[ How to Choose GEO for Arbitrage: Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 – A Complete Overview ]

Choosing the right GEO in traffic arbitrage determines where and how you will drive traffic.

Not everything works equally well everywhere, as people are different, their capabilities vary greatly, and cultural preferences dictate their approach to creatives.

Today, the MyBid team will tell you everything you need to know about choosing GEO in traffic arbitrage: what factors to pay attention to, what to avoid, and how to finally choose the country that will give the highest ROI in 2024.

Let’s dive in!

Read next: Learn query clustering, Break down your 2025 arbitrage launch budget and See how MyBid partners monetize push traffic.

Differences Between Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 GEOs and Why They're Separated

The position of countries on the global stage is different, and this is obvious. In traffic arbitrage, there is also this division, which depends on several criteria:

• The purchasing power of the population;
• Legislation;
• Internet quality;
• Market competition.

Primarily, all Western countries belong to the Tier 1-2 category, all African and Asian countries to Tier 3, and all Latin American, Eastern European, and Balkan countries to Tier 2.

They are separated so that webmasters have a general idea of what they will face during the traffic drive and how to adjust their approaches to achieve maximum efficiency.

Approach Specifics for Each GEO

Based on the main criteria listed above, webmasters adjust their advertising approaches. Here’s how it looks.

As an example, let's take a hypothetical Tier-3 African country - Nigeria. What do we know about it:

• Low internet speed and poor coverage;
• High population;
• Popularity of mobile platforms due to lack of access to PCs;
• Trusting nature, low literacy.

How can we adjust the advertising approach knowing these features? Here’s an example:

• Low internet speed = no video usage on landing pages + mandatory page optimization (image caching, using local hosting);
• Combination of high population and poverty = high success rate of dating and nutra verticals (medical nutra - antiparasitic agents, antifungal drugs, and more);
• Popularity of mobile platforms = mobile-first approach when creating landing/pre-landing pages;
• Trusting nature and low literacy = avoiding news/blog format. Use bright images and videos that make loud promises and provoke emotional action.

And this is true for every country. For example, in Europe, gambling is not perceived as a way to make money and should focus on the entertainment aspect. Meanwhile, residents of India respond better to stories of incredible success and winnings.

How to Understand Which GEO to Choose

You need to start from your capabilities, skills, and previous experience. It's clear that jumping into gambling in Europe as a beginner is a losing venture. But if you're a pro and have been driving traffic for at least a year, why not try your hand at the Western market? When choosing a GEO, use the following criteria:

• Low/Medium/High advertising budget - Tier 3 & 2/any Tier/any Tier respectively;
• Junior/Middle/Senior (skill level) - Tier 3/Tier 2 & 3/any Tier.

Top GEOs for Each Vertical

• Nutra (medical) - LatAm (Peru, Colombia), Africa, South Asia (India, Pakistan), Middle East;
• Nutra (cosmetics) - Eastern Europe, USA, Southeast Asia (Japan, Korea, China);
• Gambling - LatAm (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina), India, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Romania;
• Dating - not dependent on GEO but cheapest in countries with large populations and low income;
• Finance - South Africa, Nigeria, Germany, France, Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, and Japan.

Major Mistakes When Choosing GEO: How to Avoid Burning the Budget in Arbitrage

There are several major mistakes that most beginner webmasters make:

• Choosing GEO by offer - a large payout for a target action does not mean you will earn a lot. You can profit from app installs in Nigeria and burn the entire budget on MFOs in the USA;
• Not studying the selected GEO in detail - a fatal mistake that can lead to loss of money. There are plenty of reviews on almost every country (specifically in the context of traffic arbitrage);
• Trying to transfer the approach from one Tier to another without adaptation - a scaling mistake that can lead to the failure of the entire advertising campaign. Maybe you successfully drove an offer in Africa and want to work, for example, with the Middle East/Eastern Europe - in this case, you need to develop new approaches: choose different creatives, traffic sources, and study the pains of the new audience.

Conclusion

Choosing GEO is not as difficult as it seems. The main thing is to start from YOUR capabilities and skills, try to avoid overhyped directions if you are a beginner, and study the country of the future traffic drive in as much detail as possible. Then you can develop a competent approach and drive traffic with a high ROI.