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12 Month of iGaming: A Landscape Analysis

Published

4 years ago

April 6, 2020

George Miller

12 Month of iGaming: A Landscape Analysis

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Given the recent circumstances surrounding COVID-19, the gaming and betting industry has seen a huge influx of traffic and attention from consumers, new and old, that are now settling into home-based ways of working.

For the savvy gaming companies that have been making improvements to their sites over the last 12 months, now is a time to thrive. Leaders in this area have used this time to take advantage of scope to attract new customers with innovative marketing tactics, fantastic offers, and an energetic brand. For others however, the next months will likely be a struggle unless they take the necessary steps to amp up their efforts.

In uncertain times, player acquisition remains a vital priority and those who have invested time, energy, money and expertise into this area will likely reap the rewards 10-fold. Given the relevance, we’ve conducted a substantial analysis of the top 50 organic keywords in the UK for the four main sectors of iGaming – Slots, Roulette, Casino, and Poker – to better understand the sites that have seen the biggest improvements over the last 12 months, how they’ve done it, and what their next steps are likely to be over the coming months.

Additionally, through conducting an in-depth situational analysis of the current landscape we are able to better understand the activity that has been rewarded by Google over the last 12 months, while better differentiating between successful strategies and those that will likely deliver underwhelming results.

Slots

The websites that have seen the biggest swing in overall organic visibility over the last 12 months have been increasing their games library but more importantly; increasing the crawlable copy of game pages.

For slot sites that are usually quite Javascript heavy, ensuring all copy is clear and crawlable gives search engines something to work with at first pass and can improve performance long term.

Leading the pack, Admiral Casino has a larger than average amount of text on its game pages and is clearly reaping the rewards with significant uplifts in traffic Y/Y straight into game URLs.

It should also be mentioned that all of these sites were active with link building and typically saw a lead time of about 6 months between starting to build links and seeing serious gains in organic visibility.

Once these improvements began, however, the growth seen in the first six months was again repeated in the subsequent 3 months.

Roulette

The biggest 12-month swings in the Roulette sector has been for sites that have kept a tight focus on the Roulette topic area and supported commercial pages with informational content to grow awareness of their brands.

Leading sites such as Liveroulette.com and 888casino.com can be praised for the informative content and extensive guides targeted towards both first-time depositors and seasoned players.

In addition, leaders in this market must ensure they consider the user journey and are present throughout the conversion funnel, not just at the high-volume terms close to conversion. Focusing on terms such as “how to play” and exploratory informational queries is crucial to nailing that focused topical relevance.

Finally, it is important to note that these are established domains with sizable link profiles with the quality of the most recent links becoming the key differentiating factor. Newcomers looking to succeed in this sector must be both aggressive and smart with their link building strategies to ensure they’re in a position to compete as quickly as possible. Do not be afraid to break the mould with your PR to generate buzz and links that will get the site off to a great start.

Casino

PinkCasino.co.uk has seen a significant level of visibility growth over the last 12 months due to an increase in the number of landing pages on the site but more importantly the copy on game pages has had an overhaul.

Historically, one of the biggest technical challenges in the gaming space is the use of JavaScript and search engines inability to render the content. Useful HTML based web copy has worked as well for Pink Casino, as it has Admiral Casino, previously mentioned. The site is also benefiting from improved internal linking and a streamlining of the site structure.

Some of the domains on this list have also had expired domains with link equity redirected into them. Whilst this can sometimes be used as an effective tactic, it is important to remember that it can also raise flags with Google and should be used sparingly.

Poker

As with Roulette, focus and relevance are key in the Poker rankings. How to play type content and guides perform incredibly well when paired with effective internal and external link strategy.

Partypoker.com has this area nailed down and so it is no surprise to see them growing over 230% in 12 months.

Cardchat.com has also put a significant level of effort into producing content and guides and as a result are visible for nearly twice the number of keywords as pokerstars.com according to SEMrush data. The next step for them, and sites in similar predicaments, is to improve their visibility through good quality link acquisition.

In Conclusion

The gaming and betting markets continue to be one of the most competitive and varied SERPS to operative in.

From our analysis, we see a significant shift from black hat tactics to informative content and PR-led campaigns, which for many sites, is the driving factor behind and increase in strong coverage, brand awareness and long-term rankings.

The future of iGaming is looking quite bright and as the current surge in traffic continues, it is no doubt that current timings favour acquisition. For those looking to capitalise and increase their conversion rates, keep in mind that increased traffic lends itself incredibly well to different forms of testing. Now is a great time to catch and convert as many of those new visits as you can with short test cycles.

