The new showdown theme was released today. It features and all new design for the flytonic theme framework.

Some of the features are the Spotlight page template (see demo) and another option for the review page (see demo).

The showdown theme has all of the features of the flytonic theme as well.  You can easily change the layout and add bonus tables to posts and widgets.

The price is only $40 for existing flytonic theme members.

You can purchase the theme here

The following 3 themes have been updated to fix an error:

• Casino Night Theme – new version 1.2
• Chipstack Theme – new version 1.1
• Parlay Theme – new version 1.1

The functions.php was updated on each – fixed an error with widget table visit links when wordpress is installed on sub directory.

Updates to the Flytonic theme

The flytonic theme framework has been updated to version 2.31.  Flytonic theme version 2.31 makes a few changes for the compatibility of the Showdown theme.  So you need this new version to use the new child theme.

The following files have been updated:
single-casino.php
functions.php
includes->breadcrumbs.php
includes->shortcodes.php
includes->shortcode_builder.php

New additions in version 2.31:

• A few additions are that we have added pros and cons to affiliate site review pages.  If the pros or cons are blank in the affiliate posts then these will not show.
• Also if the there are no screenshots uploaded – the screenshot block will be removed on the review page.
• Also added the ability to order the in post bonus table by affiliate site name or order by menu order. Here are all the orderby text you need to use and the corresponding values.  You can choose the orderby property by using the button or manually entering the order by attribute:

_as_bonusamount: Order by bonus amount
_as_bonusper: Order by bonus percentage
_as_rakebackper: Order by rakeback percentage
_as_payoutper: Order by payout percentage
_as_rating: Order by rating
_as_roomname:  order by site name (New)
menu_order: order by page menu order (New)

What is New?

1.  Ability to create custom page layouts on affiliate site pages (review pages).  So now your affiliate review pages can be a different layout than the overall site layout.  Just like normal pages in the last update.

2.  A brand new hit counter that will track outgoing hits on your affiliate links that are in the form of http://www.yoursite.com/visit/affiliatekey/.  It a goo reference for popularity of a site but not a substitute for more advanced tracking like Google Analytics.

Here is a screenshot of the backend:

3.  Added the ability for child themes to have multiple review page options.  Currently the high roller black theme has the option for two different review pages.  You can choose this on the affiliate page for that site.

Other Theme Updates

1.  High Roller Black theme has been updated to allow for custom affiliate review page layouts and also the ability to choose a different review page.  The current version is Version 1.2.

Here is a screenshot of the new review page:

2.  The MMA theme has been updated to allow for custom affiliate review page layouts.  The current version is Version 1.4.

There are new support docs about the new features in the support section that go into more depth about the new updates.

By this Monday there will be a new update to the Flytonic theme. You now can adjust the layout of the review pages and have these different than the overall design. So you can have a 1 column review page and two column home page. This works just like the custom page layouts.

Multiple Review Pages

Also we will begin added multiple review page choices for some of the child themes so we added a function in the Flytonic theme to include this. You will see the option on some child themes to pick an affiliate site template. The first child theme to have this will be the High Roller Black theme which will be release shortly.

Hit Counter

Also as a request from many people we have brought back a hit counter to see how many clicks your affiliate sites are getting. This will show up in the affiliate panel. This might not make this next revision but will be released shortly after.

The next child theme is in the works and the design is all finished. The goal is to release this in April.

Flags and Affiliate Sites

The next thing being worked on for the Flytonic theme is the country targeting in some of the widgets and tables. You have noticed some of the bonus tables and widgets have US only flags. We plan on having the ability to add more flags and being able to assign flags to certain sites. So you will not have to see that US only column anymore and can choose another country.

Please let us know how you would like to have the flag feature enabled. One idea was to have a location where you could upload different flags and assign them titles. Then in the affiliate sites you could assign a flag to a site. In the tables and widgets it would show the corresponding flag with the site.

Please comment below with ideas:

You can login and download the new update in your member home page.

Here were the 3 main updates:

1.  Added the ability to created custom page layouts that are different than the overall site layout.  For example let’s say you wanted a review page with no sidebars and the rest of the site to have one sidebar – this can now be accomplished.

2. Ability to add tags to the affiliate sites. This will allow you to use the widget tables and shortcode table to show only sites that have a certain tag. Example: you could create tags for sites that offer new player freerolls and you could then create a freerolls page with a table just showing those sites.

3. Easier shortcode creator. You now can easily create the shortcodes for posts or pages by clicking a button and filling out the form. No more trying to remember the words or attributes you need to use for the shortcodes.

