GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 15 - January 2011

on ease of use and price. It will also give you access to SEOmoz.org. However, there are other alternatives out there. Currently in beta, Linkdex.com is a very powerful tool for managing activity, mak- ing decisions based on data and steering strategy with a powerful social layer. I was lucky enough to get a demo in their Pad- dington office just before Christmas, and the product is as amazing as it is innova- tive. If you can get a beta invite, I suggest you give it a test drive! If you’re going it alone, I would strongly recommend reading SEOmoz.org for a comprehensive, balanced introduction to SEO. Big affiliates may want to give Stickyeyes a call. They have the most sophisticated competitor intelligence tools andmethod- ologies for reverse engineering Google’s current ranking algorithm. Big affiliate options Keeping on the theme of larger affili- ates, if a JV isn’t for you and you just want to hire an expert, ensure that the expert has a current proven track record in iGaming. Note: Casino, poker and bingo are very different disciplines from sportsbook. You should keep this in mind when hiring talent or an agency. Figure A shows U.K. local and global search volume for the four main products, as well as relative competition in the market. Casino This is largely regarded as the most com- petitive product to succeed with due to its being the most monetizable, with significant search volume and huge lifetime value. Casino isn’t naturally a social product. Casino isn’t news or blog friendly. Casino doesn’t have a long tail. Casino drives the biggest revenues through the biggest player losses in the shortest time. • • • • Poker While the revenue is generated on the rake, and average-play lifetime values are notably lower, the global appeal is huge. Poker is more social than casino but less social than bingo. Poker is news friendly (within its niche). Poker has a longer tail than casino, but nowhere near as long as betting. Poker pays back, with players virtually playing over a longer period of time. Bingo Globally, bingo is still comparatively young; however, in the U.K., this soft gambling product is mainstream, has an almost exclusively female audience and requires a different approach to casino, poker and sports betting SEO. Bingo is incredibly social. Sociability is a key part of its appeal and retention. Bingo is news friendly and is main- stream (particularly in the U.K.). Bingo doesn’t have a long tail. Bingo pays back smaller revenues than poker but over a similarly long average period of time. Sports Betting Globally, sports betting is a huge market but cannot be measured in popularity on a handful of keywords. From an SEO perspective, sports betting requires an entirely different skill set and approach in comparison to casino, poker and bingo. • • • • • • • • Similar to travel (see Figure B ), Sports betting is seasonal. Sports betting is event driven (e.g., World Cup, Cheltenham, etc.). Sports betting has a long tail (teams, players, courses, odds, etc.). Sports betting is news and PR friendly. Remember . . . Picking a keyword is picking a fight. Don’t pick a fight unless you’re sure you can win. If you have any specific questions e-mail me directly at paul@mediaskunkworks.com or follow me on Twitter (@paulreilly) or stalk me on foursquare.com/user/paulreilly • • • • • • Figure A Figure B Paul Reilly has worked in Search Marketing for over 12 years and has earned multiple awards and honors. Today Paul is regarded as one of the U.K.’smost Influential SEOs,and is the first port of call for almost all iGaming brands. Paul is widely known in the iGaming and SEO industry for his previous work as Head of Search for Stickyeyes, where he built the world’s most effective and technologically advanced SEO department. He is the founder of a new-generation service provider, mediaskunkworks.com which has built its reputation on in- novation and optimized method- ologies which dissect the traditional agency model. He is currently building a London-based, in-house dream team. SEO, continued from page 13 53