Paid search and social for player acquisition page 9
4 . Paid search and social for player acquisition
Online advertising and betting and gaming restrictions
Paid search , or pay per click , is one of the fastest ways to acquire new customers in most industries .
There ’ s good reason not to be passive if paid search is not currently part of your strategy .
Total organic search visits fell 7 % year on year in Q2 of 2016 , compared to 11 % year on year growth a year earlier , as organic search listings are challenged by increased competition from paid search advertising , particularly on ( there ’ s that word again ) mobile .
With the rise of advertising options across social media channels , native advertising , programmatic media as well as the expansion of well-established platforms like Google AdWords , there is a lot of potential to target customers and acquire their interest .
However , in betting and gaming , paid search can present some obstacles based on the restrictive terms and conditions of different advertising platforms when it comes to betting ads .
This is why taking advantage of ‘ free ’ ways to generate buzz and traffic with the pillars of SEO , content marketing and customer engagement outlined above are so important .
The giant in the room , Google , is keen to keep betting and gaming advertisers in line and restricts the promotion of the following gambling-related content :
• Offline and online gambling
• Online gambling-related information
• Online games played for money or prizes
• Online casino-based games , regardless of whether money is exchanged
This doesn ’ t mean that advertising is disallowed , just that abiding by the rules set out by the platform is key to achieve , maintain and improve customer acquisition from paid search .
For an affiliate , making paid search a profitable player acquisition strategy can be complex .
Paying for clicks that then must be routed through to an appropriate click-out to an operator , that will only convert a proportion of visitors , means that there is significant scope to lose profit .
These complexities should not deter growth-oriented betting brands if they have confidence in their on-site performance , product offers and bidding strategy .
The best brands will make strategic use of paid search as part of an integrated strategy .
Paid search bidding strategy
It ’ s true to say that in paid search , particularly AdWords , there are a relatively small group of leading betting terms that have a high cost attached e . g . ‘ casino ’, or ‘ free bets ’.
Typically , the giants of the industry can afford to hog these spots and keep the cost per click ( CPC ) too high for smaller operators and affiliates to target profitably .
“ We believe social media should be used interactively rather than simply as another advertising tool .”
James Prosser – MyRacing
The solution is to roll up the sleeves and be forensic about profitable bidding strategies , focusing on player intent .
Bidding on lower cost , more specific long-tail terms that nevertheless provide quality traffic is key . These may be terms related to ways to deposit ( e . g . by phone ), specific bonuses , games and pay-out options .
With 52 % of PPC clicks coming from mobile , understanding how your brand can best communicate through to different channels requires serious consideration of mobile best practice – and routing customers to mobile-friendly landing pages that fulfil the promise of your ads .
The four pillars of player acquisition in igaming
Blueclaw report 2017
iGB Blueclaw Player Acquisition Report 2017 _ v2 . indd 9 03 / 02 / 2017 17:50