This week, Lee-Ann will be talking all things SERPs, or Search Engine Results Pages, with Zangoose Digital CEO and founder, Julia Logan. Julia has been working as an SEO consultant in some capacity since 2000, whether it’s in-house at Zangoose Digital or as a freelancer, so she has special insight into the inner mysteries of SERPs.
Listen to the podcast here:
Is mainstream media encroaching on iGaming territory?
Julia has been saying for a while, including in an article on IGB Affiliate, that casino search listings are showing up more and more mainstream media SERPs results, which was previously unheard of.
“Remember when you used to just submit a press release on basically just about any topic whatsoever, and the next day it would rank in whatever SERP instead of all those sites that were specifically targeting that SERP, on top of all those results that got sorted back when Google started releasing its band updates? Quite a few press release sites basically got killed by those updates, but I guess we’re back to round one.”
As Lee-Ann points out: “If you’re typing in ‘best casino online’, you are not expecting to see The Telegraph pop up at the top of the page because it is not relevant. Yet, this is what Google is saying.”
Give it a try. We found The Telegraph, The Sun, and Manchester Evening News pop up when you input that keyword into Google. Odd choices given what the purpose of searching for that term is. No one is searching “best casino online” to read about it. They want to play at it.
Tightening the tactics
That is exactly what Lee-Ann and Julia go on to discuss further in the podcast: how do online casino operators get more tactical about how they market to their customers?
It’s not typically something casinos have had to worry about. The people come in and as long as the marketing is compliant, it’s generally shot out to everyone, not very targeted, and not very specific in its messaging.
Julia suggests that should change saying: “You get the traffic, you get the visitors, read the review, click the link, sign up to the actual casino deposit, become players, you get the profit. The whole model is built on getting rid of your visitors, sending them to their final destination as fast as possible. The faster you could do it, the greater your chances of having more conversions and more affiliate commissions. What kind of value can you propose to those who are just looking for the next casino to play at?”
Lee-Ann then suggests: “It’s time for publishers in the gaming space to actually become more tactical about what problem they’re solving for customers and what service they’re going to be providing in that, consideration, awareness, review, and then purchase phase. The role of an affiliate is going to become more tactical.”
Is diversifying that easy?
Julia has a warning for big casino operators who might be alright to rest on their current marketing strategy, i.e. next to none.
“Nobody’s safe and operators should really think about what they are doing and how they are differentiating their efforts. On one hand, it might seem tempting to cut off all the smaller affiliates and just stick to the deals with the super affiliates because those are sure.
“Basically, if the actual operators do not take care of what they are doing and differentiate their own efforts and stick to only those large affiliates, first of all, that’s all going to crash. If at some point, I do not believe this is happening anytime soon, but it might.”
If you’re looking for more affiliate marketing and ecommerce advice, be sure to register to join our ELEVATE Summit in July. We’ll be hosting panels, workshops, and talks featuring a selection of industry experts, with all content available to stream from our website.
Also, be sure to check out our blog for all the latest news and insights or book a free call with a member of our team for personalised guidance.
Listen to find out more about:
- How can publishers in iGaming become more tactical in their marketing
- AI’s effect on SERPs and Google
Key segments of this podcast and where you can tune into go direct
[10:00] – Mainstream media outlets creeping on iGaming SERPs
[20:00] – How are ChatGPT plugins driving traffic to casino sites?
[30:00] – The false sense of security that casino operators are building themselves
Rate, Review & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I love Affiverse’s Affiliate Marketing Podcast.” <– If that sounds like you, please give us a 5 Star rating here! Taking the time to do that, helps us support more people in our community to access digital and affiliate marketing insights, expert lead learnings and allows us to share the latest online marketing tactics that help Affiliate programs and businesses to grow.
Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to our weekly newsletter and never miss out on FREE insights and training.
