Your domain defines your brand. It’s like any other asset a company would invest in, manage and protect. Affiliates and operators face a deluge of new technologies [Web3 and AI], privacy threats, and an ever-expanding global marketplace. Your online brand is at risk without a strategy to protect and value that asset.
Operators and affiliates face constant global challenges to protect their brands—from phishing to cybersquatting to domain name hijacking. Domain names play a fundamental role in the digital landscape. Millions of domain names are registered yearly, increasing the risk that those domains get into the wrong hands and pose prominent threats to brand owners and customers. Just like any asset, there are challenges and opportunities that have to be addressed, and your domain is no different. There is always a list of things you must do and things that aren’t mandatory, but the world would be easier if they were in place.
Here are three things operators and affiliates should consider to reduce risk with their biggest online asset – their domain.
Losing domains versus having a plan
Check the best practices before engaging
Create an analysis and action on your proactive defense
Training and domain strategy + contingency plans
Scheduled billing and credit lines for domain renewal
Overspending versus smart spending
Proactive naming analysis and planning
Analyzing the portfolio, grading and ensuring there are no loose ends
Personal account management and tech support on the supplier side
No security protocols versus security strategy
Create defensive domains
Mandatory multifactor authentication
Two-layer Whois
Author:
Alexander Kucherenko is the global Business Development Director for Okens Domains. He helps his customers focus on the tools and products they need to secure their domains and protect their brand online. Alexander talks about the importance of understanding the gaps in an operator’s domain strategy that create unnecessary risk to the brand. He has an uncanny ability to find the heart of a problem for operators and how to solve it. He was featured in Three Minutes With an OI article, which tells you more about his personality and passion for protecting the customers’ most important digital asset – their domain. Alexander can speak on domain strategy, brand protection, domain registration, domain privacy, igaming market, cybersquatting, Web3 technologies, and domain asset management.
You may have been reading a lot about cybersquatting in the news recently. And that is because you are.
Cybersquatting has been on the rise in the first quarter of 2024. Some of the most recent cybersquatting cases prove there are winners and losers, but the one thing they have in common is how easy it is to cybersquat with a domain.
In the winners’ corner, design tools company Canva won a single cybersquatting case against 174 domain names. The company filed the dispute with WIPO in July 2023 and WIPO published its decision in favor of Canva in February 2024.
In the losers’ corner, Mermet S.A.S., part of the Hunter Douglas company, lost two cybersquatting claims. The windows covering company filed disputes against mermet.com and mermet.eu, both owned by Didier Mermet. In this decision, the panelist said the domain owner, Didier Mermet, has rights or legitimate interests in the domain, and he didn’t register it in bad faith.
A high-profile cybersquatting with Google involved a cyber squatter who registered the domain name “googledotcom.com.
Cybersquatting is something that domain managers probably don’t think about since they are typically managing dozens, if not hundreds, of domains. When you are in the trenches of domain renewals and ensuring that all your domains are covered, cybersquatting might not be at the top of your to-do list.
So what do you do when a company or person is cybersquatting on the domain name that’s your trademarked business name? Short of litigation under the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) or using an international arbitration system from ICANN, there is one crucial thing you can do: create a domain strategy around your brand. Yes, this includes registering and trademarking your domain (let’s assume you have already trademarked your brand name).
Use a trusted domain registrar (like Okens) to secure the domain names relevant to your brand or business. Consider registering your domains for more extended periods than the standard year. If you don’t want to manage this, no worries; Okens does auto-renew and can manage all your domain renewals and just renew for you.
It’s also a good idea to consider registering any trademarks related to the domain to establish legal rights for your brand.
You can also consider registering common misspellings of your domain. Of course, registering all of them isn’t cost-effective, but if you have a strong domain strategy, you can purchase the most common misspellings in your domain before anyone else does.
This may sound easy, but think about how to engage employees. You can train employees who manage your domains and create a domain management playbook. However, training internal people to manage your domains can be challenging if they don’t have a comprehensive knowledge of the domain industry. This is precisely why so many companies trust Okens. We see many brands reach out to us before their brand launches to lock down the right strategy to secure their digital brand. We can prepare a domain gap analysis that will let you and your team create the best domain management playbook.
