PAS is very excited to announce the launch of The PAS Community Forum. Be sure to stop by and create an account on the forum so we can hear your questions, comments and suggestion.

We encourage all PAS Publishers to post questions/comments regarding site customization and site administration in the appropriate forum. The PAS tech, design and support team will be checking the forum throughout the day to answer any questions you may have.

Best,

Tony Guerrero

Affiliate Manager

Poker Affiliate Solutions

Below are the top five things you can do as a PAS Publisher to improve your rakeback site. All of these suggested actions are fairly simple and can improve your search ranking and user interface tenfold. Each suggestion links to a step by step guide on the PAS Wiki Page.

1. Customizing Meta and Title Tags can improve your Google ranking by up to 25%. This process is very easy and can improve your website’s traffic flow.

2. Add custom content to your rakeback site by creating unique poker room descriptions/reviews on your offer pages. Start a poker blog on you rakeback site talking about your poker experience. Also, be sure to create a welcome message on the front page of your site.

3. Add new rakeback offers when they are available. Check your Admin area for new PAS rakeback rooms and make sure that your players know about the new offers.

4. Change the order of how your offers are displayed. Some rooms are more popular than others in different regions of the world. Why is the most popular poker room in your market on the bottom of your site’s offer page? Changing the order of your rakeback offers is easy and often overlooked.

5. Contact your players telling them about new promotions and offers. Remember, your players come to you for their poker room information, so be proactive!

Best,

Tony Guerrero

Affiliate Manager

Poker Affiliate Solutions

And the Winner Is …

MenosRake.com.br! Congratulations to the winner of the first ever PAS Publisher Promotion! Menos Rake wins a £1,500 seat plus accommodations to the Gala Coral British Poker Tour Grand Final, courtesy of Poker Affiliate Solution.  Good Luck! PAS will be sweating via the internet, so make us proud.

The contest was extremely close and literally came down to the last few hours.  Stay tuned for information on the next publisher promotion.

Best,

Tony Guerrero

Affiliate Manager

Poker Affiliate Solutions

Knowledge is Power

One of the first things I did when I started playing poker was to join Two Plus Two. I don’t think I posted one time in the first year of reading the forums. I just read every strategy thread that I could and tried to learn from others who had way more experience than I did.  So when I started working in the poker affiliate marketing industry I searched the Internet for forums/sites that specialized in my new field of work. I wanted to learn as much about the industry as I could and in a short period of time. I knew I was getting into an industry that changed every month, so I wanted to find websites that kept up with the trends.

From playing online poker for a few years, I knew who the major players were in the industry(Full Tilt, Card Player, DeucesCracked, Poker Listings, etc..). However, I had no idea who the up and comers were. I had no idea how big Cake Poker had gotten and that the iPoker Network was the number three network in the world.  I found all kinds of useful information and stats about online poker traffic by going to PokerScout.

I also wanted to find a community that was made up of online marketers like myself. There are several high quality forums for poker marketers and one of my favorites is Poker Affiliate Programs. PAP provides new poker marketers with free resources, articles, and the largest poker affiliate forum online. I make sure to browse through PAP every morning when I get to the office. I just started contributing to the forum and have found the experience to be very beneficial.

Another great resource that I use is the Affiliates/Rakeback Forum on Two Plus Two. This forum keeps me up to date with what the players want.  This resource tells me which rooms are growing in popularity among the players and where are they looking for rakeback. After all, they represent our customers and our goal is to give our customers the best promotions/percentages/bonuses in the market.

Knowledge is power and I try to keep my head filled with the latest/greatest technology, promotions, offers, networks, etc. I enjoy sharing what I’ve learned with the PAS Publishers that I work with. I advise that you guys take advantage of all the wonderful information that is available on the web. Also, please feel free to leave a comment about which forums/sites you routinely view.

Best,

Tony Guerrero

Affiliate Manager

Poker Affiliate Solutions

Niches within Niches

One of the biggest problems with Poker Affiliate Marketers, or most businesspeople/entrepreneurs for that matter, is the desire to be all things to all people.  Too many have the mindset of “Build a good website or a good business, make it as all inclusive as possible, and watch the customers flock.” 

But most fail to ask the question…What do those customers have in common?

