Companies throughout the web are finding online games a valuable addition to the marketing mix.

Appealing to your customer’s playful side has been shown to have a number of tangible benefits. Popular games spread awareness of your brand or product, and games can include a company message. Keeping ‘hi-scores’ not only increases a game’s popularity but allows you to build a database of interested leads. Customers brought to your site via a game spend on average 10% more and are 40% more likely to return.

Viral games are, depending on the size of your company, relatively inexpensive to make, and almost free to maintain.

Plentiful benefits and low costs make viral games an enticing option but you will only gain these benefits if you make a successful game. Successful games are infectious, they make you want to play it over again then tell your friends to get them playing. They must also fulfill their marketing role be that raising brand awareness, sending people to your site or distributing coupons.

To make a successful viral game follow our simple tips:

- First of all ensure that it is fun! People won’t play or spread the word if it is not a fun game.

- Ensure access is easy: don’t over-complicate the rules or make people register before they play.

- Keep the message simple. People are there to play the game, their concentration will be focused on the game and not on some complicated background message.

- Incentivise responses. Use game-related incentives (extra content or competition) to urge people to click your link or submit their email.

- Finally, make sure the game is noticed in the first place. Build a complementary microsite, leverage social media and email the game to everyone in your database and ask all of your employees to do the same. There are also professional seeding agencies that can help spread the word for you.

Playing games is serious business!