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“ A crackdown was inevitable at some point . Especially when the gambling content didn ’ t quite live up to the prestige and quality of the host site ”
INDUSTRY EXECUTIVE that ,” the insider added . “ They were also under immense pressure from the operators who were saying that if the numbers they were sending through dropped off , then they would lose their leverage on deals .”
Kyle Scott , now a partner at Herd Capital and previously the co-founder of CBWG Media which sold to XLMedia in 2020 , maintains that the rationale behind signing media partnerships was sound .
“ As someone who entered into many of these deals , I don ’ t think it was foolish for affiliates to chase media partnerships , so long as the terms were right ,” he says .
“ Working with a high-domainauthority website , particularly in a local market , can be a ticket to the top of the search results , and at least initially allows you to have multiple hooks in the water on the first page of Google .
“ If your owned site was third , and a partner ranked first but unseated a competitor , it was a net win . Where things got a bit harder to justify was when media partners began to request upfront guarantees in addition to rev share .”
CAKEISM
According to another affiliate industry executive who opted for anonymity , the “ impressive ” aspect of the rise of media partnerships was how quickly they started to generate money bearing in mind the relatively low investment that was needed .
“ Some deals will be well in the money , having been live for years ,” the source added . “ Others , though still under 12 months old , likely drove enough volume to be considered a success . In addition to this , I think these partnerships have played a role in building the credibility of the industry , supporting the overall growth stories and narrative of the super affiliates .”
By this reckoning , Google was letting the betting and gaming affiliates “ have their cake and eat it too .”
June 2024