Just over 1 year since my first site, finally seeing progress

[content]

Not sure if this is the right area of the forum, though I'm still sorta a freshman, and just wanting to share my experience as it may provide some insight to new people coming in.

I haven't been posting here in months, and honestly it's probably been nearly 6 months since I put any real work into my websites.

I started with 1 site just over a year ago, and I made around 10 more early spring(which were all near-replicas, spun with ai, but with different domain and content keyword focuses).

What I found with my first site, is the three word domain(including new gTLD ending as a word) is the only search term I could rank for, and it ranked for that pretty early on(low vol search, 1-2 clicks a day is good for it ranking at the top). For one that was interesting, as most SEO content says new gTLDs (as in .word domains, as in not .com or .net etc) wont rank for the word in the ending, and that google doesn't count that as a keyword, in my experience that is false, and it does help for ranking for the longtail included in the domain ending.

The other lesson is, despite my best efforts making a lot of pages on the site, I was unable to rank for the hundreds of other pages. However, the little traffic it gets from the main keyword, converts pretty well, though a very slow trickle. This is what motivated to make a lot more sites, because with that small amount of traffic from that and no luck from the other pages of content on the site, I figured either I was no good at it or simply the keywords I was going for were too competitive for any chance to rank. So, based on that experience, I bought a bunch of domains with more specific 2 and 3 word keyphrases(mostly .org and .com when available), hoping to at least get some ranking even if just for the domain name keywords and nothing else. For the most part, those sites didn't work very well, most still may have been too competitive for my effort despite EMDs(many rank for virtually nothing and if any impressions like way way past first page, pretty pathetic). Seems EMD approach can be successful sometimes, but when it isn't, could wind up wasting too much time trying to rank for something you may never rank for.

Anyway, the reason I'm coming back and posting, in the past 2-3 months, my sign ups have begun to ramp up some. Not huge, my pending payouts are like $450, $300, $200, $270, and some change on others - which to me is a lot since a year ago besides 1 month with one fluke player who signed up and deposited $5k - there was a lot of months with a lot of nothing. Had a good $600 payout last month, now averaging closer to $1k a month(which is great, besides the fluke, the first 6 months, a lot of months were near nothing). Around 10 FTDs this month. From all the sites combined, search traffic is still like baby numbers, but clearly, the traffic it gets is targeted enough for semi-regular sign ups, which is giving hope.

Keep in mind, all in all, I spent hundreds of hours on these sites. I still would have made more working an entry level job. However, it does seem time is an important factor.

Now with some additional results, I am going to put more time into updating the sites again. My casino selection is more limited than it could be, partly because early my results were so little, I didn't want to spread my sign ups too thin and just not make min payouts, but I see big differences in conversions, so I think it'll be worth it adding more options(it seems I may get multiple FTDs on different casinos from some visitors trying different sites, better to give them more sites to try).

Btw, I did create a one off site, sorta as an experient, with an EMD about a specific NoLimitCity game which was going viral among streamers. That was sorta a success, as I ranked at the top right away, as I made the site before most of the big sites even had much of a right up on the game. Though it generated a few clicks a day tops(though still better short term result than most sites I've tried). It also showed up in some(very few though) long tail searches for that game provider(I made game provider specific casino ranking page). Though was a pretty narrow search term thing, and fairly limited time type thing.

Another thing I will work on, is just completely removing(or at least taking them off main lists) the casinos that don't convert. My personal bias made me want to believe some casinos would convert well, either because they were large names, or because they had unique features(e.g. wide access and fast payouts, poker platforms), and I wanted them to do well so I included them prominently. Though now, a year later, while my top 4 or 5 get consistent new FTDs, there's a handful of casinos I've sent just as much traffic to that simply never convert. Whether tracking issue, players already familiar, or other unforeseen issues, some casinos just simply do not convert for my traffic at all - or nearly at all. And seeing that others do - and they do consistently not a fluke - I realize even at my small traffic size it will make a big difference to make those more prominent and get the ones that are awful for conversions out of the way.

Side note, I took a detour after the spring, and create about 10 sites in 2 other niches(most clones, very heavy ai reliance to create and spin content in bulk). Fairly obscure niches. My thinking was the casino niche is too difficult to rank for, so would see if I could apply what I learned and rank better in those niches. While it proved to be somewhat easier to rank, for one it was still very difficult(besides, like my first site, one ranked due to domain match, for a small amount of traffic) despite creating a huge amount of content(one of the sites is thousands of pages showcasing products, so far a massive waste of time, shows for a lot more search terms than I could for casinos, though still hard to rank high, and the conversions suck). Anyway, I've made some commissions in those niches, though no home runs, very little and many below payout thresholds. Only did well with 1 vendor, not even sure how, I guess people use my coupon code. The fact is, the potential payout from a casino conversion is just way better, since for me, getting 1 $80 sale at a 15% commision or whatever was just as hard to get as a casino sign up. So imo, as far as creating websites go, there's not really not fast ways to success. Though I'm sure if you worked on it full time for long enough maybe it could add up to a lot over years, but that's years of mostly thankless labor you'd have to allocate time and money to.