As always, be smart about your domain. It’s the most critical digital asset at the heart of your brand.
If you aren’t sure where to start, give me a call or send an email, and I will show you the Okens Gap analysis tool that will help you defend your digital territory and avoid cybersquatting.
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Greta Simanauskiene is the global Account Manager for Okens Domains. She speaks on the importance of managing domains strategically. She can assess and encapsulate the challenges facing operators and affiliates to help them strategically manage their domains to protect their brands. She has extensive experience with inside and outside sales, business development, and marketing. Most recently, she penned an article on her views from igaming Europe for OI. Greta can speak on domain strategy, brand protection, domain registration, domain privacy, industry insight, the igaming market, and domain asset management.
Are you ready to launch your brand? Hold on! Before you take the plunge, make sure you’re prepared. You don’t want to miss any crucial points that could make or break your brand’s success. So ask yourself these seven questions before you leap, and let’s go!
Have you checked if the domain is available? This may seem like a ‘duh’ question, but it is one of the biggest blockers when marketing decides to launch a brand. The domain name is overlooked, and when it comes time to take that brand live, the domain isn’t available or doesn’t match the brand. It creates brand inconsistency – If your brand voice isn’t consistent across every platform, it may affect your credibility.
What countries do you need to target now and in the future? This is another way to limit your brand’s growth. Will you be in one country for five countries? Even if you don’t need those country domains when you launch, you are better off investing in them at launch so you don’t limit your brand’s growth down the road.
Have you considered using a unique TLD for your website? Think about what Will.i.am did with his domain name – it’s his brand name—Will.i.am.) It’s the perfect time to take advantage of the options available and create a distinctive online presence that matches your brand.
Have you thought about the different vertical TLDs? Vertical TLDs like .casino or .tech, etc., can add uniqueness to your brand. In 2023, Google announced the availability of eight new Top Level Domains, including ones that are valuable for law firms and dads. Think about how your brand sits in the market and how a vertical TLD could bolster it.
What are the most common spelling mistakes around the brand name? This is one of the most overlooked aspects when a brand is created. If you are global, you must consider the brand name in different languages and how the brand is spelled. Marketing probably doesn’t look at this because they aren’t thinking about domains. A good exercise is to ask ten company employees from different nationalities to spell the brand name and look at it in other languages. Or, to make it easier, you can tell Okens to create a domain strategy that identifies what they are typing and then secure the right domain for you, including alternative spelling domains so you don’t miss any traffic to your site.
If you were impersonating your brand, what domain would you use? Domain impersonation is a common phishing technique involving attackers creating “legitimate” “-looking email domains to impersonate specific companies, organizations, or individuals. This is done with the intention of tricking users into giving away personal or sensitive information, data, or money by posing as a trusted figure. This is a great exercise to take before the brand goes live. It helps you create a strong domain strategy before the brand launches so you can eliminate domain impersonation at the start.
Can you trademark the brand to add protection? Trademarking the brand helps you protect your global brand, including your domain. You can also trademark your domain name, which protects your brand if someone uses your trademarked name. Trademarking your domain name gives you legal protection, which provides you with legal justification to bring suit against the other company and recover financial losses.
Reach out to Alexander Kucherenko or Greta Simanauskienetoday, and they can help you create the best domain strategy to protect your domain, brand and business.
Simon Heller, Co-founder at Apex Media and Okens Domains client, sat down with Okens to discuss the power of SEO, why regulators need to work together, and how emerging technology is changing SEO.
Apex Media Ventures is an SEO firm that creates successful SEO campaigns for their clients to grow their company with organic traffic. Simon Heller co-founded the consultancy over a year ago and says that SEO is a strong marketing tool, if not the strongest.
On The Power Of SEO
“The ultimate advantage of using SEO is that the client can save a large amount on ad spend as soon as their web presence performs in organic search results,” said Heller.
But Heller says that he thinks that SEO has become more difficult over the past several years and that the primary challenge is content.
“Today’s content needs to be top-notch, and your link-building strategy must be on point,” said Heller. The biggest issue with Google is the sheer number of updates, which are scrambling the SERPs each time, making planning resources and strategy alignment very challenging.”
