Serious or not?

[adrenaline]

If you were a new player looking for a place to bet and you enter an affiliate site.

What do the site need to have of features to make you choose that site?
-What makes it serious and thrustworthy in your eyes?

What makes the site look untrusthy in your eyes?

discuss..

*Interesting to hear other affiliates views on this.

[Guard Dog]

Personally, I look for content and not those typical 1-10 top casino places. I wouldn't trust any that show a top 5-10 on the front page with little way to find the information I REALLY am looking for.

Banner farms... no way.

HOWEVER - I had a site that had tons of banners on it awhile back and it did fairly well So - I guess it works, but that was a bonus site, maybe that's the reason.

[theshortstack]

There are obviously a lot of different factors, but I think the design says a lot about the site.

Even if it's a sub-conscious thing, if a site looks and feels professional you're going to tend to trust what they say a lot more. As Andy says Banner Farms along with sites from the 1990's (the pink text on the black background that some sites have) just doesn't scream out that you know what you're talking about. Whereas a clean, slick, easy-to-navigate site instantly says that you mean business.

Just my $0.02 ...

[Monica]

Altough content is important I always seem to be overwhelmed by the information in some websites, so the top bonus, top casinos type of information is always welcome. Obviously being in the industry I look for additional information on the top casinos featured on those tables, but they seem to me like a clear way to state the information.
I dont like websites without an about us section, usually I like to know a bit more on the people which make the affiliate site work.

[zoorana]

I agree with Guard Dog about having way too many banners on your site. Especially on the main page. Not that there's anything wrong with banners but too many hurt the eyes making it confusing you just want to close the page. I never use more than one banner on a page and go for images instead.

Having videos however is a plus. That's one thing i'd want to spend more time on.

[adrenaline]

I agree on everything stated above. I peronally work very hard to keep my sites professional and that they have professional looks.

Thanks for the posts, keep em coming!=)

[dominique]

There is no real answer to this question.

People are different. Some will like a crisp information site, some will like a playful site.

Some will prefer one color, some another.

It all depends on the demographic you want to target.

Females have different preferences than males, people in their 20s like things differently from people in their 50s.

Everyone looks at design and color in a different way, and they look at the form of communication is a different way also.

Some people like a one-glance chart, some like a personalized explanation text, some like humor, some like testimonials and so on.

So our personal preferences are totally irrelevant. What is relevant is what the demographic you want to target likes.

Sites that target poker players who are 20+ years old should look very different from sites that target 50+ year old slot players.

[casdir]

If I were a new player looking for a place to bet, these are the things I would look for in an affiliate site:

1) It would have to rank in the top 3 results of Google for the search term I enter.
2) It would have a very professional design with an easy to navigate menu.
3) It would have lots of comprehensive reviews of the major online casinos
4) Fast loading without too many banners
5) A good Alexa ranking to earn my trust a bit more
6) It would have to be virus/spyware free according to siteadvisor.com

The biggest turn off when entering an affiliate site in my opinion is pop-up windows. If I were a new player entering an affiliate site for the first time and saw pop-up windows, I would hit the back button.

[Monica]

Couldnt agree more on this one. Seriously popups make me run for the hills! I still remember back in the day, when we had a phone internet connection (oh dear I am really that old), whenever I got hit with a pop up parade my computer would crash and then it would be a good 10 minutes to get the ball rolling again.
Better than this only the sounds of game tapes loading on my spectrum 48k

The biggest turn off when entering an affiliate site in my opinion is pop-up windows. If I were a new player entering an affiliate site for the first time and saw pop-up windows, I would hit the back button.

[ultra100]

What makes the site look untrusthy in your eyes?

Great topic Adrenaline!

I agree to the posts above, but one thing that immediately raises a red flag for me is if I notice that affiliate site advertise rogue casino in any shape or form. (Banner, text link …etc). Of course, some of new players are not aware of rogues, but we all see some well-known rogues that are still all over some affiliate's places.