Analysis of the Online Casino Attendance: A Step-by-Step Guide

Owners of iGaming projects strive for high conversion from their websites, stable income, and quick return on investment. However, not all entrepreneurs spend time checking and analysing the influx of customers, even though the profitability of their portals depends on this parameter.

What is the Traffic of Gaming Sites

This is a measurable indicator that shows the number of users who visited the digital platform during the reporting period (day, week, month, or year).

Attendance is a basic metric for assessing the efficiency of entertainment portals’ marketing.

Using the indicator, it is possible to analyse:

• the level of demand in the selected segment;
• the strengths and weaknesses of competitors;
• the depth of the market;
• the audience.

In gambling, the volume of Internet traffic is clearly correlated with the operator's income. Online resources with low traffic are rarely profitable. And those projects that can boast of the high metric are characterised by high conversion and a quick return on investment.

The total amount of attendance qualitatively affects the monetisation of the site and its recognition, allowing businessmen to quickly increase their client base and collaborate with opinion leaders.

Studying the indicator is an important component of a successful advertising campaign. It shows the results of SEO promotion and targeting on social media and SMM activities and how justified the marketing costs are.

Analysis of Internet traffic provides information about:

• casino visitors;
• actions of players on the online platform;
• the level of functioning of the resource;
• results of work on optimisation and development.

The attendance check was mandatory before global changes and it still is. This could be a redesign of a portal, testing new advertising ways, reorientation to other entertainment formats (e.g., from traditional to live-casino), change in communication channels, and much more.

Study of the Gaming Site’s Statistics

To analyse the data, it is necessary to use such basic parameters as history, traffic sources, target audience, and many others.

Domain and Its History

With its help, it is possible to get information about:

• what the website used to look like, up to a specific date;
• whether there were any bans, filters, or sanctions in the past;
• the number of resources registered on one name, etc.

Unlike old domains, new ones always have a clean history. They are bought to avoid sanctions and other undesirable factors. However, many SEO experts choose to purchase them from others or at auctions to have less trouble with the promotion task.

The solution’s period of existence also affects the level of trust in it from bots. The older the Internet portal, the higher its position in the Google or Yandex search results.

Size of the Website

Ideally, the algorithms should cover as many pages as possible but in practice, their number depends on many factors. This is the fullness of the online casino, the quality of content, and the amount of referral traffic.

Analysis of the platform’s size also shows which search engine the iGaming resource is focused on. Today, most SEO specialists prefer Google.

Target Audience

Studying metrics allows entrepreneurs to understand the following:

• geography of customers;
• devices preferred by players;
• age and gender of clients;
• peak time for the placement of bets.

It is better to learn about customers using the example of an exact person with a unique IP address who has previously visited the online casino.

The following parameters are used for qualitative and quantitative analysis of the target audience:

1. Sessions. The indicator shows the number of pages opened on the website. As a rule, one gambler views several of them simultaneously: the main page, the entertainment catalogue, information about the bonus policy, etc. A decrease in the metric may reflect a low value of content, complex navigation, or incorrect interlinking.
2. New and returning users. If many people come back to the portal, it means that they are interested in the online casino, its products, and bonus offers.
3. Duration of rounds. This is the average amount of time a player spends on an iGaming resource for one visit.
4. Unique pageview. The parameter affects the site’s indexing. For young companies (up to 6 months), it can be 100 views per day. If it is older than 12 months and the traffic is low, this indicates the presence of problems.
5. Time on page. The indicator allows operators to assess which sections (topics, slots, or services) are more interesting to the audience and which solutions are not relevant.
6. Bounce rate. The metric shows the percentage of clients who leave the platform immediately after entering it. Too high values (for example, more than 50%) confirm that the games are poorly optimised and the provided information is useless or difficult to understand.
7. Conversion rate. This is the number of players who performed the target action: filled out the registration form, deposited funds, or launched the session.

Audience Engagement Channels

Let us consider the main types of Internet traffic:

• Direct. To visit an online casino, people click through from the address bar (by entering a URL), browser history, or tabs.
• Search. In this case, the flow of customers is obtained thanks to high search results in Google or Yandex.
• Referrals. Attendance increases due to affiliate links posted on third-party sites, in messengers, or via other communication channels.
• Advertisements. This is traffic from advertising (banner, native, or on social media). Most often, it is driven by clicking on contextual or targeted ads.
• E-mail. Players follow direct links that they receive in messages sent in this way, thus affecting the growth of the number of gamblers.

The evaluation of traffic in dynamics allows project owners to understand:

• where clients find out about the platform;
• what queries and phrases they use to search for an online casino;
• which advertising channels are the most effective;
• how the activity of customers changes depending on the time of day.

The most productive ones in the entertainment sector are clicks through third-party sites and search engines. Therefore, the first thing that needs to be done to promote an iGaming brand is to organise high-quality SEO optimisation.

Social networks, instant messengers, affiliates, and personalised e-mails traditionally provide a good increase in traffic.

Analysis of the Competitive Environment

It is better to study the market and the actions of opponents in the dynamics. This will allow entrepreneurs to avoid mistakes in their work and learn from someone else's experience.

How to Identify Opponents

It is worth focusing on 2 or 3 industry leaders, as well as several young companies with stable demand and an already established customer base. Their enumeration has to be updated periodically since promising iGaming startups are constantly appearing in the industry.

