Developing a strategy to optimize a business’s SEO ranking is never an easy task. There are a great many factors to take into account if you want to reach a good position in Google’s search results.
This work becomes even more complicated if the strategy has to be implemented in a sector as competitive as sports betting websites. This sector, which is going through its golden age right now, has a lot of competition and very few search terms that users search for in significant numbers.
Faced with a situation like this, how can we optimize our SEO ranking? It is a real challenge that has to be analyzed step by step in order to give it the best possible solution.
“In the sports betting sector, traditional SEO tips and fundamentals won’t do; you have to go further to adapt your strategies to the specific situation of the sector.”
So, to make it clear how a project with these complications should be approached, we’re going to take a closer look at:
- Why it is important to optimize the SEO of a betting website.
- What specific difficulties this sector and similar ones present.
- How we can rank and do effective marketing in these cases.
- What other online marketing strategies can be effective.
This kind of project is quite a challenge, isn’t it? Well, let’s take it on!
· Why work on the visibility of a betting website?
Sports betting companies are increasingly present in society today. Notice that we can see them advertised on many different channels, and a specific name surely comes to mind right away.
The fact that users are exposed to betting sites through other channels doesn’t mean they don’t search on Google, or that you should set aside possible marketing actions to increase the visibility of your own site.
Bear in mind that some of the most notable benefits you’ll get from improving the SEO of a sports betting website are the following:
► Long-term profitability:
Keep in mind that the success the sector is enjoying now isn’t going to last forever. At some point in the medium term, the attention these businesses attract will level off, and those who have planned their strategies for the long term will be the ones who hold up well when that happens.
► Attracting quality traffic:
If you achieve a good ranking for your betting website, the people who are genuinely interested in your business will find it when they search.
► Generating more opportunities:
Even if there is competition from brands with strong branding, if your website ranks better it’s easier for it to get clicks and traffic when users ask Google their questions.
► Online visibility:
Of course, these days online visibility goes hand in hand with Google, the main search engine. That’s why ranking well on this search engine is synonymous with visibility.
► Standing out from the competition:
Developing a good digital marketing and SEO strategy takes your business to another level, setting it apart from the rest and keeping it in consumers’ minds.
Also, if we look at the advantages of following a digital marketing strategy in general terms, we would have to add this list of benefits:
► Improved brand image:
With prior planning and powerful marketing actions, you’ll build a better brand reputation.
► Credibility and reliability:
Users trust a brand that comes across as solid, with open communication channels and up-to-date content, more than a brand they know almost nothing about.
► Growth opportunities:
Digital marketing strategies are one of the best ways to network with other businesses and professionals. Showing what your company is worth through these actions will make it easier for growth opportunities to arise with third parties.
► A good relationship with users:
We’ve already seen that credibility and reliability increase; in addition, users are more proactive about engaging with the brand.
► Better knowledge of your business:
It is precisely this feedback from users that will be essential for you to truly know and detect the possible problems or inconveniences customers may run into.
· Difficulties ranking in the betting sector
Since the beginning of this article, I’ve been telling you about some of the main problems you face when trying to rank if you have a sports betting website or one in a related sector.
And you shouldn’t be fooled by appearances: even though it’s a booming business niche, that doesn’t mean things will be easy.
Here are some compelling reasons:
► High competition
The main problem to face in an SEO and digital marketing strategy in the sports betting sector is the high level of competition in it.
Precisely because it is going through a boom right now, more and more entrepreneurs are deciding to take the leap and open a business of this kind (and those that already rank in the top positions do so with fairly heavy advertising and marketing actions).
► A single theme
It’s worth pointing out that we are in a very specific sector, with a very specific service that, although it may differ slightly, broadly speaking shows few variations from one business to another.
In other words, sports bets may change in terms of the matches being talked about or the type of bet, but the general theme is very narrowly focused.
This means that most betting websites innovate very little in terms of content and, of course, in terms of differentiating marketing actions to rank better. Will yours be the business that stands out? We’ll look at some ideas later on.
► A lot of user interest
At first glance, high user interest is an advantage: the more interest they have, the easier it is to get online traffic and customers, right?
However, from an SEO standpoint, if there is a lot of competition and a lot of interest, the quality of your results will have to be excellent to stand out and appear among the top positions.
► Few search terms
Since this is such a pigeonholed sector, the range of search terms users rely on is also not very wide.
