Goodbye SEO, Hello GEO — Why iGaming Affiliates Need to Shift Gears
What’s Changing
For decades, your main metric was: how high do we rank on Google? How many clicks can we get? But with the rise of AI chatbots and large language models (LLMs) — like ChatGPT and others — users are increasingly asking questions directly to AI, not typing into search engines. Wired notes that retailers could see up to a 520% spike in AI-bot referrals this year.
GEO is about optimizing content so those AIs cite you. Not just making you appear in a list of links, but getting your brand or content referenced as part of the answer. According to GEO specialist Brandlight, the overlap between top Google results and AI-tool citations has dropped from ~70% to under ~20%.
Why This Matters for iGaming Affiliates
Here’s where it gets relevant for you if you’re promoting casinos, sportsbooks or affiliate offers:
- Visibility is changing
If you rely on high-Google rankings as the main traffic source, you might lose out. AI bots don’t surf SERP pages the same way. They look for answers. Being included in those answers means structured content — FAQs, bulleted lists, clear context — becomes essential. - Traffic shifts, so should your strategy
In the iGaming world, conversion often depends on timing, trust, and relevance. When AI can suggest a site directly in a chat, the first impression matters far more than whether you rank #3 on Google. - Content must be smart and tailored
The old blog-post-for-keywords tactic isn’t enough. AI favours specific, structured, context-rich info: e.g., “What’s the best live-casino await-screen experience for Android in Brazil?” rather than “Top live casinos 2025”. Affiliates who adapt will win. - Compliance and localization become even more important
If an AI cites your content and it’s irrelevant, misleading or non-compliant with local regulation (especially in iGaming where rules differ by region), your brand trust and conversions could suffer. Being accurate, region-specific and compliant now ties directly into visibility. - Early movers gain a real edge
Most operators and affiliates are still chasing traditional SEO. That means GEO is still relatively open. If you start optimizing now for AI visibility — structuring content, getting referenced, aligning with AI-driven queries — you’ll have a head start before the field gets crowded.
Final Take
Think of it like this: the channel is changing from link-clicks to chat-answers. For iGaming affiliates, this means:
- You still produce content — but it needs to be formatted for AI models, not just search engines.
- Your KPIs are shifting — inclusion/referral by AI might become as important as conventional organic traffic.
- Partnering with compliant, region-specific operators becomes a competitive advantage — because AI will favour trustworthy sources.
The future of affiliate marketing in iGaming won’t just be “how many visitors did I bring?” — it will be “was I in the answer when the user asked?”
Read the full Wired breakdown on GEO and start adapting now, because across iGaming — the affiliates who evolve will be the ones who win.
