Affiliate BI

In this episode of Affiliate BI, John Wright sits down with Mikael Dia, founder of Funnelytics, to break down why traditional attribution models are outdated and misleading. Mikael introduces a contribution-based approach to tracking user journeys and explains how SaaS and affiliate marketers can better understand what truly drives conversions. The conversation explores how to uncover profit leaks in your funnel by working backwards from conversion points and leveraging tools like Funnelytics for journey visualization. They also dive into the disruptive role of AI in analytics and what the future holds for BI professionals and affiliate marketing.

In this episode, Gael Goasdoue, COO and co-founder of Redcorp, breaks down the evolving role of PPC and paid media in the affiliate and iGaming industries. He emphasizes the critical importance of having the right infrastructure—like CRM systems and real-time data—to avoid wasting budgets and scale effectively. Gael also shares a roadmap for SEO affiliates entering the paid space, including regulatory awareness, campaign strategy, and budget management. The conversation closes with insights into the growing demand for transparency, data-driven decisions, and the indispensable role of business intelligence in the future of affiliate marketing.

Meet Emilio Takas who's the Head of SEO at Gentoo Media. Emilio is more than just an SEO as he is an author, public speaker and has a passionate for audio and video recording gear and documenting it on YouTube. Emilio is a true student of the game of SEO. He knows why Gentoo Media has had immense success in their acquisitions of sites like AskGamblers and CasinoMeister and he knows how to stay on the right side of the drastic SEO changes we are seeing with Google and all the new AI powered search engines.

A very quick podcast recording about all the tools and services that iGaming operators can utilize to improve revenue and retention. Those efforts could positively benefit affiliates and this is why affiliates should care about these things.

Not a topic that most people talk about but it unfortunately happens. You know, when you as an affiliate think that some of your commissions have been shaved. The problem is, how would you know? At StatsDrone, we have built a product called Changelog that detects when your commissions have disappeared and there are a few patterns to spot. 1. Commissions decreasing the last few days of the month 2. Players being moved from one campaign to another 3. Players just simply being detagged With a tool like StatsDrone, you can stay on top of these changes and ensure it doesn't happen again.

Today is a solocast but want to shoutout to Mark Flores Martin, the founder of XGENIA for the conversation we had at NEXT.io. He shared his opinion that bigger companies will start commanding on-prem services and cancelling data contracts as a result.

Meet Robbie Strazynski who's working on improving his poker affiliate site, cardplayerlifestyle.com. He's navigating the new world of SEO and I'm here to help him with affiliate coaching.

Meet Maja Jovančević who was former Director of SEO at AskGamblers and GiG. In this episode, iGaming SEO expert Maja Jovancevic shares her insights on the evolving challenges and opportunities for affiliates in a search landscape increasingly shaped by AI, crawl limitations, and Google's changing priorities. She emphasizes the importance of technical SEO, full-stack thinking, and the need for affiliates to diversify traffic sources beyond just organic search. Maja also highlights how integrating product strategy, business intelligence, and long-term brand building can be a game-changer for forward-thinking affiliate marketers. She is also featured in the iGaming SEO book!

What would a dream affiliate CRM tool look like? I asked affiliate marketing expert, Niels Zee, are there any affiliate CRM tools out there that he knows of and he said no. He then went on to describe what a perfect affiliate CRM tool would look like. Hmmm, could that be what StatsDrone is building?

In this episode of the Affiliate BI Podcast, John Wright sits down with Valentina Diaco, founder of Profit Matches and creator of the tech-and-marketing newsletter VidDay Lens. Valentina introduces the concept of Search AI Optimization (SAIO) — a term she coined to describe how brands can position themselves to be referenced in AI-generated responses, not just traditional search results. The conversation dives into how affiliates can adapt to AI-driven search, avoid being filtered out, and embrace strategies that blend data aggregation, branding, and user-first content. Valentina shares actionable insights for affiliates and B2B SaaS companies on leveraging first-party data, building micro-products, and transforming content teams using AI. She emphasizes the need for intentional marketing, product-led growth, and the shift from traffic to smarter traffic through ecosystem thinking. Together, they explore ideas like creating community-driven tools, podcasting for reach, and using chatbots to personalize user experiences. From positioning to personalization, and from BI integration to AI content workflows, this episode is a must-listen for marketers, affiliates, and founders looking to stand out in a noisy, fast-changing landscape.

