So please do your homework and research any casino that you are thinking about promoting and don't just create an affiliate account with that casino, throw up an affiliate banner, and let the players fend for themselves. As an affiliate, you need to first gain the player's trust which by being online, is hard to do, but is not impossible. If you cannot convey a sense of trust, you might as well close up shop and start looking for another profession.
The bottom line is this: if there is no trust from the player to you then they will certainly take their business elsewhere. One issue that lies with conducting business over the Internet, as a casino operator, or as an affiliate, is the anonymity factor. With the exception of UK and other land-based bookmakers that have entered the online gambling sector, the majority of online casinos and affiliates simply do not have the luxury of having a store front where players can come and meet the operators of these sites.
As in the real estate market, the key is "Location, Location, Location". In the online gambling community, the key is "Content, Content, Content". There are a number of casinos and affiliate portals that have their websites setup in such a cut and dry manner that it totally turns players off, and they will most likely take their business elsewhere. One thing I, and other players, like to see is 100% transparency in an online casino or affiliate portal.
A few of the most important things that I want to learn while visiting their site is their history, where they're located and how I can directly get in contact with them if need be. What really impresses me about an affiliate or casino website is for the operators to actually have a short biography about themselves on their website, in which they had personally written – and not by one of their assistants or other employees. If they have a group picture of their staff, that's even better! Don't laugh; I've seen this done on a couple of sites.
Get $10 FREE ~ Read Full Review HereGive your site a personal touch and when you're creating articles, reviews, blogs, etc. be sure to make it seem as if you're talking to that particular visitor, and not to the general audience. Not only will this set your website apart from most of the rest, but it is just the unique feature that will keep players returning time and time again. The name of the game is player retention, and in the end, your bottom line will keep growing as a result. Affiliate banners are great, but please keep them to a minimum.
If you stick too many banners on any given page, it's going to be too busy, and your visitors are going to not only be distracted from your main content, but they're going to be overwhelmed, at the same time. Keep your content unique, and never, ever, copy someone else's work word-for-word. There's nothing wrong about writing about the same subject, but just make sure it's in your own words.
One other must-have for an affiliate site is not only casino and game reviews, but possibly a rating system, as well. There are plenty of scripts out there that will allow your visitors to vote on casinos that you have listed on your portal. This not only allows direct visitor interaction to your site, but it also allows an independent rating of the online casinos that you are promoting.
One major item that is grossly overlooked on various sites is a website's navigation layout. The old adage still rings true to this day: KISS. If you're unfamiliar with this, it's 'Keep It Simple Stupid'. If I run across a site that is hard to get around in, then you are almost guaranteed that your visitors will not stay on your site for very long. It really doesn't matter where your main navigation links are located, but instead, make sure they're clearly identifiable in plain sight without having to scan over the page; and most importantly, keep it in the same location on every page of your site.
Another key point about content is to constantly update your site; basically, don't throw a bunch of banners and articles on your website, let it get stagnated, and expect to make money from it. Not only will the SERP's thank you for adding fresh and unique content, but your audience will like it as well. I can't speak for everybody, but I do believe I speak for the majority when I say that any site that has outdated information on it is a complete turnoff. If I notice out of date content on a casino or affiliate's site, you can be guaranteed that I will most likely never return to that site.
Don't get me wrong, I can understand if a particular bonus offer expired a few hours prior, but to list bonus offers that are weeks or months old just shows me that as an affiliate or casino, you're not really interested in your business, so your visitors really shouldn't be interested in playing at that particular casino, or any advertised casinos if this outdated information is listed on an affiliate portal. If a bonus is no longer available, then it needs to be removed from the website in question.
As a player, I think that it's a great idea for casinos or affiliates to have an archive of past promotions for each casino. It's a great starting place to see exactly how casinos have treated their loyal players in the past, and for your visitors to take notice to see if promotions are either getting better, or going downhill. To avoid confusion, be sure to keep past promotions on a separate page. Also, be sure to remove bonuses and promotions from your website as soon as they expire. There's nothing more frustrating than seeing a promotion listed, but after getting excited about it and reading through the fine print and finding out that it's not available anymore.
This section is for casino operators, so please, listen up! There are a number of complaints popping up for a handful of casinos, in which their customer service representatives are, to put it mildly, not doing the best job they are capable of. I won't name the casino in question, but just recently I had an issue, and had e-mailed their support staff. I waited 3 days for a response, and when they finally did respond to my e-mail, I received a canned response, and the support representative only re-iterated what was said in their original email to me. They totally ignored my question, which to this day is still unresolved. This is not only infuriating to the player, but is also totally unprofessional.
They won't just blow the player off, or tell them to come back later – which is usually after their shift ends – so someone else will have to deal with this (now irate) player. One of the first things I learned while working as a technical support rep in the mid 90's, when faced with a problem that I couldn't resolve, is this... "I'm sorry, but I don't know the answer/how to fix this/etc., but I will find it out for you". The bottom line is that players really don't enjoy getting the run-around.
Last but not least, in regards to promotions, is that casino operators need to keep bonus and promotion terms and conditions linked from every promotion/bonus page. There is no if's and's or but's about it. As a player, if I have to hunt down the terms and conditions that are more than 1 or 2 pages deep, then it's not worth my time, and I will move on to another casino. Also, operators, unless every single player is able to claim certain bonuses or promotions, please do not list these for everyone to view on your website. If a player has to reach a certain level of play and/or loyalty, then e-mail these offers to those players that are eligible.
If you still wish to list every single loyalty promotion or bonus on your website, then by all means include a disclaimer at the top of the page which states that some players may not be eligible to receive these offers, and to contact casino support to see if they can in fact take advantage of that particular offer. Again, if I see a promotion listed in public view on a casinos website, without a disclaimer attached, then the casino should honor it, by all means. Support also plays an important role for both affiliates and casino operators.
If the casino fails in its role to help a player, it ultimately falls back to the affiliate to help the player. If, as an affiliate, you are only promoting the 'best of the best', then rarely will you have player issues come up such as non-payment. But if issues such as this do arise, then as a player I'm definitely going to get in contact with the affiliate where I clicked on their casino link or banner to try and get help with resolving my issue.
Contributing Article Writer: Brian Easton
Super Casino: Inside the "New" Las Vegas
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