From the analysis conducted, the key takeaways for competing in iGaming SERPs in 2020 are as follows:

Sites that are spending the time and money on creating well written, informative, and user-friendly content are currently reaping the rewards.
Rather than focusing solely on the high-volume terms, it is crucial for sites in the noted sectors to ensure they’re considering the full user journey and conversion funnel.
Links remain important but the quality will always trump quantity over time.

With over 13 years of experience in the iGaming and Betting industry, the Blueclaw team are always happy to talk search. For a more focused analysis, or to discuss anything mentioned above, please feel free to get in touch with one of our experts.

Author: Andrew Parker, Performance Director at Blueclaw Media Ltd

Contact: [email protected]

Source: Latest News on European Gaming Media Network
This is a Syndicated News piece. Photo credits or photo sources can be found on the source article: 12 Month of iGaming: A Landscape Analysis

Related Topics:gambling industry in Europe

George Miller

George Miller (Gyorgy Molnar) started his career in content marketing and has started working as an Editor/Content Manager for our company in 2016. George has acquired many experiences when it comes to interviews and newsworthy content becoming Head of Content in 2017. He is responsible for the news being shared on multiple websites that are part of the European Gaming Media Network.

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Latest News

William Hill Announced as Official Betting Partner of Qipco Guineas Festival

Published

1 hour ago

April 25, 2024

George Miller

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Leading bookmaker becomes official betting partner of first UK Classic meeting of 2024

William Hill has been announced as the new official betting partner of the Qipco Guineas Festival, the first UK Classic meeting of the season.

It’s the latest addition to William Hill’s spring racing roster, following sponsorship of The Lincoln Handicap at Doncaster, the Punchestown Champion Chase and its status as official betting partner of the Randox Grand National Festival.

The 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas headline the three-day meeting and the leading bookmaker will sponsor 15 races across the weekend with the Jockey Club Stakes, Palace House and Dahlia Stakes among the races now featuring the William Hill title.

Aidan O’Brien’s unbeaten superstar City of Troy is still all the rage for the 2,000 Guineas at 4/6 whereas Karl Burke’s Fallen Angel heads a competitive looking 1,000 Guineas market at 7/2.

“We’re delighted to become the official betting partner of the Qipco Guineas Festival, strengthening our relationship with The Jockey Club on the back of a fantastic Grand National Festival,” a spokesperson for William Hill, Lee Phelps, said. “It’s brilliant for William Hill to be associated directly with such a prestigious event at Newmarket, the home of the thoroughbred, for this season’s first two Classics. The company has a close connection with the history of the 2,000 Guineas as William Hill himself bred the 1949 winner, Nimbus, who then went on to win the Derby.

“We’re excited to be involved at racing’s key meetings and see the Qipco Guineas Festival as the perfect sponsorship as the British flat season kicks into gear.”

Newmarket – 2,000 Guineas: May 4, 2024

City Of Troy	4/6
Rosallion	4/1
Notable Speech	12/1
Henry Longfellow	12/1
Night Raider	16/1
Alyanaabi	16/1
Ancient Wisdom	16/1
Task Force	16/1
Ghostwriter	16/1
Iberian	20/1
BAR	25/1

Newmarket – 1,000 Guineas: May 5, 2024

Fallen Angel	7/2
Ylang Ylang	4/1
Dance Sequence	5/1
Ramatuelle	10/1
See The Fire	12/1
Content	12/1
One Look	14/1
Pretty Crystal	14/1
Buttons	20/1
Purple Lily	20/1
Porta Fortuna	20/1
Star Style	20/1
BAR	25/1

The post William Hill Announced as Official Betting Partner of Qipco Guineas Festival appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Latest News

Midjiwan Supports Reforestation Efforts With New Elyrion Tribe Skin In The Battle Of Polytopia

Published

1 hour ago

April 25, 2024

George Miller

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Midjiwan, the award-winning independent studio behind The Battle of Polytopia, is celebrating Elyrion (∑∫ỹriȱŋ) Tribe Week with a brand-new Midnight (₼idŋighţ) skin and donations to support reforestation.

Tapping into the Elyrion Tribe’s nature magic abilities, every purchase of an Elyrion item in the game will plant one real-world tree from April 22-28 2024. Midjiwan has teamed up with The Canopy Project, an organisation that works with global partners to reforest areas in urgent need of rehabilitation, combining The Battle Of Polytopia’s themes with a desire to make real change in the world. Previous years of Elyrion Tribe Week have resulted in the planting of over 12,000 trees.

