New affiliate site (SEO/Strategy tips)

[Ghirlandincorp]

Hello everybody,

I've just registered to this forum and am truly happy to have found it. I am building a new casino affiliate for the Belgian market and the goal is the expand to the Netherlands as soon as gambling becomes legal in the Netherlands. I've worked for an online casino in Belgium and currently I am working for a marketing agency (SEO & SEA).

Having said that, this is my first time building a (casino) affiliate site. What are your views on building a casino affiliate for the Belgian/Dutch market in 2017? How profitable can it be and what are things I need to keep in mind SEO wise?

I think a I have enough experience and time to be somewhat successful but any tips, feedback or other comments would be appreciated. Thank you!

[universal4]

Read everything here at the GPWA paying close attention and making note of the affiliate groups that tend to draw the most complaints.

I do not know much about the Dutch market, but there are a number of affiliates that post here regularly that most likely can provide more specifics for that market.

Rick
Universal4

[rmeeuwsen]

making note of the affiliate groups that tend to draw the most complaints.

And... think 'outside of the box'

[Oxalys]

The main thing to remember is that you need to make a really high-quality product and be ready to wait 1-2 years before getting any significant results

[Mike13]

Patience, my friend. You will need this in the next few months.

[Triple7]

With a .be-domain? I don't think you will be able to rank with that in The Netherlands on important keywords. With a .com, .org, etc that is no problem of course.

You could do a .com and add a geo-function later. Or make a different website. B and NL are completely different markets. Overlap will just be that Unibet, BWin, Ladbrokes, etc are also or will also be big players in the Netherlands. I know some Belgian brands, like Golden Vegas and Circus, are going to try NL too, but I think with the quality they're offering, they're not having any chance there.

To make a website profitable you need time. In Belgium, I think it's harder than in NL. Belgium has just a few casinos and some of them even not having an affiliate program. In general, I find the affiliate programs not too good. Small commissions and lack of support for a lot of them. Also, some of them just closed or changed deals.

You should also take note of upcoming law changes and/or proposals to law changes. The confirmed changes won't make affiliate marketing more profitable in Belgium and the proposals that have been made will make it probably even impossible.

That all, of course, makes that there is less competition. There are just a small amount of affiliates very active in Belgium. It's a small regulated market. That has advantages and disadvantages.

If I may ask, for which online casino did you work?