iGB Affiliate magazine issue 62 Apr/May

ISSUE62APRIL/MAY2017
ISSUE 62 APRIL / MAY 2017
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3iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
Tying in to our first-ever event in the region with
the Nordic Affiliate Conference, this issue of
iGB Affiliate looks at the big affiliate networks
and consolidators reshaping the affiliate
sector in the Nordics and beyond. For Catena,
RakeTech and XLMedia (see round table
p34-36) the future is all about harnessing the
synergies, data and technology that acquired
scale brings, with the inevitable introduction of
PPC in Sweden post the recommended market
opening and re-regulation likely to impact
affiliates that today generate valuable traffic via
SEO from that territory. But as Catena’s Erik
Bergman emphasises, the proposed framework
is all still some way from being agreed by the
politicians, let alone implemented.
We also drill down into the wave of Nordic-led
M&A sweeping the sector (p38-41) and provide
some expert advice for affiliates considering an
exit as dealflow, prices and multiples continue
to rise (p42-43).
Look out for the blue NAC boxes at the end
of articles for details of when and where you
can catch several of our expert contributors
speaking or presenting at the event on 6-7 April.
See you in Stockholm!
Stephen Carter, Editor
FREE SUBSCRIPTION email: alex.pratt@igamingbusiness.com
Printed in the UK by: Pensord Press, www.pensord.co.uk
Published by: iGaming Business Ltd, Bedford House,
69-79 Fulham High Street, London SW6 3JW, UK
T: +44 (0)20 7265 4227 F: +44 (0)20 7265 4214
www.iGamingBusiness.com
© iGaming Business 2017. All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means, or stored in any retrieval system of any nature without
prior written permission, except for permitted fair dealing under
the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. Application for
permission for use of copyright material including permission to
reproduce extracts in other published works shall be made to the
publishers. Full acknowledgement of author, publisher and source
must be given. iGaming Business Affiliate Magazine is published
by iGaming Business Ltd, Bedford House, 69-79 Fulham High
Street, London SW6 3JW, UK. The views expressed by contributors
and correspondents are their own. Editorial opinions expressed in
this magazine are not necessarily those of the Publisher.
The Publisher does not accept responsibility for advertising
content. Cover image: istockphoto.com. ISSN 2041-6954.
Editor: Stephen Carter
stephen@iGamingBusiness.com
Head of content: Jake Pollard
jake.pollard@iGamingBusiness.com
Publisher: Alex Pratt
alex@iGamingBusiness.com
Designer: Scott Mackie
Production manager: Craig Young
craig@iGamingBusiness.com
Sales director: James King
james.king@iGamingBusiness.com
Sales manager: James Harrison
james.harrison@iGamingBusiness.com
Account manager: Jack Hill
jack.hill@iGamingBusiness.com
Senior account manager: Luke Webb
luke@iGamingBusiness.com
CONTENTS
http://on.fb.me/1CGEIgk
@igbaffiliate
www.igbaffiliate.com
Events calendar 04
News 06
Moving to HTTPS (part 2) 09
Engagement and black hat SEO 19
What does your content say about you 25
iGB Affiliate Awards special 30
Round table: Catena, RakeTech, XLMedia 34
The rising wave of affiliate M&A 38
Q&A: Ben Robinson, RB Capital 42
Four content strategies to build loyalty with Millennials 45
The importance of influence 49
Why UX should be your top priority 51
Creating content for the Gen C 52
Meet the new ad men 54
Data centre, including European regulation, H2 Dashboards 60

AFFILIATE EVENTS CALENDAR
4 iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
Due to their popularity and wealth of information, analysis and discussion, conferences have become
an integral part of the affiliate industry and a key communications bridge between affiliates and affiliate
managers. Whether used for networking, education or just as an excuse to meet up with friends, the
affiliate conferences listed below provide all the tools you need to improve your business.
AFFILIATE GRAND SLAM 2017
27TH - 28TH APRIL, 2017
HILTON TALLINN PARK, TALLINN,
ESTONIA
affiliategrandslam.com
I-GAMING FORUM 2017
5TH– 6TH APRIL, 2017
VASA THEATRE, STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
www.i-gamingforum.com
NORDIC AFFILIATE CONFERENCE
6TH - 7TH APRIL, 2017
GRAND HOTEL, STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
www.nordicaffiliateconference.com
GIGSE
26TH - 28TH APRIL, 2017
MARRIOTT MARQUIS MARINA, SAN
DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, USA
www.gigse.com
AFFILIATE MANAGEMENT DAYS 2017
15TH - 17TH MAY, 2017
MARRIOTT MARQUIS, SAN FRANCISCO,
CALIFORNIA
www.affiliatemanagementdays.com
BETTING ON FOOTBALL 2017
3RD - 4TH MAY, 2017
STAMFORD BRIDGE, LONDON, UK
sbcevents.co.uk

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ins_pfeile_2017_210x297_en.indd 1 23.03.2017 13:25:48

WEBMASTER NEWS
CHERRY IGAMING, COMEON! UNVEIL BRANDING PLANS
THE CHERRY IGAMING arm of Cherry
AB, and ComeOn! have announced plans
to rebrand the Cherry business area as
‘ComeOn!’, as part of the integration
project between the two companies.
In December, Cherry AB exercised an
option to acquire the remaining 51% of
shares in ComeOn Malta, and in doing so,
took full ownership of the business.
From April 1, Cherry iGaming will
resume the brand ComeOn!, in a move
that the firm said will “re-emphasise its
operational independence”, as well as
align it with other business areas owned
by Cherry AB.
“We are building a business area,
merging Cherry iGaming and ComeOn!,
with a number of brands within it and
setting a new unified culture and actionable
values,” ComeOn! chief executive Jonas
Wåhlander said.
“We therefore wanted to take this
opportunity to have a really good think
about what name mirrors this the best.
“After spending some time we weren’t able
to point to any brand alternative being on
par or better than ComeOn!.”
Anders Holmgren, chief executive of
Cherry AB, added: “By clearly branding
this business area we are, just as with
XCaliber, Game Lounge and Yggdrasil,
being even more clear and specific about
how we build shareholder value, while
supporting and acknowledging the diverse
needs of each of our business areas.”
DRAFTKINGS CONTINUES EXPANSION WITH GERMANY LAUNCH
DAILY FANTASY SPORTS (DFS) operator
DraftKings has completed the latest stage
of its ongoing expansion strategy by
launching in Germany.
Earlier this year, the company
announced plans to enhance its presence
in the European market after acquiring a
Controlled Skill Games Licence from the
Malta Gaming Authority (MGA).
At the time, DraftKings cited Germany
as a potential expansion market, and has
now completed the move by opening up
a beta version of its DFS platform to all
consumers in the country.
German players will have access to all 10
sports currently offered by DraftKings in its
core US markets, including contests based
on the NFL American football league,
Major League Baseball and the NBA
basketball league, as well as seven leagues
of football.
Jeffrey Haas, chief international officer
at DraftKings, said: “Germany is known
for its passionate sports fans and we are
pleased to welcome them to daily fantasy
sports.
“Germans show a proclivity for
American sports, particularly the NFL and
NBA.
“Initial testing in Germany shows that
our most popular sport has been the NBA,
which is why we are opening our beta test
to all German sports fans.”
PLAYTECH ROLLS OUT £500,000 CASINO CASH GIVEAWAY
PLAYTECH HAS ANNOUNCED
the launch of a new £500,000
(€577,300/$622,900) casino network
promotion.
The cash giveaway, which will run across
the Playtech network for 28 days, coincides
with the launch of three new slot games
based on the Superman film franchise.
The new promotion features a top prize
of £200,000, with three others worth
£100,000 each.
In addition, headline prizes of £5,000
will be up for grabs, as well as hundreds of
smaller cash prizes, with players to receive
one ticket for every £10 cash bet placed on
selected titles.
Last year, Playtech also ran a £250,000
giveaway across its network to promote
its new DC-branded range of games, and
the latest promotion is the largest in the
company's history.
Shimon Akad, chief operating officer
at Playtech, said: “We have meticulously
planned the last nine months’ content
release schedule and strategically aligned
it with a series of fantastic marketing
promotions.
GERMAN STATES GIVE GREEN LIGHT TO REVISED GAMBLING TREATY
GERMANY’S 16 STATES have jointly
approved a new federal gambling treaty
that could lead to an expansion of the
country’s sports betting market.
Due to take effect from January 2018,
the State Treaty on Gambling would lift
the controversial cap on the number of
sports betting licences that are on offer to
operators wishing to offer services in the
country.
The new treaty also sets out plans for
stricter enforcement against unauthorised
operators, as well as the possibility of
legalising online casino gambling activities
in the future.
However, the approval comes despite
the heavy criticism from the European
Commission (EC), which earlier this
month said the treaty was “not a viable
solution” to issues highlighted in the failed
2012 treaty.
The treaty also still requires ratification
from each German state, and lawmakers in
Schleswig-Holstein, a long-time supporter
of online gambling, have said that the
treaty is unlikely to be approved.
The EC has now called on Germany to
accelerate the legalisation of other online
gaming formats in order to help provide
more protection for consumers in the
country.
However, the German Sports Betting
Association (DSWV) said the approval
was a “small step in the right direction”,
while member operator mybet said that
it “welcomes the efforts to regulate the
German market in total”.
In a statement, mybet added: “As a
member of the DSWV the company
supports the offer by the association to start
a dialogue with politicians to develop a
mutually satisfactory sustainable solution.”

