Name: Olga
Hometown: Moscow
Living in: Malta
Favorite Food: Thai
Profession/Job title: Gaming Affiliate

GAV: Hello Olga, first of all, tell us and our readers as well a little bit about yourself. How did your career start in the industry? What was the key idea of developing this great online slots guide?

Olga: There is a big community of “iGaming people” in Malta where I live and I happen to be friends with some of them and got interested in this industry. Almost 6 years ago I created my first website (in Russian) and since then have been working as an affiliate. About a year ago I started working on bestonlineslots.info project the main purpose of which is to provide as much information as possible to slots fans around the world, guide them through the game process, introduce them to the best casinos there they can play slots from different software providers, give them up to date information about bonuses and promotion.

GAV: Since there are thousands and thousands of websites in the slots niche out there, where do you think BestOnlineSlots.info stands now?

Olga: It is still a new project so it has not made a big name for itself yet. But hopefully it will get there. Now the main priority is to review any new slot games that come out and any new online casinos that are dedicated to slots lovers.

GAV: How do you see the online slots market/industry at this moment?

Olga: There are so many providers of slots right now – both that have been there forever and new ones – and everyone is trying to attract as many players as they can to their product. I think it is good because it makes providers work harder, be more creative and give us the best gaming experience possible. Nowadays the priority is given to video slots with incredible graphics and design and games developers don’t stop surprising us with visual effects of the slots, creating an engaging story – playing slots became an experience which involves a player fully in the process of the game.

GAV: How did you start and most of all what bumps did you have to overcome at the beginning?

Olga: I started with a casino reviews website in Russian – onlinecasinoworld.ru. It wasn’t easy at the beginning, I was making a lot of mistakes since I had no experience in a content writing/website developing/SEO at the time, but I was learning and overcoming challenges on a daily basis and made it to the top. I had to be creative to come up with new keywords and topics to be featured on the website, look out for the competition and protect my website against their attacks.

GAV: We have analyzed BestOnlineSlots.info and found some great quality content. Are you writing it by yourself or do you have a team of people writing for you? How many slots are there on your website?

Olga: Thank you for the compliments. All the content I write myself, but I am planning to hire some freelancers. At the moment there are about 40 slot games reviews and around 20 casino reviews, but there will be many more soon.

GAV: How do you manage to keep the content fresh and relevant on your website, when a lot of fluffy and nonsense appear on the Internet on a daily basis?

Olga: I always put the interest of my website’s visitors first. I ask myself “If I was looking for this information, what would I like to find on a website like mine?” When thinking only about search engine optimization and writing content “for Google” you will never make it to the top. I always look out for the news in the industry – if there is a new interesting casino opens or a new slot comes out I try to be among first affiliates to write about it. I also keep players up to date about casino promotions, free spins give away etc.

GAV: We are pretty sure that you receive messages from Affiliate Managers on a daily basis showcasing their best products. You of course select them by the brands they work with; but what are your thoughts on how a real Affiliate Manager-Affiliate relationship should be built?

Olga: I like professionalism and personal approach to each affiliate. An affiliate manager should always be aware what is happening on his affiliate’s website, keep the affiliate up to date about any changes and promotions, offer custom-made deals. I really appreciate when Managers come up with their own ideas about what could be improved or done, better in promoting their brand on my website. Efficient communication is very important, of course.

GAV: How do you see the future of the online casino/gambling industry? For instance, will it become a truly global phenomenon?

Olga: I think it will. In the future more countries should legalize online gambling, it should become more acceptable. With people using smart phones online casinos will become more easy to reach. Casino games will become more creative, involving more interaction from the player and players will have more opportunities to interact with each other while playing in online casino so it will bring a social aspect to it. Regarding affiliate companies, there is a clear tendency to monopolization – a lot of acquisitions are going on. So in the future there might be just few big companies owning lots of affiliate websites.

GAV: Do you have any advise you would like to offer for the newbies who are looking to venture into this great industry!?

Olga: The competition is very strong today, there are thousands of affiliate websites out there so I would suggest to:

– Choose a unique and narrow niche in the field – like this you will target a smaller segment of the gaming traffic, but in this small segment you will have a chance to get to the top faster.

– Be creative – generate new unique ideas daily. You can take an example from other affiliates websites, but never copy, always think of new ways of SEO and traffic generation.

GAV: Do you attend any iGaming/online casino conferences? If so, which one is your favorite and what is your most fun experience?

Olga: I attended a few. My favorite one is Sigma I guess which is held in Malta every year. I love meeting new people during these conferences, get to know news about the industry. The parties are fun too.

GAV: What do you think the chances are for Eastern Europe to become a potential gaming hotspot in the future? Where do you think the region must improve upon?

Olga: I come from Russia and it is considered to be a part of Eastern Europe. As I already mentioned, my first website which was a success is in Russian language and targets on Russian market. Unfortunately, online gaming is now not legal in Russia and it is difficult to continue working in that segment. It would be great if online casinos became legal in more Eastern European countries than now, including Russia, and the market became regulated.

GAV: Where would you like to travel in Eastern Europe?

Olga: Funny that you ask since I am traveling to Eastern Europe in two days – going to Hungary and Slovakia, never been there before and very excited. I would love to visit Czech Republic so might extend my holiday.

GAV: Where you wouldn’t want to travel in Eastern Europe?

Olga: There is no country I wouldn’t like to travel to. Travel is my passion and I try to do it as often as I can. There are countries which are at the end of my list, but I definitely want to visit them all.

GAV: How about a favorite celebrity, do you have one?

Olga: I don’t have one.

GAV: Tell us your opinion about the Gambling Affiliate Voice?

Olga: It is a great portal, we need more websites like this. It keeps us, affiliates and people from other positions in the industry, up to date, providing a lot of useful information and making this sector of business more transparent.

GAV: Thanks for the interview Olga, we wish you all the best for all your projects and have a lovely holiday!