Regarding new technologies, Heller says that the company has been looking at the opportunities artificial intelligence (AI) can provide to their clients.
“We’re not fans of completely AI-generated content, but it sure helps as a supplementary tool,” said Heller. “It also helps with project management and many other workflow issues which benefit our company and, in return, our clients as well.”
On Emerging Technologies And SEO
It’s been obvious to me and other people in the industry that Google was blindsided by the sudden emergence of AI content. Google had already become significantly stricter about indexing new content, but the sheer volume of content that webmasters can churn out with generative AI has created new challenges for search engines like Google.
The recent “aggressive” Google Updates made it obvious that Google is trying to adapt to the flood of (mostly low-quality) content into the SERPs. For example, high-authority sites have profited even more than they already did in updates in recent years because Google assumes these sites offer more trustworthy content naturally. This, in my opinion, is also the reason why we suddenly see a lot of foreign high-authority news sites like OutlookIndia in the top search results now – often with spammy or even misleading content, so this approach obviously is not ideal either.
Google seems generally overwhelmed by generative AI’s new possibilities, which will likely result in even more super volatile updates soon. As SEO experts, all we can do is deliver the highest-quality and user-friendly content possible that provides genuinely useful information and makes the appearance of pages visually appealing. This results in positive user signals, which I speculate might also become more important in upcoming updates.
Also, it’s important to keep in mind that Google is NOT against AI-generated content in general. As long as it is helpful to the reader, it shouldn’t matter, and I don’t think it’s possible for any algorithm to differentiate a well-written AI article from a human-written one.
On Working With Okens
Apex Media hosts its domains on Okens and says that these are the domains on which its money site runs.
Heller says Okens offers a lot of opportunities to protect their confidential information as well as their client’s information. client’s confidential information.
“A big plus for us working with Okens always has been the personal communication,” said Heller. “No matter if I have a technical issue, questions, or just want to transfer another domain to Okens, I can email them, and everything gets resolved ASAP.
Heller says this personal communication differentiates Okens from most other registrars who only offer the typical outsourced technical support. “Especially in SEO, you need to be able to sort out potential issues immediately without taking a hit on website rankings and, of course, conversion,” adds Heller.
“The value of a domain to our business is invaluable; the domain service and strategy we get from Okens gives us confidence that if something goes wrong out there, we know we are just one call away from resolving it and fast,” said Heller.
Remember when you bought a set of domains to protect your brand as it grows? You were so proud of yourself – planned for your most important digital asset. Years have passed, and you haven’t used them, so you think they have no value.
Think again! Your unused domains have value.
Sometimes, our need for a domain or set of domains is no longer relevant; some customers leave them to expire, and others try to resell them via third parties. But here’s the thing: If you think that your domain or domains have no value 90% of the time, it is because there was no consideration given to the value of those domains when you acquired them.
You know what happens? It becomes a bargain for the buyer, but you just give money away. In some cases, we’ve even seen domain holders try to buy back their old domains later because they altered their business model or expanded faster than expected. We see this mistake frequently repeated despite our hand-waving.
Our best advice is to think twice about letting a good domain expire. It may be better to hang on to it, so think long-term rather than short-term. And if the financials are an issue, have a chat with us about possible domain parking solutions.
If you want to let them go after or see their value or lack of value, Okens Domains can help you assess their value. And here’s the really good part for you — it doesn’t matter which domain registration company those domains are with; we will help you sell them and reduce your time worrying about whether you did the right thing.
Stay tuned for the next story in March for our Mistake of the Month series. In the meantime visit www.okens.domains to learn how we can help.
The Rolling Stones said you can’t always get what you want, but Okens Domains thinks you can. Introducing our new Okens Brokerage services that help you acquire that coveted domain you want to grow your business, even if that domain is already registered.
Traditionally, a brokerage service is a business or service that specializes in buying and selling domain names on behalf of clients. Sometimes, individuals or companies may own domain names they no longer need or want. In contrast, others may be interested in acquiring specific domain names for their projects, businesses, or investment purposes.