WEBMASTER NEWS
7iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
BETSSON ENTERS SPAIN WITH
PREMIER CASINO ACQUISITION
Betsson is to expand its service
offering into the Spanish gaming
market with the acquisition of
locally-licensed operator Premier
Casino.
The purchase price amounts to
#3 million ($3.2 million) in cash, with
Betsson hoping to close the deal
before the end of the month.
Premier Casino primarily operates
as a pure-play casino, although it
does hold general licences for
sports betting and other online
games, and has more than 260,000
registered customers.
Betsson said the deal would have
no material impact on its short-term
financials, but did state that it would
enable long-term profitable growth
in Spain.
The firm added that it could also
launch more brands under the
Premier Casino licences as part of
its wider, multi-brand strategy.
Ulrik Bengtsson, chief executive
and president of Betsson, said:
“Spain is one of Europe’s largest
gaming markets and especially
casino is growing fast.
“This acquisition is in line with
Betsson’s ambition to increase the
share of locally regulated revenue.”
PADDY POWER SEEKS
APPOINTMENT TO LEAD TRUMP
BETTING
Paddy Power has created a new
role to head up the bookmaker’s
betting options on US President
Donald Trump.
The successful candidate for the
‘head of Trump betting position will
manage the company’s ‘Trump
Hub’ of special bets.
Paddy Power currently offers
more than 100 markets on the US
President and the three-month role
will include devising new special
bets on Trump, who took office
earlier this year.
Paddy Power lost almost £5
million (#5.8 million/$6.2 million) by
paying out early on Hillary Clinton
winning last year’s Presidential
election.
However, despite the loss, the
bookmaker has pushed ahead with
further betting options on Trump,
and the special ‘Trump Hub’
launched last month.
Current wagering options include
enhanced odds for Trump to be
impeached and for Mexico to
directly fund the planned wall on its
border with the US.
UK GOVERNMENT TO CONSULT ON
EUROMILLIONS BETTING LOOPHOLE
THE UK GOVERNMENT has announced
that it is to consult with stakeholders over
a loophole that allows gambling websites
to offer cut-price betting options on the
EuroMillions.
The current set-up allows punters to
place bets on the outcome of the draw, even
though the UK’s Gambling Act prohibits
betting on National Lottery games at a
cheaper price than buying a ticket.
Websites are able to bypass the law by
offering UK-based punters the option to
bet on the outcome of the draw in other
European Union countries where the
EuroMillions is played. The draw result is
the same for the UK as all countries that
partake.
However, critics have argued that the £2
cost of placing a bet, lower than the ticket
price of £2.50 a line, takes money away
from Good Causes, and the government
will now take action to close the loophole.
Lotteries Minister Tracey Crouch said:
“We want to act to ensure that money
going to Good Causes is protected and
that there is no confusion around the
EuroMillions draw, providing the same
levels of clarity as there is with the
National Lottery.”
In response to the news, Nigel Birrell,
chief executive of Lottoland, one of the
websites that offers the betting service
to punters, said that his company would
“welcome the opportunity” to be involved
with the consultation over the new laws.
However, Birrell also said that the time
has come for a “general discussion about
the justification of the monopoly”, and
added that monopolies ”hinder innovation
and progress”, and this in turn impacts the
consumer.
He also warned that lottery operators
must work to update their products and
services in order that lottery games remain
relevant across the market.
Birrell told iGaming Business: “The
EuroMillions price increase was the final
straw for the consumer; the retail decline,
lack of innovation and a greedy monopoly
is causing the haemorrhaging here.
Moreover, people want to win big jackpots
not small raffle prizes."
In response, Camelot’s head of policy
and regulatory affairs, Daniel Dyball, told
iGaming Business in a statement that:
“Our overarching objective is to raise as
much money as possible for Good Causes,
and we've long argued that bet-on-lottery
firms are circumventing the legislation
and causing player confusion by offering
bets on EuroMillions – with Good Causes
missing out.”
AUSTRALIA CONSIDERS POINT-OF-
CONSUMPTION ONLINE BETTING TAX
AUSTRALIA’S FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT has revealed plans for a
point-of-consumption tax (POC) on online
gambling.
On 24 March, Federal Treasurer Scott
Morrison spoke with officials from states
and territories across the country about the
matter ahead of the 2017 budget.
Speaking to the Australian media,
Morrison said an agreement had been
reached to “move forward to prepare
a proposal for a nationally consistent
approach to point of consumption tax on
online gaming”.
However, Morrison said that such a
move would not be “about raising revenue
for revenue’s sake”, but instead minimising
gambling-related harm for consumers and
national sporting bodies.
Morrison did not set a date for when the
new laws might come into effect, and he
added that the country’s state and territory
governments need to examine the matter
further.
The proposed changes come shortly after
the Australian Senate gave its approval to
various amendments to national online
gambling laws that are set to outlaw
internet poker and in-play sports betting.
Earler in March, the Senate gave the
green light to changes set out in the
Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill
2016, including legislation that bans all
online gaming activities not specifically
authorised within the new national codes.
Online poker will be one of the areas
impacted, while although sports betting
will remain authorised, the amended law
reiterates a nationwide ban on any form of
in-play wagering.

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Presser_Activewins_iGB_Mar2017_v2.pdf 1 27/03/2017 17:02

TRAFFIC
Fili Wiese from SearchBrothers.com continues with his granular guide for webmasters looking to make
the transition from HTTP to HTTPS as smooth and painless as possible
THE FIRST PART IN the previous edition
of this magazine went into how to prepare
for moving to HTTPS. This next part
explains how to accomplish the actual move.
Copying and updating content
Duplicate the content of the HTTP version
to the location of the HTTPS version,
including XML sitemaps and all other files.
Often this just involves copying the content
of one directory to another directory on the
same server.
Once this has been done, the HTTPS
version needs to be updated. The following
suggested changes only apply to the
HTTPS version and not the still live HTTP
version, unless specified otherwise.
Canonicals
Update all the canonicals to absolute
HTTPS URLs on the HTTPS version. So
<link href=”http://www.example.com/deep/url”
rel=”canonical” />
becomes <link href=”https://www.example.com/
deep/url” rel=”canonical” />. Avoid using relative
URLs in canonicals1
. If no canonicals
are currently present on the site, first
implement canonicals before proceeding.
Be sure to update the canonicals on the
mobile version of the website to the
HTTPS version.
Pagination
If pagination2
is used on the website,
update these to absolute HTTPS URLs
on the HTTPS version. So <link href=”http://
www.example.com/deep/url?page=3” rel=”next” />
becomes <link href=”https://www.example.com/
deep/url?page=3” rel=”next” />.
Alternate annotations
There are several alternate annotations that
can be implemented on a website, and they
all need to be updated.
●● Hreflang
If the website uses herflang3
annotations
in either the XML sitemaps and/or the
website, these need to be updated to the
absolute HTTPS URLs on the HTTPS
version. So <link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”x-
default” href=”http://www.example.com/” />
becomes <link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”x-default”
href=”https://www.example.com/” />.
●● Mobile
If there is a separate mobile website, it is
likely that mobile alternate annotations4
may be present on the website. So
<link rel=”alternate” media=”only screen and
(max-width: 640px)” href=”http://m.example.com/
page-1”>
becomes <link rel=”alternate” media=”only screen
and (max-width: 640px)” href=”https://m.example.
com/page-1”>.
●● Feeds
Alternate annotations to Atom or RSS
or JSON feeds also need updating on the
website. So
<link href=”http://www.example.com/feed/rss/”
rel=”alternate” type=”application/rss+xml” />
becomes
<link href=”https://www.example.com/feed/rss/”
rel=”alternate” type=”application/rss+xml” />.
And <link href=”http://www.example.com/
json.as” rel=”alternate” type=”application/
activitystream+json” />
becomes <link href=”https://www.example.
com/json.as” rel=”alternate” type=”application/
activitystream+json” />.
Internal links
If the website uses only relative internal
links, including in Javascript and CSS files,
you can skip this step.
Internal links are important for the user
and search engines, and most websites
also depend heavily on assets, such as
Javascript, CSS, web fonts, video and image
files, including a favicon. All these internal
links and internal references can be found
throughout the HTML source and may also
contain internal links inside the assets, e.g.
image file references in CSS files or internal
URLs in Javascript files.
The following types of internal links
need to be updated:
• Links to other internal URLs inside the
HTML source code;
• Links to internal image files inside the
HTML source code;
• Links to internal video files inside the
HTML source code;
• Links to internal web fonts inside the
HTML source code;
• Links to internal Javascript files inside the
HTML source code;
• Links to other internal URLs inside the
Javascript files;
Javascript files;
• Links to internal CSS files inside the
Javascript files; links to internal CSS files
inside the HTML source code;
• Links to internal CSS files inside the
HTML source code;
CSS files;
• Links to internal web fonts inside the CSS
files;
• And any other internal link.
To do this update, there are a few
options.
●● Option 1
Switch to using only relative URLs, for
example,
a href=”http://www.example.com/”home/a
becomes a href=”/”home/a.
This option may conflict with internal
links to assets, especially when defined in
CSS and/or Javascript files. Also, it may
be useful to define a base tag5
URL in the
top of the HEAD of the HTML source
code with this option: base href=”https://www.
example.com” /.
●● Option 2
Change the protocol on absolute internal
URLs from HTTP to HTTPS, for example,
a href=”http://www.example.com/”home/a
becomes a href=”https://www.example.
com/”home/a.
●● Option 3
Remove the protocol on absolute internal
URLs, for example,
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW
FOR MOVING TO HTTPS (PART 2)
1
https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/139066
2
3
4
https://developers.google.com/webmasters/mobile-sites/mobile-seo/separate-urls
5
https://www.w3schools.com/tags/tag_base.asp