Meet Shaurya Jain who's a long time SEO friend and what he shared in this recording were data insights I thought were true but had no data to back it up. Shaurya gives some core insights on why quality matters for SEO site and how that can be measured with tools like BuiltWith.

Meet Louis Grenier, author of Stand The F*ck Out which is an amazing book on marketing that dives deep into positioning. Louis has a podcast called Everyone Hates Marketers and if you thought sales was tough, perhaps marketing is the biggest challenge of them all. How are affiliate sites positioned today in terms of marketing? Louis thinks most of them are s*** but simply put, this is one of my favourite episodes and shoutout to Mark Preston on the previous episode for the insight that affiliates need to treat their websites like a real business.

Why do most affiliate sites fail especially at SEO? Meet Mark Preston who's Head of SEO at Hakim Group. Mark has seen over 20 years of SEO first hand and knows what good SEO looks like today. Mark's simple remedy for SEO for affiliates today is people aren't building sites for users and building them for search engines. The shift has to happen if you want to have a serious business today.

Meet Rahul Jain who's the Delivery Head, BI & Data Analytics for BizAcuity. I'm just going to say it, BizAcuity is perhaps one of the most underrated companies in iGaming today. They've built some of the original BI dashboards in the early days before people even knew what Business Intelligence was.

Meet Conor Cassidy and Justin Nelson from The Crowd's Line or TCL for short. These 2 gents did this interview for me just before NEXT.io event in New York City. I got to go back to my days of professional gambling to ask these guys what's new in the world of sports betting. In fact, quite a bit is new and the data that can go into the predictions market is beyond what I could imagine.

I asked Dirk Schembri what type of affiliate businesses seem to have the most success in SEO. He said that founders and C-level management that study and practice SEO are the companies that tend to be leaders. This is what investing into SEO looks like today. Not all SEOs in companies have the same level of success and this is where training of management can have a major impact across an entire organization.

Meet Shlomo Freund who's a new unofficial M&A mentor. I follow a lot of Shlomo's content on M&A and optimizing businesses and I personally find his work inspiring. When do businesses need to look at acquiring other businesses for growth or for more revenue? What should you consider when it comes to the M&A process? I got a chance to ask Shlomo a lot of these questions and more.

Is affiliate.com another affiliate network with a great domain? It is not! David Shapiro is working to address a need in affiliate marketing and ecommerce which is to make products and inventory in affiliate marketing, more accessible. David shares insights how the future of affiliate marketing will involve more social media platforms and better tools for link tracking and product inventory management. B2B affiliate tools are now trending because without them, it requires affiliates to have to build things themselves repeatedly. Thanks again to our supporters StatsDrone and FTDX.

