Contextual advertising for selling CS:GO cases (gray segment)
CS:GO cases for sale (gray segment)
About the project:
A site for selling and opening cases with skins for the game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The topic falls under regulation due to its similarity to gambling, which significantly complicates the launch of contextual advertising.
Issues:
Google Ads prohibits the promotion of gambling without appropriate licenses.
Moderation algorithms easily detect keywords related to skins, cases, or gambling.
High risk of blocking accounts due to lack of legal confirmation of activity.
Actions:
Cloaking:
A "white" site was created for moderators, which advertises a video game blog with CS:GO guides and reviews.
A full-fledged commercial site with cases and the ability to open skins was available to real users.
Search for alternative platforms:
We launched test campaigns in Google Ads, but the main emphasis was on other platforms, such as TikTok Ads and Telegram, where moderation is less strict.
Query masking:
They used less obvious keywords, for example: "gift cases for gamers", "surprises for CS fans".
Avoid mentioning "CS:GO" in ad text and use abbreviations or alternative terms.
Audience segmentation:
Targeting gamers, particularly the 18-30 age group, who are interested in video games and streaming platforms (Twitch, YouTube).
Account rotation:
We used new accounts every 2–3 weeks to avoid permanent bans.
Results:
CTR: average is 5.8%, as campaigns are focused on a narrow target audience.
Average profit: for every dollar invested, they received $4.5 in profit.
Achieved a stable flow of 10,000 visitors per month from combined platforms.
Conclusions:
Advertising in gray themes, such as CS:GO cases, requires a non-standard approach to ad copy, site design, and the use of alternative advertising platforms. Bypassing moderation and technical methods such as cloaking are key elements of a successful campaign.