TRAFFIC
a href=”http://www.example.com/”home/
a becomes a href=”//www.example.
com/”home/a.
This option makes links dependent
on the protocol of the URL visited. For
search engines and end users, it does not
really matter which of the three options
mentioned is used as search engine bots
and browsers tend to be smart enough
to figure out the final absolute URL.
However, using option 2 is playing it safest.
●● WordPress
Websites running on the popular
WordPress platform may find the Better
Search Replace6
WordPress plugin or the
search and replace the database script7
useful to quickly update any internal links
within the database. Don’t forget to update
theme files and general settings as well.
●● Internal redirects
If any of the internal links point to an
internal redirect to another internal URL,
it is recommended to reduce the redirect
chain, and instead improve the internal
linking structure by linking it directly to the
canonicals of the HTTPS end destination.
In addition, the internal linking structure
needs to be updated to point to the right
URLs to avoid any redirect chains (see
Figure 1). For example, avoid a situation
where a HTTPS URL (a) links to a HTTP
URL (b), which then redirects back to
another HTTPS URL (c), or worse, back to
the original HTTPS URL (a).
Figure 1: Example of all redirects as
found by DeepCrawl
●● Updating CDN settings
Often links to assets are used to render a
URL, such as Javascript, image and CSS
files, which can be loaded from a content
distribution network (CDN) that may or
may not be under the control of the owner
of the website. Any link references to the
assets loaded from the CDN need to be
loaded from HTTPS. Also, in this case, it
is possible to remove the protocol from the
absolute URL, for example,
script src=”https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/
libs/jquery/3.1.0/jquery.min.js”/script becomes
script src=”//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/
jquery/3.1.0/jquery.min.js”/script.
This means that the CDN needs to be
enabled to serve the assets over HTTPS. If
the CDN is mapped to a subdomain of the
website, and most likely, is under control
of the owner of the website, then the same
SSL certificates may need to be uploaded
to the CDN and used for every request,
depending on the type of SSL certificate.
If the original asset source file is
accessible on the HTTPS version, and
most often linked to the CDN version on
HTTPS, it is important to canonicalize the
CDN version on HTTPS back to the asset
source file on the HTTPS version using
HTTP headers. For example, the asset on
the CDN linked from the HTTPS version:
img src=”//cdn.example.com/image1.png”
/ needs to return a link reference with
a canonical to the asset source file on
the HTTPS version in the HTTP header
response, so
https://www.example.com/image1.png/;
rel=”canonical”.
This will communicate to search engines
that the asset source file on the HTTPS
version is the original version and avoid
potential duplication issues.
When updating the CDN settings, to
avoid any weird potential conflicts on the
website, be sure to remove the cached data
at the CDN.
XML sitemaps
Assuming there are XML sitemaps
present before the move (if not, be sure
to create/export one based on the initial
crawl), this one has to be accessible on the
HTTPs version. Leaving the original XML
sitemaps live on the HTTP version makes
it possible to track the indexation status on
Google Search Console (under Sitemaps),
which is useful as the old URLs get crawled
and re-indexed on the HTTPS version (see
Figure 2).
Figure 2: Example of number of URLs
indexed by Google
Make sure no redirects or non-existing or
non-indexable URLs are listed in the XML
sitemaps on the HTTP version, just the
canonicals of indexable pages. Otherwise,
the submission versus indexed numbers
become unreliable.
●● Updating XML sitemaps
Next, copy the XML sitemaps of the
HTTP version and save as new files. In the
new XML sitemaps, change the protocol of
each URL mentioned within the block. For
example:
url
lochttp://www.example.com//loc
xhtml:link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”x-default”
href=”http://www.example.com/” /
xhtml:link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”es” href=”http://
www.example.com/es/” /
xhtml:link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”fr” href=”http://
www.example.com/fr/” /
xhtml:link rel=”alternate”
media=”only screen and (max-width: 640px)”
href=”http://m.example.com/” /
image:image
image:lochttp://www.example.com/image.jpg/
image:loc
/image:image
video:video
video:content_loc
http://www.example.com/video123.flv
/video:content_loc
/video:video
/url
Becomes
url
6
https://en-gb.wordpress.org/plugins/better-search-replace/
7
https://interconnectit.com/products/search-and-replace-for-wordpress-databases/

TRAFFIC
lochttps://www.example.com//loc
xhtml:link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”x-default”
href=”https://www.example.com/” /
xhtml:link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”es”
href=”https://www.example.com/es/” /
xhtml:link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”fr”
href=”https://www.example.com/fr/” /
xhtml:link rel=”alternate”
media=”only screen and (max-width: 640px)”
href=”https://m.example.com/” /
image:image
image:lochttps://www.example.com/image.jpg/
image:loc
/image:image
video:video
video:content_loc
https://www.example.com/video123.flv
/video:content_loc
/video:video
/url
This example assumes all content is
moved to the HTTPS version. If this is not
the case, only update the relevant URLs.
If possible, create XML sitemaps for
every subdomain or subsection of the
website on both the HTTP and the HTTPS
versions, and update the HTTPS versions
accordingly. If the website is large, consider
using XML sitemaps index files to group
the different XML sitemaps for each
subdomain or subsection. This will help at
a later stage to track indexation numbers of
both the HTTP and the HTTPS versions.
Resource Hints
If the website is using Resource Hints8
,
such as dns-prefetch, preload, preconnect,
prerender, prefetch, etc, then these also
need to be updated. For example,
link rel=”preconnect” href=”http://cdn.example.
com” pr=”0.42”
becomes
link rel=”preconnect” href=”https://cdn.example.
com” pr=”0.42” or
link rel=”preconnect” href=”//cdn.example.com”
pr=”0.42”.
Double-check for resource hints in the
HTTP headers, the HEAD of the HTML,
and in the Javascript code.
CSS and Javascript
Most websites depend heavily on assets,
such as CSS for styling and Javascript for
interaction. What most SEOs tend to forget
when moving content is that often these
assets may import or load other assets, such
as images and other CSS or Javascript files
on the same or other servers. So
@import ‘http://fonts.googleapis.com/
css?family=Open+Sans’;
becomes @import ‘https://fonts.googleapis.com/
css?family=Open+Sans’;.
Search all CSS and Javascript files for
the “http://” pattern and test if this can be
replaced with “https://” instead. If an asset
is loaded using “//” at the beginning of the
URL pattern, the asset is available on both
HTTP and HTTPS and the browser will
automatically request the version of the
website loaded=.
Not all assets are, by default, available on
HTTPS, especially those from third party
sources. Check with third parties if they
have an alternative URL on HTTPS and/
or consider copying the asset onto the same
server as the website, and import/load it
from there into the codebase and/or find
an alternative third party source or asset to
import/load.
HTTP headers
HTTP headers can be extremely powerful
to communicate SEO signals to search
engines9
while keeping the overhead
in code base minimal. Often, the link
annotations are stored in the PHP code10
,
or in the .htaccess files of Apache servers,
etc. For example, for .htaccess, the
following can be applied:
Files testPDF.pdf Header add Link ‘http://www.
example.com/ ; rel=”canonical”’
/Files
Always make sure to check the HTTP
headers of the website for any links, and
when found, update them accordingly, for
example:
Link: http://www.example.com/es/;
rel=”alternate”; hreflang=”es”
Link: http://www.example.com/; rel=”canonical”
Link: http://example.com; rel=dns-prefetch
becomes
Link: https://www.example.com/es/;
rel=”alternate”; hreflang=”es”
Link: https://www.example.com/; rel=”canonical”
Link: https://example.com; rel=dns-prefetch
or
Link: //www.example.com/es/; rel=”alternate”;
hreflang=”es”.
Link: //www.example.com/; rel=”canonical”
Link: //example.com; rel=dns-prefetch
Structured data
Search engines want data to be structured11
and SEOs are often happy to provide this,
hopeful that the search engines will better
understand the content and increase the
visibility of the website in organic search.
Schema.org is the default and primary
structured data repository at the moment
time of writing. Luckily, the content of
Schema.org is supported on both HTTP and
HTTPS, so this can be used in the code base.
Update any absolute URL references in
the structured data used on the website,
and all Schema.org references, to HTTPS.
For example:
{
“@context”: “http://schema.org”,
“@type”: “WebSite”,
“name”: “Your WebSite Name”,
“alternateName”: “An alternative name foryour
WebSite”,
“url”: “http://www.your-site.com”
}
Becomes
{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
WebSite”,
“url”: “https://www.example.com”
}
It is possible to utilise “//” for the URL
in this example, but not for the context
reference. For example, this works too:
{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
WebSite”,
“url”: “//www.example.com”
}
However, this is not valid according to
the Google Structured Data Testing Tool12
:
{
“@context”: “//schema.org”,
“alternateName”: “An alternative name
foryour WebSite”,
“url”: “//www.example.com”
}
Check for JSON-LD, Microdata, RDF
or other possible structured data references
in the code base, and when found, update
the protocol of every URL referenced in
the structured data to HTTPS.
RSS/Atom feeds
Another item that is often overlooked are
the RSS and/or Atom feeds of a website.
Although RSS/Atom usage has faded since
the shutdown of Google Reader, these are
8
https://www.w3.org/TR/resource-hints/9
Footnot link
09
https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2011/06/supporting-relcanonical-http-headers.html
10
http://php.net/manual/en/function.header.php
11
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/guides/intro-structured-data
12
https://search.google.com/structured-data/testing-tool

