“At ComeOn Group we work as one big team on all levels”
Ivana Flynn has extensive experience working for large brands in the iGaming sector. In the past, she worked at Betsson Group, Catena Media, Mr Green, and currently holds the position of SEO Director at ComeOn Group. We invite you to read the interview with Ivana, in which we talk about professional experience and new trends in the SEO industry on the iGaming markets.
You’ve had the opportunity to work for several companies with highly recognized brands. How different were the business approaches you experienced in these companies?
I consider myself lucky to have worked with such amazing brands as Betsson or William Hill and now ComeOn Group.
All of the companies have one thing in common, which is that they all operate and comply with local regulations to protect their customers. But of course, each company has their own special touch to how they run their business.
At ComeOn we currently have 17 brands across multiple markets. Most of the brands are mainly casino oriented but we recently successfully rebranded our 13 year old flagship brand, ComeOn, to a “sports first” product. ComeOn! got a brand new look paired that is cutting edge, relevant and most importantly, backed by our own technology.
At ComeOn Group we work as one big team on all levels which eliminates the corporate vibe, which also shows in the dedication and positive spirit of our employees. ComeOn is growing rapidly and as a leading iGaming operator we are on an exciting journey where our position stays firm in the industry.
Have you made any significant observations that influenced what you’re currently doing and how you’re doing it?
I am the SEO Director at ComeOn Group and for me SEO is where my passion is and something I dedicated a lot of time to. I like working within the iGaming industry as it is very competitive and you need to bring your A-game at all times.
Throughout 2023 we saw Google releasing more confirmed and unconfirmed updates to their ranking algorithms. This is a reaction to the rise of AI content and usage of AI tools.
Going ahead, I think we can count on AI playing a more important game in the SEO world and once again, us SEO professionals will need to keep up with the ever changing Google rules and SEPRs landscape.
What are the differences between working on SEO for an affiliate company and a bookmaker company?
There are several differences for sure. As an operator, such as ComeOn Group, you have the luxury of working with a well designed marketing funnel and with big, popular brands such as Snabbare and ComeOn! to name a few.
This means that a lot of our traffic comes from branded KWs and our no.1 job is to score from branded and semi-branded keywords and protect our brands in SERPs.
It also means that we comply with the rules of EEAT easier than affiliates, and in general, operators were more stable throughout this year’s Google updates.
SEO for affiliation is a bit different. First of all, SEO is their biggest, in many cases the only traffic channel.Secondly, they optimise for different user intent to operators therefore their approach to optimisation is different.
Affiliates are basically a product review and offer comparison websites. They are more content heavy and with the rise of AI, many opted in to use AI only content. Google states that AI content is OK, however it depends on how and when it is used. Google also states that product reviews should be written by humans to comply with EEAT rules. Many affiliates failed in this area meaning that the Google updates were less merciful to them than to operators.
Could you describe what your role as Director of SEO at ComeOn Group entails? What are the key factors for effective performance in this field?
My main responsibilities are to create and carry out a sustainable SEO strategy, keep my team educated and happy and teach SEO to the rest of the company to make sure everyone understands the power and value of good SEO.
As I mentioned previously, for me SEO is not just a job, it is a passion of mine. So in my eyes, to be good at SEO, you need to have a love for this field, you must be competitive (in a healthy way) and you must be a good communicator.