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Brand Protection for iGaming

How we pushed a crypto casino’s copycat out of Google’s SERP in 32 days —… How we pushed a crypto casino’s copycat out of Google’s SERP in 32 days — and kept it out for a year.

Out of Google

Executed

32 days

Campaign timeline

About Client

Client under NDA — a licensed crypto casino with its core player base in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.

The client’s team found a copycat platform with an almost identical name. The copy had cloned the interface, the site logic, the bonus system and the marketing copy, and then went out to buy traffic in the same three GEOs.

The campaign ran for 8 weeks. The result was re-checked a year later.

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A fake copy of a crypto casino was harvesting our client’s traffic in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, and then it stopped paying its players. The scale of the harvest: in Pakistan alone the copy’s brand name gets searched around 160,000 times a month, which is up to 104,000 organic visits, and part of those people were landing on the copy instead of the original. We cut off its search: 530 assets in 32 days, ads placed above its own website, and removal requests filed with Google and Bing. The brand parasite is out of the SERP, and a year later our materials still hold the results for its name.


Project Goals

1. Push

the brand parasite out of search results

2. Knock

the copy off the first page for its own queries and put materials there that tell the player where they have actually landed.

3. Intercept

the copy’s branded traffic

4. Rank

above the clone’s website on its own branded query and warn the player before the click.


🎯 The Challenge

The client found a copycat platform with an almost identical name: the interface, site logic, bonus system and marketing copy were all cloned.

The copy was buying traffic in the same three GEOs, and then it stopped paying players: its payment channels froze and withdrawals stalled. Complaints from scammed players spilled into search and social media, and some of them landed on the original, because players saw a similar name and the same interface. The client was losing branded traffic and trust at the same time.

The client framed the task like this: not articles and not reports, but pushing the parasite out of search. A player who googles the copy has to see on the first screen that this is a clone with broken payouts. One month to do it, with the first publications needed the next day.

Google autocomplete for a crypto casino brand clone showing login, download, apk, online, logo, link — no scam-related suggestions.
The starting point: Google autocompletes the query with login, download, apk, online, logo, link. Not a single suggestion about payout problems. Screenshot from the first weeks of the campaign.

🚀 Our Approach

1. Takedown: Removal Requests to Google and Bing for the Copy’s Domain

This is where we started. Content pushes a page down, a complaint takes it out altogether, so the first move was monitoring: it collected the evidence on the copy’s domain and filed removal requests with Google and Bing across every GEO where the copy was buying traffic. Articles and ads went out in parallel after that.

  • Fake brand pages in search results
  • Typosquat domains with misspelled brand names
  • Swapped buttons on review sites
  • Affiliate links sending the player to a rival
  • Hacked sites running cloaking
  • Parasite SEO on third-party domains
  1. Daily scan of Google and Bing. We check the client’s branded queries in every GEO, not only in the home market: a copy often lives in one country’s SERP and stays invisible from the office.
  2. A browser crawler collects the evidence. The robot opens the page as a live user and records where the button leads and what is served under cloaking. Every finding gets a verdict.
  3. A package per violation. Screenshots, redirects, interface comparison, domain data. Without that package a complaint comes back rejected.
  4. Filing removal requests with Google and Bing. Then we keep resubmitting the rejected ones and watch whether the page comes back on another domain.
  5. Client report. What we found, what is down, what is in progress, which domains appeared over the week.

A legal takedown through the registrar and the courts takes months. A complaint to search closes a page in days, so we start there and bring the lawyers in alongside.

2. Strategy: Off the Branded Query, Onto the Long Tail

We kept the branded query for Google Ads only. Organic moved to compound queries where the SERP is loose and volatile: “[clone] scam”, “[clone] vs [original]”, “is [clone] legit”, “[clone] withdrawal problems”. On queries like these a new asset reaches the top in weeks, not in half a year.

By the end of the fourth week two of our guest posts were sitting in Google’s top 10 for “[clone] scam”.

3. PR Publications: Indexable Media in 12 Days

The first publication went live 48 hours after the brief: Analytics Insight. Then Coin Gabbar (two pieces), CryptoHindiNews (two), BusinessWorld.in, Bitcoinworld, TechBullion, CoinMarketCap Community, Binance Square. Investing.com came out on day seven, plus two reprints on aggregators.