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still used a lot by feed reader alternatives
and other programs that utilise syndication.
Check if the website has any feeds, and
when found, verify on the HTTPS version
if the HREF annotations (the link to the
article) to the content and the in-content-
link references (a link in an article) are
updated to HTTPS. If not, depending on
which platform the feeds are generated,
it may be necessary to talk to the web
developers or the IT team and update all
links to absolute HTTPS URLs (don’t
use just “//” as it is unknown where the
content may be syndicated to, and if this
runs on HTTP or HTTPS).
Accelerated Mobile Pages
If the website is AMP-enabled, the link
references to AMP URLs in the source
code need to be updated to the absolute
HTTPS version. For example, link
rel=”amphtml” href=”http://www.example.com/
amp/” becomes link rel=”amphtml” href=”https://
www.example.com/amp/”.
In addition, any internal links, link
references, canonicals, asset links, etc. in
the source code of the AMP pages need to
be updated to the relevant HTTPS version.
For more information about AMP, visit
the AMP Project13
.
Cookies
It is also important that no cookies are sent
unsecure. Allowing this could expose the
data in a cookie, e.g. authentication data, in
plain text to the rest of the world. Double
check the server settings so that cookies
are secure. For example, with PHP check
the php.ini file for the following: session.
cookie_secure = True.
With ASP.NET set the following in the
web.config file: httpCookies requireSSL=”true” /.
Verify the setting by accessing a
page that sets a new cookie and check
the HTTP headers for the following:
Set-Cookie: mycookie=abc; path=/secure/;
Expires=12/12/2018; secure; httpOnly;.
Moving to HTTPS
Now that the content is prepared and
updated for the HTTPS version, it is time
to move the website.
Crawl HTTPS version
Before completing the switch from the
HTTP to the HTTPS version and going
live with the HTTPS version to the outside
world, Googlebot included, a safety check
needs to be performed (see Figure 3).
Crawl the entire HTTPS version, and
while crawling, check for the following:
• Any CSS, images, Javascript, fonts,
Flash, video, audio, iframes being loaded
insecurely through HTTP instead of
HTTPS;
• Any redirects to the HTTP version;
• Any internal links, canonicals, hreflang,
and/or structured data, etc. pointing to
the HTTP version;
• Any 40x or 50x errors in the server log
files for the HTTPS version.
Figure 3: Example of a security audit
in Google Chrome Developer Tools,
highlighting mixed insecure content
When no errors occur, continue to the
next step. It’s important to: limit the crawl
to the HTTPS version, do not crawl the
HTTP version.
Updating the XML sitemap (again)
Extract all the URLs from the crawl of
the HTTPS version and compare this list
with the URLs mentioned in the XML
sitemaps. Find out which URLs are live
and indexable on the HTTPS version and
do not have an entry in the XML sitemaps.
Update the XML sitemaps with the missing
indexable URLs found in the HTTPS crawl
of the HTTPS version.
Redirects
Now that all content has been moved and
updated, new redirection rules need to be
implemented to redirect all HTTP traffic
to the relevant HTTPS versions. A simple
catch-all Apache solution can be used in
the .htaccess of the HTTP version:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.example.com/$1
[R=301,L]
This redirects any deep pattern on the
HTTP version to the HTTPS version.
However, this makes the robots.txt and
XML sitemaps on the HTTP version
inaccessible as this catch-all redirection
rule redirects any request for these files to
the HTTPS version. To prevent this from
happening, an exemption rule needs to be
added. For example, in the .htaccess for
Apache on the HTTP version, this may
look like:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule (robots.txt|sitemap.xml)$ - [L]
[R=301,L]
This will redirect every request on the
HTTP version to the HTTPS version,
except requests for the robots.txt and
sitemap.xml files.
Move through canonicals
When moving content through canonicals,
wait to implement the redirection rules
until enough of the critical content is
indexed and served from the HTTPS
version. Once Googlebot has seen most
or all of the content on HTTPS, the
redirection rules can be pushed live to force
Googlebot and the users to the HTTPS
version.
Reduce redirect chains
When implementing the new redirection
rules, double check the old redirection rules
and update these to point directly to the new
HTTPS end destination. Avoid a redirect
chain like: HTTP A redirects to HTTP B,
which in turn redirects to HTTPS C.
Also keep in mind that some systems
may add or remove trailing slashes by
13
https://www.ampproject.org/

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TRAFFIC
redirecting them to the other variation on
the same protocol, resulting in additional
redirects. For example:
http://www.examples.com/dir redirects to http://
www.examples.com/dir/, which redirects to
https://www.examples.com/dir, which redirects
to the final destination https://www.examples.
com/dir/.
More efficient will be to redirect any of the
following URLs:
http://www.examples.com/dir
http://www.examples.com/dir/
https://www.examples.com/dir
Directly to:
https://www.examples.com/dir/
When creating the new redirection rules,
check if it is beneficial to make the trailing
slash optional in the regular expression for
the redirection rule. For example:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^(dir[/]?)$ https://www.example.com/
dir/ [R=301,L]
Naked domain vs. WWW
While writing the new redirection rules,
choose a primary hostname and set up
redirection rules for the non-primary to the
primary version on HTTPS. For example,
when the WWW hostname is the primary
HTTPS version, let’s also redirect all naked
domain URLs on the HTTPS version to the
primary WWW on HTTPS version:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^example.com [NC]
[R=301,L]
Once all new redirection rules to the
HTTPS version are live, continue to the
next step.
Crawl HTTP version (again)
This time, find the earlier extracted URLs
from the server log files, the XML sitemaps,
and the crawl of the HTTP version. The
names of the files may be:
• logs_extracted_urls.csv
• sitemap_extracted_urls.csv
• crawl_extracted_urls.csv
Use a crawler such as Screaming Frog
SEO Spider to crawl every URL and verify
that all the redirections work as intended,
and that every URL on the HTTP version
redirects to the correct HTTPS version.
When all is working as intended, continue
to the next step.
Replace robots.txt
At this stage, the robots.txt on the HTTPS
version needs to be updated.
Copy the robots.txt file from the HTTP
version to the HTTPS version and update
the sitemap reference to the new sitemap
file. For example:
User-Agent: *
Disallow:
Sitemap: https://www.example.com/sitemap.xml
Configuring Google Search Console
Now that the content has been moved to
the HTTPS version, the redirections on
the HTTP version are in place and the
XML sitemaps and robots.txt have been
updated, it is time to go to Google Search
ConsoleGoogle Search Console and let
Google know about the update.
Adding sites variations
A minimum of four variations of the
domain name need to be present in Google
Search Console. These are as follows:
http://example.com
http://www.example.com
https://example.com
https://www.example.com
Verify and add the ones that are
currently not currently present in Google
Search Console.
When If the website has any
subdomains in use, or any subdirectories
separately added to Google Search
Console, then these also need to be added
for both the HTTP and HTTPS versions.
For example:
http://m.example.com
https://m.example.com
●● Create set
Since May 2016, Google Search Console
has been supporting grouping data14
of
one or more properties as a set. This is
extremely useful for the move to HTTPS.
So add a set with every relevant HTTP
and HTTPS property in the Google Search
Console. For example, add the following
properties to one set:
http://example.com/
https://example.com/
http://www.example.com/
https://www.example.com/
When using subdomains and/or
subdirectories for specific geographic
targeting, add additional sets for each
geographic target with every relevant
HTTP and HTTPS version. For example,
add the following to sets:
Set 1:
http://www.example.com/nl/
https://www.example.com/nl/
Set 2:
http://de.example.com/
https://de.example.com/
Test Fetch and Render
To make sure everything works as intended15
for Googlebot, use the Fetch and Render
toolFetch and Render tool in Google Search
Console to fetch and render see Figure 4).
• Go to the homepage of the HTTP
version and verify it redirects properly. If
everything checks out, click the “Submit to
Index” button;
• Once in the homepage of the HTTPS
version, verify that it renders correctly. If
everything checks out, click the “Submit
to Index” button and select the “Crawl
this URL and its direct links” option when
prompted (see Figure 4).
Note: The submission to the index will
also notify Googlebot of the HTTPS version
and it requests Googlebot to starts crawling it.
14
https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2016/05/tie-your-sites-together-with-property.html
15
Figure 4: Example of the Fetch and Render tool in Google Search Console

TRAFFIC
16 iGB Afﬁliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
Verify manual actions
Before anything else, double check there
are no manual actions holding back the
migration of the website by going to the
Manual Actions Overview in Google
Search Console for the old primary HTTP
version (see Figure 5).
If there are any manual actions
present, hire some trusted Google Penalty
Consultants to help address these Google
penalties as soon as possible. While this
process is started, continue to the next step.
Preferred domain settings
To make sure the preferred domain is
set16
correctly, go to the primary HTTPS
property in Google Search Console and
click on the gear icon (upper right) and
click on Site Settings. Verify that the
preferred domain is set to the primary
version, for example, see Figure 6.
If not set, update the setting with the
primary version.
Crawl rate
Most SEOs do not change this setting in
Google Search Console, but if anyone with
access has changed the crawl rate Crawl
Rate in Google Search Console in the past
for the HTTP property, then this may also
need to be updated in the HTTPS property.
Check in the old primary HTTP
property in Google Search Console, by
clicking on the gear icon (upper right) and
click on Site Settings. If this does not say
“Let Google optimize for my site”, then
remember the current setting and go to the
primary HTTPS property in Google Search
Console, click again on the gear icon and
Site Settings, and change the crawl rate to
the equivalent on the HTTPs property (see
Figure 7).
When unsure if anything needs to be
changed, check with the IT team of the
organization. Keep in mind, ideally, from
an SEO perspective, this setting is not to be
changed unless absolutely necessary.
Geotargeting
If the website is not a common country
top level domain, chances are that the
international targeting in Google Search
Console has to be/was set manually.
Verify the old primary HTTP property in
Google Search Console if any international
targeting is present for the primary HTTP
property and changeable with a pull down,
and if so, go to the primary HTTPS version
and change the international targeting to
the same region (see Figure 8).
URL parameters
Go to the URL parameters tool in the
old primary HTTP property and check if
any URL parameters are crawled. If so,
download the table of URL parameters and
its settings (see Figure 9).
Now go to the URL parameters tool in
the primary HTTPS version and add and
categorise one-by-one the downloaded
URL Parameters from the old primary
HTTP version. Completing this step may
assist Googlebot to focus its limited crawl
budget and prioritize the important URLs
when crawling the new HTTPS version of
the website.
Removed URLs
To prevent sensitive URLs of the HTTP
version being reindexed and served as
a search result in Google Search, go to
the URL removal tool in Google Search
Console for the old primary HTTP version
and check if there are any URLs submitted
for temporary removal. If any are present,
then write these down and go to the URL
removal tool for the primary HTTPS
version and add each pattern one-by-one
(see Figure 10).
Note: The effect of the URL removal
tool is just temporary. If certain URLs need
to be permanently removed from Google
16
17
Figure 5: Example of a Manual Actions notiﬁcation in Google Search Console
Figure 6: Example of preferred domain
settings in Google Search Console
Figure 7: Example of crawl rate settings
in Google Search Console
Figure 8: Example of International
Country Targeting settings in Google
Search Console
Figure 9: Example of URL Parameters settings in Google Search Console