There is a video here showing the new features:

http://www.flytonic.com/flytonic-theme-updates-feb-2012/

3 Main Updates

1.  Added the ability to created custom page layouts that are different than the overall site layout.  For example let’s say you wanted a review page with no sidebars and the rest of the site to have one sidebar – this can now be accomplished.

2. Ability to add tags to the affiliate sites. This will allow you to use the widget tables and shortcode table to show only sites that have a certain tag. Example: you could create tags for sites that offer new player freerolls and you could then create a freerolls page with a table just showing those sites.

3. Easier shortcode creator. You now can easily create the shortcodes for posts or pages by clicking a button and filling out the form. No more trying to remember the words or attributes you need to use for the shortcodes.

The update will be ready the last week of February. Some testing needs to be done on the child themes.

This is Thomas from Flytonic themes.  I am looking to start a running list of ideas for the flytonic (framework) theme.  It might be what to add, what to improve, or what to delete.

I would love to have everyone’s opinions so I can work with this and pass it off to my designers and programmers if needed.

So please comment below for a wish list for the Flytonic Theme.

Flytonic Theme Framework Wishlist for new Features

1.  Ability to better sort the shortcode bonus tables.  Like being able to choose a group of rooms instead of just by type of room.  Perhaps use tags to create this feature

2.  Ability to better filter which sites to display in the widgets.  This could be done by tags as well.

3.  Ability to create custom sized page templates with either a different layout or width than the site design.  For example if you are using a two column layout, then have the ability to create a full page layout for one or more pages.

4.  Add a feature to remove US site feature all together.  This would remove any US text in table headings or other images that are irrelevant for websites not promoting any US casinos.

5.  Ability to turn off Pros and Cons feature on the review page so this area can be turned off and on.

Please Leave a comment Below and I will add it to the List

This post is mostly for new gambling webmasters. So one of the first questions that a new gambling Webmaster faces is what publishing platform to use for his new site. Like when you have a blank sheet of paper at the beginning of an exam, the question is how do you get started.

In particular let’s assume you have only a small budget or no budget at all. This is the beauty of Internet marketing where some of the best poker or casino affiliates have made millions from an initial budget of $100. But we are getting ahead of ourselves here!

We can say that there is only a short list of such platforms that affiliates can use: WordPress, HTML, PHP, Joomla or a custom CMS. So let’s get started by summarizing these products from simpler to more complex:

Using HTML/PHP

HMTL is the markup language for web pages, i.e. what Internet pages are made of. This is the most basic type of coding you can make and this is what browsers know to read. PHP is the next step. It is a scripting language very similar to HTML, and the major difference is that pure HTML itself generates static pages, whereas PHP enables you to create dynamic pages. This is like to say that the page itself can have variations depending on factors or inputs, a little bit like the value of a function varies depending on its parameters. We can put other scripting languages like JavaScript in the same bag, as they also enable dynamic page generation. A simple illustration of a dynamic page is a page that always shows today’s date by itself, whatever the day.

What about WordPress or Joomla

The three other platforms mentioned earlier are the next level products, where these advanced software can generate a complete blog or casino website with just a few clicks of the mouse (plus your content). WordPress is the dominant blogging platform used by the majority of Internet marketers, based on PHP and MySQL (for the database side). Joomla is also a similar PHP/MySQP product but it is a bit harder to use and it is less popular than WP in gambling circles. Finally a custom-made CMS means that you have hired a programmer to write your own platform CMS (content management system), like your own version of WordPress so to speak.

For the rest of this post we are going to mostly talk about HTML versus WordPress. PHP can be seen as an extension of HML, where you still have to code manually. Joomla is less used than wordpress and to be honest custom CMS are only for the top affiliates with a large budget. So we finally reach the crux of this post: should you use HTML or WordPress? And there is no answer to that question as we can only give you some hints.

There was recently a gambling Webmaster who posted at pokeraffiliatelistings.com that he considered opening a restaurant and he wanted some advice about that. Someone said you have to know how to do everything, like cooking, waiting, decorating, etc if you want to succeed at it. And the same can be said of online marketing, where you should know something about coding, writing, designing, etc. Therefore you should know how to get your hands greasy to fix the engine, in other words you should understand HTML, preferably by having designed a few gambling websites in it.

In addition there are many advantages of understanding HTML. For instance it is easy to make changes to a WordPress theme when you know HTML or PHP. Also you can type Ctrl U on any web page (which brings the code) and this will make sense to you. This gives you a better understanding of the Web in general. Coding a site in HTML/PHP gives you full control of whatever you want to achieve. On the other hand anytime you use an existing WordPress theme, you will have to abide by the specific rules of this theme, which limit your flexibility. Also by using one of the popular WordPress themes your site may look like any other poker site, whilst if you make the design yourself you can opt for something more memorable.