In this episode, we sit down with Jesse Ringer, Founder and CEO of Method + Metric, to explore the evolving world of SEO and digital marketing. Jesse shares insights on how his diverse background in marketing, PR, and video production shapes his unique approach to SEO—moving beyond technical tactics to a holistic strategy that drives real business results. We discuss the ever-present "SEO is dead" debate, the rise of AI in search, and why trust and transparency are crucial in an industry filled with shady tactics. Jesse emphasizes the power of content, digital PR, and business strategy over shortcuts, highlighting how conversion rate optimization (CRO) is just as vital as traffic generation. For businesses looking to stand out, Jesse provides actionable advice on building authority, leveraging YouTube, and using LinkedIn for growth. He also shares SEO strategies for unique cases like luxury lighting brands, AI betting tools, and affiliate marketplaces, stressing the importance of niche targeting and audience understanding. If you're an affiliate marketer, SEO enthusiast, or business owner, this episode is packed with real-world strategies to help you navigate the ever-changing digital landscape. Podcast Key Takeaways with Time Stamps [00:00:00] Introduction to Jesse Ringer – Founder of Method + Metric, an SEO agency based in Vancouver. His background spans marketing, PR, social media, and video production. [00:01:00] SEO is More Than Just Technical Work – Jesse emphasizes the need for a holistic marketing approach, combining content, PR, and business strategy. [00:02:14] "SEO is Dead" Myth in 2025 – Jesse discusses how SEO has been declared dead for years, but as long as search engines exist, SEO will remain essential. [00:03:01] Transparency in SEO Matters – Jesse believes in sharing knowledge freely, rather than hoarding SEO secrets, to create a better industry standard. [00:04:08] Shady SEO Tactics Create Distrust – Many agencies overpromise and underdeliver, making it crucial to prove expertise through case studies and transparency. [00:06:03] Leveraging LinkedIn & Other Platforms – LinkedIn has evolved beyond job hunting—it's now a powerful marketing and networking tool. [00:07:13] SEO Community Helps Navigate Algorithm Changes – With frequent Google updates, staying engaged with the SEO community helps businesses adapt and pivot. [00:10:12] Case Study: AI Betting Website Struggling with SEO – Jesse advises focusing on content, value proposition, and user trust rather than just AI as a selling point. [00:14:28] Case Study: Luxury Lighting Business – Instead of chasing high rankings, PR, link-building, and influencer marketing in design and architecture spaces are more effective. [00:19:00] E-commerce vs. Affiliate SEO – SEO trends show that e-commerce is gaining priority, meaning affiliate marketers need to adapt and innovate to stay competitive. [00:21:05] Building an M&A Marketplace for Affiliate Websites – Jesse suggests prioritizing SEO, content marketing, and buyer-focused messaging for success. [00:24:10] Ranking as #3 is Still Profitable – You don't need to be #1—even ranking third or fourth can be highly lucrative in competitive industries. [00:29:42] The Untapped Opportunity in Podcast SEO – Many niches, like slots and gambling, lack strong podcast content, making it a great SEO play for ranking and link-building. [00:32:58] Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is Critical for SEO – More traffic doesn't equal more sales. Optimizing for conversions is just as important as ranking. [00:34:38] The Hidden SEO Killer: Broken Forms & Poor UX – Jesse shares a real-life example where a company's contact form was broken, leading to massive revenue loss. [00:36:09] Google Ads Complexity is Intentional – Ad platforms like Google Ads make it deliberately difficult to optimize efficiently, pushing businesses to spend more. [00:38:04] The Future of Affiliate Marketing & Business Intelligence – Trust is more important than ever. Authenticity and credibility are key to long-term success. [00:39:50] Affiliate Marketing vs. Big Publishers – Large media outlets like NYT & Fortune dominate rankings, but their affiliate efforts lack genuine product knowledge. [00:40:28] The Real Key to Affiliate Success: Trust & Transparency – Building trust with an audience is the best way to succeed in affiliate marketing, despite algorithmic shifts. [00:41:11] Where to Find Jesse Ringer – Jesse is active on LinkedIn and shares valuable SEO resources at MethodMetric.com.

Meet Steve Anderson whom is a business analysis specializing in risk. He runs an agency and besides being a best selling author, is the Co-Founder at Catalyit®. Steve put his business analyst hat on and dissected Jeff Bezos's shareholder letters. He breaks it down into 14 core principles that could be a guiding light for any startup or affiliate. Actually any business. As I write this, I'm now reading his book and so far, it is excellent!

I'm always wondering what is the future of the iGaming is and where the industry is going. I think there is no better person to ask than Alex Pratt who's the Managing Director for Clarion Events. Alex Pratt has a front row ticket to the changes in the industry. He knows what startups are on the rise, where money is being deployed and where it is being invested. Following up on the immensely successful ICE in Barcelona, I got to ask Alex the questions I needed to know to stay on top of the iGaming industry trends.

