A note on how things are in high-risk niches, such as Forex and cryptocurrencies
Everything was going well until Google advertising was permitted and successfully operated with whitehat.
Foreword
For several months, we worked on a project that was at the intersection of these two areas. The first risk was that it was essentially Forex. Okay, it was still possible to obtain a license—the project had one, and everything was fine in that regard. The second risk was that the app allowed users to top up their accounts in cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency is currently very strictly regulated, and Google is constantly tightening the screws. The result was a dangerous mix — Forex plus cryptocurrency.
Everything was going well as long as the Google ads were “white.” We ran mega-popular queries, such as *trade forex with crypto*. While they were working, we had excellent results: most of the budget was spent on white sources of traffic, primarily Google Search, and additional funds went to media advertising, brand campaigns, and other activities.
A sudden change in Google's policy
However, at one point, Google changed the rules. Now, all queries related to cryptocurrency required a separate license. And in some countries, such advertising was banned altogether. That is, the issue was not even about the ads, domains, or landing pages themselves. If the key query contained the word “bitcoin” or “crypto,” the ad simply could not be displayed technically. No matter what you did with the ads and your account, the block was automatic.
And that's exactly what happened to our project. Advertising campaigns came to a complete standstill, as 80% of the budget was spent on queries related to Bitcoin and crypto. All work stopped, and we had to urgently look for alternatives to preserve the results.
Urgent search for alternative traffic sources
To be honest, it was a real challenge. The first thing that came to mind was arbitration teams. We started talking to everyone we could find. But it quickly became clear that arbitration rates for registration or first deposits were three times higher than what we had at Google. They immediately quoted amounts three times higher than our usual rates. The question was not about spending money — we had it. The question was that partners agreed to work only on terms that made the entire model unprofitable.
For comparison: this is normal practice for “black” projects. They do not plan to advertise on Google from the outset and immediately build huge bids for the first deposit into their business model. For them, paying $1,200 per customer is normal, especially in developed geographies. They have a different economy and their own channels.
We, on the other hand, were used to different figures. Our calculations were based on the fact that the first deposit cost a maximum of $200–300, and the advertising paid for itself. When we saw that the minimum bids in arbitration started at $500 and reached $1,200 in the top countries, to put it mildly, our mood deteriorated significantly.
We tried working with small teams that agreed to work for more modest budgets. But that didn't save the situation. The main 80% of the budget remained unspent, performance indicators dropped sharply, and the project was on the verge of closure.
Forex + crypto
Google Policy
Expensive arbitration
Plan B must have
This continued for several months. Only after three months did Google change the rules again. It allowed advertising for queries related to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, provided that the project had an official license. After lengthy negotiations with support, uploading documents, and undergoing multi-stage verification, we managed to partially restart advertising. First in one region, then in another.
But, of course, the results were no longer the same. We had to restart campaigns, retrain algorithms, and for many keywords that had previously worked well, advertising was now prohibited. We were unable to restore performance to its previous level.
Key points
So the conclusion here is very simple. If you work in a high-risk niche, you need to be prepared for the fact that advertising can come to a complete halt at any moment. No results “yesterday” guarantee that tomorrow will be the same. You need to constantly test new traffic sources and keep several alternative strategies and channels in reserve. Only when you have two or three backup options that you can quickly activate can you feel more or less at ease.
Any traffic source can “drop out” in a single day — and forever.
