SEO and marketing for your iGaming platform

When thinking about setting up a company, not everyone immediately considers an online-only business. Even fewer people would think about an online casino or iGaming platform as their first choice. Those that do will need to consider the marketing activities that should follow to make the business successful. There are several critical factors that have an impact.

Build your visibility

Brand recognition is a result of the skillful combination of different marketing activities that are related to advertising, content as well as technical aspects.

Search Engine Optimization and iGaming sites

SEO is one of the pillars of digital marketing, a critical factor influencing both the visibility of your website as well as the overall user experience. It is a multidimensional process that includes technical aspects related to the performance of your website and the user experience it provides, as well as a wide range of content-related activities, such as social media activity, blogging and content optimization, whisper marketing, and link building.

SEO audit/technical audit

You may often hear that every website needs to run well, but what does that even mean today? The answer is complex. There are a number of technical factors that Google takes into account when indexing a website. Fortunately, there are several tools that are used to perform detailed website analyses, and some of this software has been created by Google itself. The SEO audit we perform features a list of over 40 items that need to be analyzed to improve the chances of being ranked higher in Google search results pages. Here are some of the items on our audit list:

• Image optimization – When pictures are uploaded to a website, sometimes graphic designers forget about using a format that does not put so much strain on server resources. Instead of publishing images in popular formats such as .png or .jpg, they should be uploaded in the ones recommended by Google, which are WebP and AVIF. It’s best to have software that converts images automatically for this purpose. Casino websites often feature a lot of images due to the many different games they have, and these two modern formats usually result in significantly smaller image sizes.
• Meta descriptions – These are the one or two lines of text that appear in search results under each entry, summarizing what the user can expect upon clicking the specific link. This short description is often the first chance to advertise, and since Casinos are a rather difficult niche to promote, it is important to make use of every opportunity. Meta descriptions need to be properly informative and of appropriate length.
• robots.txt – We have to be certain this file exists and is created properly. It tells web crawlers, such as the Google bot, if they should access a specific file and/or directory or not.
• XML sitemap – A properly created XML sitemap must contain all indexable URLs of the specific website.
• Responsive and mobile-friendly design – Nowadays, it is imperative for a website to provide a good experience on all device types, desktop and mobile. This means the performance has to be good on all devices and the screen sizes must adapt accordingly. Well-designed and properly scaling online iGaming sites can be as good as any iGaming apps.
• Minification of HTML, JavaScript and CSS – Compacting code will have a beneficial effect on the overall performance and will speed up download and parse times, improving PageSpeed score.
• Title tag optimization – TTs are the clickable headings that appear in search engine results pages. They are a critical page ranking factor that, similarly to meta descriptions, should be of appropriate length and feature the right bits of information.
• Broken links test – Sometimes a subsite needs to be removed from a page, and it is important to remember about deleting any links forwarding to it. Broken links that lead to “page not found” messages have a negative effect on ranking. On casino sites where the games sometimes change, it is important to keep track of links leading to respective content.
• Alt text descriptions for images – Alternative text is an important element of accessibility and a Google ranking factor. These short phrases describe what an image includes, and they are read aloud for users with impaired sight who use screen readers. They are also displayed when images fail to load, and they are indexed by bots. Online iGaming sites tend to have a lot of images so this factor is worth paying attention to.

The points above cover a quarter of the SEO audit we perform. The analysis process usually takes just a few hours, but the implementation of the resulting recommendations may take weeks or months depending on the state of the platform, the scope of the changes, and the available resources.

SEO-optimized content

You may have heard the popular phrase “content is king”. Indeed, SEO-optimized content is an important element for ranking higher in search engine results and ranking for new keywords. This means you should not only pay attention to what you write, but how you write it as well. This is true for all types of content you publish, the descriptions on your website, the articles in your blog section, the posts you write on social media, etc. Here are some examples of content optimization for blog articles, not just for online casinos:

