Is the Affiliate Industry Doomed?

[Ed@TradaAffiliates]

Chiming in with some perspective from a smaller UK regulated casino.

Is the industry on its last legs? I don't believe so. Is there going to be a period of change and adjustment? Most definitely.

I have to agree with most of what has been said in the thread so far. It would not surprise me if we see similar actions to that of SkyBet by other big operators. However, affiliates will continue to play an important role in acquisition strategies for smaller operators such as ourselves. I work with some really great partners who produce quality content. These are the ones who are making money for us and themselves.

If you're an affiliate who is able to produce quality content, keeping to (what are really quite simple) regulatory guidelines, there will always be casinos/sportsbooks willing to partner.

The Catena's of this world are definitely a threat to be aware of for the smaller affiliate but we'll always be looking for smaller like-minded, trusted partners. Btw Catena are nowhere near as streamlined as you may think for working with.

 

[AussieDave]

The Catena's of this world are definitely a threat to be aware of for the smaller affiliate

I tend to disagree there. These larger outfits go for BIG money SE terms, they don't bother about the crumbs. However smaller affiliates, who are savvy to their niche, can make this work to their advantage. EG - long tail search phrases will still pull in punters, and more often than not, it's these long tails which will put coin in pockets.

 

[Ed@TradaAffiliates]

Point taken in regards SEO practices. Perhaps threat was the wrong word.

As you know they're on a bit of a shopping spree at the moment. Do you think this is a positive for the average small affiliate? I see a few negatives myself. As mentioned earlier in the thread there are operators who will disregard smaller affs as they can just deal with the big guys along with further account saturation.

Of course, if you can sell for a few milly then all good!

 

[Biti]

I don't agree completely here. They also compete on long terms. It's not just Catena. There are 6 or 7 of these super affiliates and behind that, you also got some brands with their own network. Many of them got content writers that just do the whole day nothing else than re-writing your articles. So it's getting more and more difficult to beat them, both in SEO and content. I've caught websites, belonging to a network that belongs to a casino in re-writing my articles. It was sometimes articles that cost me a day. Perhaps some student over there re-writes it in half an hour. Sometimes I put an article online and even the same day it was on their website too.

Besides that, a lot of casinos are having a blog too. It's positive if you can sell your business, but for the rest, it's not in any interest of an affiliate seeing professional competitors getting bigger and bigger. One-man-bands want a good piece of the share, these super affiliates want to dominate. Don't forget that they hire better and better people.

I agree with Dave that there's room for people very good in something, but you won't beat them in quantity of content, buying cheap links, etc. I don't mean to very negative, but it's how I see things. Just like other markets. The old guy selling televisions and repair them himself, knowing each customer personally closed his shop too because of big electronica malls. Some do, however, survive somehow. And in the end. If you can't beat them, you could join them. They're always looking for good people and they pay very well good people.

 

[Biti]

And of course, they won't be very prominent present in black markets. They're public listed.

 

[AussieDave]

Catena et al have copywriters, who, give articles that polished professionalism. Maybe I'm stuck in the past, but I still believe that people (punters/players) are keen to receive information and guides from hands on experience. Being a slots player myself (imo) sets me in good standing to deliever that content. Anyone can write a slot/casino review, but how many professional copywriters live and breath the content they write? Not too many!

Affiliates who dedicate their time to one (1) flagship site, have the time to write the intricate details, where the BIG guns don't have that time. Reiterating, taking the positives and making these work for you, is what will continue to provide income for small affiliates, going forward.

Granted we may only be left with the crumbs but, get enough of those and you'll have your loaf of bread

 

[Biti]

I think too that's the way to go. You can beat them in dedication for example. A loan-worker won't have the same dedication as you have. For him it's just a site, visitors just some numbers, content just a page with a key word, etc. But indeed, good writers can give it a professional and expert look for 95% of the visitors. Even if it isn't at all.

With slot reviews I believe it's already difficult to rank if you want to rank for the most popular. But experienced players look further than the same slots that always appear in freebie bonus promotions. Some slots are very popular but almost never promoted by casinos.

And the last one is the most important. It will be crumbs. I'm sure about that. But I don't need to pay as many workers as a super affiliate has to do, don't need to pay shareholders, debts of investors, offices, etc.

This all said, perhaps it also gives good opportunities. Now you compete sometimes with very thin websites with poor content and some not exceptional links. That kind of websites will be gone.

 

[KasinoKing]

This thread is quite an eye-opener to a new affiliate like myself, but I feel I must apologise, it's all my fault you see, everything I touch turns to sh*t!

Hmmm... I wonder what would happen to sh*t if you touched it...

