GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 42 - October 2018

COVER STORY up with a dominant first player and a relatively dominant second player. If you’re thinking of taking on a big cat- egory, remember: You probably have more than one big incumbent to beat. 9 The Law of the Opposite Don’t try to be better than the leader; try to be different. If you’re aiming to move in on “casino reviews,” unless you can overcome the inertia of behavioral change by having something so much better than the mar- ket leader, there’s no point in trying. However, going back to the Law of Cat- egory, if you focus on what they’re not doing right and you’re offering a viable al- ternative, you’re effectively creating your own subcategory within this segment. 10 The Law of Division Over time, a category will split into two or more categories. If a market category is successful, it’s inevitably going to fragment. There will always be “casino bonuses,” but eventually there will be subcategories. Want to know what those subcatego- ries are? Do some keyword research, look at the search volume and cost per click, and from there it’s pretty easy to predict. This category fragmentation is best handled by creating new brands that become leaders within those new sub- categories. In other words, having one site that is all things will go against the laws of category, mind, perception and focus. 11 The Law of Perspective Marketing effects take place over an extended period of time. Google rankings take time, and in the affiliate ecosystem, it’s better to take a long-term approach to ranking rather than doing random stuff, like buying a ton of links without paying attention to user satisfaction. Another application of this law is when you might do a deal with an operator for a site to take over, they blitz the site and alienate a whole bunch of users, and your engagement metrics drop, with rankings falling in line. In other words, take care of core prior- ities and stick with them. 12 The Law of Extension There’s an irresistible pressure to extend the equity of the brand — and it’s a mistake. Let’s say you’ve got a nice casino bonus site that’s delivering. You might think it makes sense to add on a section for sports betting free bets. That’s you extending your brand into other segments. You are not known for sports betting, nor do you rank for sports betting. You’re a casino bonus site. If you di- G P W A t i m e s . o r g 26 Google rankings take time , and in the affiliate ecosystem, it’s better to take a long-term approach to ranking rather than doing random stuff , like buying a ton of links without paying attention to user satisfaction .