TRAFFIC
Index, remove the specified URLs from the
HTTPS version and return a 404 or add
a meta noindex to the specified URLs to
prevent it from being indexed as Googlebot
crawls the new HTTPS version.
Disavow file
To prevent any backlink issues (such as
Google Penguin or a manual action to be
applied) for the new HTTPS version, go to
the Disavow toolDisavow tool in Google
Search Console for the old primary HTTP
version and check if there is a disavow file
present (see Figure 11). If yes, download it
and rename it from .CSV to .TXT. Next, go
to the Disavow tool for the primary HTTPS
version and upload the renamed TXT file
on Google Search Console.
If no disavow file is present or if the
file has not been updated in a while,
prevent the website from being held back
in reaching its full potential in Google
rankings due to a risky backlink profile, and
hire Google SEO Consultants to assist with
a full manual backlink analysis and a new
disavow file.
Crawl errors
To avoid any trust issues with server
response codes, let’s have a look at the
crawl errors overview in Google Search
Console for the old primary HTTP version
(see Figure 11). In particular, check if there
are soft 404s reported by Google. If so, it is
important to fix these by returning the 404
status codes for these URLs. As Googlebot
does not favour soft 404s, it is important to
avoid duplicating from the HTTP version
any potential soft 404 issues on the primary
HTTPS version. To learn more about why
Googlebot dislikes soft 404, click here.
Submit XML sitemaps
Earlier in this guide, a number of XML
sitemaps have been created, updated,
and placed in the roots of the relevant
subdomains and/or subdirectories and/
or the primary hostname, for both the
HTTP and the HTTPS version. These
XML sitemaps contain only indexable and
crawlable URLs (preferably canonicals),
extracted from the old XML sitemaps,
the server log files, and from crawling the
HTTP and HTTPS versions of the website.
For example:
http://www.example.com/sitemap.xml
http://de.example.com/sitemap.xml
http://www.example.com/nl/sitemap.xml
And
https://www.example.com/sitemap.xml
https://de.example.com/sitemap.xml
https://www.example.com/nl/sitemap.xml
Test and submit each XML sitemaps
to the relevant Google Search Console
properties, based on protocol and/or
subdirectories and/or subdomains (see
Figure 12).
Figure 12: Example of testing and
submitting a XML sitemap in Google
Search Console
Conclusion
The next edition of this magazine will
have the final part of this series, where the
move to HTTPS is completed with Google
Search Console, and we cover how to log
files and how to measure the impact.
FILI WIESE is a renowned
technical SEO expert and
former senior Google
Search Quality team
member. At SearchBrothers.
com he successfully recovers
websites from Google penalties and
offers SEO consulting with SEO
audits and workshops. Email: hello@
searchbrothers.com and web:
https://www.searchbrothers.com
Figure 11: Example of error reports in Google Search Console
Figure 10: Example of the URL removal tool in Google Search Console

Meet our team at AAC 2017, July 11-14, stand F8

TRAFFIC
NICK GARNER recently took a break from SEO while he focused on building the product, UX and
brand for his Oshi bitcoin casino. Here he shares some insights, tips and tricks around ranking that have
evolved out of this year-long process.
FOR THOSE OF YOU who may not
know my story, I started my igaming
journey as SEO manager for Betfair and
then became head of search for Unibet, then
I set up my own igaming SEO marketing
agency 90 Digital and now I have an online
bitcoin casino called Oshi.
I took a year-long holiday from SEO
to concentrate on building up my casino.
We decided to focus on product, i.e. the
customer experience and brand, instead
of just going out and marketing ‘another’
casino.
So why not hit SEO from the start?
Engagement. That’s why. If you’ve ever
read anything from me about SEO over the
last three years, I’ve always said the same
thing:
●● Be relevant and engaging to the people
who can make you money
●● Make your site Google-friendly
●● Get PageRank
●● If the inflow of PageRank is powerful
enough and your site is ‘Google-friendly’,
Google will rank you on some competitive
phrases… and the real test begins.
●● If your site gets the necessary
engagement, i.e. click-through rate, Google
will keep you ranking.
The way I always describe it is that it’s
like being given an audition. If you pass
this, great, you’re on stage. However, If you
fail the audition, it’s much harder to get
re-auditioned.
That’s why in my experience, sites which
have failed their audition are really difficult
to re-rank, whereas fresh websites, which
have no history to speak of, often rank
much more easily.
What’s the dynamic here? Simply,
Google is becoming much more of a
meritocracy. In other words sites that people
want rank more than ever before better than
the sites marketers want to have ranked.
As a user, this is a great thing. We trust
Google more than ever and this is proven
by the Edelman Trust Barometer, which
revealed in 2015 that Google is the most
trusted source of news globally.
Google is now more trusted than the
mainstream media, which includes TV,
newspapers and radio. Google of course
loves this, because it means AdWords
receives the radiated trust from the organic
search results.
From my point of view, I realised that
the SEO game was on when we started to
rank just outside the top first page results
for a bunch of phrases, despite having
undertaken no active SEO efforts.
You might be thinking, “That’s great Nick
but I want tools tips and tricks”. Okay then!
I’ve talked about engagement, so let’s
talk about what’s engaging?
This is a huge question that I’ve thought
about. A lot. In gambling, especially
casino, what is an engaging casino
brand? Casinos all look the same, so if
engagement is the key driver to rankings
then why would one casino rank more
than another? The short answer is brand
and first-reaction experience.
Obviously, a lot of those reading this are
affiliates, so let’s talk about you. Broadly, as
I see it there are two groups of affiliates:
●● Truth givers
●● List providers
Truth givers
I use the term ‘truth’ pretty loosely, because
as we all know the number one operator is
the one which makes the affiliate the most
money in the long term (excluding CPAs of
course). Ironically, the operators which make
the most money are also the ones which look
after their customers the best. Nice.
Being a truth giver is tough, time-
consuming and ultimately expensive. This
is where you become an expert in the
subject, build up a body of social proof,
i.e. customer reviews of casinos, and
generally come across as very credible.
Great examples of truth givers are of
course Casinomeister, Latestcasinobonuses,
AskGamblers and ThePogg.
These sites became brands in their own
right, and AskGamblers is probably one
of those strongest of these brands. Google
recognises the power of that domain and
users have grown to trust it enough so
AskGamblers ranks across huge keyword
territories.
So, as an aspiring truth giver, which
keyphrases should I be looking to rank for?
The answer is
‘[operator] reviews’/‘casino reviews’/
anything where you are looking for
somebody to trust and help you make a
qualitative judgement on your behalf.
If you’re a noob affiliate, I suggest being
a truth giver would be a tough path to
follow unless you can find a niche in which
you have a lot of expertise. The Internet
loves niches. I know a guy who made a
load of money on ‘fruit machines’ (aka
slots). But some people still call slots fruit
machines, therefore it’s a keyword niche.
Once upon a time ‘PayPal casino’ was also
a niche.
My point is if you want to compete as a
trust giver, be engaging relative to the key
word you rank for.
List providers
Lists are much more straightforward. There
are keyword neighbourhoods where people
just want a list of bonuses.
Why is a list of bonuses engaging?
Because it answers questions users might
ENGAGEMENT AND
BLACK HAT SEO

TRAFFIC
have. And of course, the question is often
“where can I get free money?”, and the
answer is on your webpage.
In this case, to be engaging a user doesn’t
want huge in-depth reviews of the casino,
along with a plethora of user feedback.
Users just want to know the bonus figures
on your list are current and relevant.
The best example of this in my opinion
is thebigfreechiplist.com (not to be
confused with bigfreechiplist.com).
Other great examples of list providers are
sites such as Oddschecker and Easyodds.
Fundamentally, they are data grids to help
you make more efficient bets. If you want
to compete as a list provider, you need to be
appropriately engaging.
And to be engaging, it’s also a question
of your understanding user intent around
key phrases. Once you have a grasp of
the customer intent behind different key
phrases then the rest is straightforward; you
build a site to meet that need.
Tool time! An excellent tool for
understanding the intent of keywords is
http://labs.linkdex.com/term-tagger/ (free
to use of course).
This gives you a useful mental
framework around the intent of key
phrases. It’s only a beta/experimental
tool, but that’s okay because it gives you
a real sense of how different phrases have
different intentions behind them. (see
Figure 1)
Let’s take ‘casino bonus codes UK’ as
our specimen phrase. It has the following
properties:
●● it’s a location phrase (UK specific)
●● it’s in a niche, casino
●● the buying cycle is around consideration
and research
●● the search behaviour is is ‘couponing’ i.e.
collection of a code
●● it’s geographic research
(see Figure2)
For me, looking at key phrases within
this mental framework gives me a nice clear
roadmap. And to save you some thinking
time, this is what it tells me:
I should build a list of UK casinos
bonuses and maybe focus on keyword
‘couponing’, because it’s a fairly low traffic,
fairly high intent niche, i.e. ‘UK casino
Coupon Codes’.
Tip/insight: Google uses the term
‘satisfying’ in it’s Google quality rater
guidelines (a must-read if you want to
understand what the perfect website looks
like according to Google), which you can
find by searching for ‘Google search quality
rating guidelines 2016’.
When embarking on this process, it’s
worth taking a moment to think about
what’s satisfying for you as a user when it
comes to the search experience. From my
perspective, this needs to be:
●● fast. Yes, we know Google likes to rank
fast pages
●● immediately relevant. Yes, we also know
Google likes relevance
●● obvious from the search results that this
page is the one to click. Yes, we know that
CTR indirectly affects rankings
At this stage you will have:
●● a clear idea of which niche you want to
work in
●● played around with ‘term tagger’
●● read the Google quality rater guidelines
●● understood where you can be engaging,
useful and satisfying to users
●● used tools like https://ubersuggest.io
to come up with lists of key phrases very
relevant to you
●● and, for the sake of discussion, you’ve
now built your first WordPress list website.
The next step in this process is
PageRank.
To put PageRank into context, I
generally think of three elements which
make a website rank on Google, of which
PageRank is just one:
PageRank – the raw force of a domain,
determined by the volume of qualified
links. ‘Qualified’ is the important word
here, because once upon a time links were
not qualified and any link would have
PageRank. Now, with Penguin, links are
aggressively qualified.
Based on tests with the agency I
founded, 90 Digital, they built a basic site
and spammed it with millions of cheap
links. The idea was to kill the site. The site
carried on ranking in its niche, which just
validates that links hit by Penguin have
neither positive or negative value. In other
Figure 1: Linkdex term-tagger tool
Figure 2: Linkdex term tagger tool results