• Proper topics – To stimulate organic traffic, it is important to publish articles on subjects people will actually want to read about. Do proper research and see which topics are currently popular among your target audiences.
• Do keyword research – When you know what you want to write about and have the necessary resources, one of the next steps should be keyword research.
• Use keywords with care – There are different approaches to inserting keywords into a text. Some writers like to sprinkle the article with keywords as they write, while others prefer to write the article first and insert these elements in different places when the text is finished. Avoid keyword stuffing, so basically “spamming” a lot of keywords in the article hoping to increase page ranking. Not only does this usually make texts awful stylistically and difficult to read, but it is considered malpractice and can prompt Google to temporarily or permanently ban your webpage.
• Page title vs editorial/article title optimization – one of the most popular mistakes is to duplicate the page title and the title of the article visible on the page. These two titles play different roles. As mentioned earlier in this article, the page title (title tag) appears in search engine results, and it should reflect the key phrases users type in Google when they search for information. It should be appropriately short. On the other hand, the article title – so usually the H1 heading at the top of the text – can be longer and more “liberal” in content, yet it should still reflect ideas similar to the page title. Let’s have a look at some examples for a blog article on an online iGaming site:

Page title/title tag – “The rules of blackjack”

Article title – “How to play blackjack, and the many different kinds of this popular casino card game”

Page title/title tag – “How to develop an online casino”

Article title – How to build a successful online casino or iGaming platform – all you need to know

• Standard navigation elements – Your page should include the popular sections expected from most websites, such as Home, Contact, News/Blog, Sign in, Privacy Policy, etc. as well as the ones that are more specific to online iGaming sites, such as Games. They should be filled with the expected content and – similarly to other text – they should include some keywords.
• Internal linking – Your texts should include links redirecting to other places on your website. If you have an article about the rules of blackjack, at the end of the article it would be a good idea to place a link redirecting to the subpage on your platform where the user can play the game. When you finish a piece about the newest additions to your platform, you should include a link at the end that would redirect the reader to the new games, features, or services you described.

Link building

This is a common practice aiming at improving page rank. If a website relies heavily on traffic to be successful, it is important to have high-quality links redirecting to it. What makes a good link? A good link is one that comes from a website with traffic and authority. You do not want links from spammy or blacklisted websites to redirect users to your address. There are differing opinions on whether spammy links from other sites can have a negative impact on your website – after all, we may have no power over who put the link in an unwanted place – but when we are making the decisions, it is best to do it with care. For example, for online iGaming sites, it may be a good idea to invest in sponsored links from known news outlets. A sponsored article published with a dofollow link on such websites as Malta Today or Times of Malta can result in a substantial return on investment.

Of course, one can also attempt to publish links on forums and in comment sections of other sites. However, due to the nature of iGaming , such comments are often deleted even if they redirect to valuable information.

In this niche, one has to be very creative to get a chance at acquiring a link from a place that doesn’t usually write about iGaming . It’s very difficult, but it would most probably be equally hard for your competition, so if you manage to do it, you will have an advantage.

The best online iGaming sites Use social media

Publishing content on social media is an important factor. Anytime you release an article on your website, it is a good opportunity to spread the word about it through different social media channels (and include links). Frequent activity on a wide range of SM platforms shows your audiences the iGaming site is alive and well, and that there is always something to look forward to.

Spread the word – both online and offline

Advertise your products both on the internet as well as onsite around the world. There are several noteworthy events organized annually worldwide, and they are a great opportunity to promote your brand and games and to engage in networking. Having a physical presence at events such as those organized by Sigma, with your own booth where potential clients could experience your brand and its products, gives a clear signal to the world that you are a serious partner and makes you stand out from the competition who fail to recognize the potential of these fairs.

Remember to use all available internet channels to promote the entertainment you provide. Whenever a new game is released on your platform, spread the word through the news section and all social media accounts you have. If you sell iGaming apps, your website is also a great place to showcase demos of your games. You can also make videos presenting new releases and upload them to YouTube. Through platforms such as Twitch, you can have a streamer try out and discuss your games live – if you’re sure they are ready for the world to see.

Conclusion

Setting up an online iGaming site is just the first step. As with any business, skillful advertising and multi-level optimization is the key to long-term success. Those who wish to enter this industry, often make the choice between an online platform and a mobile iGaming app. If you are interested in the latter, you may want to check out our other article on the subject.

If you are considering setting up a iGaming business online, do not hesitate to contact us. We are ready to answer any related questions you may have.