The texts stayed on verifiable ground: a side-by-side of the two interfaces, screenshots of reviews with blocked withdrawals, descriptions of specific ways players lost funds. We put the original’s name in the headline next to the copy’s name, so a query about the copy would lead the player to the client.

4. Guest Content: Batches of 5 to 10 Publications a Day (97 Articles)

The order covered 100 sites with DR 30+. Every article was reinforced with backlinks anchored on the copy’s name, up to $200 per article. Headlines covered different intents: comparison, exposé, warning, and a how-to on spotting a clone before you deposit.

5. UGC Comments: Quora, Reddit, YouTube, Forums

On Quora we took threads built around specific questions: “What is the [clone]?”, “Is [clone] a scam?”, “Is [clone] a safe crypto casino or a fake copy?”. On Reddit we placed 120 comments, 70% inside existing threads and 30% under new posts, with a GEO focus on India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Then we brought in YouTube and niche forums.

6. YouTube Videos: Two Channels With a South Asian Core Audience

We picked two channels, gave them one brief and signed off the thumbnails: the first creator put the original’s logo on the preview instead of the copy’s, and that had to be redone. All 6 videos were live by the end of week three.

7. Google Ads: Intercepting the Copy’s Branded Query

$150 a day, $2,062 spent, 27,239 impressions, 5,645 clicks at $0.37 each. The warning ads ran in Pakistan. The client wanted proof of delivery, so we sent screen recordings with the IP address inside the target GEO, so they could see the SERP through the eyes of a Pakistani player.


🕓 Timeline

  1. Start (48 hours): brief, quote, first publication in tier-1 media
  2. Week 2 (12 days): all 10 PR publications live, 124 comments
  3. Month 1 (32 days): 97 guest posts, 6 videos, 393 comments, top 10 for “scam”

✅ Results

Google Ads dashboard for the brand-protection campaign: 27,239 impressions, 5,645 clicks, 20.72% CTR, $0.37 CPC, $2,061.85 spend.
The Google Ads account for the campaign period: 27,239 impressions, 5,645 clicks, $0.37 CPC, $2,061.85 spent. The campaign ran on the copy’s branded query in Pakistan.
MetricActualStatus
Guest publications97done
PR in indexable media10 + 2 reprintsdone
YouTube videos6done
Comments: Quora, Reddit, YouTube, forums393done
Reviews through moderation22done
Assets in top 10 for “[clone] scam”2done
First publication in tier-1 media2 daysdone
Clicks on the copy’s branded query5,645done
Google Ads spend$2,062done
Parasite’s domain in the SERPpushed outdone
Our assets ranking for its brandholding 12 monthsdone

📈 Conclusion

530 assets, 6 videos and ads in Pakistan were the instrument, not the result. The result is one thing: a player typing the copy’s name landed on a breakdown of its scheme instead of its cashier. A year on, the copy is out of the SERP and our materials hold the results for its brand.

A clone takes trust from a brand, not traffic: complaints from its players land on the original, because the player does not tell the two sites apart. So brand protection is measured not in positions, but in what a person sees on the first screen when they type the name.

What the Client Got

  • The brand parasite is pushed out of the SERP, its branded results rewritten
  • 5,645 clicks intercepted before the player reached the copy’s site
  • 109 publications, 10 of them in indexable media
  • 393 comments in the threads a player reads before depositing
  • The result has been holding for 12 months with no extra spend

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The target of the campaign was copying the client’s product and not paying its players. The task was brand protection in the literal sense: separating two brands in the mind of a user who confuses them.

Pages where the violation is visible and provable: a brand copy, a typosquat domain, a swapped button, cloaking, parasite SEO on someone else’s domain. The clone’s own website is not removed by a complaint to search, that is work for lawyers with the registrar and the host.

A one-month package: 100 guest articles on DR 30+ sites, 100 reviews, 6 videos, 500 comments, 10 PR publications, backlinks up to $200 per article, Google Ads from $150 a day. The quote depends on the GEOs and the number of platforms.

First media publication: 2 days. Indexing of new content in Google: up to 2 weeks. Top 10 for compound queries: 3 to 4 weeks. Branded results: longer than a month.

