Data: Online casino search visibility
In the first of a new monthly data column by digital marketing agency Stickyeyes, Paddy Power proves that broad keyword coverage is the key to success in online casino
The keyword market in the online casino industry has long been one of the most competitive in online search. Major and established brands continue to vie for position on the core keywords, whilst a seemingly endless list of smaller operators, affiliates and news portals all compete to be heard across medium and long-tail keyword terms.
But analysis of the online casino sector has found that a number of brands are arguably over reliant on just a small number of keywords to drive organic traffic, and these brands could be over-exposing themselves to the risks of even a relatively modest fall in search rankings.
Stickyeyes has found evidence of a number of brands that are driving large levels of traffic from a relatively small number of keywords, whereas Paddy Power Casino is the most visible brand in the sector despite not holding a top ranking position for any of the five biggest keywords in the sector.
Any search marketing strategy has to be sustainable and resilient to potential algorithm changes, so how do the market leaders protect their visibility â and where do the opportunities lie for those brands looking to increase their market share?
The keyword landscape
The âcasinoâ keyword category accounts for half of the overall search volume in the online casino market (which, for the purposes of this analysis, comprises of casino, roulette, slots and blackjack). Slots accounts for 25% of the market, ahead of roulette (15%) and blackjack (10%).
Compared to many other prominent online industries (such as travel or retail for example), the casino industry has a relatively low number of volume-driving keywords. Keywords tend to be game-specific and, with a relatively limited number of games and products available, there is a small pool of generic keyword phrases that brands are targeting. This results in 62% of the total search volume being distributed across just five keywords; casino, online casino, slots, roulette and blackjack.
The keyword âcasinoâ is by far the most prominent keyword, accounting for one fifth of organic search traffic. Itâs therefore unsurprising that many operators have invested heavily in securing visibility for this core keyword.
So everyone is chasing the âcasinoâ keyword, right?
It would be a fair assumption to say that the key to achieving visibility is to capture that coveted number one ranking for âcasinoâ, and whilst this is obviously a desirable keyword to rank for, it should not be the sole focus for any brand in this market. To focus purely on this keyword, and other high-ranking keywords, would neglect numerous opportunities to secure visibility and organic traffic that may be lower cost, have a greater propensity to convert, and may be more profitable long-term.
Focusing on a few small keywords also carries significant risks. Brands that depend on a small cluster of keywords for the bulk of their visibility leave themselves exposed to potential ranking drops, either through natural ranking fluctuations, or from wholesale algorithm updates. This then has the potential to significantly reduce traffic in an extremely short space of time, potentially forcing brands to make up the loss with costly PPC campaigns.
We can see a vast difference in the overall keyword coverage of the ten most visible brands within the industry, based on this snapshot analysis of the online casino search engine results pages on 8 January 2016.
We can see that Paddy Power is the most visible casino brand, with an estimated traffic of 15,159.22. This estimate is based on the total search volume for each individual keyword and the estimated percentage click-through rate that the website can expect in its respective ranking position.
However, whilst Paddy Power commands 18% of the total search volume, it does so without holding a number one position on many of the top traffic-driving keywords in the market. It does, however, have one of the most diverse keyword coverages in the industry, and achieves strong rankings across the board. Much of this is down to the strength of the Paddy Power domain, which achieves a domain authority score of 71. Betfair also achieves this domain authority score, which is the highest of the ten most visible brands in the industry. Much of this authority comes from the strength of its wider service offering, with sportsbook in particular proving strong content and social engagement, and this authority funnels down into other core service offerings.
Paddy Powerâs breadth of coverage compares with Betfair, which generates just over 9,000 organic visits from just 164 keywords, and third placed Virgin Games, which drives around 8,500 visits from just 120 keywords – less than half that of Paddy Power. Ladbrokes is the fourth most visible brand, with 7,587 organic visits, but it has the widest keyword coverage of any operator â with traffic being driven from 305 ranking keyword positions.
For both Betfair and Virgin Games, this suggests an overreliance on a handful of core keywords, and this is a potentially risky strategy in a notoriously volatile search market.
A single keyword driving half of all traffic
Whilst there are signs of risk in the aggregated casino market, there are notable signs in the individual keyword categories that many operators are taking a very narrow focus to their SEO strategy, relying heavily on a small number of traffic driving keywords.
In the roulette category in particular, we can see operators that are relying heavily on an extremely small number of keywords to drive traffic.
Roulette30.com is driving traffic from just 14 ranking keywords, whilst royalpanda.com and fulltilt.com also have a very narrow keyword coverage. Again, we see Ladbrokes having the most broad keyword coverage in this industry, suggesting a more robust and sustainable search strategy.
To explain this narrow keyword focus adopted by many brands, it is important to understand the keyword breakdown. Roulette is the only casino sub-vertical where one keyword phrase (roulette) accounts for more than half of the total search volume. It is therefore understandable that brands would focus on this keyword, but it is important that they do not over-expose themselves to any potential ranking fluctuations.
It is a similar situation in the blackjack market, where the keyword âblackjackâ alone accounts for 48% of all search volume. It is therefore perhaps unsurprising that the search market looks extremely similar to the roulette market.
Paddy Power leads this particular market, although this visibility is not driven by core keyword terms. Instead, it secures traffic through an extensive list of medium-tail terms, including âonline blackjackâ, âblackjack ukâ, âblackjack onlineâ, âplay blackjack onlineâ, âplay blackjackâ, âblack jack onlineâ and âonline blackjack ukâ.
Where is the diversity in keywords?
There are areas of the online casino industry that undoubtedly lack keyword diversity. Categories such as blackjack and roulette have a naturally limited range of keywords and variations, which naturally leaves many brands chasing a small selection of keywords. However, in the slots category, this is not the case.
With the range of games now provided by the leading operators, there is an incredibly diverse range of keywords and the search strategies of the most visible brands reflects this.
Whilst key terms such as âslotsâ, which accounts for 31% of the total search volume, are highly sought-after, there is a much more diverse keyword market in this category. This is reflected by the number of brands clustered around 2,000 â 6,000 visits, most of whom drive traffic from 50-60 ranking keywords.
The challenge for many of the brands in this area of the market is securing stronger rankings for one or more of the core keyword terms, in addition to their already strong rankings across such a diverse range of keywords. That is what will ultimately allow them to compete with Virgin Games in this market.
Diversity is key to sustainable rankings
The i-Gaming sector is littered with examples of brands and operators that have appeared out of nowhere to rank for core keyword terms, only to be struck down by Google shortly afterwards. Whilst most of the brands featured in this analysis carry sufficient domain authority to justify their rankings, those examples do highlight the importance of a broad and diverse keyword strategy.
The performance of brands such as Paddy Power and Ladbrokes demonstrate that the key to driving traffic is not necessarily the highest volume keywords, but a more sustainable strategy that consists of less competitive keywords that still achieve meaningful levels of search traffic. This protects those brands from ranking fluctuations and ensures broad exposure to a much wider audience.
Next month: scorecard analysis identifying industry winners and losers on social media