Q&A: Bojoko CEO on the key ingredients required to make a successful affiliate site

Bojoko has gone from new kid on the block to being crowned EGR’s Casino Affiliate of the Year 2020 in just three years.

We sat down with Bojoko co-founder and CEO, Toni Halonen, to learn more about how he and his team have taken the site from concept to launch and to power player, the challenges faced and how they were overcome plus the advice he would give those just starting out.

Q. What have been the greatest challenges faced over the past three years? 

Toni Halonen (TH): There have been two key challenges we have faced since launching Bojoko in 2017 – the first is the risk and reward of relying on search engine traffic to bring visitors to the site.

The second big challenge has been educating operators, developers and indeed players as to what Bojoko is, how it is different to traditional casino affiliate sites and ultimately why this makes us a better place to list your brand or studio and to find where to play.

Q. How have these challenges been overcome? Were they tough to overcome?

TH: Building a business and a website that is so reliant on SEO traffic is like constantly trying to solve a puzzle where the image on the shapes keeps on changing. This relates not only to SEO optimisation, but the role SEO plays in your business.

It’s always a work in progress but we have fit some of the pieces together already. For example, our rankings are good, but they are not yet where we want them to be. Also, we still have more to do when it comes to the user experience on the site.

We are in a really strong position to overcome these challenges in 2021 and have plenty of interesting announcements in the pipeline.

Q. What is the biggest lesson you have learned while launching and growing Bojoko?

TH: The biggest lesson I have learned is that you must never give up. It is a lesson I learned in the past but it is important to remind yourself of it every now and then.

For example, when we first launched Bojoko a lot of casino brands were not too keen on the idea of controlling their own listing on an affiliate site. Today, however, the consensus is changing and casinos are praising us for the way we do things.

Q. How has the sector changed over the past three years? Is it more difficult now? 

TH: Gambling affiliation has always been difficult, but it is becoming increasingly tough with each passing day. That doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to succeed but to do this you must adapt and evolve. Today, that means offering the best possible user experience.

Q. If you could do one thing differently, what would it be and why? 

TH: Tough question. I don’t regret anything that we have done so far when it comes to Bojoko. Yes, we have made mistakes but we have always made sure we learn from them and ultimately make Bojoko better as a result – mistakes are inevitable, you just need to use them to your advantage.

Q. What key ingredients make for a successful affiliate site? Does it come down to money? 

TH: It does not come down to money and financial backing, although it can and does help. What you really need is a great team of talented and skilled people as they will eventually figure out a formula for success.

Once you have a team in place, you then need to figure out how to create value for the end user. This may sound obvious, but many businesses do not do this – inside and outside of gambling affiliation – and is why some do not succeed.

Once you have identified how you can bring value to the user, it is all about communicating it to them.

Q. What advice would you give to others launching a gambling affiliate site today? 

TH: No matter how you acquire visitors, you must still provide value to the user.

Secondly, never give up. Quantum leaps from start-up to major leagues never happen overnight, even if the success stories of businesses often read like this. The big win or sell-out that makes the headlines always comes after years of hard work.