Jamie I.F. is the CEO and founder of Endorsely and former CMO of Lasso. I've been studying Lasso's SEO go to market strategy for years and I can say Jamie I.F. He is one of my B2B SEO heroes and he's got some solid SEO advise for any B2B company. I'll personally be listening to this episode a few times to take a few more notes. Jamie is also part of the Conversion Collective which is a mastermind group for digital entrepreneurs.

Meet Shahar Attias who's the founder of Hybrid Interaction which they are CRM and gamification experts. I came to this convo expecting more chat on the CRM side but realized gamification is where I think iGaming and affiliate marketing can make bigger strides for growth and revenue.

Meet Noelle Spagna who's the affiliate program manager at The Motley Fool. The Motley Fool is a unique site both as an affiliate site itself as well as having their own affiliate program for having other finance affiliates promote The Fool. She shares some of the best practices a big company like The Motley Fool does for optimization of the business in every aspect. It is something any affiliate program could learn from but affiliates as well.

What is a short-form podcast? Short-form podcasting is hot for all the right and wrong reasons. The right and wrong reason to consider is once you get a follower, it is easier for you to be top of mind for the listener and get into their feed once a day. How is a short-form podcast beneficial for anybody in affiliate marketing? Simply put, it is a great way to pivot in any affiliate business or to start one up.

Today we have a solo cast from me talking about being consistent in affiliate marketing. There is a time to pivot like the number of betting affiliates I've seen switch to cryptocurrencies and a time to stay consistent. You have to decide what that consistent looks like for you. For the most successful affiliates I have known, they all have something in common: consistency! Yes, they are always producing content but it isn't just about volume but it comes down to both consistent and quality. I've reflected on what Steve Toth told me in a previous recording that he was advised to be consistent with his newsletter if he was going to start one. 5 years later, he has one of the best SEO newsletters around.

Which is better? Ever since I've tuned in to the Confessions of a B2B Entrepreneur and heard Tom Hunt go head to head with Jakub Zajicek, I've thought hard about what is important. To be a guest on a podcast, or to host one? I think the answer is a bit of both but guesting has a slight edge of building trust in a short period of time. Being a host means you're taking time to build your trust and persona.

Does the online bingo industry make more money on slot games than bingo? This is one of the many questions I asked Sue Dawson whom is the Operations Director at FTD Digital. FTD Digital is a leading iGaming affiliate that specializes in online bingo and slots content and has won numerous affiliate awards. Sue is also the Head of Content and is constantly studying SEO to help FTD Digital stay on the right side of Google updates. Her advice in this area is to be more than a content site and build products around the content.

What is the connection between influencers and affiliate networks? Last week I noticed Jesper Søgaard, CEO of Better Collective, he mentioned the company was being patient in acquiring assets but I don't think there are a lot of assets on the market. Influencers are like an asset you can't buy but you could virtually own a stake in them via an affiliate network. I think affiliate networks will make life easier for influencers to tap into their potential.

Why did I create this iGaming SEO guide for 2025? I want to help you be setup for success in making sure SEO is working in your favour regardless of your project in iGaming. I wrote 2 articles recently, one for SEO in iGaming for Times of Malta and the other was another iGaming SEO guide in LinkedIn Pulse. Both articles have been shared a lot and I think it is because I wrote helpful articles and wasn't trying to sell you SEO services.

My first question to Richard Dennys, CEO of Game Lounge, was are you a naturally gifted leader or someone that constantly works at it? He alluded to a lot of hard work and making his mistakes less costly over time. I personally think he's got a natural gift for it plus he's mindful to not rest on his skills and improve. Richard is barely 1 year into his role as CEO of Game Lounge which is one of the biggest iGaming affiliates in the industry. He was previously CEO of Webgains where he brings the global affiliate marketing experience with him. I personally think that is an advantage for him to help Game Lounge continue to be a leading company in iGaming. I did want to give a quick shoutout to their newest project which is SaaS Genius which is a topic I'm passionate about as a SaaS co-founder of StatsDrone.

Meet Stefan Muehlbauer who works with Master In Cash affiliate program and is the founder of Affpal.net doing consulting for affiliate managers. He knows affiliate management well and understands what affiliate managers need today to be successful.