Okens Brokerage will handle everything from valuation to negotiation and domain transfer. We facilitate buying and selling domain names using different tools, platforms, and our extensive global contact database.
Another benefit of Okens Brokerage is the service of helping you value your unused domains to see if you want to keep them as an investment or value them for sale. The services will also negotiate on your behalf to ensure you get the best price for the domain.
Here is the entire process for brokering domains with Okens Brokerage services:
The Buyer: The person or parties who want to purchase the domain. The buyer can ask for a particular domain or the range of markets they are interested in, and we help them find domains in that industry. It could also be related to specific countries, TLD’s, etc.
The Seller: This is the person or party looking to sell the domain but may need more time or resources to research the domain’s value to the industry.
The Valuation: There are many variables to consider when it comes to the valuation of a specific domain. Okens investigates to see if we can help with the request and look at domain requirements and pricing to create a market value of the domain. Once we do this, we communicate to the customer so they can decide on selling or retaining the domain for a future sale.
Listing: We proceed to the listing phase once the customer agrees to sell. In the case of the seller, Okens will create a domain listing in our platform and then update any interested buyers.
Negotiation: Okens Domains team has extensive expertise in domain business and valuation experience. We understand the domain’s value and have an educated sales team that helps negotiate and guarantees our customers the best price.
Managing The Selling Process: The full scope of the process from valuation to negotiation and transfer of ownership is done by Okens Brokerage Services. Buying and selling a domain involves investigation, communication, source of information or channels, communication, payment, and transfers, for starters.
Transaction: Once an agreement is reached, Okens Brokerage brokers and facilitates the transaction process which includes handling the transfer of ownership and ensuring a smooth and secure exchange of funds.
Escrow Services: Okens Brokerage Services use escrow services to protect both the buyer and the seller. Escrow services hold the funds securely until all aspects of the transaction are completed, reducing the risk of fraud.
Transfer of Ownership: The Okens Brokerage team oversees the technical aspects of transferring the domain name from the seller’s registrar to the buyer’s registrar and updating the domain’s registration details.
Post-Sale Support: The Okens Brokerage team supports the entire post-sale process with a smooth transition and addresses any issues. We are with you from start to finish and beyond.
Visit Okens.domains for more information about our services.
As Willie Nelson sang, ‘I just can’t wait to get on the road again’ – and that is where we are – on the road to iGB Affiliate London and ICE. We have a lot to share with you before the show. Including why a domain gap analysis can help you save your brand now and down the road, the threat of increased reverse domain name registration, and what you can do about it to our new offering, Okens Brokerage Services.
We will discuss the points at iGB Affiliate London, stand #E51.
Brand Protection
Let’s talk about domains and online brand protection because they are ground zero for everything that matters to your business. Domain names are critical to building your business brand protection. We’ve said it before and will repeat it, but you can’t protect it if you don’t know where the gaps are in your domain strategy as you build or grow your brand. This is everything from a failsafe strategy for future growth to setting up your domain with automatic renewals.
Registering your domain seems obvious, but registering your name with alternate extensions like .net, .biz, or .org, along with their alternative spellings, can go a long way toward protecting your brand. Spelling alternatives mean you give your visitors a better chance to access your website if they make a mistake entering your domain name. It also prevents others from capitalizing on your brand name in all its forms.
We will offer a complimentary domain gap analysisat iGB Affiliate London. If you are serious about seeing where you are vulnerable with your new brand or your established business, come by stand #E51and talk to us.
Cyber Criminals
Now, onto those cyber criminals who make things more challenging than they should be. In 2023, reverse domain name hijacking and cybersquatting were at an all-time high. Not good. Domain Name Wire reported that nearly one in five denied complaints was reverse domain name hijacking.
Since we’ve just started 2024, it is the perfect time to look at what you can do to prevent this costly crime from happening to you and your business. It all starts with knowing where your domain is or could be vulnerable. Maybe you don’t have time to check all the ways your domain name could be hijacked, but guess what? We do! And we will work with you to identify where it could all go wrong and prevent that from happening. It is easier to do it before you get started than to fix it later.