Of course some webmasters will not agree with the above as many gambling affiliates do not know how to code in HTML and still make a lot of money. So you do not have to know coding inside out to be successful. It is a matter of personal taste, coding is probably for people who are a bit more tech savvy and who like the more technical aspects. But the rewards of understanding the structure of a website are certainly worth the effort if you have the inclination for it. Finally the cost of HTML is zero versus up to $1000 for a nicely designed WordPress site. So HTML coding will save you money at the beginning, that is a fact.

This is a guest post from Brandon at AmericanPokerOnline.com

This post is not going to give you a link building blueprint to make millions. This post is not going to share any earth shattering link building techniques. This post is not going to take you to the top of the search engines for the phrase “online poker”.

Now that I have gotten that out of the way, what is this post going to do? This post will give you a timeline to assist you in doing some basic link building for your gambling site. You will see webmasters around many forums that say some of these techniques do not have much value. While this may be true of each link source as a stand alone, I believe that when combined as a whole this link building plan will give you a basic foundation for your site.

Why Eight Months Long?

You are not going to rank for anything worthwhile over night. As a matter of fact you probably aren’t going to rank very well after this eight month period. This timeline isn’t designed to dominate the SERPs. It is designed to give you a basic foundation. You will need to do additional work after the eight month period has finished. This is a slow process. I think that rapid link building does not work for long term success.

Month 1 – Submit to Directories

In month one I suggest submitting your site to some major directories. I believe that the top two web directories are the Yahoo Directory and Dmoz. Many poker webmasters complain about not getting listed in Yahoo or Dmoz. That is because your site likely isn’t good enough or unique enough to be listed.
I have also heard about webmasters having more success getting listed by submitting their sites prior to placing affiliate ads. I have not tried this myself, so I cannot personally say it works or it doesn’t. If you cannot get listed in Yahoo or Dmoz, try BOTW or GoGuides. While others may disagree, I believe those are cost efficient linking sources.

Months 2 and 3 – Social Media Branding

What, no conventional link building for two months? I think you are wasting your time by pounding links to a new site early on. Spend that time building a social media presence through Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. You can find some do’s and don’ts below.

• Don’t set up a Twitter feed to auto tweet all of your new articles. Seriously, if I want to read all of your articles I will read them on your website.
• Do actively engage in Twitter discussions. It is ok to drop your URL when it is relevant.
• Don’t just post all of your new articles to Facebook.
• Do be active on Facebook. Link to stories on other sites. Start a Facebook only contest.
• Don’t copy other videos and post them to your Youtube.
• Do create “how to guides” and post them on Youtube.

You can also participate in other forms of social media. Answer some questions on Yahoo answers. Don’t just post self promoting garbage, but rather insightful answers. It is ok to link to an article on your site in the source box. Don’t worry that is no followed. Try to get mentioned on Wikipedia, Ehow, or Wikihow.

Month 4 – Issue Two Press Releases

This one is pretty straightforward. Write two newsworthy press releases about your site. Be sure to use your domain name in the title of the press release, as I believe it helps for branding. Some press release sites are listed below. PrWeb used to be the best spot for this, but unfortunately they do not accept online poker or gambling press releases.

• 24-7pressrelease.com
• Prnewswire.com
• Marketwire.com
• Pr.com
• Onlineprnews.com

Month 5 – Post to Article Directories

Don’t article directories suck now? While it may be true that article directories have lost some of their luster, they can still be useful when used properly. Don’t spam article directories with spun gibberish. Do you really want your brand associated with an article that isn’t really readable? Do you really want to continue to contribute to polluting the web?

Post real content to the directories listed below. Good articles do get read, and good articles do bring in visitors to your site. You can use the resource box for your link. Try to use a mixture of anchor text links like US online poker, and links that are just your domain name.

• Ezine Articles
• GoArticles
• Associated Content
• Articlesbase

Month 6 – Forum Links, Guest Posts, Other Directories

When I mention forum links, I don’t mean to go and create new accounts at hundreds of forums. However you should take advantage of the forums that you actively contribute on. You can place a link in your profile, link to your site from a blog post on the forum, or link to it in a relevant thread.

You are providing the forum owner with value for posting, and more often than not they don’t mind that you link to yourself from time to time. Another good idea is to use forums for branding purposes. Create a user name like Brandon – AmericanPokerOnline.com or AmericanPokerOnline Brandon. Learn to become your brand. Some of the top forums for poker and gambling webmasters are PAL, GPWA, CAP, and Affiliate Guard Dog.

As far as guest posts go, stay on the lookout for opportunities in the forums. Webmasters will often post requests for guest blog posts. You can also reach out to affiliates who have not updated their blogs in a long time, and ask them if they are interested in publishing your content. A good place to look for this is Poker Affiliate Blogs.