If the answer is, “They are all interested in Playing Poker,” chances are, you could do a lot better.  That answer is too high level.  If you only try to appeal the customer at the highest level, you have no real hook. 

Narrow it down:

My customers are female.

My customers are interested in getting Rakeback.

My customers live only in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Now my customers are women from Erie, Pennsylvania interested in getting rakeback while playing poker.  That’s a niche within a niche within a niche within a niche.

The disadvantages to this, of course, is that the potential customer pool is smaller.  But the advantage is that it is so much easier to own that market.  The smaller the market, the more you can become the dominate player, the more word of mouth gets around about you, and the more you can target your offerings based on the market.

The biggest mistake people make in business is forgetting to ignore some potential customers while giving extra attention to the subset of customers they do target.

In the Erie example, my niche was too small.  But too small is better than too large.  It’s easier to be a smashing success with your target market when you go too small.  And if you do encounter this good problem, you should be able to easily replicate the process.

In poker marketing, you can target by game type, game limits, country, state, sex, desired incentive method, other hobbies besides poker, and many, many other groupings.  And in rakeback, as an example, even just a few players can make you a success…Rakeback Site for Sale.

In addition, read this post by Seth Godin, which conveys a similar idea a lot better than we can.

Two weeks ago Chipleader, the affiliate program for Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet, announced they will be allowing players who have not played for the last 90 days to move to our rakeback program.  This is great news for PAS Publishers and their players. Before this announcement, our player support department was getting several emails a day from players who could not get rakeback because their accounts were too old. Even if the player was not active they could still not receive rakeback from PAS Publishers.

There are still two weeks left in the month of October for players to get rakeback on UB and AP. For players with existing accounts to qualify for rakeback on Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker players must:

1).  Not have played on UB/AP for the last 90 days.

2).  Have originally created accounts at UB/AP directly through the poker room’s website and not through another affiliate.

This is a great opportunity for Publishers to convert players that have been wanting to get rakeback on an existing poker room account. One of our Publishers emailed his players last night telling them about the announcement by Chipleader.  As a result, our support department has been flooded with emails today from players inquiring about rakeback at UB and AP.

A form email for Publishers to send to their players regarding the announcement and instructions on how to retrieve your player’s email addresses can be found here.

If you have any questions please contact support (at) pokeraffiliatesolutions.com

Best,

Tony Guerrero

Affiliate Manager

Poker Affiliate Solutions

Google Analytics

A big part of our job as online marketers is to find out where our customers are coming from, how they are getting to our websites, and where they are spending their time on our pages. This valuable information allows us to enhance our viewer’s experience and increase our ROI on design, content, ad space, and SEO. PAS offers our publishers the ability to set up Google Analytics for FREE on their rakeback sites by following these simple directions. If you are not using Google Analytics with your websites, I strongly advise that you set up an account today.

Best,

Tony Guerrero

Affiliate Manager

Poker Affiliate Solutions

TonyG at PokerAffiliateSolutions dot com

Frequently Asked Questions

As Affiliate Manager at PAS, I spend a great deal of time answering questions that publishers or potential publishers have about our rakeback solution.  I love the fact that publishers want to know exactly what we can and cannot offer them and their websites. The old addage “there is no such thing as a stupid question” is absolutely true, especially in the sometimes confusing world of online marketing.  Here are a few of the most frequently asked questions and their correlating answers.

1) How do I add a new poker room offer?

Periodically new sites are added to the PAS network that you can add to your site as a bonus or rakeback offer.  Publishers need to sign into their Admin Panel (www.yoursite.com/admin/) , locate and click on the “Sites” button on the top navigation bar. Next, click the “Edit” link next to the site you wish to add the new room to. Then locate the “Add More Offers” box and make sure that the box is check next to the offers that you would like to add. Finally, click on the “Add Checked Offers” button.

2) Can I create a custom bonus code for my rakeback site?

Yes you can. Email me (tonyg at pokeraffiliatesolutions dot com) with the custom bonus code that you would like to appear on your offer pages.

3) Does PAS provide player support for non-English speaking websites?

We do not provide player support for non-English speaking websites and players. However, we can set up a ticket system that enables your websites support to forward translated tickets to our support staff. We also provide template emails to be translated for common player questions.

4) How can I offer higher percentages to my player?

