PAS Out of The Box Design vs Custom Design

[kushmoney]

Since I made the post that I was thinking about hoping into the rakeback market. Indeed I did do so mainly because of the rakeback player value vs CPA/MGR.

I set up a wordpress site with the PAS on the subdomain and I am setting up a wordpress site with RU but that's another story for another time. Good news: I have already gotten my first signup

What I want to know is how important is it for a rakeback site to have a custom design vs PAS out of the box template? Does custom designs convert that much more better than the out of the box template?

[Ridge]

Well, I think most gaming sites are sorta the same, so its the little things that will make it original. What you do not want to happen, is someone look at a site and KNOW its some type of cookie cutter site, and the other most important issue is making sure you easily have control over your websites. This factors in big site when it comes to site structure, navigation, coding, on page SEO, etc. I know PAS will do some custom stuff for you, so its just a matter of how custom you want (And of course Margins )

IMO Rakeback sites need to be big and full of good content, so w/e you do make sure you plan it out in advance and have plenty of room for expansion.

Anyway, I used a PAS sub-domain years ago and even then you could do a lot with their CMS, and of course our RakeUpdate system fits into anything no sub-domain needed etc. FeltPoker is a good example of a rakeback site on the Rakeupdate system - So anyway, the main thing is planning planning planning! What will your website be in 2 years?

Anyway, for me I want to be as custom as possible, so however you can get that done is the best IMO.

[kushmoney]

You got a point there. I much prefer a custom look that's why I asked. Anything to improve conversions I have been tweaking the "cookie cutter" template until I put together a budget for the custom design. So far it still looks like the PAS "out of the box" template. I guess I have to just roll with the punches for now.

lol Yes, that's why I will be split testing which converts better between PAS and RU. Im not sure how long I will do this split test but I do know which ever site converts the best will get all the traffic from my network and I will be putting my "big plan" into action on that site. The other site will be sold

[rakebackengine]

custom design for your target audience always. qiute simply it will convert better. but ensure you have your business and marketing plan ready... simply making a site and putting keywords all over the page (and hoping players will come and find your site and then signup and rake $5000 each is not going to happen).

like any business you need to put a lot of thought and planning into how you are going to make it work.

at rbe, we always ask for a business plan (mainly just to ensure you have thought about how you are going to make it work). our role is to help you achieve this and point you in the right direction along the way.

bottom line is you need to offer something, or target a niche area or geographical target audience.

tim

[Stephen]

A custom design will always benefit you long term, provided you are focusing on the RB side of your site(s). If it is just being added as an after-thought, or in addition to your other offerings, then don't waste the time needed and use an appropriate template.

Stephen

[Craig]

Design is fun, why not customize?

The impact of design customization on conversion almost certainly varies hugely depending on who your customers are and how they got to your website.

If your visitors are likely to comparison shop, then a decently crafted brand and a unique presentation might help you pitch them on choosing you over a competitor.

The PAS templates were designed so that it would be fairly easy to create a unique look and feel without a ton of technical knowledge, but if you arn't quite up to the challenge take advantage of the free match service (first match to an existing website is free). We will be happy to match your wordpress blog or other website to your PAS rakeback site by creating a custom theme just for you.

[rakebackengine]

Ah but Stephan it's true what u say, but if the affilite has an existing or poker community, the rakeback software provider shoud set up the domain rakeback.yourdomain.com and use your existing HTML to seamless integrate the 2 sites (from a users perspective). Otherwise it just looks unprofessional.

To give u an example

Www.playpoker.com.tw is our clients main site

We made for them rakeback.playpoker.com.tw

Two seperate domains and runs off two servers. But from the players perspective, header is the same. Top menus are the same and sub menus layout also

Now when a player clicks between the forum and his rakeback profile/accounting he's none the wiser and it 'feels' like one site, hence helping gain the players trust.

To sum it up in one word, this business is all about gaining you current and future players "trust". The website is of course only one part of building this trust but I beleive it's a fairly cruicial one as it's your shop window.

Tim

[Stephen]

I agree 100% Tim, the look still needs to look seamless, from both the domain address perspective and the logo, otherwise you may as well simply send the Player elsewhere...

On another note Tim, several of your clients have expressed interest with me in working with Playersonly. If you are interested in adding us, let me know.

Stephen

[kushmoney]

custom design for your target audience always. qiute simply it will convert better. but ensure you have your business and marketing plan ready... simply making a site and putting keywords all over the page (and hoping players will come and find your site and then signup and rake $5000 each is not going to happen).

like any business you need to put a lot of thought and planning into how you are going to make it work.

at rbe, we always ask for a business plan (mainly just to ensure you have thought about how you are going to make it work). our role is to help you achieve this and point you in the right direction along the way.

bottom line is you need to offer something, or target a niche area or geographical target audience.

tim

Tim that is very solid advice for any rookie just starting out. However, I am not a rookie at internet marketing. My short and long term business plan was put together months ago. My marketing plan has change just a bit since I decide to turn my focus to rakeback. I have a small network of 10+ websites I will be putting my effort to drive the traffic to my rakeback site(s).

A custom design will always benefit you long term, provided you are focusing on the RB side of your site(s). If it is just being added as an after-thought, or in addition to your other offerings, then don't waste the time needed and use an appropriate template.

Stephen

I completely agree with you. Custom design is a great benefit for long term success. It builds brand awareness and trust which is on the top of my list of things.

As far as an after thought. I would recommend anyone doing business to think how adding rakeback as an addition or having rakeback replace your offers will effect your business. Also, make sure it fits into your overall plan.

[rakebackengine]

kush- its advice not just for those starting out, even for our business model, its all based around trust, customising to our partners needs and most importantly quick payments on demand (and thats what we pride ourself on).

i have just rewritten our business plan and strategy, its something everyone should be doing every 6 months / 12 months.

the good thing is RBE soon won't just be providing rakeback... but more on that later...

stephan - send me a pm, and lets see what we can organise.

tim