GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 40- February 2018

Operators use my data to help them choose who to work with. I’ve also per- formed competitor analysis for suppliers and been asked to present at confer- ences on the subject. I’ve found that working in a niche really suits me, as it’s given me a particular focus – and trust me, I need to focus, or I’d be bouncing all over the place achieving very little. WHAT ELSE I’VE LEARNED OVER THE PAST FOUR YEARS The guidance and mentoring my friend gave me probably saved me about 18 months of basic research and finding my feet. It also stopped me from making a few stupid newbie mistakes. From the start I wantedmy site to be per- sonal and a reflection of me. It’s import- ant for me that my visitors know who’s behind the site and the advice given. I’m looking to build trust and authority. • Being a one-man band is hard. It’s doable, but hard. You have to be a jack-of-all-trades and you probably master none of them. However, I made a conscious decision to follow a path that gives me complete autonomy and a work/life balance that I’d not be able to achieve in any other way. • Becoming an authority on a subject is more than just knowing a subject well – that’s just half the battle. How others judge you determines whether you’ll be considered an authority. Taking part in discussions and forums and building personal contacts with others in iGaming all help with this. • Rankings in Google are hard to achieve. I made an early decision not to link build in the traditional way. I do work with other affiliates and industry people to help get my site noticed. It’s a slower method and one that I hope will work for me in the long term, because at the moment I’m frustrated with the rankings I have. • My best articles are the ones that flow from my fingers on the keyboard when I’m not thinking about keywords and SEO. Google seems to like them as well. • Building contacts and relationships and nurturing them has been so important in helping me build my business. You never know when these relationships will help you in the future. • Spread your risk. Don’t work with just one or two operators: Spread your traffic out among a few, so if anything happens to one of them, you can manage on the remaining income. In the short time I’ve been an affiliate I’ve had three programs go under with no chance of ever seeing what I’m owed. • I go to conferences – not all of them, but at least four a year. I believe they are essential for building new relationships, recon- necting with existing ones and exploring new opportunities. I’ve started a few joint ventures off the back of meeting people at drinks parties or meals. That would never have happened if I was sitting at home. • I work hard to get my traffic, and I hate to see it wasted. I know it’s quality, so seeing clicks go unconverted at a casino is a waste of my time. Make sure the casinos you work with know how to convert your traffic and look after the players you send them. • I’ve learned to my cost that not many casinos truly understand live casino, and they waste the traffic I send them. I’m slowly making changes and dropping those brands. FINDING YOUR NICHE Becoming an authority on a subject is more than just knowing a subject well – that’s just half the battle . How others judge you determines whether you’ll be considered an authority . W W W . G P W A T I M E S . O R G 44