Meet Marco Braun who's the founder of MyTopSlot and an aspiring entrepreneur. This episode is not your ordinary one as it is an affiliate coaching episode. I give Marco my best tips as an affiliate coach on how he can cut through the noise and build a slots site in a competitive space. One of my recommendations is to consider a slots podcast as a means of generating faster income and building a trusted audience and dominating another channel that he can own.

Meet Julia Draghici, the co-founder of CPV Lab and CPV One that helps affiliates, media buyers and marketing agencies to track, manage, and optimize their marketing campaigns in one place with a very powerful ad-tracking platform. I'm excited to share this recording of Julia because we have similar apps that technically are competitors but we operate in different industries. We are both SaaS companies working in affiliate marketing where she acknowledges that SaaS industry shares and affiliates are secretive with data sharing and insights. She thinks this is something that should change to improve affiliate marketing.

Meet Bob Burg who's the co-author of The Go Giver book and is a sought out speaker. Bob exhibits a lot of qualities that my other guests have, which is they openly share information without asking for as much in return. All of those podcast guests all seem to share similar stories especially the SEO pros which is the more they share, the more their business and demand grows. On reflecting on the discussion I had with Bob, there are 2 other people I think about and I want to share how the 3 of these people connect in my mind. Tom Hunt of fame.so is constantly giving advice away on LinkedIn that also includes how to make a better podcast and the value you'll get by podcasting. Podcasting is a platform where you have to share value and create content. Carrie Rose of Rise at Seven, whom I've never met by the way, I've heard her share SEO stories where she would put herself in her client's shoes when solving their SEO problems. Not many SEO consultants do this and I think this is one reason why Rise at Seven has become some a prominent SEO agency. Bob Burg simply lives and breathes his philosophy. For those that are lucky enough to understand and believe what Bob teaches, this could be the most valuable takeaway anybody could get especially in affiliate marketing. It makes me realize that some of the best affiliate marketers focus on their users more. They just try to give more value as a means of the reason for their site to exist.

Meet Lou Viveros whom I was introduced through Matt Diggity. Matt posted that Lou was there in some of his M&A transactions and that is when I learned about Lou's work in both M&A as well as being an advisor to startups, SEOs and affiliate companies. As a startup, I've learned quite a few things from Lou in getting to know him over the past year and I've gained a bigger appreciation for advisors like him. Lou Viveros is now launching the SBOCoach.com program to help small business owners. Lou also is featured in the advisory section of The Affiliate Lab course by Matt Diggity.

Meet Rowan Ellis who runs XVARO and you could call him your fractional CFO for hire. Rowan doesn't just help companies get their books in order but he helps them with financial strategy. This can often lead to discussion around mergers & acquisitions (M&A) and in the affiliate space, those topics are somewhat normalized as everyone seems to think about exit strategies in affiliation.

Meet Dragan Berak who's the Head of SEO at Gentoo Media and was the Head of SEO Global at AskGamblers before it got acquired by GiG and now is part of Gentoo. Dragan got to see first hand how to improve a giant iGaming affiliate site in AskGamblers. I've had the pleasure to chat with Dragan at conferences before so I know he is very passionate about SEO. We both follow the likes of Lily Ray, Glen Allsopp and Eli Schwartz that have unique takes on the SEO landscape. If your affiliate site has been hit by any of the Google penalties in the past 12 months, I think you should listen to this episode with a pen and notepad and take some notes. If you want to get my takeaway to add some perspective of what I learned in asking Dragan all of these SEO questions, it would be to ask yourself this question: is this piece of content I'm doing, the absolute best it can be? Am I adding a unique take on this topic that nobody else has? If you can't answer this question, I think you need to revisit the purpose of your affiliate site and it has to be a bit beyond just trying to make money.

Meet Neil Walker who's the specialist behind Live Casino Comparer and his niche approach has lead to success. In fact, Neil is considered one of the leading experts when it comes to knowledge of the live dealer games space. While Neil doesn't profess to be an expert in SEO, he does know that his attention to detail in his content is part of the reason for his SEO success.

