Over the last year, SEO gambling affiliates have faced a period of unprecedented changes in Google’s algorithm, marking one of the most significant shifts in the past decade. This article explores the impacts on websites and outlines what is necessary to thrive in the evolving SEO landscape.
Understanding the New SEO Landscape
In a year characterized by change, 2023 saw a staggering nine updates to Google’s algorithm, comprising multiple Core Updates, Helpful Content Updates, Spam Updates, and Product Review Updates. These changes led to widespread fluctuations in the search engine results pages (SERPs), with many site owners experiencing substantial drops in traffic, especially during the latter half of the year. Analyzing the effects of Google’s updates is always challenging, particularly when they occur in quick succession or overlap, as seen in 2023. Now that some time has passed, it’s possible to discern why certain sites have declined while others have flourished. For gambling affiliates reliant on Google for traffic, this understanding is crucial for setting clear objectives for 2024. Here are six essential strategies to enhance your SEO assets this year.
Embrace the Helpful Content System
Google has increasingly moved away from using third-party links as a primary ranking signal, giving rise to the ‘helpful content system.’ According to Google, this system aims to better reward content that provides a satisfying experience for visitors, while content that fails to meet expectations will perform poorly. Specifically, content deemed to have little or low-added value will not rank as well. Although this might sound straightforward, the implications of the helpful content classifier have been significant. Through three helpful content updates—in August 2022, December 2022, and October 2023—many sites have experienced notable drops in traffic.
What Types of Content Are Affected?
As with all updates, identifying the specific impacts is complex. However, it is clear that some traditional SEO strategies are no longer effective. Pages with extensive content aimed at covering a topic comprehensively, or sites with poorly written, unoriginal content supported by low-quality backlinks, are no longer viable. As content quality becomes more critical, the necessity of creating original, well-structured, and valuable content has never been more evident.
Be Aware of Site-Wide Signals
Google’s helpful content system generates a ‘site-wide signal,’ meaning that a significant amount of deemed unhelpful content on a site will affect the rankings of all its pages. Thus, focusing solely on high-performing pages while neglecting others is not a viable SEO strategy. This aspect of the algorithm requires that all content on your site is of high quality. If you are launching a new site or believe your current site is underperforming, scrutinize all pages, not just those expected to drive conversions.
Building E.E.A.T. on Page
Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust (E.E.A.T) are familiar terms to SEO marketers. While not direct ranking factors, they are integral to the Quality Rater Guidelines used by Google to assess search result quality. E.E.A.T. principles help evaluate the trustworthiness of your content. Ensure every page reflects:
**Experience:** Show familiarity with the gambling industry and direct experience with the games, websites, and apps reviewed.
**Expertise:** Highlight your writers’ expertise through the content, author bios, linked profiles, and about pages.
**Authority:** Secure backlinks from reputable sites within the industry.
**Trust:** Demonstrate credibility through high-quality content, business site links, and active social media accounts.
Write Unique and Insightful Product Reviews
In 2023, Google introduced three updates focused on product reviews, targeting content produced by affiliates across various sectors. The goal is to promote sites that provide genuinely useful product reviews. Gambling affiliates should showcase their experiences with sites or games reviewed through screenshots, comparison tables, and honest customer feedback. A notable example is All Slot Sites, a reviewer of casinos and slot games, which publishes in-depth articles and detailed explanations of their review processes. This trend is expected to grow in 2024.
The Importance of User Generated Content
Quora and Reddit, built on user-generated content (UGC), have benefited greatly from recent Google updates, as have gambling affiliate sites with active forums. Creating a good forum is challenging for most affiliates, but there are other ways to foster user-generated content. For instance, encourage readers to leave their own reviews of gambling sites they’ve played on. Utilizing plugins for user reviews and offering incentives like prize draws can also be effective.
The Importance of Link Building
While content has gained importance, links remain crucial for SEO. Despite claims that links are no longer among the top three ranking factors, they are still vital for driving organic traffic from Google. Thus, building a diverse and strong link profile remains essential in 2024.
The substantial shifts in SERPs seen in 2023 are set to continue into 2024, underscoring the importance of the latest algorithm updates. While links are still critical, the emphasis on the helpful content system, E.E.A.T. guidelines, and product review updates highlights the need for high-quality, original content. This should be the focal point of any SEO strategy for gambling affiliates in 2024.
