Local SEO services providers are highly appreciated in the iGaming vertical. Many news articles about the casino industry report an increased interest in local SEO from gambling ops around the globe.
The local SEO services ensure that the casino site appears in map views of search engine results pages (SERPs) or makes it to the top-3 businesses (map pack) of a Google page after location-based search. However, these results can change according to the searcher’s location.
To get viewed by the potential players the gambling businesses must be in the top-20 ranking on Google. The main factors that determine the search ranking are:
- Google My Business listing;
- name, address, and phone number (NAP) of the casino in high-quality local search citations;
- use of local keywords;
- link signals.
As the local search engine optimization is based on map searches and targets geo-specific queries, it is a preferred promotion strategy for land-based casinos.
Top-3 reasons for a casino business to hire a local SEO company
Some casino businesses might ask why do they need to work with a local SEO company? Login Casino provides useful infographics to highlight the importance of location-based searches for any company, including casinos. According to Google statistics:
- 80% of users search for local businesses.
- 50% of users who searched for a local business on their phone went to a venue within a day;
- 34% of searchers on tablet or PC did the same;
- 78% of location-based mobile searches ended in offline purchases.
Besides, marketing experts in the casino niche provide few other compelling reasons to adopt local SEO to the promotion strategy of a gambling establishment:
- Local SEO services are budget-friendly. Local SEO experts can set up and casino businesses’ profiles on online directories for free. Also, compared to other means of promotion, hiring a local SEO agency or an expert is cost-efficient. A local SEO campaign usually costs between $300 and $2 000 per month.
- It’s a great way to acquire new customers and sales leads. Moreover, these customers are already interested in casino venues.
- Local SEO helps to build trust with users of casino software. Upon clicking on the page on Google My Business or Facebook, searchers can see honest reviews of other players.
Gambling operators run their businesses in different and often highly regulated jurisdictions. Gambling laws and target audiences differ from country to country, the preferences of casino players also change according to location. Moreover, potential customers tend to search for casino venues based on their actual location. That’s why local SEO services that help businesses to obtain high-ranking in a specific location, can be beneficial for a casino business.
How to choose a local SEO agency for your gambling business?
Much like in any field, picking the right local SEO agency for a casino operator to collaborate with isn’t an easy task. The competition on the market is increasing and the number of underqualified local SEO companies is huge. So, here are few useful tips for identifying a marketing agency that can be trusted.
First of all, casino ops should look for a local SEO company that has years of experience in the gambling niche and provides expertise on many questions.
The trusted local SEO agency must also be transparent about its pricing and provide case studies and performance reports upon request.
The companies should also stay on top of the latest trend in the sector to deliver high-quality local SEO services.
Of course, the specifics of local SEO differ across the world. So, it’s best to choose an SEO agency that is experienced in your target market. Read this Login Casino article to find out about the peculiarities of local SEO across the globe.
Top data aggregators for local SEO in the USA
Local SEO experts in the US usually work with four main data aggregators that provide map data for Google, Apple, Yelp, Bing, and Trip Advisor. These map data aggregators are:
- Express Update;
- Foursquare;
- Factual;
- Neustar Localeze.
Main trends in local SEO in the UK
Local SEO in the UK is a very competitive market, as more and more search results are localized there.
The unique feature of this local SEO market is high competition in a relatively small territory. There are dozens of local SEO agencies emerging weekly, and the gambling niche is not an exception. However, only those SEO companies that provide high-quality services can survive the challenge.
Most of the UK local SEO experts focus on generating RIO instead of specific rankings.
Online searches in the United Kingdom are made with 2 primary search engines:
- Google – 89%;
- Bing – 5%.
Facebook (for 16-24-year-old demographics) and Pinterest are also among popular listings in GB.
More than 90% of UK customers make their decisions based on Google reviews and trust them as a personal recommendation.
The best search engines and directories for local SEO in the EU
While Google is the biggest universal search engine, local SEO agencies that operate in the European jurisdictions usually use other directories than their US counterparts.