Meet Gali Hartuv who's the creator of Gali's Guide which is a newsletter that explores the world of VIP in iGaming. Talking about VIP in iGaming whether it is casinos or sportsbooks, is usually a forbidden topic. That is exactly what Gali set out to do which is change the status quo and start talking about an important business topic within iGaming that nobody was writing about. All the questions today centre around the operator side and how affiliates either can help influence VIP players and how both sides can work together to improve business. At the core of this topic is retention which is something considered out of the hands of the affiliates however there are new affiliate sites that can help be a part of this ecosystem.

Meet James Oliver who's one of the co-founders of ParasiteSEO.com which is a unique SEO tool that ... helps you with parasite SEO. In this podcast, James explains what is parasite SEO and what are the best strategies and tips when it comes to leveraging this SEO tactic for your affiliate sites.

Meet Adam Rowley who's the MD of RavenTrack which is an iGaming affiliate program platform. Adam has experience as an affiliate, an affiliate manager, operator and now sits in a unique position of helping affiliate programs manage their affiliates and get better with their data. The key conversation here is all about customer retention and player value. Why are people not having enough of these convos? We'll we are bringing this one to you and the insights are ones you won't want to miss.

Meet Lily Ray who's the Vice President, SEO Strategy & Research at Amsive. I asked Lily what she thought that affiliate sites should be doing today to avoid the wrath of these Google core updates and to stay one step ahead. She is very active on X (Twitter) and LinkedIn and she's got a pulse on the world of search as well as studying the winners and losers in the affiliate marketing space.

Meet Ben Austen who's the the Director-level leader specialising in RevOps with Find.co, a fast growing media company in affiliate marketing, iGaming, EdTech, CSR SaaS and crypto. Ben believes that RevOps is an important job that can bridge the gap between sales and marketing. It is the intersection of Business Intelligence with finance connecting all aspects of a company whether affiliate marketing, SaaS, sales or media. I think what Ben does is a really insightful look at the world of RevOps and I realize these jobs are not common in affiliate marketing yet but I think they will become more important as more people learn the nuances of this work.

Meet Cristian Ionescu who's the co-founder of Witanalytica and one of the analytics experts at his company. Cristian thinks that affiliate marketing as an industry can be doubled over and that we've not even scratched the surface in terms of what we are capable of achieving given that Business Intelligence in affiliate marketing is fairly new.

Meet Jabez Reuben who's an SEO that has his own SEO tool such as linkvalidator.io and he also runs The Blue Prints agency and Vistavo.co. In this episode, Jabez shared with me a lot of link building tips that I think are clever and in some cases easy to action. Yet I know a lot of affiliates don't take the time to do any of them. If you are a new affiliate or new to SEO, definitely follow all Jabez's tips on link building. They are definitely worth implementing on your sites.

Meet Steve Toth, founder of SEO Notebook and event planner for SEO IRL in Toronto, Canada. Steve has been sending out 1 actionable note every week for 5 years straight. His SEO newsletter is one of the most popular ones in the whole SEO community.

Meet Marcin Kumięga who's the Business Development Director at Voluum. Cool name for a company? I would say they are one of the most advanced adtech companies I've seen in affiliate marketing.

We have 10 different SEO experts that we've taking some of their best tips and insights.

Meet Sean Bianco, co-founder of GainChanger SEO agency and a true student of SEO and marketing. We cover a lot of topics in iGaming in this episode.

Meet Zach Measures who's Commercial Director EMEA for Everflow.io which is an impressive tech solution for affiliate programs, affiliate networks and agencies. When Zach asked what the purpose of the podcast was, I think this episode itself explains that. That is when we have these interesting conversations about affiliate marketing in relation to Business Intelligence. I said these convos are not taking place as much as they should but when they happen, nobody is documenting them. That is why we started this podcast. Zach has some amazing insights on QR codes for affiliates and operators to the importance of affiliate managers.