SEO is the practice of optimizing the code and content of a website and building inbound links to improve the site's ranking for specific keywords on search engines. An SEO affiliate would build a site with specific casino content to drive traffic to the casino's site. Whereas a basic affiliate would earn commission based on casino-themed banners on his or her site, an SEO affiliate earns commissions based on casino-themed content. These affiliates understand that fresh, relevant content is the key to favorable placement in the search engines.

Benefit of SEO: The benefits of using SEO to attract visitors to your site include (a) it doesn't cost the affiliate anything to optimize his/her website (b) these affiliates may not have to spend as much on paid advertising (c) an improved online presence and (d) increased reputation.

Pay Per Click, or PPC, has become a very lucrative means of generating revenue through affiliate programs. Basically, PPC advertising is a form of paid advertising where ads are displayed above and to the side of organic search results for certain keywords, and the advertiser pays every time an add is clicked. Managing such a marketing campaign can be very complex as keywords, bids, click-through rates and other factors need to be very closely monitored to control spend and maximize Return On Investment (ROI). This has become a very lucrative channel for affiliates to make money.

Benefit of PPC: The benefits of using PPC in your affiliate marketing include (a) being able to control your budget (b) the ability to target a specific market (c) it can be easily tracked and (d) brand awareness.

Other affiliates take advantage of the commissions they are paid on sales to offer rebates or gifts to their customers. These incentivized sites build good brand loyalty and capitalize on the online shoppers' quest for a bargain. In the case of a Bonus site, players are given gifts, in addition to any gaming winnings.

Benefit of Bonus Sites: Big benefits of bonus sites are (a) existing customer loyalty; players are getting something above and beyond their winnings at the casino or poker room, and have reason to stick with them and (b) attracting new customers, who have the potential of becoming loyal customers.

Loyalty Affiliates are generally given some sort of incentive to entice their traffic to remain loyal. Incentivization, however, is not necessarily limited to giving players more money to play with. Those who choose to pursue incentivization can also do so through other means, such as delivery of exclusive interactive content, player tourneys, and prize giveaways, which entire communities can be based on. Players who like to interact with others will keep coming back, reinforcing a connection with the affiliate's website and exposing them to new brands that the affiliate promotes.

Benefit of Loyalty Affiliates: If you can build up enough of a rapport with the players who visit your site, they may take your subsequent recommendations for new sites to try, signing up through your affiliate links! The benefit here is clearly an opportunity for you to increase your earnings.

Rake is a set percentage of every pot that the House, or online poker site, takes as a commission; it's how they make their money. Rakeback is a strategy that's especially popular among poker affiliates. It consists of giving players back a percentage of the rake.

Benefit of Rakeback: Nobody likes to lose, especially when it comes to money. Rakeback offers players a "condolence prize" or, in this case, a small return on the money they lost, in the hopes of increasing player loyalty. Many consider the benefits of rakeback to include (a) repeat play (b) higher commissions and (c) it gives players the sense that they are part of a members-only club.

Community affiliates are those who use social tactics to engage players and drive traffic to a given program or product. Chat rooms or online forums are one of the most common places community affiliates promote online casinos to players. In the iGaming industry, these online forums have become widely known as player forums, because they cater to gaming players.

Benefit of Community Affiliates: Clear benefits of maintaining a chat room or online forum that caters to gaming players, are (a) building a relationship with users in the community, which leaves users with a sense of loyalty and(b) exciting players to come back to your site because they are genuinely interested in the content, discussions with peers etc. In the case of (a) or (b) the benefit for the Community Affiliate is that the players that they attract will stick with them, and keep on playing.

Blog Affiliates are similar to Community Affiliates in the sense that the comment areas on blogs give players a place to express themselves and interact with each other. As with a forum, content is key to becoming a successful Blog Affiliate, and attracting readers that keep coming back for more.

Benefit of Blog Affiliate Marketing: Much like the Community Affiliate, the benefit for the Blog Affiliate is (a) being able to create a relationship with a reader and then (b) having the opportunity to turn those readers into consumers by tastefully incorporating a brand name or link to a product or service that they think is cool, different or resourceful.

Mobile affiliate marketing is an emerging promotion method with potential. Cell phone use has expanded to include pictures, music, detailed agendas and even the ability to place online bets. Research shows that bets placed over mobile phones will rise from under $2bn currently to $23bn by 2011.

Benefit of Mobile Affiliate Marketing: Definite advantages of getting into mobile affiliate marketing are (a) having the ability to reach a large audience — on the go and (b) leveraging that mobile accessibility to earn more revenue.

One of the fastest growing tactics in online marketing is social media marketing. Social media marketing is about creating interactive user experiences.

Benefit of Social Media Marketing: Like bloggers and forum-ers, social media affiliates are creating an environment that allows users to interact with one another. This can be beneficial to the affiliate because (a) users feel more like they're getting something and (b) users feel less like something is being asked of them.

Desktop widgets are virtual tools that provide users with useful information, and provide applications that are available for download.

Benefit of Using Desktop Widgets: The great thing about desktop widgets is that (a) they engage players even when they are not on your site (b) attract new players and (c) provide real-time updates on player promotions, and the like.

An electronic newsletter is one of the oldest and most proven ways to reach out to your users, and remains an effective medium for reminding users that you still exist. Like the blog or the forum, content still remains key. As such, targeting your newsletter to specific markets (poker, casino, etc.) is important because you can fill your newsletter with relevant information, special promotions — and basically stuff that tells them why they should take the time to read your newsletter.

Benefit of Email Marketing: A big benefit of sending out a newsletter, that is well targeted of course, is that you can (a) give your readers the sense that they are part of a special community, and (b) eventually gain your readers' trust. Both of these elements should help you increase your bottom line.

One way gaming affiliates, especially poker affiliates, try to increase player loyalty, and hence their bottom line, is by offering players cash back (like in rakeback), but also other incentives like prizes, exclusive interactive content and player tourneys. Like rakeback, it's pretty controversial, and remains prohibited in many affiliate programs.

Benefit to Incentivize Traffic: The perception is that offering something to players translates to (a) repeat play (b) higher commissions (c) player loyalty (d) community loyalty and (e) helping the player feel like s/he's has the privileges of a members-only club.