Why did I mention directories again? Because the premium directories listed in Month 1 are not the only directories out there. Find some other general web directories and get listed, or better yet find some niche directories. If you have a football betting site, search for football directories. If you have a basketball betting site search for basketball directories.

Month 7 – Exchanges, News Posts, More Guest Blog Posts

It is healthy for your site to link out to other quality sites. Why not find other webmasters who are looking for places to link out to, and work something out? You can also link out freely without asking for anything in return. You might be amazed at what you ended up getting in return anyway.

There are quite a few poker and sports betting news related sites on the web, as well as casino news sites. Many of them link out to other sites on a frequent basis. Get to know these webmasters, and they will link out to you when you have a relevant article. Keep an eye on the forums for news post links as well.

Month 8 – Freelance Sites, Content for Links

So now your site has been online for at least eight months. You should probably be looking to make some upgrades to your site. This could be content, images, video, etc. Post to freelance sites requesting work for your site. Sometimes you can use your domain name in the work request which helps in building your brand. Sometimes you can link to your site from within the request. Don’t post fictitious requests for the sake of link or brand building. But do take advantage when you need some work done.

There are a few different ways to go about exchanging content for links. You can write strategy content and start a thread on the forums offering to exchange it for a link. You can write a betting preview of an upcoming event and offer it in exchange for a link. You can offer to have a page of content translated for a link.

You will also see threads on the forums where other webmasters are requesting content in an exchange for a link. It can work out to be a good deal for both parties. The other webmaster gets the content, and you get the link.

Conclusion

By following the eight month plan above you will have built a solid foundation for your website. You aren’t going to be dominating the rankings at this point, but you will have a more aged site with some aged links. You can now explore other link building techniques to continue to rise in the rankings.

Being an online marketer/affiliate marketer for nearly 4 years I’ve learned a lot about website designs and conversions, and I thought I would share some of my thoughts in an article here.

To give you a quick background about myself – my name is Kevin and I started doing affiliate marketing in the gambling industry back when I was in my first year of University. I learned the very basics of running a website in my computer science class and ended up trying to put up my own poker site. It took me a while to figure stuff out (with help from others), but I eventually caught on and have been learning something new at least once a week 4 years into it all.

Find an Experienced Designer

My first tip is to find an experienced designer to help you design a website template – whether it be a theme or a custom template.

You would be laughing if you saw the looks of my first few websites that I tried to create myself – they were down right UGLY. I spent a lot of time trying to make them look half decent, but in the end they looked like… well an 18 year old that didn’t know what he was doing made them.

It wasn’t until I got my first template for $50 that I realized the amount of time I was wasting trying to create a good looking site myself.

Your website doesn’t have to look amazing to convert visitors and make money, but it also can’t look horrible or most will just hit the “back” button. Spend a few bucks and get yourself a decent looking site.

Plan Your Calls to Action

My second tip is to plan out your calls to action. First what is the goal of your website. Some of my websites have a goal of getting visitors to click through an affiliate link and sign up for a product (in my case a sports betting site), while some of my websites have the goal of capturing the visitors email so that I can get them returning to my website often.

After you have that goal figured out you need to base your design around that. If you are trying to get your visitors to leave your site through an affiliate link you are going to want a design that has either a nice big call to action banner or button “above the fold” (which is the top portion of your website that visitors can see when they first land on the page) or maybe a “top list” in table form. The top list would be a list of  “top 3 poker sites” for example.

The important thing here is that you have this stand out on your website, and that you give the visitors a reason to click through that link and eventually sign up.

If your goal is to capture your visitors information (name, email, etc) my testing and experience has shown that having an email capture form along the top of your website is the best converting. Check out TheSportsGeek.com and you will see I have a large call to action with email capture along the top. This is converting much better than the old email capture form I had in the sidebar. Generally the bigger your email capture form and call to action the more sign ups you are going to get. Try to get it near the top of your page so that visitors see it easily, and use colors that will stand out (orange buttons seem to work good – but it will always depend on the colors of your website).

Clutter Free

My final tip is to keep things as simple as possible and clutter free. When a visitor lands on your site you should be able to draw the visitors eyes to where you want them to go. Don’t cramp your website with a bunch of banners, or too many calls to action. Have a simple navigation laid out, with one or two main calls to action that will catch your visitor’s eyes.

To recap – get a nice looking site, plan your calls to action and keep them somewhere that will draw attention, and keep your website clutter free focusing on drawing your visitors eyes to where you want them to go.

If you follow those simple steps you should get a pretty big advantage over a lot of webmasters out there. Cheers.