FEATURE
Figure 4 : Brand search volumes
“ Which Bingo has a bounce rate of just 51.4 % and an average time on site of 3:10 , in a market where no brand other than Bingo Lobby achieves a time on site in excess of two minutes ”
So what we have here is a clash of strategies . On the one hand , we have brands pushing large quantities of content at a very fast rate , and this is naturally going to raise questions as to just how relevant , just how considered and just how good that content is . On the other hand , we see a brand such as Which Bingo which is producing much less content , at a much lower rate , but the content that is being produced appears to be delivering enough value to the user to hold their attention for more than three minutes . So what can we learn from this ? What affiliates need to remember is that it is important to focus on their own proposition , and not just that of the operators that they are directing traffic to . It simply isn ’ t enough to simply act as a springboard for Google users to then bounce off to their chosen operator ( while pocketing the commission in the process ). Google will simply see that as an additional click that is detracting from the user experience that it provides .
Instead , affiliates should focus on carving out their own niche or proposition that makes them stand out against not only their competing affiliates , but the operators as well . Before we make a judgement on whether Google hates affiliates , let ’ s make a judgement on whether affiliates are genuinely offering a meaningful USP .
And this doesn ’ t have to be particularly difficult . Sure , it ’ s not easy , but creating great content depth and relevance is clearly an area where affiliates can steal a march over their slower-moving operator competitors , which may be constrained by clunky content management systems and the resource issues and internal politics that are rife within big brands . The fact that they can also have broader content opportunities , by virtue of speaking to multiple sites and operators , is a key distinction that affiliates should be looking to leverage .
When it comes to content , less is often more – and relevancy matters .
Remember that Google loves brand We ’ ve seen in Google algorithm updates over recent years that brand is becoming more and more important in search and , yes , this can put affiliates at a disadvantage in the igaming sectors . Affiliates don ’ t tend to have the big brand campaigns , the high-profile sponsorship slots for popular soap operas and the carefully calculated PR operations .
But if Google loves brand , then we need to look at brand recall within the sector , because it again could point to key opportunities to redress the skew in Google search that currently favours the operators , rather than the affiliates .
We ’ ve reviewed brand recall by analysing brand search volumes from google . co . uk and we can see again that the only two brands making an impact are Bingo Port and Which Bingo ( see Figure 4 ).
We know that Google likes brand , and the frequency with which people are seeking these brand names in their search engines is a key trust signal – this is where affiliates have a massive shortfall versus the operators for the reasons we suggested above .
But while brand is a challenge for affiliates , brand search volume is
iGB Affiliate Issue 64 AUG / SEP 2017 29