Any advice for a new guy?

[bowlcut]

Hey guys, I'm bowlcut. Reading this forum has made me want to expand my online marketing presence over towards poker/casino affiliating.
I currently own 3-4 solid websites that make money with adsense, but I'm looking to expand and diversify.
I know how to make a site, I know SEO well, I know the in's and out's of wordpress... I'm looking for more poker affiliating advice.
1. What affiliate program[s] should I sign up for? I'm looking to start up with one site only for now as an affiliate. I want to concentrate mainly on getting my sites off of the ground and getting a decent flow of search engine traffic before joining dozens of different affiliate programs for sites I have never heard of.
2. Should I opt for CPA or revenue sharing? Do I even have a choice?
3. Can you give me an idea as to what separates mediocre converting keywords from well converting keywords? I.E. Would it be best to get 100 visits a day from "Play poker online free" or "Poker bonus codes"?
4. Should I focus on poker affiliating or Casino affiliating starting out?
Last but not least
5. Is poker affiliating 100% legal in the US?
Thanks -Evan

[CK]

A good place to start would be searching this forum as most of your questions have been covered quite a bit

New Affiliate Questions & Answers - The Forums At Poker Affiliate Listings

[ih82lose]

1. What affiliate program[s] should I sign up for? I'm looking to start up with one site only for now as an affiliate. I want to concentrate mainly on getting my sites off of the ground and getting a decent flow of search engine traffic before joining dozens of different affiliate programs for sites I have never heard of.

One might be too few, but a couple makes sense to me.
Start with the big sites (unless you have a room specific niche in mind)
Consider where your traffic will come from, and use sites that cater to them. Will your traffic be US, Europe, Asia etc.

2. Should I opt for CPA or revenue sharing? Do I even have a choice?

A few years ago I would have said rev share for sure, but not so much any more.
CPA probably makes the most sense in your case, you get full value for a player in one shot.
You will not always have a choice.

3. Can you give me an idea as to what separates mediocre converting keywords from well converting keywords? I.E. Would it be best to get 100 visits a day from "Play poker online free" or "Poker bonus codes"?

Stay away from the word FREE, it has poor player value. Action terms usually convert the best: "download online poker" or "Poker bonus codes" is more likely to convert then "poker news" or "poker strategy"

4. Should I focus on poker affiliating or Casino affiliating starting out?

Consider where you will get your content. You will most likely want to niche down much further.

5. Is poker affiliating 100% legal in the US?

They don't really say things are 100% legal...they only make laws to say things are illegal.
To my knowledge no US affiliate has ever been charged in relation to casino or poker affiliating.
I do not know of any federal law that makes it illegal to be an affiliate in the US.
Some states have laws that would make me not live in that state and be a poker affiliate. I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advise.

[TheShortStack]

First up, welcome to the forum Evan. You'll find a bunch of useful threads here to help you on your way.

When it comes to programs to promote, have you regestered with PokerAffiliateWorld and PokerAffiliateSolutions? Both networks offer you the ability to promote a number of different poker rooms from one place and offer some good CPAs too.

I've got a sub link for both if you're interested.

Otherwise, look forward to seeing you around the boards!