TRAFFIC
words, a bad link has zero value.
TrustRank – the history and authority
a domain built up over time. When you
have high TrustRank as a domain you can
rank really easily, and if your content is
consistently engaging, you will maintain
those rankings.
And our old friend – engagement. To
be ‘auditioned’ for a key phrase, you need
a bit of TrustRank and some PageRank.
TrustRank comes from being engaging.
The accumulation of PageRank
(the black hat part)
Once upon a time, the game was all about
PageRank, and whole businesses and
ecosystems built up around delivering and
acquiring PageRank.
From my point of view, I see PageRank
as a ‘raw force ‘ separate from the location
of a website and its content.
As mentioned before, there is a
PageRank ‘on off switch’, controlled by
the Penguin algorithm. If your links are
‘PageRank off’, then you’re wasting your
money acquiring them.
So how do you know if a link is
‘PageRank on’?
Having been away from the SEO scene
for a bit, instead of talking to my content
marketing friends, I decided to get in touch
with the most hard-core black hat people I
know; the blackhatworld crew.
Why? Because they know what ranks
and roughly why.
My question to them: if a website ranks
on Google and has good Majestic Citation/
Trust Flow, can I be fairly confident about
PageRank being ‘on’?
My content marketing friends didn’t
really know, but fortunately the crew in
90 Digital, which corroborated with the
answers from my blackhat friends, did. The
consensus is: if a site ranks, links from that
site will pass PageRank.
The rationale is really simple; if Google
ranks a website, it likes that website.
Therefore it’s more likely Penguin has not
switched off PageRank for outgoing links
from those sites.
Tools to assess ranking
How do you work out which sites rank?
SEMrush scrapes Google search results
and collates them on a big database so you
can work out whether a domain ranks in
a particular country. You can then get an
estimation on the value of the traffic from
those key phrases.
There are three ways you can get this
information:
●● run SEMrush reports on each separate
domain (very slow)
●● use your urlprofiler, a bulk analysis
tool which gives you a combination of
SEMrush and Majestic data (fast)
●● talk to a friendly agency which can run
these reports for a modest cost
If you’re the DIY kind, to make it work
you will need to buy SEMrush API credits,
only available on the business plan, which
is $399 a month (I know, it’s expensive).
You will need a tool like your urlprofiler,
which comes with 500 majestic lookups per
day. Your urlprofiler has a 14-day trial and
costs £155 a year.
If you’re not the DIY sort and you want
to do this, go and reach out to a friendly
SEO agency and ask them to do what I’ve
outlined here.
Links seller lists
My old agency, 90 Digital is an obvious
target for link sellers, and over the years the
agency has built up tens of thousands of
links seller domains.
As a small favour to me, I asked one of
the team in the agency to run reports on
some fresh lists of domains they received
in the last couple of months. Around 5,000
domains were analysed and about 15% of
these domains actually rank for something
somewhere on the Google index, according
to SEMrush.
For context, were talking about junk
sites with link placements going for around
US$80, which unbelievably rank on
Google. Typically, these sites rank down
in 30th position, but among them you will
find a few domains which are very strong
in particular phrases.
Combine this ranking data with Majestic
key metrics such as number of referring
domains, Citation Flow and Trust Flow,
and you can build up a very accurate hit list
of domains to go and get placements with.
Going back to my earlier point about ‘if
it ranks, PageRank is probably switched
on’, this will provide a nice supply of fairly
cheap PageRank.
You will probably start thinking about the
‘Fred’ algorithm update targeting medium-
to high-quality spun/badly written content
blocks, and you would be right.
Huge numbers of these links seller sites
will be hit by Fred, but that doesn’t really
worry me because as long as the SEMrush
database remains up-to-date, 90 Digital can
run API reports for me and isolate those
domains which still rank. And by definition
if a site ranks, it’s got through ‘Fred’.
SAPE
If you’ve never heard of SAPE, maybe it’s
time... It’s a Russian link network. They
are a marketplace for links. You go there,
you rent links. Here’s the ethically difficult
part: often those links are submitted by
hackers who find vulnerabilities in sites
and inject links.
It’s not pretty, it’s not ethical, but
the PageRank can be awesome. If you
play a dirty game, this is a great way of
renting PageRank really cheaply. I’m not
advocating it, but I am saying it exists and
it works. The important part with SAPE:
qualify the domains you rent from.
As with links seller lists, there are 10%
of these SAPE domains which rank and
maybe 3% which are great value i.e. big
Majestic Citation Flow/Trust Flow and
some nice rankings.
Once again, SAPE is not ethical and
you’re playing with fire, but it works. Tip:
never directly link from SAPE to your
money site.
Caveat: This is hard-core igaming SEO.
You do this kind of thing with great care.
Finally
I’m very relieved that SEO hasn’t really
changed all that much in the last year. All
I’m seeing are megatrends moving steadily
in one direction or another, i.e.
●● the selectiveness of Penguin controlling
PageRank
●● Google’s artificial intelligence getting
better at judgement of content
●● Google search results becoming more
meritocratic
●● Engagement still being a long-term
decider on rankings
Any page of content can rank, as long
as it satisfies users. So think carefully about
how you can satisfy user intent before you
go accumulating PageRank.
NICK GARNER founded the
successful SEO agency 90
Digital and subsequently
founded Oshi bitcoin
casino: oshi.io.

25
TRAFFIC
iGB Afﬁliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
WHAT DOES YOUR
CONTENT SAY
ABOUT YOU?
Nichola Stott of theMediaFlow navigates you though the process of crafting content that resonates,
rather than clashes, with the personality and values of your brand.
IN A FUN COMPETITIVE space like
online gaming, we’ve got to get crazy-
smart and creative to get the best links.
However if you’re pitching high quality
media outlets to take your story, your
content message has to adhere to similar
standards as your advertising campaigns.
The message you put out as a brand speaks
volumes about your organisation to your
potential customers. It has to resonate with
the same personality and values you are
looking to project via the brand.
So how do we balance creativity whilst
maintaining brand-fit?
Know thyself!
Your audience should be positioned front
and centre, and knowing who they are and
how they should be spoken to will dictate
the tone of your content and identity.
You may already have highly insightful
customer persona data to hand, which
can be used for setting that tone of voice.
Try to fix an ideal customer in mind and
work through some exercises with your
colleagues to set some of the real tone of
voice fundamentals; such as:
● Are we formal or informal?
● Is our language technical or plain English?
● Are we colloquial or diverse?
● Do we ever do little swears!?
Perhaps try using polarising viewpoints
to begin with when setting some of your
tone of voice fundamentals. Another
tactic to try is to take a well-known piece
of writing or handful of song lyrics and
rephrase a few lines into varying degrees of
formality, neutrality and informality. Pass
them around and try to get consensus as to
which your organisation would say if it was
a living entity.
So, work out if would be…
Morning has broken (formal)
It’s morning (neutral)
Yo! Sun’s up (informal/slang)
Cringe
Nothing is more grating than a brand trying
to project an identity it doesn’t possess
and to connect with an audience in a way
that it shouldn’t. For some brands in other
sectors, failing to nail your tone of voice is
a gamble that may or may not backfire and
can be recoverable, but we’d suggest that in
online gaming this isn’t a chance we should
take due to the requirements of credibility
and responsibility.
I’m reminded of McDonalds’ attempt
to get down with the kids in its campaign
from a couple of years ago (see Figure 1).
Not really what “the kids” mean when
they say “I’d hit it”, and definitely not
something to openly confess to doing
Figure 1: Example of brand adopting discordant tone of voice and personality

TRAFFIC
with a cheeseburger! In all seriousness
though, this is an attempt by a global fast
food chain to adopt a brand tone of voice
and personality that it absolutely doesn’t
have. Whilst the consequences here are
laughable examples for marketing types like
me, I think the consequences could be far
more damaging from a brand perception
perspective if done in online gaming.
Brief on brand
Whether your content is being produced
in-house or by an external agency, a good
project brief is essential for hitting the right
note. Understand your core motives and
make sure everyone involved in the project
is on the same page. Communicate openly
and honestly, and be prepared for the
likelihood that you project will change and
evolve during the process.
As well as what you want to achieve, to
stay on brand your briefing process must
also facilitate an identity component. Try
to be quantitative as well as qualitative;
otherwise too many intangibles may leave
things too open to interpretation. A brief
such as “we want to be provocative and
edgy” works for a brand like Cards Against
Humanity, but would we trust a high street
bank with content that could be described
like that?
To help with this, we as an agency stick
to a consistent briefing form with our
clients. This includes some static checkbox
items around values and feelings, as well as
more open-ended interview-style questions.
Tip: Limit the number of choices you
offer or need to select to define a brief,
otherwise there can be too much overlap.
Whilst it is possible to be fun and creative
as well as serious and earnest; stick to
primary values and feelings – up to three
at a time.
Getting it right
So what does your content say about you?
Good quality content that resonates with
your customers lets them know that you
understand them, recognise their needs and
care about their interests. If your content
is consistent in tone and overall message, it
will signal trust, reliability and credibility.
Content that is thoughtful, well-written
and free from spelling and grammatical
errors will give users faith in you and your
business. Brand identity matters, and your
content marketing has the power to develop
it, or to damage it.
That’s all well and good, but as creators
it can be difficult at times to step away from
our output and objectively assess if we’ve
nailed the brief. So here’s a great way to
test if your content is on brand…
Focus
At the start of a campaign we strongly
recommend setting up a focus group with
around 20 to 50 individuals and road-testing
around three content sample pieces for
tone of voice. Select participants that are
not already customers or identify as very
familiar with your brand but still fit broadly
into your demographic. Allow them to read
and process hard copy versions of content
concepts and complete an evaluation form
that shares some common fields to your
briefing form. You should keep the following
questions front of mind during this process:
●● Are you getting strong overlap in brief
input and evaluation choices?
●● Is there a huge disconnect with your
perceived tone of voice and your ideal
demographic?
Depending on the size and scale of
your content plan, you might also want
to consider a ‘control’ focus group of
people that are outside of your target
demographic, as what may be a perfectly
resonant message with your target audience
could be completely discordant, even
offensive, to another.
Freedom in a framework
If you follow the advice and process ideas
we’ve provided here you can push the
boundaries of creativity with your content
marketing without fearing that your
campaign is going to bomb.
Get it right and you will have an
entertaining marketing asset that will have
a consistent message which aligns with
target users’ expectations and assumptions
about you and your brand. Be aware of
what tone and what type of content your
customers are likely to expect from you,
i.e. what is appropriate and what fits your
overall message. Don’t be afraid to show
your brand personality!
NICHOLA STOTT is
founder of theMediaFlow,
a multi award-winning
digital marketing agency
that specialises in organic
search and content marketing.
Nichola has almost two decades of
experience in digital communications
and featured in the BIMA Hot100 Digital
People of 2015.
“If your content is consistent in tone and overall message,
it will signal trust, reliability and credibility”

