Nowadays, the necessity for marketers to understand iGaming and casino SEO specifics has increased along with the increasing number of online casino platforms. The Internet gambling market encompasses plenty of diverse niches, including the most common ones, such as online casinos, sports betting, lotteries, and virtual poker. Considering the fact that iGaming is one of the most competitive areas, gambling sites require a different set of strategic and foolproof SEO techniques to rank better. So, marketers and SEOs in this industry should look into popular and relevant trends in website optimization to stand out from the crowd and get a higher ranking on the search results pages.
The online gambling and iGaming industries are lucrative markets that keep growing at a rapid pace. The business in this area can easily pay off when you have a solid marketing plan in place that includes a perfect SEO strategy. If it is correctly developed and thoroughly implemented, it provides significant benefits from a long-term perspective.
This comprehensive guide covers essential points on the implementation of SEO techniques for gambling industry platforms. So if you are wondering how to do SEO for the iGaming sites in order to boost organic traffic and reap all other benefits from optimization, continue reading.
Difficulties on the Way
The iGaming industry involves some of the most competitive niches, unlike e-commerce or other standard fields. Therefore, it is often more tricky to optimize and promote gambling sites on Google compared to different other kinds of businesses. Moreover, gambling websites are often characterized as spammy ones. That makes it difficult to get backlinks, find proper keywords, and get legality in the USA and other countries.
However, all that does not mean one cannot succeed in this area with continuous hard work, extensive research, and careful attention to detail. Acquiring results is also possible when hiring HighRoller or a similar expert iGaming SEO agency that has enough experience to build a strategy correctly. In that case, understanding the specifics of iGaming SEO is also crucial to interact with the SEO team in the process of developing a promotion plan.
Proper Keyword Research
Google does not share its search volume information. But it is estimated the engine processes approximately 5.6 billion searches per day. That means new phrases and keywords are continuously arising. So, when it comes to keyword research for gambling websites, finding the right ones requires being very specific.
There is a need to identify the right words, phrases, and search terms because they are continuously changing in competitiveness and popularity. Like any other competitive area, keywords that you found valuable a year ago will likely not deliver the finest results in the present year. Furthermore, one should be vigilant to the constantly changing consumer preferences and laws of the iGaming industry.
When conducting keyword research in a specialized niche, it is advised to find out how different words and phrases are performing by looking at the following points:
- competitive levels;
- search volumes;
- CPC rates, etc.
Keywords should be implemented on the website in the most natural way possible. Keyword stuffing, as well as other unprofitable techniques, must be avoided, as employing them can result in the site being penalized by search engines.
High-Quality Content
Casino website content must be informative, relevant, and well-written. Depending on the site’s subject, the appropriate topics for writing should be selected. For instance, if the platform offers casino games, it can also provide recommendations about how to enhance the chances of winning. Some of the other content ideas include:
- guides and instructions;
- tutorials and reviews;
- facts and trends;
- unique opinions, etc.
The information provided should be beneficial to the readers and encourage them to return to the platform in search of another useful piece of advice. Apart from being valuable for visitors, content must be original, easily readable, and well-structured. It is a good idea to find a seasoned writer experienced in gambling and iGaming writing. They will come up with high-quality, original, and well-optimized content that will sound authoritative, be valuable to visitors, and encourage them to engage with the site.
Deep Competition Analysis
Thorough competition analysis is a vital part of the casino’s SEO strategy. It should not be overlooked, as it is one of the best ways to discover effective practices to rank.
Consider selecting the top 10 competitors in your vertical and learning details about each of them, including how they build links and how they perform over time. Attention should also be paid to the competitor’s general website structure. For instance, if they host casino games, check if each game has an optimized page.
It is important to understand that when you are just starting out, there is no need to try to beat your biggest competitors. It would be more worthwhile to outperform the direct competition on the relevant niche keywords and put efforts into making a better UI and UX design for the website.
Perfect Site Optimization
There are numerous website elements that require optimization. A properly built and thoroughly optimized site will always have done half the work needed to rank in the search engine results.
Each and every page of the gambling platform can be ranked differently. Consequently, all of them must be individually optimized with medium-tail phrases and long-tail keywords to deliver great outcomes. There is also a need to decide on which page one wants to optimize for the particular relevant phrases and terms. It is best to select one or two unique keywords for optimization.
On-Page SEO
Perfect on-page search engine optimization must be the priority. It is about all the components that describe the site. Review and improve the next elements:
- content;
- headings;
- meta titles;
- meta descriptions;
- images.
Furthermore, check if the keyword positioning is proper throughout the site and fix the keyword stuffing.
Off-Page SEO
Off-page search engine optimization is equally important. It includes various components from external pages and other sites that can enhance ranking. Mostly, it involves content distribution, social media marketing, backlinks, etc.
Strong Backlink Profile
Link-building is regarded as an essential component of the iGaming SEO strategy. Building a strong link profile means getting high-quality, natural backlinks from various authoritative platforms and websites.
With a strong link profile in place, there are more chances to rank higher in the search engine result pages. When a high-authority site links to yours, it means for Google bots that you deserve to be cited. Google’s algorithms see all these backlinks as votes. The more votes, the better it is for the website’s ranking.
When it comes to building links for the casino website, it is crucial to remember that quality is always better than quantity. A single powerful backlink from any high-end resource is always more valuable than having hundreds of low-quality backlinks. Therefore, avoid spammy and unnatural links and select platforms for the proper placement of your links. It will help you not get penalized by Google, either algorithmically or through manual action.
If you focus on optimizing content that can draw organic traffic to the site, that will be the most beneficial way to get quality links. Consider employing guest posting opportunities as an effective way to produce high-quality backlinks, build trust with visitors, and make the platform authoritative.
Coming to the Upshot
A solid SEO strategy for gambling and iGaming sites is a key part of their promotion. It should include deep competitive analysis, thorough keyword research, building a strong backlink profile, and the creation of great content to help the platform come to the first page of search results. There is no doubt that the overall process is challenging, but from a long-term perspective, a sound strategy can bring great benefit to the iGaming business.