After all, most stick to terms like ‘sports betting’, ‘online betting’, or ‘sports betting websites’ (reaching other search intents would require a much deeper study and, of course, reaching other related interests).
To sum up… we’re in a sector with many competitors offering almost the same thing, for a defined and small number of search terms.
· Ideas for competing in the betting sector
When talking about the sector’s difficulties, we emphasized the little variety in the range of services on offer and the narrow margin left for creativity.
However, where we can apply creativity, and where it will in fact help us achieve a better ranking and a good brand image, is in the digital strategy and, specifically, in the content.
Think about it: we’re talking about a complicated sector but, at the same time, one that is perhaps somewhat stuck in traditional marketing strategies. So let me tell you about some tools and actions that, at the very least, we should consider in a niche as competitive as sports betting.
► SEO tasks for ranking in the sector
Before moving on to more creative actions and content ideas, I want us to look at the SEO fundamentals, which not all businesses tend to consider (and I don’t mean only betting websites).
Here I’m referring to tasks that every online business should implement on its site, but that I’m going to show you using sports betting as an example:
● Market research:
Normally, when a business does market research, it focuses on analyzing what the competition does and how it does it. In this case, besides this first phase, it’s worth analyzing what other businesses related to sports betting do. For example, blogs and newspapers that cover sports, sites for creating leagues among friends, etc.
● Internal audit:
As Paco Rubén, who has an SEO agency in Valencia, says, carrying out a professional SEO audit will let you identify where you’re weak and what you should strengthen. Also, given the few search terms that are used, it’s especially important that you apply them correctly.
● Organic position tracking:
Before you start developing different actions, it’s time to find out where you stand on Google. This will let you see which positions your competitors hold and how far you want/can go.
● Project monitoring:
Normally, it’s recommended to create reports and analyses on a regular basis. A fixed period is set, such as weekly, biweekly, monthly, etc. However, this doesn’t work in a sector so tied to a calendar, since you have to take into account the important matches, leagues, cups and other awards.
● Off-page actions:
Precisely because ranking with on-page techniques is so difficult in the betting sector, it’s time to develop a good off-page digital marketing strategy. Later on we’ll see how to boost visibility on channels other than the betting website.
► SEO and tracking tools
These tools, together with good strategy planning, will be the foundation of success in optimizing your SEO ranking and your digital marketing actions. Some of the most useful at every level are:
● Ahrefs: A tool designed to help you increase your web traffic.
● SEMrush: Perfect for studying your competition and each company’s online visibility.
● Screaming Frog: A very powerful tool for running complete audits and finding out which points of your website need improvement.
You also shouldn’t overlook the tools Google puts within your reach for this type of task: Analytics, Search Console, Trends or Tag Manager. After all, nobody knows Google’s requirements better than its own tools.
And, of course, you should also consider the plugins, modules and widgets offered by the different CMSs for building websites.
► Boosting visibility on other channels
I don’t want to end this post without first giving you a list of marketing and content ideas that will help you get better online visibility and, therefore, a better SEO ranking.
As I mentioned before, working on the off-page side is essential in markets as complicated and difficult as sports betting websites.
Some ideas that will be very useful to you are:
● Content creation: There is hardly any innovation in content marketing in this sector, so there is still a lot to be done. Interviews with players, current sports news, previews, analyses of great matches in history, etc.
● Building an online community: Social media is essential for building a good relationship with the other stakeholders. Publish quality content, mention relevant accounts in the sector, promote engagement… You’ll soon see results.
● Sending email marketing campaigns: With an automated funnel and a segmented database, you’ll be able to run campaigns that steer users toward that content, encourage them to participate and, of course, to become customers.
● Participating in interest groups: In the sports world there is still a lot of activity on traditional forums, as well as in Facebook groups and other online communities, so don’t ignore them!
● Live videos: Sport is something experienced in a group, both to play it and to enjoy it. Why not share live videos analyzing a match or commenting on a play? Make the most of social media in this regard.
As you can see, despite being a sector with several difficulties, it also has untapped opportunities. It’s a challenge that, with patience and dedication, can be overcome.
What other marketing and content ideas come to mind to boost the ranking of a betting website? And for any other equally competitive niche?
These same ranking principles also apply outside such competitive sectors: in how to extract “Long Tail” keywords you’ll find a useful strategy for finding lower-competition opportunities, and working on your domain’s Domain Authority will also help you gain authority over the competition.
If you need to brush up on the fundamentals before applying them to such a competitive sector, here’s what SEO is.