Brokerage Services
The fantastic news is that Okens Domains is pleased to announce a new offering – Okens Brokerage. This domain brokerage service will help you acquire that coveted domain you have always wanted.
It sounds fancy, but it is about being practical and sticking to what we do best — personal, customized 1:1 services for our customers that can help them value their domains and unused domains. We research for you and bring you the best options to unload or invest in domains. It’s that easy.
Talk to Alexander Kucherenko at iGB stand #51 about our new Okens Brokerageservices and how they can help you get the value back on your domain investments.
Recently, a customer came to us to acquire the most strategic domain for their new brand only to find that it had already been taken by another company with the country Top Level Domain (TLD) of their primary country of business. They had put considerable thought, resources and money into the brand design and positioning.
Ouch.
We see this happening a lot more than it should, but don’t worry; we have three tips to prevent this kind of mistake. And remember, we are here for you so get in touch– a real human will answer the phone.
Think domains from the beginning – even when you start your brand brainstorms. Think about the countries you need to operate in and the countries you want to expand into. There might be specific TLDs that make more sense and then you can see if they are available. It’s better to invest time at the start of the new brand than to waste money and resources developing a brand and a name.
Look at associated domains via a simple domain gap analysis to safeguard your brand going forward. (we can do that for you!)
In the case of the customer, they chose to use Okens Brokerage capabilities to negotiate and purchase the domain. We acquired the domain for them at a reasonable rate, safeguarding the marketing investment they made.
Stay tuned for the next story in February for our Mistake of the Month – Don’t Waste Unused Domains. But in the meantime, read more about how to protect your domain on our OI Blog.
Kirk Miller, Head of Casino at PureROI and Okens Domains client sat down with Okens to talk about the role performance marketing plays in the success of igaming companies.
PureROI was born out of the success of their sister company, Purecontent, which delivers content in large volumes in multiple languages with targeted outreach. Pure ROI evolved from this, producing the same high-quality content for its websites that Purecontent has delivered to its clients for the last two decades.
Miller says the company is honing in on niches to be impactful, which adds tremendous value to their core affiliate partners. With in-country writers and editors working in more than 100 languages, they can easily launch new websites, allowing them to test a specific topic in weeks versus months.
Miller says that laser targeting specific geographies and products is a byproduct of carving out strong relationships with, as he says, industry titans that can deliver traffic that adds tangible value.
PERFORMANCE MARKETING
Regarding performance marketing, Miller says that change happens so fast that you must stay current.
“It feels like performance marketing operates on an entirely different level to where it was even just a few years ago,” said Miller. “The global pandemic certainly had an impact on this paradigm shift, and all of a sudden, as people around the globe were stuck at home, bored and with fewer of the usual outlets for their disposable income, the iGaming industry was sought out by a whole new audience.”
Miller says that new marketing channels that previously may have delivered a poor conversion rate were bringing in noticeable revenue. “Things have calmed down slightly since we’ve all returned to our offices, but it has still been an illuminating period for marketing iGaming entertainment to hitherto ignored demographics,” he adds.
CHALLENGES
When it comes to challenges, Miller says it’s competition. “With everyone and their aunt bidding on the same keywords after enrolling in an online course about how to make $10K a month in affiliate marketing from a beach, cutting through the noise is harder than ever.”
Millers says that’s why he believes PureROI’s focus on specialisation is the right solution to this new world order.
“I always say we don’t want to be bidding for ad space on poker in the US, where there is so much competition. I’d rather be hitting a Chilean audience excited about the next time Colo-Colo plays Universidad de Chile in the Chilean Primera Divisió,” says Miler.
Miller believes that if they apply the same care and attention to reaching that much more niche market, they will have a drastically more significant impact with considerably lower investment.
NEW TECHNOLOGY
Miller says Artificial Intelligence (AI) will change things, but he’s not sure those changes will be what everyone expects.
“Does it mean everyone can now create award-winning ad creatives with the push of a single button? Nope. Not yet, anyway – we’re not even close, but it will undoubtedly increase the sheer noise the consumer is bombarded with.”
