Is mobile an opportunity or an industry killer?

[wonderpunter]

For Sports betting its a positive, especially with live betting,, How many groups of friends sit at a laptop while watching the game at the local bar?

[ocreditor]

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Maybe this should not really be in the SEO topic but it doesn`t belong in other topics either, so I`ll take advantage that it`s the most popular section. In my opinion mobile has a good chance to hurt the aff. industry badly (and already does), but I`d be happy to be proven wrong.
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but I could never see myself registering to a bookie from a mobile device....

Mobile revolution has already began and it'll be hard to ignore it specially if you are an affiliate.
Eventually everyone will feel safe to register & gamble from any device and this is where this revolution is going to.
And this change effect all fields mainly SEO, if you ask me.

I agree that in the short term many affiliates are hurt because many brands
are putting this issue (affiliates!) last in their list of priorities but I dont think that in the long run the aff industry will be hurt because
brands that are leaving this change behind will find themselves, very soon, without any good affiliate that promoting their brand !

[casinoplanet]

The problem with many webmasters is that they are not able to think like their visitors. They think signing up on mobile is a hassle and everything is way too small, while the visitors don't feel that at all. Imho, the world is changing very quickly and if you don't adapt, you're out of business very soon.

[WagerPod]

We struggle with mobile traffic because it instantly kills our free slots section which is flash based. I think the gap between mobile and table functionality is slowly becoming smaller. It really comes down to the players, what would they prefer to use to enjoy the games? both desktop and mobile both have unique perks. Due to the size of our traffic from mobile and tablet devices we cannot ignore it but its certainly a headache.

I was happy back in the day doing cross-browser testing, not testing mobile versions can be a full time job in itself.

[casinoplanet]

Research shows that mobile visitors differ a lot from web visitors. They, in general, are less loyal and less willing to spend money. Their sheer numbers can make a business profitable though.
Flash is indeed a pain in the #ss for mobile, but currently more and more html5 platforms show up fortunately. Today, people expect the same options and experience on mobile and pc. So, staying on top of the technical developments is vital imho.

[wonderpunter]

Research shows that mobile visitors differ a lot from web visitors. They, in general, are less loyal and less willing to spend money. Their sheer numbers can make a business profitable though.
Flash is indeed a pain in the #ss for mobile, but currently more and more html5 platforms show up fortunately. Today, people expect the same options and experience on mobile and pc. So, staying on top of the technical developments is vital imho.

Maybe for some industries but I have seen the opposite, as long as the sign up page is optimized it's more profitable for sports betting My mobile friendly signups are 5x higher than non mobile pages

[ocreditor]

Maybe for some industries but I have seen the opposite, as long as the sign up page is optimized it's more profitable for sports betting My mobile friendly signups are 5x higher than non mobile pages

Well this make sense, because in mobile the signup process in most cases is much shorter. I see this too but its still changing from brand to brand

[wonderpunter]

Well this make sense, because in mobile the signup process in most cases is much shorter. I see this too but its still changing from brand to brand

What seems to work best is an initial short sign up, First name Last name email, then once client makes a deposit or withdraw then address, telephone are asked the main point is to get some type of action, once commitment is made then its easier to get the rest of the details, but there are quite a few that insist on long forms up front, it would also be a benefit if they made the forms responsive rather than a slow redirect to a mobile domain.

[ocreditor]

What seems to work best is an initial short sign up, First name Last name email, then once client makes a deposit or withdraw then address, telephone are asked the main point is to get some type of action, once commitment is made then its easier to get the rest of the details,...

That's indeed a good process, get the commitment before you ask for more details.

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but there are quite a few that insist on long forms up front, it would also be a benefit if they made the forms responsive rather than a slow redirect to a mobile domain.

Yes that what I meant about the signup process from mobile, if the form is not responsive or if the original web form is the same as the mobile form its also will damage the mobile conversion.

[casinoplanet]

Fully agree with you guys. Mobile sign up should be as simple and short as possible. Fortunately more and more programs offer an easy process, but still too many don't. I guess this will only be a matter of time though.

Because I was focusing on mobile gaming from the start, I can't really compare player value between mobile and web. The differences I mentioned were from a study back in 2010 if I'm correct.
Behaviour might differ for sportsbook and casino as well. Regarding casino, I generally experience a high amount of fun players and modest initial deposits from mobile. But as I said earlier, the huge numbers makes it profitable in the end.

[Moonlight Cat]

We struggle with mobile traffic because it instantly kills our free slots section which is flash based.

The same, but more and more vendors create new html5 free games that you may play in any devices PC,tablets,mobile phones.

Imho, the world is changing very quickly and if you don't adapt, you're out of business very soon.

100%. I know many affiliates that stand still in ~ 2000-2010. They don't want to hear anything about change their usual schemes. They don't want to hear about mobile friendly design, they don't want to learn how create affiliate mobile application e.t.c.

[Moonlight Cat]

For those, who think, that create your own affiliate mobile app is very difficult.

Use this. This is 100% free service.
http://appinventor.mit.edu/explore/

And you may create your first aff.mobile app within next 20 minutes.
For example.
1.) Your may create mobile friendly blog with latest bonuses (with your aff.links).
2.) Your may create mobile app, that open this blog.
3.) People who install this APP - always have latest bonus news (with your affiliates link) on they tablets and mobile phones.
This is like newspaper. Many newspapers have they own mobile app. People read it. Aff.site may do the same.

4.) For affiliates who work in markets that have internet censorship. Block website is easily, stop the spread of mobile applications - much harder.

[Triple7]

For Sports betting its a positive, especially with live betting,, How many groups of friends sit at a laptop while watching the game at the local bar?

For Sports Betting if it are your accounts, yes it's a good thing.

[AlexTu]

We shouldnt forget about mobile traffic, it is our future I guess. At this moment I have 10% mobile and 90%pc traffic

[TheGooner]

It's an industry changer rather than a killer - so as things change it's an opportunity for affiliates and programs

[casinoplanet]

Agree, and it not only affects our industry, but all internet businesses.