Gentoo Media CEO says Google Search update was a “hit in the face” for CasinoTopsOnline
Jonas Warrer has shed light on how the brand was hindered by the recent change despite it being beneficial for other brands in the stable
Gentoo Media CEO Jonas Warrer has conceded Google Search’s core update rolled out in March was a “hit in the face” for one of the firm’s strongest assets.
Earlier this year, Google confirmed it had implemented changes to boost the quality of its search, which came into effect on 5 May.
This included addressing “site reputation abuse”, defined by Google as a website that produces its own content but also hosts “low-quality content” provided by a third-party that plans to take advantage of the host site’s strong reputation.
Google’s changes appear to have damaged GiG-owned CasinoTopsOnline.com, the main casino website from its publishing vertical.
The issue was addressed in the firm’s Q2 results release, which stated: “The Google core update, rolled out in March this year, had a mixed impact on the company’s websites.
“Notably, publishing’s main casino website, CasinoTopsOnline.com, was negatively affected, with a drop in rankings and a decreased player intake.”
The results report also explained how two other flagship sites, AskGamblers and Time2play, actually reaped the benefits of the update, recording a rise in both rankings and player intake.
However, when reflecting on the damage done to CasinoTopsOnline, Warrer was honest in his assessment of how the site is currently faring and what he plans to do to rectify the negative impact.
“CasinoTopsOnline is one of our flagship sites. Of course, there’s no secret that it was a little bit of a hit in the face when the Google update hit it,” he remarked.
“We immediately sort of made a task force to deal with this and have rolled out a lot of improvements already, and are working on this also in Q3 and Q4.”
Warrer also discussed the benefits gained by AskGamblers.com, explaining that the site was “actually rewarded quite handsomely” and acknowledged that the Google update, in isolation, was a slight positive.
The CEO, however, closed the call with a return to CasinoTopsOnline.
“It’s never fun when you have a really good domain that drives an amazing amount of players with amazing player values that you see go down,” Warrer said.
“We need to turn it around, we are very focused and dedicated to make that turnaround.”
Elsewhere, it was an otherwise strong quarter for the rebranded media arm, which will soon be its own entity following a strategic review of the company last year.
Gentoo Media posted all-time high revenue of €30.3m (£26m) for Q2 2024, representing 39% year-on-year (YoY) growth, while EBITDA also soared 43% YoY to €14.8m, with a corresponding margin of 48.7%.
This isn’t the first time Google Search’s core updates have hindered a business. In May, Malta-based Catena Media also bemoaned its influence, as then-interim CEO Pierre Cadena admitted the changes were “particularly hard-hitting”.
Speaking after the affiliate had released its Q1 results, Cadena explained: “The updates from November of last year and March of this year were, I would say, particularly hard-hitting for our sites.
“Our SEO and content teams have been working hard to recover and reset, and some products recover faster than others.”