The Affnook team caught up with Laura Balalau, Affiliate Manager at Strong Affiliates at the iGaming Club by the Affpapa IGC 2025 Malaga Conference. Insights into market expansion, evolved traffic strategies, and what makes a great affiliate program were focused on.
As a professional in the affiliate industry for many years, Laura shared her journey from an affiliate to an affiliate manager at Strong Affiliates. Not only did she talk about her journey in the field of affiliate marketing, but she also shared her views on the user needs that an ideal affiliate tracking platform must fulfill.
From Romania to the IGC 2025 Malaga Conference
Laura has nine years of experience in the field of affiliate marketing. While she began her career as an affiliate, Laura later transitioned into the B2B side of the industry, where she worked with a game provider before finally moving into affiliate management.
Strong Affiliates, as an iGaming affiliate marketing program, offers opportunities to work with brands like Cashed, Casinoly, Powerbet, and Spinsy. They promise high-value traffic, serious retention, and a system that “pays strong”.
Laura, in her conversation with Jeremy, the Head of Sales of the Affnook team, shared what Strong Affiliates is aiming for next. They now aim to seek new SEO partners in terms of traffic as they are trying to “catch some big fish.”
Expanding Across Continents
When asked about the current market focus of their affiliate program, Laura highlighted the various geographies that they have acquired and aim to focus on.
While she emphasized Europe being one of the booming markets, because of its strong presence and impactful partnerships, she also shared some other countries Strong Affiliates have expanded their market in. Some of them are Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Additionally, they have also begun exploring opportunities across African and Latin American markets.
What Makes the IGC 2025 Malaga Conference Unique?
When asked if it was her first Affpapa Conference, and her experience of the same, Laura shared that despite having attended multiple conferences, this was her first Affpapa Conference. Other conferences that she had attended were said to be large-scale, where ”you can easily miss people.”
What makes the Affpapa IGC 2025 Malaga Conference different from other conferences is that it is intimate and small-scale.
She also further talked about how it is a better experience for her because “you can actually see people,” which makes it more interactive and a better place for learning, networking, as well as building stronger business connections.
Ultimately, that’s what these events are meant to achieve, something the IGC 2025 Malaga Conference delivers on perfectly.
The Next Step Ahead
Laura also shared Strong Affiliates’ upcoming plans for attending and participating in key industry conferences.
“The next big one will be iGB London in July, where we’ll have a stand,” she said. “After that, we’ll head to Lisbon in September. We’re already preparing for London since it’s just around the corner.”
Attending such events won’t just help the team expand their network but will also make them showcase their growing portfolio across global markets.
What Makes a Great Affiliate Tracking Platform?
Laura is the perfect person to answer this question. She has worked extensively as an affiliate and is now an affiliate marketing manager at Strong Affiliates. Her work deals directly with affiliate tracking platforms on a regular basis, and hence, she knows exactly what affiliates and businesses using such platforms need.
When asked what is it that she looks for in an affiliate tracking platform, Laura suggested some clear requirements.
Firstly, the content should be “eye-friendly” and easy to use, which is the most primary and basic requirement. The user experience and interface of the platform should be such that it is convenient for anyone to work on.
Speed is the second important feature that she talked about. With multiple campaigns running simultaneously, affiliates would require a platform that lets them create tracking links quickly and efficiently.
Third, Laura expected that the platform should help manage multiple deals and multiple tracking links from different geos, all under one account.
Lastly and most importantly, affiliates should be able to get updates in real time, something that they are not able to do currently. To this, Jeremy notably pointed out that Affnook fills that very gap as it offers updates in real-time!
The conversation concluded fittingly as Jeremy presented Laura with the precise solution that she had sought.
Final Thoughts
The interview with Laura Balalau provided a closer look into how Strong Affiliates is expanding its global reach through meaningful partnerships and interactions, by attending events like the IGC 2O25 Malaga Conference.
With her years of experience in the industry, Laura shared exactly what affiliates look for in an affiliate tracking platform. Her key requirements? Simplicity, speed, and real-time tracking.
Laura’s insights at IGC 2025 Malaga Conference show that with the help of right tools and partnerships, platforms like Strong Affiliate can pave the way for an efficient and connected ecosystem.