Miller says that with AI, you probably won’t need to have a huge marketing budget to create 10,000-word articles for SEO or produce a million variations of CTA’s to split test, that it’s all there for anyone with access to ChatGPT. But he thinks AI will enhance the people putting proper thought into their marketing rather than drowning them out.
“The good guys will benefit from the bad guys doing more and more bad stuff, making their good stuff seem even more impressive,” said Miller.
Miller also says that lead generation will be affected by Web3 technology, and that is great for volume. “The easier we make it for people to detail their needs, the more leads we as businesses will have,” said Miller. “But also, the quality will take an almost opposite nosedive as the quantity explodes.”
We saw it when restaurants all opened up their booking platforms online. As soon as nobody had to ring up, speak to the restaurant themselves, and have an actual human interaction to make their reservations, costly no-shows skyrocketed,” added Miller. “The Same thing will happen with Web 3.0 lead-gen – the easier and more digital the process to create the lead is, the easier it is for that lead to disregard it and ignore any follow-ups.”
PERSONAL TOUCH WITH OKENS
Every domain PureROI owns is managed through Okens Domains. Miller says they were initially drawn to Okens’ service because of the ease and transparency of setting up watertight WhoIs protection.
“That’s a pretty dry, boring, technical factor, but a significant factor, for sure. It wasn’t something we excitedly discussed in meetings, but it needed to be done,” said Miller.
After working with Okens for the past 12 months, Miller says that Okens’ personal touch has the company coming back for more.
“Support tickets that are actually answered within minutes and usually resolved the very same day – you wouldn’t believe how rare this is in this field,” said Miller. “Okens has managed to make managing domains (usually a painful job we’d unload on a junior staff member!) completely hassle-free.
Miller says Okens is the best at making WhoIs protection clear and easy to set up.
“It’s usually very difficult to get a straight answer on this topic, even when working with the supposed experts,” adds Miller.
For example, Miller says that if they wanted to try out a domain in a strange TLD, Okens would tell him exactly what we needed to do to protect our privacy.
“Even some of the biggest operators out there have asked me to check with Okens on certain WhoIs setups,” said Miller
“The behind-the-scenes techy stuff, anyone can pretty much do, but what Okens does is layer over the top of that basic stuff, a genuine, family-run business feeling where you feel valued as a customer,” said Miller. “It’s much more of an ongoing conversation working with you than just the transactional, faceless queue system we’ve had before.”
Kickstarting 2024, our first Three Minutes features Kirk Miller, Head of Casino at PureROI. Kirk spoke with Jennifer Kite-Powell, Head of Content at Okens Domains, about the future of performance marketing, why Okens gives PureROI peace of mind and future technologies that will change marketing.
Jennifer Kite-Powell (JKP): PureROI has seen incredible success over the last 18 months; what has been the company’s secret?
Kirk Miller (KM): PureROI was born out of the success of their sister company, Purecontent, which delivers content in large volumes in multiple languages with targeted outreach. Pure ROI evolved to do the same, giving value to our core affiliate partners. We have in-country writers and editors working in more than 100 languages, which means they can effortlessly launch new websites and gives us the power to test specific topics in weeks versus months.
I think that our laser targeting of specific geographies and products is a byproduct of carving out strong relationships with industry titans that can deliver traffic that adds tangible value.
And even with our success, we have challenges. In a nutshell, that’s competition. With everyone and their aunt bidding on the same keywords after enrolling in an online course about how to make $10K a month in affiliate marketing from a beach, cutting through the noise is harder than ever, but I believe that our focus on specialisation is the right solution to this new world order.
For example, I always say we don’t want to be bidding for ad space on poker in the US, where there is so much competition. I’d rather be hitting a Chilean audience excited about the next time Colo-Colo plays Universidad de Chile in the Chilean Primera Divisió.
JKP: Okay, I can hear the excitement in your voice; clearly, you love your role.
KM: Yes! I love learning about different cultures and how a piece of keyword research can open up an enormous rabbit hole on a topic you never knew existed before. Strange facts like how millions of people in India regularly bet on the price of cotton at the close of the NYSE each day. I always hope that one day, some of this will come up in a pub quiz!
JKP: What trends do you see heading straight towards us in 2024 that will affect performance marketing?
