We are excited to spotlight CAP’s Community Member of the Month for August 2013… Congratulations, allfreechips! allfreechips has been a member of CAP since 2005 (8 years!!!), and since then, he has posed some great threads on everything from federal taxes to getting “baby” photos submitted of old sites.
We caught up with allfreechips to learn more about his career in the business!
How did you get started as being an affiliate in iGaming?
A friend of mine at work found that 1&1 was offering a free web hosting account and domain name for anyone that would sign up for a new account. Having never touched a web site design, I went ahead and signed up. Now thinking of a domain name was not easy as I really had no idea what I would want to create a web site for. During this time, I was playing a few no deposit casinos I would find out there, and had the bright idea to maybe review some of these in hopes they would give me another $10 or so to play. I had no idea what na affiliate account was at this point but I went ahead and created Allfreechips in July 2004.
What are your top traffic drivers, and how did you learn them?
Top traffic drivers are still the old Google, Yahoo and Bing. Facebook is now starting to show some decent traffic as well, as much as I tell myself social media is stupid it continues to grow traffic and time consumption. Just like html, SQL and JavaScript I learned them when I needed them. The group at casinoaffiliateprograms has always been a great help for posted info and quick answers on basics, while in-depth techniques requires a lot of trial and error along with cash to try stuff.
What factors do you look at when deciding on an operator?
This is tough as I want to promote all operators on the network but reward ones that are honest and of course convert. I have in place a rating system that allows my forum members to write reviews and that helps in ranking operators throughout AFC. I Have also a rogue section that ranks very well on google so operators should all behave or else! Beyond that I have a small list of requirements that an operator must follow to be active with my network as all affiliates should have.
What are your thoughts on legal standing of the online gambling industry?
I don’t see much happening in the USA as far as the big operators like Micro, Playtech and IGT for the next 5 years unless its under a state license operated by a land based casino, and that may shut us out as affiliates. I see continued growth worldwide though as more and more software companies and new casinos appear.
What was the biggest lesson you learned in your years of being in this business?
Shortcuts cost money. There is no easy or fast way to make it in this industry, something that achieves fast cash today usually puts you behind tomorrow. Secondly I learned most affiliate are like minded easy going fun people.
What are your top traffic drivers, and how did you learn them?
Top traffic drivers are still the old Google, Yahoo and Bing. Facebook is now starting to show some decent traffic as well, as much as I tell myself social media is stupid it continues to grow traffic and time consumption. Just like html, SQL and JavaScript I learned them when I needed them. The group at casinoaffiliateprograms has always been a great help for posted info and quick answers on basics, while in-depth techniques requires a lot of trial and error along with cash to try stuff.
What factors do you look at when deciding on an operator?
This is tough as I want to promote all operators on the network but reward ones that are honest and of course convert. I have in place a rating system that allows my forum members to write reviews and that helps in ranking operators throughout AFC. I Have also a rogue section that ranks very well on google so operators should all behave or else! Beyond that I have a small list of requirements that an operator must follow to be active with my network as all affiliates should have.
What are your thoughts on legal standing of the online gambling industry?
I don’t see much happening in the USA as far as the big operators like Micro, Playtech and IGT for the next 5 years unless its under a state license operated by a land based casino, and that may shut us out as affiliates. I see continued growth worldwide though as more and more software companies and new casinos appear.
What was the biggest lesson you learned in your years of being in this business?
Shortcuts cost money. There is no easy or fast way to make it in this industry, something that achieves fast cash today usually puts you behind tomorrow. Secondly I learned most affiliate are like minded easy going fun people.