One other side note, I added forums to all the casino sites(simple wordpress plugin, was easy to replicate with the newer sites, I'd import the theme for the site and the forum plugin preinstalled when making new sites) at launch, and none have any traction at all. Maybe one day, but still no luck with that.

Anyway, going to get back to working on my sites again. I am hopeful I can grow where I've gotten some traction and may be able to get to decent income stream in the longer run(and still hoping I get some rogue big depositors that can make it all worth it, I had one last month that deposited €3,000 in one day, though was one off, and they cashed out some), I am very encourage to see some consistent sign ups. I think my casino offerings could use a lot of improvement. I am also hoping some youtube content in conjunction can help supplement my less than spectacular SEO skills.

A lot of the advice I read on this forum when I got started was it took others a very long time to see results and to be prepared to work a long time without results. While I had some lucky early fluke sign ups thanks to the domain match search term, that was also my experience, the year+ threshold has definitely helped somehow(even though I hadn't been regularly updating, site age makes a difference). Don't be shocked by very few impressions and nearly no clicks for months. Now will see if renewed efforts can grow the traction that has now started.

Tl/dr: after a over a year from starting, I'm starting to see some traction and consistent sign ups

[Sherlock]

One other side note, I added forums to all the casino sites(simple wordpress plugin, was easy to replicate with the newer sites, I'd import the theme for the site and the forum plugin preinstalled when making new sites) at launch, and none have any traction at all. Maybe one day, but still no luck with that.

Forums have network effect for many many years. It is nearly impossible to make your own small social network.
Even 20 years ago I made forum alive by talking to myself under 30 different identities.
Later, when I had just the admin one, and people asked me where are those original ghosts, I revealed the truth. There was kind of disappointment.

[Pokerface]

Thanks for sharing your experience and tips. Very interesting.
Congratulations!

[casinosonl1ne]

Always nice to see people doing well! Youre still in the early stages so it is promising that you're getting some success this early on! When I launched my Rainbow Riches site in 2012 it took a while and has been plenty of ups and downs along the way in terms of organic traffic. PPC works and social ads aren't bad either but SEO can be tricky even if you do all the right things. Keep up the good work and hopefully things will build and build for you in the future!

[Neustadt]

It’s really insightful and has given me a lot to think about. I truly appreciate the knowledge you’ve shared, and it’s inspiring to see your success.

[Silver Crocodile]

Congrats on the progress! Keep it up.

[newcustomeroffer]

Love a success story, well done!

Btw, I did create a one off site, sorta as an experient, with an EMD about a specific NoLimitCity game which was going viral among streamers.

Great example of how new entrants to a market can grab some of the market share by being innovative and agile, good stuff.

[Daisuke Inadome]

Thank you for sharing the information in such a long message.
I found it very interesting to read and it will be useful for future reference.
congratulations! !

[Kairos]

About implementing forums - I don't even know what they're for. But at least close them from the possibility of registering spam profiles.

[callpri]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

[Javig]

Thanks for sharing your experience with such detail. It's quite motivational, i'm kind of the same boat. It's nice to see that your hard work is starting to pay off.

[RobinFinance]

Thanks for sharing

[alex_radu]

Hi there,

Thanks for sharing the details of your personal experience. I really appreciate it! I'm also somewhat of a beginner, with my website launched back in March this year. Traffic is still modest, but I’m seeing some small FTDs so far. Just out of curiosity, did you invest much in backlinks?
Cheers,

[JonathanHicks]

Props for sticking with it and finally seeing progress! Honestly, using drops and redirects could’ve helped you hit these results much faster. Something to think about for the future.

[Noomieriksson]

First off, congrats on the progress you’ve made so far! It’s clear you've put a lot of time into learning and tweaking your strategy, and it’s paying off with those consistent sign-ups.

You’re spot on with the importance of focusing on what converts. It’s easy to get attached to big brands or unique features, but if they’re not converting, it’s worth moving on to those that are consistently bringing results—even if they’re less flashy. Also, the fact that you're seeing results from domain match keywords shows how impactful even small, targeted approaches can be.

Site age is another key point—over time, Google starts to trust your site more, which can help with rankings and conversions, even if it feels slow at first. Combine that with consistent content and you’re on the right path.

I also think incorporating YouTube could really complement your SEO efforts, especially in a competitive niche like casinos. Video content is huge right now for building authority and driving traffic.

Overall, it sounds like you’ve got the right mindset: a long-term approach, but staying flexible and focused on what works. Keep refining and expanding, and I’m sure you’ll keep seeing growth. Best of luck with your renewed efforts! You’re on the right track.