The Elyrion Tribe is a mysterious group of elves, dedicated to defending their woodland home with their unique magic and connection with nature. Players using the Elyrion tribe have the ability to enchant animals into Polytaurs and summon powerful Fire Dragons.

Christian Lövstedt, General Manager at Midjiwan, commented:

“This is a hugely exciting partnership, allowing players to support the planet and contribute to reforestation whilst also accessing brilliant new content to use in The Battle Of Polytopia.”

Alongside donating to The Canopy Project, The Battle Of Polytopia also boasts a brand-new skin for the Elyrion Tribe! The Midnight skin allows players to create graves, build crypts, and summon demons in dark forests, all in service of the mysterious Shard of D’Naeh.

The Midnight skin re-skins the entire Elyrion Tribe as the Midnight Cult. Everything the Elyrion Tribe is all about – nature, enchantment, and sanctuary – is turned on its head, corrupted into a dark, twisted dystopia of itself.

Midjiwan has already invested €250,000 in solar power projects in rural areas around Africa, and other charitable projects. The studio continues to seek opportunities to combine its in-game creativity with real-world benefits. The Battle of Polytopia is available on Nintendo Switch, the App Store, Google Play, PC, and Tesla cars.

The post Midjiwan Supports Reforestation Efforts With New Elyrion Tribe Skin In The Battle Of Polytopia appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Latest News

Should iGaming Be Worried About 2024 Bitcoin Halving?

Published

1 hour ago

April 25, 2024

George Miller

Reading Time: 2 minutes

In its LinkedIn newsletter, ‘The SOFTSWISS Special’, SOFTSWISS, a global tech expert with over 15 years of experience in iGaming, delves into the impact of Bitcoin Halving on the iGaming realm.

The recent historical moment of Bitcoin Halving took place on 19th April 2024. SOFTSWISS, a pioneer in crypto-friendly iGaming software, shares its insights and forecasts for how this event may shape the future of iGaming, shedding light on potential opportunities and challenges for industry stakeholders.

What is Bitcoin Halving?

The Bitcoin halving is a scheduled event that occurs approximately every four years or every 210,000 blocks. During this event, the reward for mining and verifying new blocks is reduced by 50%, resulting in miners earning only half the number of BTC per mined block.

Since its launch in 2009, Bitcoin’s mining reward has halved four times, occurring in 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024. The recent April halving reduced the reward to 3.125 BTC per block. Such events are crucial for Bitcoin’s scarcity and inflation control, ensuring that the total supply never exceeds 21 million coins and aligning with its deflationary principles.

Historically, each halving event has resulted in a rise in Bitcoin’s price. This is attributed to the reduced supply and increased scarcity, although other market factors have also influenced these outcomes.

Exploring the Impact of Bitcoin Halving on the iGaming Industry

To provide an in-depth analysis of the Bitcoin Halving impact on iGaming, SOFTSWISS invited Bradley Peak, blockchain expert and tokenomics adviser, to share its anticipations.

Bets rise: The halving is expected to lead to an increase in Bitcoin’s value. If the trend of impressive price surges persists, Bitcoin-friendly iGaming brands could see a positive impact.
Crypto adoption increase: Implementing crypto-friendly models has the potential to boost player trust and transparency in iGaming. Additionally, it could rejuvenate unique gaming experiences like provably fair games and decentralised casinos.
Regulatory frameworks improvement: The recent Bitcoin halving could prompt regulatory bodies to reassess their stance on cryptocurrency gambling. This could lead to new regulations ensuring fairness, responsible gambling, and anti-money laundering measures in the crypto-driven iGaming sector.

Bradley Peak, blockchain expert, comments on the recent changes: “Any transformation will not be without its challenges. It is important to adapt – invest in employee learning and development, onboard crypto processing, and make sure your platform remains secure in the process.”

Explore the influence of the 2024 Bitcoin Halving on the iGaming industry in the fourth edition of The SOFTSWISS Special newsletter on LinkedIn.

About SOFTSWISS

SOFTSWISS is an international tech company supplying software solutions for managing iGaming projects. The expert team, which counts over 2,000 employees, is based in Malta, Poland, and Georgia. SOFTSWISS holds a number of gaming licences and provides one-stop-shop iGaming software solutions. The company has a vast product portfolio, including the Online Casino Platform, the Game Aggregator with thousands of casino games, the Affilka affiliate platform, the Sportsbook Platform and the Jackpot Aggregator. In 2013, SOFTSWISS was the first in the world to introduce a Bitcoin-optimised online casino solution.