KK

 

[i-man]

It doesn't matter how big these super affiliate gets, how many sites they buy they still won't be able to cover the whole industry.

They still won't be able to cater to every player needs.

There are markets that they won't touch.

What is happening is a lot of small and new affiliates will leave the industry because of fair of the competition .

We who are going to stick around just need to spend more time doing better keyword research.

Build better websites. Stick to 1 or 2 instead of a bunch that you can't manage.

Choose who you work with more carefully. (a lot aren't worth promoting even thou they look good on your site)

There will always be market-share for the small affiliates. Is how you tap into it makes the difference

As for me, I'm not leaving this business anytime soon.

 

[Casino-Matt]

It is a brutal business and if the right price comes my way I will happily leave the industry. 2018 I want to build my non gambling site and dominate my new industry but while Yes No continues to grow I will be working hard on that.

 

[footballaffiliate]

Well, well, well.... it seems the guys who brought down the whole SkyBet affiliate program by posting dodgy stuff on Twitter are in fact still promoting them on a working affiliate link, even though the SkyBet affiliate program has closed.
https://twitter.com/TeamFA/status/914944929578831872

 

[RazorGamer]

Hi Lacy,

Lol, what exactly do you mean by saying that?

 

[Lacy]

Hi Lacy,

Lol, what exactly do you mean by saying that?

Well, I've been wanting to get away from playing and become an affiliate for a very long time, but it seems like the minute I dipped my toe in, the whole industry became 'doomed'! Also, my sense of humour popped out

 

[Biti]

It is a brutal business and if the right price comes my way I will happily leave the industry. 2018 I want to build my non gambling site and dominate my new industry but while Yes No continues to grow I will be working hard on that.

It sure is, but do not underestimate the brutalness of other business. If you;re having a holiday-website you're screwed even harder.

 

[AussieDave]

What is happening is a lot of small and new affiliates will leave the industry because of fair of the competition .

We who are going to stick around just need to spend more time doing better keyword research.

Build better websites. Stick to 1 or 2 instead of a bunch that you can't manage.

Choose who you work with more carefully. (a lot aren't worth promoting even thou they look good on your site)

There will always be market-share for the small affiliates. Is how you tap into it makes the difference

As for me, I'm not leaving this business anytime soon.

Well put, well said
IMO, us old timers have learned to bend with the wind, instead of being rigid. More than likely, it's why we're still around.

Just remember loyalty to an aff program, is only as good as your next commission payment.

Longevity breaks down to nothing more than a sucker's ride, in these times, at the end of the day.

 

[PROFRBcom]

Just remember loyalty to an aff program, is only as good as your next commission payment.

Isn't that the truth. Spend years getting to know the aff managers, support staff, etc of an affiliate program and the associated casino/sports/poker site and then... bang, they screw you over with term changes. If you're lucky. If you're not lucky, they just close up the whole damned affiliate program and your "lifetime commissions" just vanish into thin air. So frustrating.

 

[Guard Dog]

I started in this industry right after UIGEA and many affiliates thought it was all over then... here we are over 10 years later

 

[KasinoKing]

I started in this industry right after UIGEA and many affiliates thought it was all over then... here we are over 10 years later

I started just before UIGEA: because MG casinos didn't act on it and didn't pull out of the USA until the end of 2008, my business was really flying!
But once that happened my income plummeted to about HALF of what is was before

It took me 5 years to build back up to that level. Since then I have very slowly improved - but had a lot of set-backs along the way, not least of which were operators disappearing or retroactively changing terms & screwing me over (e.g. Sky Vegas, V2W & Ladbrokes)

KK

 

[Biti]

Isn't that the truth. Spend years getting to know the aff managers, support staff, etc of an affiliate program and the associated casino/sports/poker site and then... bang, they screw you over with term changes. If you're lucky. If you're not lucky, they just close up the whole damned affiliate program and your "lifetime commissions" just vanish into thin air. So frustrating.

I must say many brands do not even to behave dodgy to waste your traffic. Poor conversion, poor retention and high fees might do the trick already.

For me this was the hardest lesson. Always was very keen on avoiding dodgy programs. But you also have programs that simply do not perform. It makes such a difference sometimes if you send your traffic to casino A or casino B. Casino A might convert just 2 out of 100 clicks, casino B might convert 30 or even more. And big chance that those 2 stop playing at casino A after their first deposit...

 

[Casino-Matt]

Absolutely Biti. There are so many which are a waste of time despite not being too dodgy.

Generally those that offer the world tend to bring home nothing. 50% with no NCO isn't feasible and then we wonder why they never convert. Well maybe because they shave.

Other than that there are a lot tapped out where somebody else got the cookie first or where players already have an account. And other which are shit casinos and are a waste of traffic.