Backgammon Site’s Popularity

Hedge · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 18

Why are some backgammon sites more popular than others? What makes one site have so much traffic, while others have nearly none at all?

Deuce · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 38

That’s an interesting question to contemplate. I’d say that it has a lot to do with a combination of things.

• The graphics – Obviously players won’t choose a site based on the graphics alone but they definitely make a site more appealing. It’s simply a case of first impressions.
• Aggressive Marketing – I think that the more a site advertises on other domains, the higher its traffic will be. It’s a simple rule of marketing.
• Friend-to-Friend Programs – Self-explanatory : definitely helps the flow of traffic at sites. Also, players will naturally want to play at a site where their buddies hang out simply because they know who they are up against.
• Rake Structure – Backgammon sites can protect weak players by rake structure. Good (and popular sites) do.
• Multilingual – Good backgammon sites allow players from a mixture of countries the chance to get together. Their chat features support other texts. For example, an extremely popular backgammon site on the internet is the only one that supports Hebrew. With so many players from Israel out there, this is a smart move.
• Rating – A good site will rate other players so that you can see who you are up against.
• Money Game Viewing – The good sites out there allow you to view money game matches and prevent them from being held privately. This allows you to watch and make a decision about whether to play against someone or not.
• Tournament data – Popular sites allow you to see who has entered the tournament before you make a decision about entering it. If you are a weak player and the tournament is 90% strong players, you’ll want to avoid that event.