Congratulations! If you are reading this guide, you have decided to start your journey in the world of affiliate marketing.
My name is Alex, and I will be your guide to the world of iGaming affiliates. I have been working in the gambling industry since 2017 and, during this time, managed to work on a large casino affiliate project and launch several successful sites of my own, one of which you are currently on.
In this article, I will uncover all the stages of creating your first casino affiliate website. After reading this material, you will be able to launch your site today! So, therefore, without further ado, let’s get started.
Who is a Casino Affiliate?
Before we move on to practical advice, let’s analyze in more detail who these casino affiliates are.
A casino affiliate is a brand partner that undertakes part of the advertising work. In other words, the online casino thus outsources its advertising activities and can pay more attention to the product that will retain the user.
For promoting the operator, the affiliate receives a reward in the form of a share of the revenue from the players he brought or fixed payment for each new player (read more about types of partner rewards).
Anyone can become a casino partner by simply registering in the affiliate program. If you want to know more about how casino affiliate programs work, read this article, and we’ll move on to our step-by-step guide.
Choose the main topic of your site and the countries it will target
I advise you to decide on this point before taking the first steps in creating a website. As the first affiliate site, choosing as narrow a topic as possible is best. This way, getting the first traffic and earnings will be much easier. And if this narrow topic is aimed at a specific country, it will be even easier. Here are some examples to make it clearer to you what we are talking about:
- Blackjack Sites for Canadians.
- Norwegian Casino Bonus Codes.
- French Bitcoin Casinos
- Tennis Sports Betting Tips
Also, you should decide on the topic and countries as early as possible in order to buy the right domain. If you will launch the site in a language other than English, then it is better to choose a domain name in this language.
Domain Registration
Domain Types
So, you have decided on the site’s topic and the countries from which you plan to receive traffic. Now is the time to buy a domain for your project. You have two options: to register a completely new domain or to purchase an existing one, or as they are otherwise called, aged domain. Each of them has its advantages and disadvantages. The main ones are listed below.
New Domains
Pros
- + Cheap Price
- + Easier to find a suitable name
Cons
- – You have to build Domain Trust Rating from scratch
- – Take more time to rank in Google
Aged Domains
Pros
- + Can have good backlinks
- + Takes less time to rank in Google
Cons
- – Higher Price
- – Domain can have penalties from Google
- – Limited amount of available names
Where to buy a domain?
If you decide to buy a new domain, here are some websites where you can do it:
- Namecheap
- GoDaddy
- Domain.com
If you decide to create a site on an aged domain, you can find it here:
- Auctions GoDaddy
- Expireddomains.net
- Namejet
If you want to buy a domain in a specific domain zone, where it is not so easy to do this (you need to be a country resident, for example), then Moniker can help with this. They can buy a domain for you in any domain zone through an intermediary for a small fee.
How to buy a domain?
Let’s analyze how to buy a new casino domain using GoDaddy as an example. The purchase process on other sites will be very similar.
- Sign up at GoDaddy.com (or another website you choose).
- Enter the desired domain name in the search bar.
- If the name is free, click “Make it yours.”
- Go to the shopping cart and configure the security settings.
- Choose how many years in advance you want to pay for the domain and complete the purchase.
Domain Hosting
Now is the time to take care of the place where your website will be stored or hosted. To do this, you need to use the services of one of the services called hosting providers. I advise watching this video to help you choose the best hosting for your site..
If you have difficulties transferring the site to a new hosting, I advise contacting the support service; they will be happy to help you.
Choose a Casino WordPress Theme
You will need a WordPress theme to create a site if you do not have programming and web development skills. And to simplify your life even more, it is better to choose a theme explicitly developed for casino affiliate sites. Here are some themes that will work best.
Poka Theme
This theme has everything 99% of affiliate sites need—templates for casino and game reviews, blog posts, and various selections. There are 4 layouts to choose from, which you can highly customize yourself. Also, the advantage of the theme is that you can get a backlink to your site from the theme site. The price of the Poka Theme is only $58 for one website.