Many poker rooms have maximum percentages that cannot be exceeded. Where this is the case, the default player percentage is the highest allowed. Such rules are strictly enforced and Poker Affiliate Solutions cannot tolerate any of our Publishers not adhering to them.

5) Can my players sign up for rakeback at a poker site where they already have an account?

In the majority of the cases the answer to this is no. However, we encourage you to contact us at support at pokeraffiliatesolutions dot com to discuss options for your players. In many cases there are alternative poker sites that have the same player base where a new rakeback account can be obtained. Also, in rare cases, a poker site may be offering rakeback to existing players under specified conditions.

6) How much money can I make with a rakeback solution powered by Poker Affiliate Solutions?

PAS is not a get rich quick scheme. Being a successful online marketer takes market knowledge, efficient networking and a work ethic.  A more in depth answer to this question can be found on Friday’s blog:  How Much You can Make With PAS.

7) How can I change the content of my site?

You can use the Content Management System to customize many aspects of your site.

Best,

Tony Guerrero

Affiliate Manager

Poker Affiliate Solutions

Publishers at PokerAffiliateSolutions dot com

SEO Basics

SEO (search engine optimization) has become a necessary tool for those hoping to obtain traffic from Google and Yahoo.  SEO allows us to create human friendly web pages which are easily understood by the most popular search engines.  Here are a few basic tips for improving your websites’ SEO:

1. Insert keywords inside the title tag so that search engine robots can assess what your page is about.

2. Be sure that the text within the title tag can also be found somewhere within the body of the page. It is not good to have keywords in the title tag which are not contained within the body of the page.

3. Refrain from using the same exact title tag on every page on your website.  Google and Yahoo search engine robots may determine that your web pages are the same if your title tags are identical.

4. Give your links titles. This will help confused web surfers know where you are sending them and also increase relevancy for this page with search engines.

5. Be Bold. Use the <b> and </b> tags around some of your keywords on each page. However, do not use them everywhere the keyword appears.

6. Exchange articles with other websites. Unlike link exchanges, article exchanges are very valuable.

Example:  You publish someone else’s article on the AP/UB merger with a link back to their site. They then publish your article on the WSOP Player of the Year Race, with a link back to your site.

7. Make sure you have links coming into as many pages as possible. Having links coming only into your homepage tells search engines that you have a shallow site with minimal value.

8. DO NOT link to link farms.

9. Insert title tags for text links within the HTML of your text link. This adds value to the link and the page where the link resides.

10. If you are contemplating handing over the task of SEO to someone outside of your company, read some warnings before deciding on whom to hire:

http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35291

Our wiki links below will assist you in the process of improving your websites’ SEO.

http://knowledgebase.pokeraffiliatesolutions.com/Customizing_Meta_Tags

http://knowledgebase.pokeraffiliatesolutions.com/Customizing_Page_Content

http://knowledgebase.pokeraffiliatesolutions.com/Content_Management_System

Best,

Tony G

Marketing Yourself Offline

As online marketers, we seldom find ourselves face to face with the customer. Most of our communication with players is via email or Instant Messenger. Although this is convenient, the internet presents many significant drawbacks.  Emails can go unanswered or ignored, potential clients must wade through dozens, hundreds or even thousands of competing websites before they reach yours, and online chat can be impersonal and lack the emphasis and clarity of face to face dialogue.

Your website is still key to affiliate success, but getting potential clients to visit it in a market where competitors have the same goal can often be difficult, time consuming, and expensive.

Potential customers can be found at local home games, casinos, conferences, and anywhere the conversation of poker can be heard.  For example, on numerous occasions I have been asked what I do for a living when dining out, shopping at the grocery store or playing cards at my local casino.

One of the best tools for these situations is a business card. This enables you to:

1) Appear professional

2) Provide contact information for future communication.

3) Expose your web site name to a broader audience.

4) Maintain a captive audience. Unlike on the internet, potential customers can’t just move on to the next web page.

Design does not have to be elaborate, just professional.  Indicate clearly and professionally the name and address of your website, your contact information, and a few featured offers.  Many sites provide you with design templates that serve this purpose very well.

An online search should yield many reputable sites where you can design your card online and have them shipped directly to you. Prices vary, but it is not difficult to get hundreds of cards shipped to you for well under forty dollars.

One such affordable option is VistaPrint where you may upload images and work with provided templates to get the professional look you need.