New old member - Is it worth to re-enter the casino affiliate business?

[goldcity]

Hello everyone,

until about 10 years ago I had a well running casino-affiliate business, but suddenly revenues dropped although the website traffic still remained good. However in the following years I abandoned the websites.

Is it still worth to "re-activate" the old websites - they are actually active but with very outdated content and design - with a new design, new content and current seo techniques again? Would it be worth the efforts?

Opinions much appreciated!

Thanks.

[Oliver Cooper]

I don`t know about casino, but maybe better to start from the beggining, if it is new content, then it`s not a fact that the old audience will be interested in it. it`s better to focus on recruiting a new audience

[Cash Bonus]

It doesn't hurt to to try, instead of doing nothing at all about it.

[universal4]

I think activating old site is fine.

It can be an uphill battle, but so could starting from scratch.

Using the old sites gives you the benefit of a far more aged domain, and the possibility of a handful of links that might still be pointing at the old site.

Be sure to have redirects in place to new site or pages when you relaunch.
Be sure to relaunch as https if you had not changed that previously.
Any old pages, say for reviews of operators that no longer are open or promoted should be redirected to pages with content that might be a match. (example microgaming #2 closed -> microgaming #3 you are promoting)
If you had cloaked visit links like in an html or php visit folder, be sure that exists and they point at operators you do promote in case and of those old links are suddenly clicked in old cached pages etc

Depending on how big the site is, the preferred method might be to rebuild the site on an ip or dev server, then launch all at once.

The above is less pertinent if you plan on keeping a lot of the old site, structure and content and just change or update the pages where you see fit. If so just start making changes and improvements as you can, (again remembering to change outdated visit links to sites you do promote)

Rick
Universal4

[TheGooner]

If you abandoned your sites 10 years ago in frustration then you'll be frustrated again in 2022.

It's far more competitive (20x, 50x maybe 100x ?), requires more tech savvy, and new signups tend to be few and far between because they're spread over so many more affiliates and websites.

90-95% of our revenues come from players signed previously, only 5-10% from players signed this year.

[PaulEchere]

Unfortunately I can't compare who things are now vs 10 years ago, but if you still have those domains, I believe it might be worth trying.
Even if it is not going to go anywhere, perhaps you can sell those websites after you "freshen them up".

[chaumi]

Notwithstanding Gooner's entirely appropriate comments on how different it all is now from when you were playing back in the day.....

You could look at this two ways....

You have aged domains/sites that will give you a running start.....

Or....

Those domains/sites are now a hindrance (maybe something went wrong - or you did something 'wrong' that contributed to their decline).

It's more likely to be the first, but could be the second. I'd say you need to spend some time really looking at what they are doing right now...and, ideally, really understanding why the revenue dropped off.

Knowing that will give you a better appreciation of what's possible going forward.

What's near certain is that - if you're working alone - it will likely be incredibly tough (even if there is some juice in the sites) unless you find some angle to tackle/exploit that's outside of the general/typical high-level targets.

Your goal will likely be to become an authority in whatever topic/subject you choose by adapting and building up those sites (or one of them, and using others as feeders).

If they are in a workable (and unpenalized) state, it's pretty much a no-brainer that you're more likely to get the best results by resurrecting them (rather than starting from scratch with a new domain/site). But to be sure and make a reasonably accurate appraisal of the prospects, someone (ideally more than one person) would probably have to look them over.

[superhero]

the competition is hard buy you will have some advantage of early domian, links and some traffic.
update the content up to date and start running mor etraffic

[mics]

In my opinion it is definitely worth it. As you keep control on your websites, and they still generate traffic, it means that your websites have trust from Google, so you can easily ramp up your traffic (and revenue) by identifying quick wins and producing more fresh content which will bring value to your visitors and will be well structured and optimized.

[freespinsnodeposit]

Definitely start them back up if you've got the time and capital to put into them. If not, I'm sure someone in this forum will be willing to buy the old sites/domains from you.

[GamblersHeaven]

I've been debating this same question recently. Revenue went down for me and I got a "normal" job. I've kept the websites up, but haven't touched them in the last 12 years. I know it would be an uphill battle, so I'm considering whether I'm up for the challenge.

[insiderjoe]

If the domain names are very old and still have good backlinks, I would say - definitely. Of course, all the content must be updated and adapted to today's trends.

[6takarakuji]

Check the history of your domain in Search Console or Ahrefs to see if you've been hit with any Google penalty during these years, and if your site has recovered from them. If you've been hit and not recovered, then I would suggest starting a new site.

I'd also look at how many backlinks you've got your site. If you've already got an established strong backlink profile, it might be worth keeping the site (as long as it hasn't been penalized in an update).

The content you can always move to a new domain, so no need to look at the content too much.

[AussieDave]

If you abandoned your sites 10 years ago in frustration then you'll be frustrated again in 2022.

It's far more competitive (20x, 50x maybe 100x ?), requires more tech savvy, and new signups tend to be few and far between because they're spread over so many more affiliates and websites.

90-95% of our revenues come from players signed previously, only 5-10% from players signed this year.

TheGooner is spot on. If your seriously seeking honest and experienced advice, then take that advice from long-time affiliates. Those not around 10 years ago, can't comment, cause they didn't live it. TheGooner he's been around since 1999. He knows his stuff.

I'd say competitiveness is up 100 fold. It's definitely a completely different playing field these days.

Plus, programs open and close at the drop of a hat.

Mobile traffic account for about 95% of all my traffic. And, most are seeking multi-platform browser based casinos. Software such as MGS, RTG etc., are still in the game but nothing like they used to be.

I'm not saying don't but if it was me, I'd bee looking for a ground-floor opportunity, instead.

These days this industry will mostly cut your throat as soon as look at you!

[pedja]

Hey there,

You should try - not much to lose. Especially if u have some traffic, so many brands out there.

Cheers.

[wonderpunter]

it's a lot harder.. the easy days are gone, what you need now really is capital thats what will get you traffic, 12 years ago you could throw up a cookie cutter with some pbn backlinks and dominate.

[pedja]

Yeah, I agree with you on this..it's very competitive now.

[jbo_online]

I believe that if you have those old domains and you are considering re-entering the business it may be worth the try, worst case scenario after "reactivating them" you can consider selling them

[JKgamble]

But the industry is growing so even if 5-10% new players would be the correct number, if you put the best content out ( even as a starter) after several years you can accomplish these goals

[CasinoTroll]

I belive that this kind of Affliate will never completly "die".
It will, for sure, get more competetiv - as more Domains are structured and deliver, more or less, helpfull Content for the Searchers.

I like the comparison with "Online Poker". Every Year there is a discussion about "Is Online Poker dead?" And the most obv. answer is, it will never be completly dead, but it will be always harder to succeed than last Year.
Of course, just my opinion.