Have you ever wondered how smart entrepreneurs and digital marketers seem to be able to turn online casinos from startups into lucrative businesses in record time? It’s a highly interesting area and one that deserves closer study when you start to look into it. We’re going to guide you through everything you need to know about the fundamental strategies and dynamic approaches the world’s leading online casinos are using right now. Everything begins with research and development.
Engaging the right people
Not everyone is amenable to playing an online casino game, but there are millions of people who are. Why does this matter? Because online casinos need to know who they’re pitching their games to even before they begin to develop them.
Gaming developers spend millions profiling and assessing their target audience so that they can come up with a detailed profile of their ideal player. This allows them to pitch their offering in just the right way so that it both catches the eye and offers long-term playability. Once they know which players are most likely to have the highest average monthly spend with them, they can then start to tailor the game development process the right way.
Dynamic and focused development
Online casinos live and die by their ability to not just attract new players but to turn those new players into seasoned players who come back week after week. They have to be able to offer something that makes people of a wide range of ages and backgrounds want to log on and place a bet. In an age where an entire universe of entertainment exists on every smartphone, the chance to win a couple of bets is no longer enough.
Playable characters, fun themes, challenging storylines, and progressive gameplay are all needed to keep players coming back for more. Yes, there will always be those who simply want to play traditional blackjack or poker, but there will be many more who want an experience that feels more like a video game. Dynamic creatives who are able to offer new options while still focusing on the core purpose of the online casino are the key here.
A data-driven marketing approach
Anyone looking to achieve long-term business growth needs to set KPIs that show how the business is growing over time. By constantly examining the cost of acquiring new players, online casinos can see how effective their marketing spend really is. After all, it’s no use spending $100 attracting a new player if they spend far less than that over the next 12 months.
Continually driving down the cost of player acquisition while driving up the average revenue per user is the equation online casinos have to solve. The good news for them is that it’s a growth industry right now with the predicted average revenue per user set to rise to more than $90 USD.
Accessibility is essential
Highly profitable online casino games are listed on sites like AskGamblers India and offer a range of simple download options. Players rarely seek out one specific game at all costs — they simply want to be able to log on, sign up, and have some fun. This means that if there are any little bits of friction (complex signups, time-consuming downloads, low visibility apps, etc.) then they will likely click on something else and never return.
Online casinos know that to turn their next game into a profitable business, it has to be easily found online. Positioning their games in the largest stores is one thing, but they’re also getting smarter with how they redirect traffic. You now even get adverts for games appearing on the screen during live sporting events or while streaming video. This is all about having new ways to shift traffic that is congregating in one part of the internet and showing it something else. The key is to make sure the traffic is relevant so that the cost per click is worth it.
Reputational safeguarding
While it might not sound like the most pressing thing to do when launching a new game, protecting the reputation with a future-proofed strategy is paramount. Security certificates, handling financial data, and protecting personal information each need to be part of the core strategy here. While none of these directly improves the profit margins of the game, they are essential for protecting the long-term reputation of online casinos and the developers behind them. You can think of it as a backstop that prevents a large data breach from destroying the value that has been built up in the brand.
The last word
Online casino games need to be data-driven at their core if they are going to deliver consistent profit levels. Marketing spending, cost of player acquisition, and average player spending are all closely followed by casino owners. They then combine this with dynamic digital marketing strategies to push traffic towards their games so that they can continually funnel in new players.