KM: Everyone says this, but I think eSports betting will be huge. Very few people have yet to match the messaging to this new and unique audience, but when they do, it will be its own market, not just a sideshow tacked onto traditional sports betting as it is now.
JKP: Speaking of performance marketing, what’s happening in that industry that has changed for you?
KM: First, change happens so fast. Performance marketing operates on an entirely different level than it did just a few years ago. The global pandemic certainly impacted this paradigm shift, and all of a sudden, as people around the globe were stuck at home, bored and with fewer of the usual outlets for their disposable income, the iGaming industry was sought out by a whole new audience.
New marketing channels that previously may have delivered a poor conversion rate were bringing in noticeable revenue. Even though things have calmed down slightly since we’ve all returned to our offices, it has still been an illuminating period for marketing iGaming entertainment to hitherto ignored demographics.
JKP: What technology do you think will shape performance marketing over the next several years? Is it going to change dramatically?
Kirk Miller, Head of Casino at PureROI, talks about how performance marketing has changed and how AI will change the game, but maybe not how people anticipate.
KM: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is going to change things, for sure. However, I’m not so sure those changes are going to be what everyone necessarily expects. Does it mean everyone can now create award-winning ad creatives with the push of a single button? Nope. Not yet, anyway – we’re not even close, in my experience. But, what it’s going to do, undoubtedly, is increase the sheer noise the consumer is bombarded with.
For example, now you don’t have to have a huge marketing budget to create 10,000-word articles for SEO or produce a million variations of CTA’s to split test – it’s all there for anyone with access to ChatGPT. I think the technology will enhance the people putting proper thought into their marketing rather than drowning them out. I have said this before and will say it again, but the good guys will benefit from the bad guys doing more and more bad stuff, making their good stuff seem even more impressive.
JKP: The igaming ecosystem has changed over the past decade from regulation to privacy concerns to shifts in SEO and tools for performance marketing; where do you see the industry headed in the next several years?
KM: Good question – it’s basically my job to try and predict this, so I can’t just shrug my shoulders! I think the colossal changes in how people search on the internet will change *all* digital industries, not just iGaming.
The younger generation doesn’t simply drop keywords into a box on a search engine and then scrawl through the SERPs looking for an answer anymore. They’re asking their “digital assistants” natural, conversational questions. Millennials aren’t typing “omelet recipes” into Google, for example – they’re asking Alexa, “What should I cook for dinner tonight? There are eggs, ham and cheese in the fridge”. So, how they receive the resulting information will be wildly different from the business model we are all used to.
So, how do we serve ads into that conversation? How does SEO change when people start demanding short, immediate answers in real-time rather than reading a whole webpage to find the info? I think we’re on the precipice now where our generation still relies on old-fashioned methods, but very soon, these will be redundant.
JKP: How has Okens Domains helped PureROI over the past 18 months as the company has grown?
KM: Every domain PureROI owns is managed through Okens Domains. Initially, we were drawn to Okens’ service because of the ease and transparency of setting up watertight WhoIs protection. Okay, I know that is a pretty dry, boring, technical factor, but it is definitely a significant factor. But after working with Okens for the past 12 months, I’ve found that their personal touch keeps us coming back for more.
Things like support tickets are answered within minutes and usually resolved the very same day; you wouldn’t believe how rare this is in this field. Okens has managed to make managing domains, which is usually a painful job we’d unload on a junior staff member, completely hassle-free.
Okens is the best at making WhoIs protection clear and easy to set up, and it’s usually very difficult to get a straight answer on this topic, even when working with the supposed experts.
JKP: So, more like advisors for the best domain privacy strategies, then?
KM: Yes. For example, when we want to try out a domain in a strange TLD, Okens tells us exactly what we need to do to protect our privacy.
Even some of the biggest operators out there have asked me to check with Okens on certain WhoIs setups.
JKP: This is sort of beyond-the-scenes techy stuff that anyone can do, so what’s the difference?
KM: Yes, but Okens adds a layer over the top of all that basic stuff – a genuine, family-run business feeling where you feel valued as a customer. So you get ongoing conversations with them versus the transactional, faceless queue system we’ve experienced before.
