Dealer Dan, pictured here with WWE Superstar Mick Foley, has been in internet marketing since 1996. He likes hugs, long walks on the beach, and making money while wearing his jammy jams. For more information, you can read all 
….and 3 things they can improve upon.
A lot of my latest website audits have been critical of websites, and writing about what they want to improve.
I was recently approached by a website about an audit. Like many websites, there are things that they could do to improve but as I browsed the website, I was struck more with how many little things they were doing right.
So I asked the owner if I could do up an article pointing out 5 small things that I feel they are doing right and post it here for others to learn from, and they thankfully agreed.
So this article is about pokieslab.net and things that they are doing right, as well as three things they could improve on:
#1: Website Focus and Detail
One thing that always bothers me about many affiliate websites is the complete lack of focus these websites have. It’s like they don’t know their audience at all, or have never actually sat down and thought about their audience.
Pokies Lab have spent the time getting inside their visitors head. They have put two words up on the whiteboard: Australian and Pokies.
That’s the two keywords that are what the website is about, and then they have gone out there to create the best possible pokies website for Australian players.
#2: Getting Blood Out of a Stone
It’s an old phrase but in the SEO world, it’s about squeezing out as much possible relevant content as you can in regard to your primary keyword.
I’ve seen so many slot reviews online that are just so half-assed. 300 words long, just generic information. Then you see their review for one specific pokie – lightning link, and it is incredible.
Here’s a bullet list of everything on this one page:
- Embeddable flash game
- Button to encourage real money play + free spins at a casino (great CTA!)
- Choice CTA of other online casinos you can play it at
- Brief summary of the pokie
- Data sheets with information on the pokie such as pay lines, and features it has such as free spins
- Your much-needed text for search engines talking about playing the pokie from Australia (Focused content!)
- A Top 10 List of reasons to play this pokie
- A guide to the symbols on this pokie
- A breakdown of how the pay lines work
- Bonus Rounds Information
- Information in regard to regulation
- How to Play SEO Text
- Free Spins & Jackpot Section
- User reviews based on “players experience” of this slot
- An FAQ
This is freaking INCREDIBLE. You’re talking about 4000 words all about one pokie. And the majority of it is helpful for the user. Yeah of course there are a couple of spots where you know it’s just for the search engines – but everything is presented so well. This is SUPERB work, and in theory, it should outrank any other pages for this slot simply because it is much BETTER than them.
#3: Top 10 Reasons List
On that same pokie page, they have a top 10 list which is Top 10 Reasons to play Lightning Link. Here it is:
I love this so much. I’ve seen pros/cons lists before but a top 10 list like this is excellent. People love their lists, and it is also additional content. They likely have the same information in other spots but they have presented it in a different manner, which is fine. There’s something about lists that I always feel adds authenticity to an article. People tend to trust and believe them more. Excellent usage of it. If I still did affiliate program reviews on here, I’d be 100% using this idea.
#4: Excellent About Us Page
This may not seem like a big deal – but there are so many websites out there lacking “about us” pages and that is really hurting them.
It is in relation to The Google E-A-T update which really kicked off in May 2019. It stands for Epertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust.
Think about it: if you’re online looking for medical advice, and you come across a website offering help but written by an anonymous person, are you going to trust it? What if you find a page written by a retired doctor, who has multiple letters after their name and has been published in various medical journals? That’s what the E-A-T update is about.
You need to show that you are some sort of authority in your field, or at least someone you can trust and explain why. I can speak firsthand for this. I had a website outside of the gambling niche that only had a short “about me” blurb, 50 words long. It got hit by an E-A-T update.
The reason I know this is the only thing I changed was making a comprehensive about me page, explaining who I am and why you should trust my opinions, and it bounced back.
PokiesLab have an excellent about us page.
They have links to their social media, an e-mail address you can easily reach out to, details about the people behind the website and their experience and why you should trust them. It’s great actually seeing people put effort into this sort of thing.
#5: A Valuable Resource: Flash Games & Trust
Here’s a look at one of the pages on their site listing pokies:
Now first of all – I LOVE that “Play Free” button. It’s a fun graphical choice. The people behind this website have really handled their graphics well. The graphics all over the site are excellent.
Having browsed about a billion affiliate sites in my time, I was very hesitant to even click that “Play Free” button as there’s a 90% chance it’s going to take me straight to an online casino landing page. That’s the way so many affiliate websites do it.
Not here. It takes you to a page where you can actually play the game for free, in a real no pressure environment.
THIS. IS. HUGE.
They aren’t trying to trick users to sign up at an online casino. There are no misleading links. They have targeted this website towards Australians looking to play online pokies, then they’ve said “Cool – here’s your pokies”.
They’ve created something very rare in a slots or pokie website: a bookmarkable site. The type of site that users will bookmark and come back as they want to play pokies for free.
This sort of thing is so good because it builds trust. Users will trust this site. When Pokies Lab tell them one specific online casino is best for a particular pokie, they’ll choose to believe it.
By creating this bond of trust, if people are looking to hear more about StayCasino for example, they won’t just google “staycasino review”. They’ll look it up on Pokieslab, or google “pokieslab staycasino review”.
By simply giving the user what they want, with no BS, they are establishing this trust and strengthening their brand.
Now we’ve covered the pros, let’s list three quick things they could improve on:
#1: Write More for the User
While the content writing is focused on the intended audience, it’s written a bit too much for search engines in my opinion. Too much keyword stuffing makes it come off unnatural in spots. Thankfully it’s not all throughout the site but when I encounter it, it really sticks out like a sore thumb. Take this line on the Lightning Link Pokies Review, for example:
” Enjoy Lightning Link pokies online real money Australian version at several online casinos”
There are little bits of that throughout each article and it just really turns me off. While Google is of course AI-based, they have a large number of human employees who look through ranking websites for this specific sort of thing. It’s not natural, it’s attempting to game the search engines, and it can cause rankings to drop.
#2: Where the CTAs at?
Remember that top 10 list I recommended before which I loved? Here’s a bigger view of the entire screen:
There is not one CTA around there to take me to an online casino.
This top 10 list is the type of thing that is great to convert users. Heck, they even mention two online casinos within the bullet list yet don’t link to them. If I keep scrolling down there is NOTHING. Not one thing to click. I need to scroll all the way up to the top.
Some text CTAs, or a graphic that isn’t intrusive but follows the user around, is crucial. Humans are habitual creatures; if there isn’t a link to click, they’ll type something in the address bar rather than hunt around the website.
#3: No Mailing List
I’ve mentioned the word trust a lot while analyzing pokieslab.net. They have done an excellent job at setting in motion the ability for users to trust their brand.
This is the type of site that is crying out for a mailing list. Because users will trust the brand, and then when they get e-mailed about a new promotion at an online casino, they’ll be more likely to sign up simply because they trust the brand.
And on that note – don’t just send out promo e-mails. Add new pokies, and e-mail the user to notify them. Maybe 1 in every 5 e-mails you do a promotional e-mail. But do it in an informational way. You have to tread very carefully with this sort of thing – only go with promotions that will actually benefit the user. Exclusive promos are great with that.
Thanks to Pokieslab for letting me write about their site, and hopefully many of you have learned from this excellent website.
This article was written on August 3, 2022 however all articles are looked at on a monthly basis and updated to keep them relevant.
If you need to contact Graeme, please see his Contact Page. If you are an affiliate manager wanting promoted please see this page.
