iGB Affiliate 52 AugSept | Page 22

TRAFFIC CHASING TRAFFIC: THE SEO LANDSCAPE FOR FOREX AND BINARY 90 Digital founder Nick Garner has undertaken an exhaustive comparative analysis of the forex and binary search landscape, and concludes from the data that operators would be best-advised to adopt the marketing-led approach of their casino and sportsbook peers if they are to become a bigger draw for affiliates. I WAS AT the Amsterdam affiliate conference hanging out as an affiliate. (Yes, like you, I make money from being an affiliate!) I’ve been going to IGB affiliate conferences for years, but one thing I’ve noticed recently was the number of forex and binary options operators really hustling for traffic. Of course, everyone wants converting traffic and every affiliate manager will give a good pitch, but..I don’t know if it was me…I sensed a hint of desperation on the part of the forex and binary options operators. So for the sake of discussion, let’s assume they are in urgent need of traffic. The question is…why? To understand more about the industry, I did a big piece of research around the SEO landscape in forex and binary. I decided to look at 53 different English-speaking territories, because it’s of course easier to market in your own native language. From my experience in the gambling industry, most affiliates make most of their money from SEO. It’s tough to make money on paid advertising, because the gap 20 iGB Affiliate Issue 52 AUG/SEP 2015 between what it costs to acquire customers and what you get in affiliate commissions is so thin, that for every pound earned, you might be spending 90 or 95 pence in media spend. You only need a tiny fluctuation and performance to lose your money. Of course, some affiliates do make a ton of cash out of paid media, but in general I think it’s not as attractive as natural search. Therefor KH