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What Techniques do Online Game Platforms Use to Attract Users in Busy Markets?

More people than ever are turning to digital entertainment options to satisfy their leisure needs, including online gaming. Platforms that offer online gaming options need to compete to attract customers to themselves rather than to competitors, and they use a range of different techniques to do so.

The online gaming industry is growing to be one of the biggest digital entertainment industries in the world, with somewhere in the order of 3.5 billion gamers in 2025. While it is a great time to be a gamer, with more types and ways of playing than ever before, it isn't so great to be an online game platform. With so many other game platforms vying for the attention of the same customers, online game platforms need to do a lot to stand out from the crowd, or risk falling into obscurity and irrelevance. Online game platforms often offer rewards, bonuses and increasing levels of gamification in order to keep users engaged and to attract new ones.

Let's look a little closer at the sorts of things that different online game platforms do to stand out in such a saturated market, and at why these techniques are necessary for many platforms.

Bonuses, Free Items and Other Rewards

Regardless of how far we progress technologically, one thing is likely to remain true forever: People love deals and people love free things! Many online gaming platforms try to attract new users by offering bonuses, free items and other sorts of rewards.

This is particularly true when it comes to the online casino industry, where offering bonus spins is basically an industry standard. By offering new players free spins and welcome bonuses, online casino platforms are allowing a wider proportion of people to be able to engage with their content. By giving a new player access to a Hello Millions casino promo code, for example, the online platform is giving them the chance to explore the different types of games and services it offers for a much lower cost than normal. These types of bonuses are designed to bring players in and give them a taste of how enjoyable a platform and its games are, and hopefully to keep them coming back for more later.

Outside of the online casino world, game developers often reward players with in-game currencies, cosmetic character skins and other small items for free. These rewards are often given for joining the game or for reaching milestones associated with play time or skill. Rewards like these don't just help to bring in new players, but they can help to keep players engaged and interacting with a game for a long time by giving them a sense of accomplishment associated with the game or platform.

Fire Direct Marketing Algorithm!

Not for nothing is it said that we are in the age of data. Companies don't have to broadcast ads that will hit the largest number of people possible in the hope that some will be interested in their services; now, with the aid of data analytics, advertising can be sent directly to the people who are most likely to respond to it.

Online gaming platforms make use of these techniques, just as well, and in some cases better than any other industry. By analyzing player history and building profiles associated with people, platforms are able to directly market new games and services to those who might be interested in them. This cuts the guesswork out of advertising and allows game platforms to feel confident that information about new updates will find its way to the relevant potential customers.

Of course, while this is a great technique, in such a saturated marketplace, players might get pushed advertising from multiple platforms in a short period of time. But this just means that online gaming platforms must engage in this form of advertising to have any hope of staying competitive with rivals.

Providing A Better Quality Experience

Something that many digital-facing industries have come to terms with over the last couple of years is that sometimes the user experience (UX) can make or break a platform. It doesn't matter if one platform has better games and a more engaged community than another; if its user interface (UI) is a difficult mess to navigate, then players are less likely to want to spend their time there.

Having a smooth UI design, intuitive navigation, and simply looking pretty can go a long way. Good UX often also means incorporating other quality-of-life or engagement features for users. Things like gamification and colorblind modes will lift one platform high above another in the esteem of players.

Once again, it might not net a platform instant success by providing a better quality of experience to players, but as many of these features are becoming industry standard, the lack of them is likely to see online gaming platforms come out behind in the race for user attraction.

Influenced by the Influencers

Many people are increasingly tired of advertising, even when the adverts are relevant to their interests. Because of this, many online gaming platforms are finding that making use of influencer partnerships and social media advertising is a better way to reach new customers than more traditional advertising.

Platforms that seek out content creators are able to find routes to well-established audiences and communities. Many gamers like to find games by watching others play them before they gravitate towards them themselves. These sorts of advertising still feel somewhat organic, and even the most jaded advertising-hater can feel a level of authenticity watching someone else enjoy a game.

Final Thoughts

With such a saturated and busy market, the online gaming platforms of today need to do a lot to attract customers. Often, the amount of work they put in is in order to reach the level of their competition, meaning that rather than fighting for success, these platforms are often fighting not to fail.

All of this is great news for gamers! They are likely to see ever fiercer competition from platforms that want to grab their attention, often by offering better bonuses and experiences than their competitors.