Let’s take a look at the most clicked search engines and online business directories in the countries of the European Union.
| Search engine | Countries it’s most popular in |
| most of the EU states | |
| Yahoo | France, Denmark |
| MSN Search | most of the European countries |
| Ask Jeeves | France, Germany, and Spain |
| Lycos | Austria, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany |
| Alta Vista | Austria, Belgium. Portugal, Norway, Italy, Spain, Sweden, etc. |
The best tips and tricks from local SEO experts
Whether a casino business collaborates with an SEO agency or hires a search engine optimization specialist, optimizing a local SEO is a tricky task in any case. Login Casino has gathered useful tips from marketing experts that will help most businesses in the casino sector to run an efficient local SEO campaign and attract more potential players through a geo-specific search.
Optimize My Business profile on Google
Google My Business profile is an integral part of any SEO strategy. Without an up-to-date listing at this service, a casino business can’t be added to Google maps and appear in searches by location.
The main steps for Google My Business profile optimization are:
- doing a hygiene check;
- providing detailed, accurate, and the most relevant info about the casino business;
- adding the exact location of the casino establishment (or the corporate office);
- uploading the recent photos of the casino;
- providing information about payment methods, operational hours, and list of services;
- encouraging frequent players to rate the casino and leave their feedback;
- quickly responding to all the reviews.
Create accounts on the business listing sites
To expand its online presence any gambling company should register profiles at several business listing services. The most popular are:
- Facebook;
- Foursquare;
- Bing;
- Yelp;
- White pages;
- Yellowpages.com for the US;
- Thumbtack (US);
- Angi.com;
- Merchant Circle;
- Manta.
Local SEO experts also advise looking for local business directories in the casino niche. Find out the leading platforms in the region and register the casino business there. This can help to acquire indirect organic traffic.
Look for citations
The other advice from the local SEO experts is to get mentioned on trusted local gambling news websites and press releases from the gambling authorities as much as possible. Experts from SEO agencies also suggest partnering with the local gambling blogs.
Local SEO company that works in the casino niche must ensure that the link to the casino site is always included. This may be a bit of a challenge, as some websites are not willing to link to gambling URLs.
It is also important to avoid any misspellings, abbreviations, or errors in contact info, as Google may not show the gambling business in search results in case of the slightest mistake. Local SEO service providers must also ensure the consistency of citations.
Get honest reviews from the customers
The importance of online reviews can’t be overlooked. In 2020, 16% of the local ranking was attributed to online reviews, which is 4% more than in 2018. Moreover, 88% of search engine users form their opinion about the business based on other users’ reviews.
While there are many review services it’s better to encourage the casino customers to leave their reviews on Google or Bing. A casino business needs at least 5 reviews on Google to become visible online.
Here are few tips from local SEO experts to get honest reviews:
- provide a link to Google reviews on the contact page of your casino website and include it in email correspondence;
- do not provide any bonuses for review;
- ask players to review your gambling business online.
Don’t forget to respond to both positive and negative reviews quickly and professionally, addressing all the complaints.
Social media presence
Nowadays users spend more than 2 hours on social media platforms on average. Having a verified business account on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or TikTok is a must for any licensed casino company. Local SEO experts advise maintaining profiles on several social media platforms.
Adjust the keywords for voice search
As local SEO is a highly developing sector, technologies like voice search will become more prominent in the upcoming years. Siri or Alexa tool could be found on almost any device and users don’t hesitate to use it.
Thus, optimizing local SEO strategy for voice search is crucial in any business sector, and the casino niche isn’t an exception. Customers usually use more long-tail keywords when conducting voice searches than when typing the question on the keyboard. So, the content on the casino website should fit the conversational tone of the request.
For instance, local SEO experts advise using the question words, like:
- when;
- where;
- who;
- why;
- how;
- what.
It’s also important to consider the user’s intent and provide short but informative answers to potential questions, such as casino business hours, location, types of the games, etc.
Create localized content on the casino website
The other important tool is providing top-tier localized content on the casino site. A gambling operator or SEO agency can do this in 2 easy steps:
- Add the name of your casino establishment, address, and contact details. Make sure this info is easily found in the “contacts” section or the header/footer of the site.
- Create high-quality content with local keywords (e.g., NYC casino). Many legit gambling sites make the mistake of adding too many LSI words. However, search engines mark this type of content as spam.
Experts also advise installing the Google Maps widget on the contact page of your gambling website.
Read more: Top Gambling Affiliate Programs