Enjoy gambling responsibly. begambleaware.org 18+

FEATURE - AWARDS SPECIAL
The 10th edition of the iGB Affiliate Awards saw the gaming affiliate sector’s annual celebration and
recognition of its achievements over the prior 12 months on the move again, not just to a spectacular
new venue but also from its customary time slot on the eve of the London Affiliate Conference to the end,
allowing the cream of the industry in attendance at the historic Grade II-listed The Brewery in the City of
London to really let their hair down and celebrate in style.
Here we run down the winners from all the 32 categories and feature a selection of images from a
highly memorable night in London. iGB Affiliate would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the
individuals and businesses who won or who were nominated. See you next year!
THE IGB AFFILIATE AWARDS
SATURDAY 11TH FEBRUARY 2017

Best Bingo Affiliate
Manager
Lauren Wiggan - bet365
Best Casino Affiliate
Manager
Martyn Beacon –
AffiliateEdge
Best Financial Affiliate
Manager
Gonzalo Rojas -
Empiremoney
Best Lottery Affiliate
Manager
Helen Taylor -
CherryAffiliates
Best Poker Affiliate
Manager
Stephanie Robinson -
WPN Affiliates
Alex Smith -
bet365
Best Sport Betting
Affiliate Manager
Daniela Davenport -
bet365
Best Bingo Affiliate
Program
Broadway Gaming
Best Casino Affiliate
Program
CherryAffiliates
Best Financial Affiliate
Program
Empiremoney
Best Lottery Affiliate
Program
LottaRewards
Best Poker Affiliate
Program
WPN Affiliates
Best Sports Betting
Affiliate Program
bet365
Best Foreign Language
Affiliate Program
Kindred Affiliates
Best Affiliate Program
Newcomer
Codetaff
Best Affiliate Marketing
Campaign
Coral Affiliates
Best Bingo Website
WhichBingo.co.uk
Best Casino Website
AskGamblers.com
Best Financial Website
FXEmpire
Best Lottery Website
LotteryUSA.com
Best Poker Website
Pokerisivut
Best Sports Betting
Website
At The Races
Best Foreign Language
Website
Apuestasdeportivas.
com
Best Affiliate
Newcomer
WantMyBet
Best Use of Social
Media by an Affiliate
Footballtips
Best Innovation
SmartBets by
bettingexpert

The Industry landscape:
Afﬁliates in igaming 2017
NEW REPORT COMING SOON
What igaming afﬁliates really think.
[ ]

FEATURE - AWARDS SPECIAL

THE NORDICS
36
ROUND TABLE: CATENA,
RAKETECH, XLMEDIA
Ahead of our Nordic Affiliate Conference, we rounded up top management from three of the biggest
affiliate networks and consolidators in the region, Erik Bergman, Chief Strategy Officer of Catena Media,
Michael Holmberg, CEO of Raketech and Ory Weihs, CEO of XLMedia, to gauge their reaction to the
proposed Swedish opening and get their views on the current state of play in the Nordic affiliate space.
The Swedish government review
has now recommended the
opening of the online market to
non-monopoly operators with a
tax rate of 18% on GGR. What is
your initial reaction to this news,
and how do you see this scenario
affecting affiliate activities and
business models in the country?
Erik Bergman (EB): I’m positive towards
the 18% GGR tax rate. The talk beforehand
was of it falling in the range of 15-20%,
but in my opinion the most likely scenario
was 20%, since that’s how it is in Denmark.
However, this is still a long way from being
signed off by the politicians, so we will see
where things end up.
With regards to effect on the affiliate
activities or business models, I don’t think
much will change. This is in line with our
expectations and in line with the UK and
Denmark, which are markets that have a
lot of similarities to Sweden.
Michael Holmberg (MH): We think it will
be business as usual. The difference will
be the tax, which we believe the operators
will try to pass on to the affiliates.
However, this will mostly impact the
smaller affiliates and not us to such a large
extent. We feel confident that our position
as one of Sweden’s biggest affiliates
in combination with our very good
relations with the operators will provide
us with an exceptionally solid base for
further successful business development
in Sweden going forward. We are also
expecting PPC advertising through Google
to really take off.
Ory Weihs (OW): My initial thoughts
on this are very positive, as we have seen
this to be a very workable tax rate in
other countries. As we have always said, a
regulated environment is the correct one
in the end, creating a larger addressable
market with more marketing methods
available (paid search, video, social
etc.). We believe affiliates with a strong
tech foundation and multi methodology
approach will benefit from this regulation.
What are the most valuable
countries in the region for
affiliates in terms of average
player values, and what impact did
Denmark licensing online casino
and betting have on player values
and profits there?
EB: With regards to player values Norway
is and has for a long time been the country
with by far the highest average player
values. Sweden is second and Finland
comes in as the third. When it comes to
Denmark, I unfortunately have very limited
experience since it has never been a focus
market for us.
MH: We have no experience from the
Danish market but regarding player value,
Norwegian players are worth most, then
Swedish and lastly Finnish.
OW: We see many countries as high value,
from the Nordics to the UK, as well as
a few other European ones. The Danish
regulation as a whole was a very positive
development, as following an initial dip
the market picked up and now allows for
a wide variety of user acquisition methods
to be used.
“We have seen the 18% GGR tax recommended in
Sweden to be very workable in other countries. As we
have always said, a regulated environment is the correct
one in the end”
Ory Weihs, XLMedia
market with more marketing methods
available (paid search, video, social
etc.). We believe affiliates with a strong
tech foundation and multi methodology
approach will benefit from this regulation.
What are the most valuable
countries in the region for
affiliates in terms of average
player values, and what impact did
Denmark licensing online casino
and betting have on player values
and profits there?
With regards to player values Norway
is and has for a long time been the country
with by far the highest average player
values. Sweden is second and Finland
comes in as the third. When it comes to
Denmark, I unfortunately have very limited
experience since it has never been a focus
“We have seen the 18% GGR tax recommended in
Sweden to be very workable in other countries. As we
have always said, a regulated environment is the correct
Erik Bergman
34

THE NORDICS
37
The last year saw a wave of MA
engulf the afﬁliate space Why is
the consolidation play unfolding
now, and why are Nordic-founded
companies – both as acquirers
and those being acquired – so
prominent in this process?
EB: I don’t know why the consolidation
didn’t start earlier. My best guess is that
most affiliate businesses were started by
accident rather than with a clear strategy,
hence most people focused on running their
own shows and didn’t hire a lot of people
or try to acquire each other. When the
industry started to mature, investors and
experienced business people starting to see
the opportunities and partnered up with the
existing affiliates.
When a few larger acquisitions were
undertaken and made public, everyone
started to ask themselves the question:
“Why don’t we do this?”, and more
started doing it. A couple of years ago the
multiples were really low and pretty much
any deal that could be done was worth
doing. Today, things have changed and
the prices are, as you said, significantly
higher, but there are still plenty of
exciting prospects.
The reason Nordic-founded companies
are so prominent is probably the same as
why they are so prominent when it comes
to betting operators. There is a strong
culture of gaming and online businesses
in Sweden, so before the acquisitions
started, there were already many
affiliates active in the region who came
from Scandinavia. We have also seen
experienced people from the operators
move across to the affiliate side and then
it went from there. It got a lot of exposure
in the Nordic media and even more
people got interested in the possibilities.
MH: Many of the big operators, such as
Betsson and Unibet for instance, originate
from Sweden, as well as leading game
providers such as NetEnt and Evolution.
Sweden has a strong history of producing
successful entrepreneurs in the IT sector,
as evidenced by globally known companies
like Skype and Spotify. It’s therefore
not that surprising that that the Swedes,
together with their Nordic neighbours,
also are very prominent in the industry of
igaming affiliation.
Regarding last year’s MA, we think
it just proves how young the igaming
affiliate industry really is. What we are
seeing now started happening 10 years
ago on the operator side. Catena Media’s
entrance on Nasdaq Stockholm further
accelerated this process, and had a strong
effect on the public perception of our
industry. It’s getting more professional
with every day that passes.
“A couple of years ago the multiples were really low and
pretty much any deal that could be done was worth
doing. Today, things have changed”
Erik Bergman, Catena Media
the prices are, as you said, significantly
Michael Holmberg Ory Weihs

