TRAFFIC
“If a domain is fresh and Google doesn’t
know about it, Google will audition that
domain on search results to see how
users like the content from this site”
be aware of your brand even if it’s
‘my-latest-casino-free-bonus.com’.
If Google sees higher than expected
click-through rates and relative dwell
times for a given search position,
it will up-rank that page; if it’s the
opposite, Google will down-rank it.
Finally, then, here’s my process for
search user satisfaction. I think of two
groups of web users. First, insiders:
users who have spent more than
two minutes on your website. They
understand the layout, they’re engaged
and you are satisfying them. Second,
outsiders: these are Google search
users. You have about eight seconds to
persuade them to stay.
Clearly, the above-the-fold area on
your webpage is for outsiders and
you’ll need to consider the following:
• does your site make sense in
eight seconds?
• does it offer a compelling pitch and is
it worthwhile staying for?
• do users have a reason to come back
again in the future?
Gap analysis: ‘Google is right’
For my sanity and based on the
research I’ve done, I believe where
there is a decent volume of search
traffic, the top search results for a
search query are most satisfying to
Google’s users.
To understand which pages are
generally most satisfying, I use Ahrefs
(it offers a one-week trial for $7 that
will give you all the data you need).
Next, I choose a power phrase (‘casino
bonuses’, for example, or ‘free bets’)
and I download a ranking report for
the top 10 sites on that search result.
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iGB Affiliate Issue 72 DEC 2018 / JAN 2019
If you’re comfortable
with Excel, I have a
spreadsheet with a bunch of pivot
tables that helps give detailed insight
into what I call ‘power pages’ (details
at https://goo.gl/djmdwi). If you are
not a spreadsheet person, all you have
to do is order the results by ‘page’.
You’re looking for the pages that have
the most and best search results for
the most commercially competitive
key phrases.
You’ll notice these power pages
can rank for hundreds of key phrases.
If you believe Google results reflect
search user satisfaction, then the
pages with the greatest volumes
of valuable search traffic will be
the most satisfying and are worth
studying closely. Bear in mind the
following:
• a search query is a question
• a Google search user wants
satisfying answers fast
• how do those other power
pages satisfy more than yours?
When sites are similar, it’s the
micro-detail in the search user
experience that makes the difference.
Perhaps these power pages:
• have faster page speed
• make more sense in eight seconds
than your page does
• list bonuses in a more coherent way
then you do
• feel more trustworthy than yours.
It’s important to put yourself in
the mind of the Google search user.
Think about the search question
they have asked and ask yourself:
what satisfies them more than you
do? Only when you look at these
power pages through the mind of a
Google search user will the answers
come flooding in.
To recap
• Know which core key phrases you
want to target;
• find the power pages that rank across
key phrase landscapes; and
• look at the common characteristics
of those power pages versus
your pages.
Once you’ve done that, ask yourself
this: how do those winning pages
satisfy Google’s users more than
yours do?
Finally, I get that SEO has always
been adversarial in that you’re trying
to find weaknesses in Google’s
algorithms, game Google and rank.
But my view is this, think like that
and you lose track of what is most
important: satisfying the user.
Google needs you. If you satisfy
Google’s users, they will rank you!
NICK GARNER
is founder of Oshi.io, the
successful Bitcoin and
FIAT money casino and
founder of RIZE.digital, the
igaming marketing services agency
which specialises in search engine
rankings, affiliate management,
content and translations.