Vegas Hero
Vegas Hero is a well-designed gambling theme. It has all the necessary templates like casino reviews, game reviews, blog posts, and rating tables. The theme has 2 layouts: one for a casino and one for a sports betting affiliate site. The price starts from $59 for one website.
Mercury
The theme is considered somewhat overused but performs its functions flawlessly. Mercury has as many as nine layouts and is best suited for a gambling blog or a PBN. All the needed templates are also available. The theme price is $79 for an unlimited amount of sites.
Sign Up at Casino Affiliate Programs
How to choose a casino affiliate program?
It’s time to choose the affiliate programs you want to start working with. Choosing a program should be taken seriously because it is about your money. Here are some crucial points you should look at when choosing an affiliate program:
- Make sure the program’s brands target countries you are interested in. Even if the affiliate manager says they do, it doesn’t necessarily true. You should visit the casino website and check if they have the proper translation, local payment methods, and currencies.
- Check if the program supports payment methods you can use. I strongly advise you to find out exactly how the affiliate program pays partners in advance. This will help avoid headaches when it comes to payments.
- Check the reviews of other affiliates about this program. Find out what other affiliates say about working with the program you are interested in. If something in their reviews seems unacceptable to you, then it is better to look for something else.
In the reviews of affiliate programs on our site, we take into account all the above points and even more, so when choosing, review our rating of casino affiliate programs.
Recommended Casino Affiliate Programs
Here are a few programs suitable for iGaming affiliate beginners.
King Billy Affiliates
This is an affiliate program of King Billy Casino. The program has an excellent reputation among casino affiliates. It offers a standard Revenue Share ladder up to 50% and other deal types like CPA and Hybrid. King Billy targets the following countries: Canada, Australia, Ireland, Germany, Japan, Finland, Netherlands, and many more. Check King Billy Affiliates Review to learn more.
BC.Game Affiliates
If you are looking for a cryptocurrency brand for your website, we recommend paying attention to BC.Game. This famous cryptocurrency casino has only recently launched a free affiliate program and is actively recruiting new partners. All new partners are offered a 45% revenue share with low administrative fees. Check out the full BC.Game review to learn more.
Casumo Affiliates
Casumo is a well-known European casino that has been on the market since 2012. This brand works legally in many countries where gambling is regulated. Therefore, if you intend to work for white money, then definitely run Casumo Affiliates. Revenue share deal starts from 25%.
Content Writing
It’s time to create the first content for your new site. To begin with, you can not delve into the analysis of keywords and competitors but write basic articles for your topic. For example, if you will have a site about blackjack, write an article about strategies or card counting in offline casinos. In addition, also write reviews of the casinos you have chosen. And, of course, the text for the page Best Blackjack Casinos.
5-10 articles and reviews will be enough for you to start. If you do not want to write them yourself, then use the services of freelancers. You can find them, for example, on Upwork.
Install WordPress on your website and Upload the chosen theme
We are at the finish line. A little more, and your first website will be ready. The next thing to do is install WordPress on your site. The easiest way to do this is through hosting. To do this, you need to find the appropriate field in your site settings. Here is an example of what it looks like on SiteGround hosting. Just set the login, password, and e-mail, then click one button, and WordPress is installed.
Now let’s go to the site, log in to the WordPress admin and install the theme you purchased earlier.
Customize Your Theme
Finally, all that remains is to fill your site with the content you wrote earlier. Add information about the necessary casinos and games, make selections of casinos and games, and don’t forget to put your affiliate links.
What’s Next?
Congratulations, your site is ready, but the most challenging part awaits you ahead. Now you need to ensure that your site is ranked in Google for the queries you are interested in. To do this, you need to delve into the study of SEO. You will find the links to learning materials below.
If you have any questions about this article or need help with your site, you can contact us directly.
I can say from personal experience that the VegasHero theme (and their slot machine database plugin) was great help to scaling up my website. A+++ quality products.
Thanks for sharing your experience!