Rules for selecting competitors:

1. SEO analysis. The list is formed based on key phrases and types of gambling activities. If the enterprise accepts bets, it is logical that it will be primarily interested in the experience of bookmakers, and only then in the achievements of casinos and poker rooms.
2. Familiar region. It is better to review those companies that work in the same or neighbouring country. They will all have a lot in common: the regulatory framework, demographics, culture, and mentality of local players.
3. Focus on the main thing. Project owners should not analyse from 10 to 15 sites at once. It is better to place emphasis on 4 or 5 digital resources whose experience and knowledge are the most valuable in the operator's opinion.

Primary Evaluation of the Website

At this stage, it is worth studying the following parameters:

1. Type of gambling business. The entrepreneur’s platform must be as similar as possible to the offers of their competitors (in structure, hierarchy, amount of text material, and infographics). If there is almost no common ground, the comparison will be irrelevant.
2. Domain zone. It makes sense to study the addresses that other brands use to promote their startups.
3. Age of sites. Old online portals have several undeniable advantages. These include vast experience, better indexing by search engines, as well as authority in the eyes of clients and B2B partners.
4. Dynamics. Special attention should be paid to young gambling firms that are growing fast and building a customer base rather quickly. It is worth studying their path, strengths and weaknesses, marketing channels, approach to bonuses and other aspects.

Technical Characteristics

The most important parameter is page loading speed. If it is slow, players will go to competitors. And if the indicator is high, it will be well-indexed by search engines. This ensures rapid audience growth and excellent site monetisation.

Basic technical files and commands:

• Robots.txt. It can be used to evaluate the structure of a gambling project and separate relevant pages from those that are hidden from the system. It also specifies recommendations for bots and configures a ban on indexing individual tabs.
• Sitemap.xml. The option contains data on the frequency of content updates and gives priority to its registration.
• Server response code. It demonstrates the effectiveness of the site's interaction with search engines. Duplicate pages lower the results of the promotion and have a negative impact on the ranking of virtual entertainment startups.

The presence of a mobile version of the iGaming portal plays an important role in driving web traffic. Since 2021, Google algorithms first index mobile casinos and then desktop ones.

The special betting application has a design similar to the one of the main platform and sometimes it completely repeats it. However, the app for smartphones has fewer functions, and many of them are hidden in the menu sections.

Reference Material Assessment

In gambling, external and internal links differ from each other. The first category is usually placed on third-party digital resources to provide a direct transition to the page with slots. The second group is anchors, which are responsible for all transitions within the online casino.

In the industry, links leading to the site are also distinguished:

• Natural. Clients independently create such a type of Internet address due to their high interest in the iGaming portal, the desire to leave a review, or the wish to share the results of the session with friends.
• Purchased. They are made by SEO specialists to promote the brand that offers entertainment for money, improve search results, and attract new solvent users. It is also possible to increase attendance by placing rented (temporary) and permanent links.

Google Penguin (one of the algorithms of the global system) identifies those addresses that belong to buying and low-quality categories. They are then poorly indexed by the search engine. The robot evaluates the age and naturalness of links, the dynamics of the growth of the reference material, interconnections with authoritative publications, etc.

In recent years, graphic anchors have also become popular. They are presented in the form of pictures, avatars, and other visual images. By clicking on them, gamblers easily enter an online casino and start spinning the reels in their favourite slot machines.

Quality of Content

To evaluate published materials, the following parameters are used:

• informativity;
• expertise;
• usefulness;
• uniqueness;
• understandable structure.

Relevant content is materials that are interesting to readers. They evoke positive emotions, bring benefits, and answer players' questions. The originality of articles, descriptions, and infographics, as well as appropriate presentation and convenient navigation, are also important.

Tools for Estimating Internet Traffic

Let us consider the most popular solutions in the market:

• Google Analytics. The product features a multitasking interface, a wide range of functions, and auxiliary settings. The program has 2 versions: free (for small firms and sole proprietors) and subscription-based (for large companies). Using the product, operators can track attendance, channels, user behaviour, and other patterns. The platform contains more than 70 reports and about 500 different filters.
• Open Web Analytics. The free service offers a detailed assessment of 50 metrics. These are traffic, conversion, visits, views, likes, reposts, bounce rate, etc.
• SimilarWeb. The solution is focused on studying mobile applications. With its help, entrepreneurs can scan their sites and examine competitors' offers. The tool also provides detailed statistics on the influx of customers, monetisation, effective queries, as well as inbound and outbound links.
• Seogadget. The product is focused on qualitative and quantitative SEO analysis. It allows businessmen to quickly check the portal’s position in search results, select keywords, and conduct internal interlinking.
• Whois. The resource provides information about the domain owner (legal entity or individual), its history, registration date, etc. With its help, it is possible to select free web addresses and find out which DNS servers the registered brands use. The tool belongs to ICANN.

The Main Things about Online Casino Traffic

Key aspects that entrepreneurs need to take into account:

• The indicator shows the number of players who visited the website for a specified period (days, weeks, months, or years). It is best to analyse the parameter in dynamics to see how quickly the traffic grows or gets reduced.
• Studying the attendance is impossible without tracking down the statistics of the iGaming project. It is necessary to check the domain and its history, as well as estimate the digital platform’s size and get acquainted with the target audience and the channels for attracting it.
• Internet traffic of competing brands should be considered too. SEO specialists conduct an initial assessment of such portals, their technical characteristics, content quality, volume of referral material, etc.
• Popular tools for estimating the metric include Open Web Analytics, SimilarWeb, Seogadget, and many others. Google Analytics is the most popular system, with a large selection of ready-made reports, useful filters, and settings.

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• development of HTML5 slots based on individual sketches;
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