The Cost of Google Adwords
for Online Casino's

A typical question we get asked when discussing Google Adwords for Online Casino's is;
“How much will my Adwords campaign cost me?”
My answer would always be along the lines of; “How much would you like to budget?”

The client will typically come back with a figure that they have in mind and then naturally ask;
“So, how much traffic would that get me?”
A simple question you might think as the client just wants some clarity on what sort of return on investment they can expect. Unfortunately, the answer is its not that straightforward.

The aim of this article is to offer some general guidance on what you can expect from your Google Adwords budget and demonstrate the average CPC (cost-per-click) for some of the more popular Online Casino related search terms. In terms of research we tend to utilise Google data.

The data in the chart above is taken from Google Keyword Planner. The chart shows 20 of the more popular gambling related keywords on Google, as well as the average monthly search volume (average taken across a 12 month period). Along with this we have included the average CPC for each of the keywords. Google give us a low and high range bid for each on the search terms. Top of the page bid/range can be affected by a number of factors such as Quality Score, Device, Time of Day and competition.

An important thing to consider is the figure given for the “Avg. monthly searches”. Google provides this data as a guide, it will vary from month to month and is a relative figure that will not always match up to actual searches performed each month. These search volumes still give us a good understanding of which keywords are searched the most. One thing that we do know and can all agree on, is that Gambling related keywords make up a large proportion of the most popular and most expensive keywords on Google.

One thing that we can be sure of that the search volumes provide clarity on which keywords are going to be the most competitive. Search terms with higher search volumes mean potentially more exposure and impression share, but are clearly more competitive and therefore more expensive.

Looking at other software tools such as SEMRush (below) the search data they provide is very similar.

How can we use this to calculate how much traffic you can get?

Using the figures that Google provide we can make some reserved assumptions on the type of budgets we require for an Adwords campaign. Working with an average CPC of £30.00 (low range) and £60.00 (high range) the table below shows what you can expect in terms of clicks for varying budgets.

In summary:
Targeting high traffic search terms without closely monitoring bid management can quickly exhaust budgets. Considering high traffic keywords can be one tactic , however broadening the range of lower searched variants and longer tailed derivatives may deliver a higher rate of traffic and allow your budget to work harder for you.

While you are battling through trying to get your website ranking organically, Google Adwords will give you an injection of traffic and conversions that you are looking for, however the key is to manage your bids and budgets; whilst at the same time tracking conversions, understanding cost-per-acquisition and the lifetime value of your customers.