Collect the evidence of copying (interface screenshots, texts, domains), check whether the clone is still paying out, and put the facts into search while the lawyers work in parallel. A legal takedown runs for months, search answers in weeks.

Testimonials

Eleanor Gaywood

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Director | RootstockCollective

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Great team, worked to make sure that the strategy suited the business goals. We had to make some tweaks along the way but overall great results.

Roman Aliev

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Product Marketing Manager | Tangem

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They understood our business, audited our brand in AI search results, and flagged issues we hadn't considered. The insights were practical and easy to act on. They really know their stuff. We'll definitely work together again.

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Ctrl PR

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I’ve been working with ICODA for years and have also met their team personally. Very professional, reliable, and easy to work with. Happy with their work and overall experience!

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Mark Mayhook

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CEO | NeuroTrader AI

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We worked on attracting users and building my personal brand around AI Trading—which helped me get 4,000 people on the waitlist and save a ton of time. Thanks!

Yevhen Nehuliayev

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We collaborated with ICODA during a time-sensitive campaign. The team was very professional and ensured everything was in place on short notice. Their dedication and communication stood out, we felt supported throughout the entire process. We especially appreciated their ability to adapt quickly and meet tight deadlines. Many thanks to the ICODA team from Gunzilla team!

Valerii Brizhatiuk

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Our experience with ICODA was wonderful. Professionalism, high efficiency, and autonomy in production gave us only good impressions.

Sergei Beliaev

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Very much enjoyed working with ICODA. Great ongoing communication with the team. Genuine interest in our business and ability to adjust the approach along the way to maximize traction. Highly recommended!

Laura Geng

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ICODA has been a great resource for helping us grow our social media apparatus. I highly recommend ICODA. They provided prompt responses and helped us a lot in promotion in Korean market.

Bahram Ahmedzade

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We were happy to meet ICODA so early on our journey. Their understanding of what we need was actually much clearer than our own. The team offered a few tools and they were well explained. We picked the airdrops and the youtube influencers. Overall satisfaction is 100/100 and we will definitely come back again.

Aaron Tsai

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ICODA is very knowledgeable about the blockchain industry and has a professional team to help our investor and strategic partner originations. The services they provide are of high quality. What convinced us to work with ICODA is their multiple outsourcing services offering, including marketing and technology.

Irene C.

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ICODA did a great job on our partnership, the staff delivers great support also and I highly recommend their services. We will be working with them again for all our promotional work. Thank you ICODA and Anna, very happy customer here.

Shenshen Hu

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A pleasure to work with, ICODA is very professional and has deep industry knowledge in the local market. Always reply promptly and offer creative solutions.

Hannah Kang

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ICODA was willing to help us in hard circumstances. It was amazing what the team can do in such a short time. Work on PR, Youtube, and Twitter influencers was amazing. Great experience. Willing to work with them long-term.

James O'Connor

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ICODA provided us with the upmost professional quality standard of work and connected our PR articles to many top-tier PR platforms. Always prompt with their replies and provide transparency and clarity when needed.

Dmitriy Dervoed

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ICODA team has performed really great results in the development of marketing strategy, PPC campaigns, SEO, Email marketing, and more for our company. Alex is one of the best project managers. He applies the most efficient ways to achieve the results that make a strong influence on the business's growth.

Vid David Mihelic

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ICODA team has a very professional approach and moreover, they always find solutions for any given problem. They are responsive, loyal, and always trying to help.

Jia Yung

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We worked with ICODA with the specific goal of entering Russian and Ukrainian markets. To that end, we benefited from ICODA's know-how and professionalism in entering this specific market.

Charlie Bussat

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We've tried using different agencies for the Russian market. ICODA went out of its way and delivered high-quality content and advice to enter this complicated market. We'll definitely work again with Vlad and his team.

Terry Na

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Working with a team outside Korea often feels a little risky – will they understand the native language, the nuances, details? Well, I can say that the interactions I have had with ICODA have been better than most of my Korea-based partners.

Arabdha Sudhir

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I worked with ICODA on our project. I found them to be very professional and attentive at all times. Dealing with issues & challenges speedily. They have great expertise in and around crypto marketing and promotion.

Henning Rokling

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Friendly staff, accommodating and easy to work with. Generally, ICODA is great to deal with. We also appreciate the quality of the work.

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