth remembering that all divisions and rates are conditional. It happens that traffic from Tier 2 countries is 2-3 times more expensive than traffic from Tier 1 countries. This can be influenced by any events in the country, an unexpected multiple increase in demand for certain products, the entry of a major advertiser into the market, and other reasons.
