Simon runs the bettingguide.co.za site, and we enjoy making the podcast as it’s been going for a few years, and is a blast to make. The podcast following is very small though, and we only make it for the enjoyment. The YouTube experience has been interesting, and I’ve learned somuch along the way. I’d like to take it up a level, but it’s tough to find the time, as well as justify the time investment as it’s muchmore work than one thinks. How much does the podcast help attract traffic to your site? Not much. The casino and slots YouTube content drives a fair bit, though. The problem on YouTube is it’s a risk to leave links to any gambling in the videos, as you could lose your channel. Fortunately, the channel generates a decent income through ads, whichmakes up for this. You also supply visitors to your site a regular dose of soccer picks. Does providing picks help build repeat visitors and players who will actually deposit? It’s not something that I honestly enjoy doing, but we’ve been doing it for so long it’s just routine now! I make the picks in the morning. I’m not a great tipster as the audience wants long odd accumulators, but we hit a few. I’ll put a few minutes of research into the picks, unfortunately, the visitors are repeat as you mentioned, but it does allow the opportunity to showcase other operators that they might sign up with. What are your promotional plans for the World Cup in November? The World Cup is an interesting time. It’s going to be very difficult to compete, so we’re just going to be optimizing some content around the event, and hopefully working with a few key partners for some exclusive offers. We went a little crazy with content in 2018, and it didn’t give the best results (looking back the campaign was still very sound on paper). I love the World Cup, and it’s also a busy time for us, but no special plans this year. What is your approach to SEO? How much time do you specifically spend on SEO for your sites on weekly basis? SEO is our core business and is what everything we do is based on. I spend a fair chunk of time every week absorbing information, I love data and I have a few out-of-the-box methods that have paid dividends. The majority of my time is spent doing projections and forecasting. How do you decide what affiliate programs to work with? We work with any brand that has a valid license in SA; we don’t touch brands without a local license. We like the big brands as they are GPWA AFFILIATE INTERVIEW SERIES about A little bit more Robert Koning He is 38 years old His favorite food is Braai steak His favorite book is A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson He is from Cape Town He is living in Cape Town / Aachen His sites are bestsportsbetting.co.za bettinguide.co.za My advice is don’t stress the details. Don’t be scared to ask for advice, and start publishing content . . . The first year is the hardest, but once you’ve started and put thework in you should see success. There’s an old proverb, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.” G P W A t i m e s . o r g 44
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDIzMTA=