What You Should Know When Building Casino Links

How To Create a Winning Link Building Campaign without Making a Bad Bet

If you’re in the online gambling business, you know how hard it is to get people to click on your website. You’re competing with thousands of other casinos, sports betting sites, and poker rooms, all vying for a slice of the $150 billion pie that is the global gambling industry. In fact, according to NerdWallet, a jaw-dropping 62% of Americans have gambled in the 12 months from January 2023 to January 2024. High stakes, indeed.

You also know that ranking well on Google is crucial for attracting organic and referral traffic, increasing brand awareness, and converting visitors into customers.

But how do you get to the top of the search results when the gambling niche is so competitive and regulated?

The answer is link building.

Link building is the process of getting other websites to link to your casino site. It’s one of the most important factors that Google uses to determine how relevant, authoritative, and trustworthy your site is.

But link building for casinos is not easy. It’s a high-risk, high-reward game that requires a lot of skill, strategy, and luck. You have to deal with legal restrictions, negative perceptions, and fierce competition. You’ll also likely pay a premium for some quality links, as most website owners are reluctant to link to gambling sites for free.

In this article, we’ll show you how to ace casino link building and beat the odds.

We’ll cover:

What casino link building is and why it matters
How to build links for online gambling sites using white-hat and grey-hat techniques
What types of websites you should target for casino link building
How to avoid common pitfalls and stay safe when buying links

Ready to roll the dice? Let’s get started!

What is Casino Link Building and Why Does It Matter?

Casino link building is the process of acquiring links from external websites that point to your online gambling site. It involves convincing or otherwise incentivizing website owners to include links from their well-regarded site to yours. There are myriad ways you can accomplish this, from straight up paying sites to do it to more finesse-based techniques such as guest posting and broken link building.

Why should you care about link building?

Link building is one of the tried-and-true means by which to get search engines to take your site seriously. This has been true since the early days of Google, and though it doesn’t have the same impact on your search engine ranking as it used to, largely due to backlinking schemes of the early 2000s, it’s still critical to set your site apart as an authority in your niche.

But to expand upon that a bit, you want to pursue a casino link building strategy for your site because it can help you:

Improve your search engine rankings;
Boost your organic and referral traffic;
Increase your brand awareness;
Reach new audiences;
And turn website visitors into paying customers.

The more quality links you have, the higher you’ll rank on Google.

But not all links are created equal. Some links are more valuable than others, depending on the source, context, and anchor text of the link. You want to get links from websites that are:

High-quality: The website should have a good design, content, and reputation. It should also have organic traffic and a high domain rating (DR). DR is a metric that shows the relative strength of a website’s backlink profile. If a site’s DR is less than 20, you don’t want a backlink from them. You can check a website’s DR using tools like Ahrefs or Moz.
Relevant: The website should be related to your niche, industry, or topic. It should also have a natural and logical reason to link to your casino site. For example, a travel blog that writes about Las Vegas casinos would be a relevant source for a casino link.
Diverse: The website should have a varied and balanced backlink profile and should not link to too many gambling sites or use too many sponsored posts. You’ll also want to make sure it has different types of links, such as editorial, contextual, and resource links.

The Challenges of Building Casino Links

Unfortunately, casinos trying to build backlinks are fighting against heavy headwinds. From local laws to general stigma to deep-pocketed, intrenched gambling interests, there’s a lot to overcome in order to succeed at building a quality backlink profile for your casino or online gambling website. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

❌ Legal regulations: The gambling industry is highly regulated in most countries, and some regions have strict laws and restrictions regarding the promotion and advertising of gambling services. This means that you need to be careful and comply with the legal requirements of the countries and regions where you operate and where your backlinks originate. You also need to avoid getting backlinks from websites that are illegal, unethical, or harmful, such as those that promote violence, pornography, or drugs.

❌ Negative perceptions: The gambling industry is often associated with negative consequences, such as addiction, financial problems, and crime. This makes many webmasters and users hesitant to link to or visit casino and gambling websites, as they may fear endorsing or supporting a potentially harmful activity. To break through, you’ll have to overcome these negative perceptions and prove that your website is legitimate, trustworthy, and responsible.

❌ Stiff competition: The gambling industry is highly competitive, as there are many casino and gambling websites that are vying for the same customers and keywords. Many of these companies have large budgets and plentiful human resources to invest in link building and other marketing strategies. You need to compete with these websites and find ways to differentiate yourself and stand out from the crowd, even if you don’t have the resources that larger companies enjoy.

How to Build Links for Online Gambling Sites

There are two main approaches to link building: white hat and grey hat.

White-hat link building is using ethical and sustainable SEO practices to get links to your site. White-hat links can be obtained through guest blogging, editorial outreach, and broken link building.

Grey-hat link building means you’re using questionable or risky SEO practices to build your casino’s backlink profile. Grey-hat links can be obtained through paid links, link exchanges, and link rentals.

In the gambling niche, white-hat link building is effective but difficult, while grey-hat link building is riskier but necessary. This is because there are few opportunities for natural links in this space, due to the negative perceptions and legal restrictions around gambling.

Most casino brands pay for links, and they have big budgets to do so. They also use third-party email addresses to cover their tracks and can get away with employing aggressive anchor text strategies that could get a smaller company in trouble.

Some gambling brands also use PR strategies to earn links from online publications, such as press releases, newsjacking, and editorial outreach.

Here are some of the most effective link building techniques for casino sites:

Content creation: Creating valuable, relevant, and high-quality content is the foundation of any link building campaign. You can create different types of content, such as articles, guides, videos, infographics, and interactive content. If your content is useful and shareable, it can attract natural links from other sites. It can also help you showcase your expertise and authority in your niche.
Guest posting: Guest posting is when you publish an article on another blog or online publication with a link back to your site. This can help you reach new audiences who may otherwise be unaware of your casino. You can find guest blogging opportunities by searching for relevant keywords and phrases, such as “write for us”, “submit a guest post”, or “contribute an article”. You can also use tools like Ahrefs or Moz to find websites that accept guest posts in your niche.
Editorial outreach: Editorial outreach is the practice of contacting journalists, editors, or bloggers and pitching them a story idea that includes a link to your site. It can help you get links from authoritative and reputable sources, such as online magazines, newspapers, or newsletters. You can find editorial opportunities by using tools like HARO (Help a Reporter Out), Response Source, or SourceBottle.
Broken link building: This entails finding and fixing broken links on other websites and replacing them with links to your site. It can help you get links from relevant and high-quality sources, while also providing value to the website owner. You can find broken links by using tools like Ahrefs or Moz, then contact the website owner and offer them a replacement link to your site.
Influencer marketing: Influencer marketing means partnering with influencers, affiliates, or popular gambling-related websites and getting them to link to your site. It can help you get links from influential and relevant sources, while also increasing your brand awareness and credibility. Social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter are a great way to find and connect with influencers in your niche.
Community engagement: Community engagement means participating in online forums, social media, or industry events and getting links from the gambling community. It can help you get links from relevant and engaged sources, while also building your reputation and growing your network. You can find online communities by using tools like Reddit, Quora, or Facebook Groups. You can also use tools like Meetup, Eventbrite, or Eventful to find and attend industry events.

What Types of Websites Should You Target for Casino Link Building?

When it comes to casino link building, you have a wide range of websites and categories to choose from, as long as there is a natural and logical connection to your gambling site.

Here are some of the most common and effective categories for casino link building, along with some examples:

Casino game blogs and strategy sites: These are websites that write about different casino games, such as roulette, blackjack, or slots, and offer tips and strategies on how to play and win. For example, RouletteStrategy.net, BlackjackApprenticeship.com, or SlotsofVegas.com.
Poker websites: These are websites that focus on poker, one of the most popular and profitable gambling games. They offer news, reviews, guides, and strategies on poker. For example, PokerNews.com, PokerStrategy.com, or PokerListings.com.
Sports betting bloggers and influencers: These are websites or individuals that write or talk about sports betting, one of the fastest-growing and most lucrative gambling niches. They offer predictions, analysis, tips, and picks on various sports and events. For example, SportsBettingDime.com, OddsShark.com, or Dave Portnoy.
Card games: These are websites that focus on card games, one of the oldest and most diverse forms of gambling. They offer rules, strategies, and variations on different card games, such as bridge, rummy, or solitaire. For example, Pagat.com, CardGamesPlanet.com, or BicycleCards.com.

🃏 Best Practices and Tips for Casino Link Building

Here are several best practices and tips to help you overcome the challenges inherent in casino link building:

Focus on quality over quantity: Not all backlinks are equal. Some backlinks are more valuable and beneficial than others. You need to focus on building quality backlinks from reputable and relevant websites, rather than a slew of low-quality backlinks from spammy or irrelevant websites. High-quality backlinks will help you improve your rankings, traffic, and conversions, while low-quality backlinks may harm your reputation and lower your rankings. In some cases, they can even lead to you being penalized by Google, from which it can be difficult or impossible to recover.
Diversify your link sources and types: You need to build a diverse, relevant, and natural backlink profile that consists of different types of backlinks from different sources and domains. This will help you avoid over-optimization, penalties, and algorithm updates. You can use tools like Moz Link Explorer or Ahrefs Site Explorer to analyze and improve your backlink profile.
Build relationships with influencers and webmasters: Devote some time to cultivating relationships with influencers and webmasters in your niche, as they can help you get more exposure, increase your credibility, and ultimately, build more backlinks to your casino. You can use services such as Outreach Bee to connect with relevant influencers and manage your influencer marketing campaigns. If you’d rather do the dirty work yourself, You can also use social media platforms, forums, blogs, and podcasts to engage with influencers and attempt to cultivate win-win relationships.
Create and promote shareable content: Creating quality content can attract and inform your target audience, as well as other websites and influencers in your niche. Shareable content is content that is useful, informative, entertaining, or emotional, and that encourages people to share it with others. You can use tools like Google Trends or AnswerThePublic to find and create shareable content ideas. If, as you should, you’re posting a lot of content to social media, tools like Buffer or Hootsuite can make your life easier and allow you to more effectively manage your social media presence.
Monitor and measure your results: This is a critical aspect of casino link building campaigns that is often overlooked. Monitoring and measuring your results will allow you to easily discern how your link building efforts are impacting your website performance and goals. You can use tools like Google Analytics or SEMrush to track and analyze your traffic, conversions, and revenue. Google Search Console and Majestic can help you monitor and measure your backlinks, rankings, and penalties.

🚫 The Casino Link Building Mistakes to Avoid

While link building can bring many benefits to your casino and gambling site, it can also bring many risks and pitfalls if done incorrectly. Here are some of the common casino link building mistakes to avoid:

Using low-quality or irrelevant links: This is when you use links from websites that have low authority, low relevance, or low quality. These links can dilute your backlink profile, lower your trustworthiness, and reduce your traffic.
Over-optimizing your anchor text: This is when you use the same or similar keywords or phrases as your anchor text for your links. This can make your links look unnatural, spammy, or manipulative. You should avoid over-optimizing your anchor text, as it can trigger Google’s algorithm and result in penalties or devaluations. You should use a variety of anchor text, such as branded, generic, partial match, or naked URLs, to make your links look natural and diverse.

Building links from spammy or penalized websites: This is when you use links from websites that have low trust, high spam, or which have been penalized by Google. These links can damage your reputation, reduce your rankings, and sap your traffic. In short, if someone is telling you they can quickly get you 500 backlinks, steer clear. Tools such as Moz Spam Score or SEMrush Backlink Audit can help you identify and remove any spammy or toxic links from your backlink profile.

Building links too quickly: Going from a bare backlink profile to one bursting with backlinks is going to raise all kinds of red flags with search engines. So, remember, slow and steady wins the race, and one quality backlink is a lot more effective than 100 low-quality backlinks.
Keep Your Distance: When you’re negotiating with a potential backlinking partner, make sure you’re using an email address that’s unaffiliated with your online gambling site. Keeping this buffer can help insulate your site from any trouble that receiving paid backlinks could cause.

Building Casino Links The Painless Way

As you’ve seen, building your casino or online gambling site’s backlink profile on your own can be a tedious, messy, and nerve-racking endeavor. At ArticleHub, our team has been bolstering the backlink profiles of sites like yours for going on ten years now. We know what works, and, perhaps more importantly, we know what doesn’t. We’ll use our experience and proven techniques to gradually but persistently increase your quality backlinks, and we’ll steer you clear of avenues that could blow back on you with Google penalties or legal repercussions.

If you’ve decided that it’s time to take your casino’s backlink building seriously, Talk To The Team, and let’s grow your backlink profile the right way until you’re among the top tier of online gambling websites in your niche! Building casino links the right way is our domain.