SEO is one of the fundamental tools for growing an online based business and generating brand awareness along with revenue generating organic web-traffic. But why is it so often overlooked within the gambling industry and what does the future hold for the businesses that choose to adopt, or disregard SEO as an effective marketing tool?

It’s only been within the last 10 years or so that we’ve seen the UK online gambling industry rapidly accelerate in terms of growth. Spawned by the commodification of the internet and the accessibility of tablet and mobile devices, the gambling industry became a market that was set to be revolutionized by the digital changes that would ensue.

Prior to the internet, gambling existed in the UK as land based bookmakers and casinos, bingo halls and racetracks. The parameters of success were based on how many customers were walking through your doors and the numbers were simply quantified. As the old saying goes the house always wins and this is the mantra that casinos held. As long as people were walking through the doors then things would be okay.

After many years of change the industry was perhaps set in its ways and did not anticipate the new behaviours and technicalities of what going online would bring. SEO is based on web traffic and domain authority, the tangibility just wasn’t there and the dinosaur approach from many established land based casinos allowed more tech-savvy competitors to slip in through the backdoor.

Domain Authority and First Page Rankings

Many of the traditional big names from the land based casinos such as William Hill, Sky Vegas, and Bet365 found that their place within the online rankings was based on the power of their name itself. Organic searches by players already aware of the brand were cast in their direction and their big name status transferred itself nicely to the online spectrum. The differences between the high-street bookmakers and the casinos between online casinos was that many independent bookmakers simply could not compete with the big names.

Online, smaller businesses have the power to challenge the big names as long as they have a well-tuned SEO, content, and marketing strategy in place. Online success is all about web-traffic and keeping customers on your page. Many people outside the industry would be unaware of the amount of traffic that is generated across the first page of google rankings for keyword terms like ‘casino’ or ‘online casino’. The difference in web traffic and ultimately business success is monumental even with such fine margins between being on the first or second page. The further you climb up the first page the more concentrated the web-traffic, and the more web-traffic you have the more domain authority you will generate. The snowball effect ensues.

How important is SEO

Within all industries many businesses see SEO as more of an insignificant expenditure that they are told they need to look into rather than being something that can revolutionise their business. The gambling industry is often known in SEO circles in a similar vein to the adult industry in terms of it’s competitiveness. As far as stigma goes these two industries can often be the poisoned chalice, despite the universal love people have for them.

SEO in the gambling industry needs to be a full-time requirement where data is constantly checked and new strategies are constantly being tested. Because the google rankings can change on a daily basis it’s important to have someone working on the job at all times to both provide retaliation to competitor moves but also to be on the pulse when It comes to the ever changing Google rankings. Although SEO can seem like a non-tangible slice of expenditure the benefits that can be reaped in the gambling industry can often outweigh the initial doubt of paying the SEO bills. It must be noted, though, that you need someone who knows what they’re doing.

Scott Manford, SEO of Wizard Slots said: “SEO has been a key fixture in both our business strategy as a whole and also more specifically around our content and marketing strategy. We made a point of consulting with a full-time SEO specialist who works closely with our data-analysist and content executives to create content and outreach links that is not only SEO friendly but constantly being honed and updated to meet the rapidly changing face of Googles best practice in SEO guidelines.”

The Rise of the Competitor

These SEO industry is sometimes a blind spot for many business stalwarts who don’t value the strength it can have for a business. New tech-savvy businessmen who make up for what they lack in business acumen and reputation with an intense knowledge of SEO and the nuances of the internet market create an industry where an unlimited number of competitors can be harvested, where the market leaders are changing constantly and multi-platform businesses can emerge.