Affiliate Interview Series - bitcasinorank

Attachment 9038

(This interview was originally published in the July 2023 issue of the GPWA Times Magazine.)

What did you do prior to getting into the gambling industry in 2017?

I studied tourism at university. When I started working in gambling, I was in my fourth year and studied for another year and a half while working.

In addition to my studies, I worked ordinary jobs, such as a hotel doorman and a store salesman. I also had an unsuccessful attempt to open my own business for a year when I owned a comic book store, which successfully failed. (Laughs).

So, how did you make your way into the gambling industry?

After my business failed, I took a regular job as a salesman and realized that I didn't want to work like that for the rest of my life, so I decided to change it dramatically.

I quit my job, started studying web design; and looking for remote work. On a job search site, I came across an ad that offered a job (as a content manager) on a website about games. I found out what kind of games they were at the interview.

I didn’t get into gambling right away. At first, I was a bit skeptical. But later, I started to dive deeper and deeper into this niche, communicate with a bunch of people involved in different areas of gambling, and just realized that I would be here for a long time and I liked it.

How did your role as a content manager shape your trajectory to an affiliate a short time later?

The position of a content manager gave me a lot of knowledge about gambling in a short time. I played a lot of slots in demo mode, which helped me understand players and their preferences to some extent.

Therefore, when I create content for my projects, I first of all try to understand and give the player what he is looking for, because unfortunately, many of my competitors ignore this aspect.

How did you go about starting your first site Bitcasinorank.com in 2020?

After I had worked for a year and a half and understood the business better, I wanted to create something of my own. I bought my first domain in 2019, but as it turned out, my knowledge and desire were not enough to bring it to life. But the idea of my own business did not leave me, and a year later, I tried again and bitcasinorank.com was born.

By the way, the site I failed to launch in 2019 is casinoaffprograms.com, which I managed to relaunch in partnership in 2022.

Bitcoin had been around for about 11 years, so what made you want to start your own business and focus on crypto?

When I was doing research about launching an affiliate website, I came across a piece of advice to start with as narrow a topic. I was also interested in cryptocurrencies, so I decided to combine these topics in my project.

How did you come up with the foundation of your ranking system for bitcoin casinos? What needs to happen for your rankings to change over time?

Well, my ranking system is very simple, in the casino review I paid the most attention to the presence of complaints about the casino, and everything else is purely symbolic. If I continue to work on the site, in the future I would like to create a complex ranking system with a large number of parameters. So, for the system to change, I need more free time. (Laughs).

Crypto is a polarizing subject with many people. How have you dealt with the ups and downs and what does the future hold?

The answer is simple - immediately convert all cryptocurrencies into stablecoins, such as USDT or BUSD.

What are your thoughts on KYC as it relates to crypto casinos?

Most crypto casinos operate under the Curacao license, so their situation is the same as that of other casinos with such a license, sometimes better, sometimes worse. If we are talking about crypto casinos without a license, the absence of KYC is presented as an advantage because many people want anonymity from crypto operators.

You list three other sites on your GPWA profile page. Are they all active? If so, how do you manage all of these sites?

I actually manage six websites as my co-own projects and help with SEO for one third-party website. Plus, I work full-time for another. Of course, there is a catastrophic lack of time, and it is impossible to manage all this on a sufficient level by yourself.

So, some sites get more attention and some less, and in several projects, I am a co-owner and responsible for SEO, while my partners do other work.

What is your approach to SEO? What work do you put in to continue to develop your SEO strategy?

My approach is never stop learning and don’t forget the basics. Create new content, optimize old content and build links - this is 99% of my SEO strategy. I try to devote as much time as possible to SEO, but it's not enough while I have a day job. Usually its 10-15 hours per week, I’d say.

How do you decide on which affiliate programs to work with? What have you learned over the years about picking and choosing the right affiliate programs for your sites?

If I see if an affiliate program will benefit the site — for example, expanding the list of offered casinos in a very narrow topic, such as no wager bonuses — I give it a chance. I make decisions with everyone else in the process of communication.

What I've learned is that you don't know if an affiliate program is bad or good until you work with them.

If a 25-year-old friend of yours told you he or she was going to try and become a full-time iGaming affiliate, what would your reaction and advice be?

I would say, prepare to spend a lot of money and be ready to spend all your free time working for the next three years. If it doesn't scare them off, they should be a good affiliate.

What do you wish you knew in 2020 that you know now?

A lot of things. (Laughs). But the main one is how to do SEO better. I had to fix a lot things I made at the beginning.

How has the Russia-Ukraine war affected your professional life, and more importantly, your personal life?

My professional life hasn't changed much. Of course, I was out of work for about a month, but after that period, work became one of the few good things that was there at the beginning of the war.

As for my personal life, I had to leave my hometown and move to Kyiv. And started living with my parents again.

What are your hobbies? What do you do when you are not working?

I have too many hobbies, which is probably why I am not such a successful affiliate. (Laughs).

I love video games, anime, and the A Song of Ice and Fire books. I also play a little guitar and ukulele.

If someone were visiting you for 24 hours and had never been to the area where you live, where would you bring them and why?

Sumska Street in Kharkiv. Amazing bars and cafes every 50 meters, where you can taste the most delicious food and drink the best beer in your life.

If you could invite any five people, living or dead, to dinner, who would they be?

My top five is very diverse:

George R.R. Martin - creator of A Song of Ice and Fire
Kentaro Miura - creator of manga Berserk
Volodymyr Zelenskyy - President of Ukraine
Ari Gibson - one of the creators of my most beloved video game “Hollow Knight"
Hryhorii Skovoroda - Ukrainian philosopher

Name three things that people reading this magazine don't know about you.

1. I can do a backflip.
2. I am married.
3. I am learning French for fun.

Very good and useful interview :) Thanks for the read :)

Thanks to GPWA for interviewing me. It was an exciting experience!