THE NORDICS
38
OW: The gambling scene in the Nordics
has always been one of the larger ones, so
it is no surprise to me that strong affiliates
and marketing partners have emerged
here as well. There are many potential
gamblers, many ways to try to reach them
as well as operators to send them to. There
have been many success stories that help
smaller players gain trust.
The scramble to acquire the
best affiliates is seeing some
eyewatering prices and high
multiples being paid for some
very young businesses with
very little track record. Is this
not a risky strategy to pursue,
or should we be looking beyond
conventional valuation metrics
when assessing these types
of businesses?
EB: There have been quite a few deals
where the prices have been over the top, if
you ask me. That said, every case is unique
and it’s all about weighing the risks with the
rewards, getting to know the people behind
the business and assessing its potential. The
age of the business is of course relevant but
it’s only one of many parameters, of which
others can be far more important.
MH: We have completed 14 acquisitions
in the last 24 months and our experience
is that the multiples have been very stable.
One thing you have to remember though
is that smaller affiliates most often have
worse deals with the operators than the
larger ones, and that the multiples that
usually get communicated in public are
before synergies and optimisations have
been implemented.
We don’t believe in looking beyond
conventional valuation metrics; we try to
focus on the underlying fundamentals and
reflect any potential risks in our valuations.
OW: We at XLM are not dependent on
acquisitions to grow and therefore might
have a more conservative valuation matrix,
as well as a generally safer and more solid
approach. We choose targets that can really
add value to us, to either one of our main
two divisions. We focus on targets that we
feel can be easily improved.
Scale brings with it the ability
to take advantage of new
marketing technologies (to
optimise conversion, the funnel,
automation etc.) How do you
see this shift towards scale
and technology reshaping the
affiliate sector, and also how
operators engage and work with
performance marketers?
EB: Obviously the game changes and
there are a lot of pros to being a big player
with the synergies that brings. However,
I still believe there will be space for the
more old school, smaller SEO affiliates for
quite some time to come. They have great
experience when it comes to SEO and
know their markets. In the long term, it
will be tough for them to compete with big
teams from larger affiliates and operators,
but there is still plenty of time.
With regards to the operators, I think
a lot of them will chose to work with a
smaller number of larger affiliates rather
than plenty of small ones. It will increase
the prices per new player a bit, but will
give them less overheads and more
reliability. As in any industry, it all comes
down to trust and it is a lot easier to trust
a few important partners than tons of
small ones.
MH: I believe SEO will always be
important and as long as your sites really
add user value, they will be relevant.
And of course size matters with regards
to being able to invest in technology,
but also it is preferable for operators to
work with larger affiliates since it is
more convenient.
OW: As I have mentioned many times
before, affiliates who do not embrace
technology in developing a true
technological edge and entrance barriers
will be left behind. We now employ more
than 80 developers and have been creating
our optimisation and operational tools for
more than a decade.
As a large affiliate/network,
what do you see as the biggest
immediate challenges ahead
for your business and the wider
affiliate sector in the Nordics?
EB: Right now, a lot obviously depends
on the regulatory environment but since
we will know a lot more about that in just
a few days it’s hard to say anything more
right now. Other than that, I don’t see many
immediate challenges or many changes
from how it has been the past few years. It’s
more or less business as usual.
MH: The introduction of Google’s PPC
advertising in Sweden when the market
gets re-regulated will affect all affiliates that
today get their traffic through SEO. We
further believe that smaller affiliates will see
lower margins as a result of the operators
trying to push over the new tax on to them.
However, from our perspective, this will
just increase our possibilities to optimise
small business that we might acquire on the
Swedish market following a re-regulation.
OW: Mainly the understanding that the
one-trick-pony affiliate with a few sites
or a few media campaigns will struggle
maintaining scale, especially the ones that
have no real team or tech background.
“The introduction of Google’s PPC advertising in Sweden
when the market gets re-regulated will affect all affiliates
that today get their traffic through SEO”
Michael Holmberg, Raketech
NAME: ERIK BERGMAN ORY WEIHS
DATE: 7 APRIL 2017
WHEN: @ 14.45
36

THE NORDICS
38
THE RISING WAVE
OF AFFILIATE MAThe past 18 months has seen a ramping up of MA activity in the gambling affiliate space, with Nordic-
founded and managed companies the main protagonists. Scott Longley delves into the dealmaking
activity by the likes of Catena, GIG, RakeTech and others, which only looks set to continue rising in 2017.
THE MA MOVES IN the operator and
supplier space understandably dominate the
headlines, but an equally significant process
of consolidation has been underway in the
igaming affiliate world.
And going by the news that has appeared
to date this year and regular exchanges
with affiliate contacts, the pace of change
is likely to quicken in the coming year. But
first, a recap of recent events.
Privately owned affiliate network
RakeTech announced it had raised €70m in
funding in order to fund future acquisitions;
then Catena Media, a leading Stockholm-
listed affiliate consolidator, released news
of its latest buyout, the €8.6m acquisition
of Swedish-facing affiliate Slotsia.
Finally, Oslo-listed Gaming Innovation
Group (GIG) announced its affiliate arm
had bought an unnamed affiliate network
for €3.5m, following that news up a week
later with the announcement that it had
secured a SEK400m (€42m) bond, the
bulk of which would go towards further
deals in the affiliate space. On 10 March, it
announced its largest affiliate acquisition to
date, of Casinotopsonline.com for €11.5m.
These moves come on top of an already
busy period of MA in the affiliate realm
involving not just the aforementioned firms
but also XL Media and Cherry Gaming.
As can be seen from our tables, iGaming
Business has tracked at least 33 deals
within the last three years involving these
businesses alone, and this doesn’t include
a dozen deals in the past 12 months
mentioned by RakeTech in its fund-raising
news.
The dealflow, if anything, is speeding up
and the amount of money involved in each
individual buyout would also appear to be
on the increase.
Deal sizes in the low single-digit millions
of euros just one or two years ago are now
rising into the €10m-plus territory, and in the
case of Catena Media’s recent buyout of the
US-based PlayNJ business, up to a potential
US$45m if earnout targets are reached.
Figure 1: XLMedia gambling affiliate acquisitions
PROPERTY DATE FEE + EARNOUT MARKET FOCUS
Scandi/Danish network July 2014 $2.3m Denmark
UK sports betting site August 2014 $2.3m UK
MarMarMedai June 2015 $7.36m Unknown
Figure 2: Catena Media affiliate acquisitions
Finix Invest November 2014 $6m Scandinavia
LJFK Ltd March 2015 Unknown Netherlands
Promo6000 March 2015 Unknown Norway
Stay Media July 2015 $2m Sweden
Arctic Marketing August 2015 $0.3m Finland
Cornvinus August 2015 $0.65m UK
La Luna September 2015 $0.45m Netherlands
Good Game September 2015 $1.5m Finland
Right Casino November 2015 $6m UK
Unnamed Italian/
Belgium-facing sites
March 2016 $9m Italy/Belgium
Wonko Media March 2016 SEK32m Sweden
AskGamblers April 2016 $15m UK
German-facing network June 2016 $6.5m Germany
Spelbloggare.se July 2016 $5m Sweden
SBAT October 2016 $13.5m UK
CasinoUK November 2016 $10.6m UK
PlayNJ December 2016 $45m US
Slotsia February 2017 $8.5m Sweden

THE NORDICS
39
Multiples and earnouts
Edward Ihre, co-founder of live casino
operator Codeta and a respected consultant
in the affiliate space, says the spate of
acquisitions makes sense in terms of
respective valuations between the acquirers
and their targets. “Being able to buy these
assets at such cheap valuations makes sense
when you can add their earnings to the
balance sheet,” he says.
The multiples in question vary according
to each deal. In terms of recent buyouts,
Catena’s Slotsia deal (see Figure 2) saw the
company pay €3.6m upfront for a company
which will generate an expected €300,000
in revenues in the first quarter of this year
at margins of approximately 75%.
On an annualised basis this would
equate to circa €1m in operating profit.
However, according to industry sources
Slotsia only started to generate meaningful
traffic around June 2016 and recorded
annual revenues of, at most, €500,000 at
the time. With multiples based on historical
earnings, Catena Media therefore has
brought Slotsia on a multiple of just over
seven times historical earnings.
Clearly if a two year-old business can
attract such high multiples, it would suggest
that the true value of affiliates is only just
starting to be realised.
Should the company hit its earnout
target of 130% revenue growth over the
next two years a further €5m would be due,
boosting the multiple to 10 times. Still, for
comparison we should note that the listed
Catena Media is trading on an historic P/E
of around 35 times.
Another recent deal, this time from
GIG, saw it snap up an unnamed
affiliate network with annual revenues of
around €1.4m for €3.5m at a multiple of
around four times EBITDA. Again, for
comparison, until the second half of 2016
GIG was loss-making.
Robert Andersson, chief executive at
Catena Media, says the deals were not
necessarily cheap but he said the target
businesses were often unstructured and
without any underlying technology.
By plugging them into the Catena Media
network – and linking them up with the
company’s proprietary tech platform – his
company believes it can substantially boost
revenues once any acquisitions are under
its wing.
Unsurprisingly, Andersson is a believer
in the long-term consolidation story for the
online gaming affiliate sector. “The affiliate
space is becoming more professional,” he
says.
“It’s a bit like the travel industry and
what happened there with dozens of travel
sites and affiliates consolidating down to
four or five global players. We’re pursuing
exactly the same strategy.”
Attractive structures...
Ben Robinson, director of boutique MA
specialist RB Capital, agrees and says
consolidation in the affiliate space is no
surprise if one looks at the underlying
structure of affiliate businesses.
“Many affiliates operate at very
attractive margins of 60%, if not more.
This is harder for the larger players to
achieve, scale brings higher operating costs
and when PPC and media buying efforts
are brought into the equation, margins of
25% are more common,” he says.
“Having said that, affiliates are still two
“GIG’s recent results showed that of the 36,100 new first-time
depositors its affiliate arm Innovation Labs had referred in
2016, 19% were directed towards its own brands”
Figure 3: Gaming Innovation Group affiliate acquisitions
Spaseeba June 2015 Unknown Scandinavia
Unnamed Finnish network July 2015 Unknown Finland
Unnamed Estonian network August 2015 Unknown Estonia
Delta Markets March 2016 $4.2m Netherlands
Magenti Media March 2016 SEK47.5m Sweden
Unnamed international network February 2017 $3.5m Unknown
Casinotopsonline.com March 2017 $11.5m UK

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iGB Affiliate magazine issue 62 Apr/May

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