A big thanks to all the affiliates that joined the Virtue Affiliates network in February. Wow things have really got off to a stellar start. The Programs are doing so well, and growing at such a rate that we have had to employ two more Affiliate Managers!

I’d like to introduce the latest (we mentioned Wayne in a previous post) – Simon Theakston. Simon came from PAN (Premier Affiliate Network).

Simon has joined the Virtue Affiliates team this month having made the short trip across town from Premier Affiliate Network (PAN) where he was responsible for the gaming programs on the network. During his time there, he managed the bingo programs for The Sun, Blackpool and JackpotCity which he will be continuing to manage now that he has joined Virtue Affiliates.

Having been in the online advertising industry for around 5 years, Simon was working initially on the technical side of things before making the switch to affiliate account management just over two years ago. He’s approachable, easy to talk to and keen to help so if you have any questions or suggestions relating to the network as a whole (or a program in particular), then drop him a line at simon@virtueaffiliates.com

Good news for Online Bingo Affiliates who are struggling to rank high in organic search listings – Gamingalerts.co.uk reports that Google recently announced they will now allow UK affiliates to bid on Adwords. The move comes only a few months after Google allowed gambling operators to buy Adwords.

Pay-per-click advertising remains a very popular online advertising tool due to its quick results, and now UK Online Bingo Affiliates will also be able to pay for popular search terms in a bid to increase their traffic figures.

Affiliates however will not be able to bid on operator terms such as, William Hill Bingo or Sky Bingo.

So with that in mind, what are the advantages of Google Adwords for Online Bingo Affiliates?

· AdWords gives you 24/7 access to detailed performance reports that help you track the effectiveness of your ad campaigns.

· Reach people looking for your product or service

• Fully control your ad budget
• Easily create and edit your ads
• See your ads on Google within minutes of creating them
• There is no monthly minimum spending limit or time commitment and only a minimal fee to set up your account.

So if you’ve got the budget to bid on keywords on Google Adwords, and the proper technique and knowledge to run it, you should be able to see the benefits on your Online Bingo Affiliate site almost immediately.

If you don’t, it’s back to Search Engine Optimization – a much more time and labour intensive method, but just as successful in the end.

Search Engine Optimization consultants and experts make a living out of helping novice webmasters rank better on search results pages by creating websites that appeal to both web users and search engines. Here are a couple of basic tips from some Online Bingo SEO experts:

Get your Online Bingo keywords right

Every Online Bingo Affiliate worth his salt knows that one of the biggest factors in SEO is the correct use of keywords.  Keywords are the index that search engine spiders as well as web users use to find the information they need. In other words, search engine spiders will use the keywords to categorize your site and give it a ranking, while web users will use keywords to search for sites like yours.

This is why extensive research is needed to choose the right keywords for your site – something which Online Bingo SEO experts are very well-equipped at doing.  By using a selection of online programs and tools they can easily find out how many of your competitors are using specific Online Bingo keywords, thereby establishing the level of competition for those keywords. The SEO consultants will look at how many “hits” or user visits those keywords are getting, thereby estimating the potential traffic. Great Online Bingo SEO consultants will also explore variations and combinations of keywords that minimize competition and maximize potential traffic.

Get to grips with website design and content

This is where it gets tricky. Plain text is the best way to present content for search engine optimization, but plain text is not a good way to motivate people to spend time on your Online Bingo site. Web visitors want color, graphics and bells and whistles. Somehow, Online Bingo Affiliates must find a balance between text and technique. Find out as much as you can on how to navigate the fine line between using Flash, Javascript, and devices like tables for the best search results. There is a lot of information out there, but make sure you stick to good SEO practices and stay away from black hat (or unethical) techniques.

Publish good content

When it comes down to the crunch, even the best use of keywords can’t make up for poor quality content. Every page on your Online Bingo Affiliate site should have its own, unique content focusing on a different aspect or topic. Unique content tells the search engine that the page is important to the site and makes it more likely to be ranked in search engine results.

Your Online Bingo Affiliate site content must be information-rich to impress the search engines and to hold web site visitors’ attention. No matter how attractive the page, no matter how well the keywords are used, web pages will only rank well if they are linked to from other sites. Make sure to put lots of text links from one page to the next, as well as to other sites that can be seen as expert sites on the topic of Online Bingo.

Always remember that when you’re a Virtue Affiliate, you’re never in it alone. Help and assistance is only an email, live chat or phone call away.

Click here to find out more about becoming a Virtue Affiliate today!