Some basic questions about promoting slots

[TheShortStack]

Ok, another few noobie questions from me as I keep flirting with the idea of doing a bit of slots promotion.

Basically I've been having a look through other affiliate's slot sites and I have to say that I'm a bit overwhelmed. So I was hoping a few questions (and answers!) here might help sort me out a bit.


How many slots does each casino have?
Looking through some sites, there are just huge lists of slots that only seem to span 3 or 4 casinos. I can't imagine this is going to be great for promotion as the list is just too long to read properly. I was thinking about pushing 5 or 6 slots (so that readers will be more inclined to read what's there). Does that sound the right thing to do, or have people found that listing jackpot information for 50 different games actually works?

How often are new games added?
Is my list just going to keep growing if slots keep getting released every few weeks? How can you really keep up especially if you're promoting games from 3 or 4 different merchants?

What kind of content can be added?
And I guess the question that sums it all up. What sort of thing are slots players looking for? With feeds, I'll be able to display tables sorted by Software Provider, Biggest Jackpot and last payout. But is there any other information that slots players would really look for?

And on a slight side note, there's obviously not the scope for as much strategy content as there is in something like poker, so what kind of articles can I write to try to attract the long tail?



Apologies for the length of these questions - there's just a whole load of stuff that I need to figure out about the slots vertical!

Thanks a lot in advance ...

[mojo]

Hi TheShortStack. I can't see kaus' reply so I hope I'm not repeating the same thing.

Reviews for slots are never ending.

How many slots does each casino have?

The slots are determained by the softward. Microgaming has well over 200 slot games.

RTG, Playtech and others all have there own games. You can literally do hundreds and hundreds reviews just on slot games. Then there is video poker, table games etc. Some places have exclusive games like SlotoCash that has Wheel of Cash.

How often are new games added?

Micro adds 4 new games every month, usually 3 of them are slot games. Rival doesn't have as many but it is steadily growing. They add them as they go and don't really have a schedule for them. They now have 3 progressives. RTG adds to their suite usually monthly.

What kind of content can be added?

You can cover things like paylines, coin values, bonus rounds, themes. Like Thunderstruck, everyone knows Thor. LOL. You can write about the theme and characters of the games. It also helps to play them, many do that in the free mode. I play myself so I like to try them out. It's my job (that's my excuse).

Good luck and feel free to ask!

[CK]

Ha our post was close to the same thing..and yeah mine seems to be invisible

Nice tips Mojo

Shortstack since my post isnt showing here is my best tip. When thinking about the casino side stop thinking about what you did with poker sites. Play the games, test the casinos and test some more. Also I left a link to Randys site. Obviously I cant tell you where to go when it comes to keywords but read this article. Although its written towards a poker affilate...its still relevant to casinos and it makes sense

Poker Keyword Research Tools - Poker Keywords and Phrases

[pdjoe]

Hi TheShortStack,

Promoting slots and slot reviews are a big part of what I do. It is a handfull of work but it pays off.

I do as many indivdual game reviews as I can and then add them to a page that list other reviews. Both the individual pages and the list page do real good for me.

here is a link that will show you much better than me trying to explain lol.

Microgaming Casino Bonuses. Find all the newest Microgaming slots games here.  Brought to you by: http://microgamingbonus.com

Hope that helps or just gives you an idea of what works for me!

[TheShortStack]

Ok, thanks alot for the answers so far - much appreciated.

Having done a bit of reading elsewhere, it seems that a reasonably sensible way into the world of slots might be to promote one casino from each software provider.

With that in mind, would I be right in thinking that when someone like Microgaming releases a new slot game, it actually gets launched in a load of different casinos ... and it's up to the affiliate to discover which casino converts best for them?

[mojo]

Ok, thanks alot for the answers so far - much appreciated.

Having done a bit of reading elsewhere, it seems that a reasonably sensible way into the world of slots might be to promote one casino from each software provider.

With that in mind, would I be right in thinking that when someone like Microgaming releases a new slot game, it actually gets launched in a load of different casinos ... and it's up to the affiliate to discover which casino converts best for them?

I think someone said somewhere around here don't put you eggs all in one basket. I recommend that when you do a review you put a few options. For example, if you are doing a micro game, you can use a few different casinos from different programs - like Casino Rewards, Playshare, Brightshare etc - as options for players. That way if you get wiped out at one you have other programs to make up for that so you are not zero at the end of the month.

[TheShortStack]

I think someone said somewhere around here don't put you eggs all in one basket. I recommend that when you do a review you put a few options. For example, if you are doing a micro game, you can use a few different casinos from different programs - like Casino Rewards, Playshare, Brightshare etc - as options for players. That way if you get wiped out at one you have other programs to make up for that so you are not zero at the end of the month.

Mmm - good point mojo. Thanks for that.

Am I generally right though, that I'm effectively promoting the games themselves rather than the casino?

So when Microgaming launch a new Lara Croft slot (for example), will the slot itself actually be identical in four or five different casinos?

[mojo]

Mmm - good point mojo. Thanks for that.

Am I generally right though, that I'm effectively promoting the games themselves rather than the casino?

So when Microgaming launch a new Lara Croft slot (for example), will the slot itself actually be identical in four or five different casinos?

Yes, that is correct. Unless it's an exclusive game they will be at all Micros that pay for that service. I think they all do now but I could be wrong. Grand Prive had a couple of casinos that didn't add them but the aff program is closed now anyway. I'm getting off track lol.

Your games reviews will be another traffic source with your relevant key words to drive traffic to the casino. If players like your review, the casinos (of your choice) that offer that game should be handy to click on on your game page.

[Mark]

I think you have to look at it in a few respects. You can promote the games themselves, but don't limit promoting just one casino per software platform as you want to give your player some options to play. Also, slots bonuses by casino can vary and can be a determining factor in signing up, along with the casino's reputation and customer service.

Players also may get hooked on a particular software for slots, so they may be searching for certain software slots games. Microgaming is a favorite among slots players so they might be looking for "Microgaming slots".

Players also may look by casino as they may be partial to a particular casino. They may look for Casino Club Slots or something like that.

Just keep all those options in mind.

Mark