The United States is one of the most competitive SEO markets in the world. It brings together the greatest talent, industries and capital. This is especially true in the casino and sports betting segment. The United States is also the market where Google first tests and rolls out its algorithm changes. Among the most recent Helpful Update that wants to put the focus back on user satisfaction with the results they find. In this context, the big brands of casinos and bookmakers are fighting for every inch of ground in the SERPs to gain share in an ever-expanding market.
Broadly speaking, in SEO terms we can divide searches into three groups:
- Brand searches: To this day, the terms with the highest search volumes continue to belong to branded searches. Multi-million dollar sponsorships and TV campaigns have a big impact on the searches users make on Google.
- Non-brand searches: Despite the dominance of branded searches, it is to be expected that the expansion of legalized gambling will bring with it an increase in non-branded searches. Although there is some correlation between the number of branded searches and ranking for non-branded searches, many large firms continue to struggle ranking in top positions, especially some traditional European operators.
- Informational searches: It is commonly believed that informational sites, affiliates and broadcasters are driving operators out of the SERP. Although this statement is generally true, it is necessary to analyze whether operators really have a say in these searches or whether it is a field in which their partners and affiliates have landed to stay.
A look to top competitive gambling and betting terms in the United Estates
“Online casino” is probably one of the most important search terms in this market. As we can see by analyzing the current TOP 10, this search term is essentially transactional in nature, as seven of the first ten positions are occupied by operators.
However, when we analyze the same search term in plural, “Online casinos”, few operators resist in the Top 10. In this case, it seems that Google is inferring that the user intends to buy a plurality of operators and for this reason shows in the results different informative and affiliate sites comparing the best options.
When it comes to the term “sport betting” in the singular, the SERPs are once again mainly populated by the websites of sports operators.
Finally, when we again use the plural, this time “sport betting sites”, the SERPs are again filled with informative results. Only one operator’s website remains in the top 10.
Conclusions
Leaving link building aside, traditionally in SEO we talk about the influence of brand searches, the technical aspects of the web or the degree of satisfaction of the search intent of the web content as some of the fundamental aspects to determine the position that will be occupied in Google results. Based on the above practical exercises, we would like to analyze which of these three aspects may be currently proving to be the most decisive in ranking results in searches for online casino and sports betting sites.
- Brand salience: The volume of branded searches most likely influences the positioning of non-branded search terms. However, there are circumstances in which branded searches are more decisive than in others. If two websites are able to resolve search intent equally effectively, branded searches will be a determining factor, insofar as they represent an indicator of popularity. However, if a website does not satisfy search intent equally effectively, it will not be able to enjoy the full potential of its branded searches until it matches its competitor in the degree of search intent satisfaction.
- Technical SEO: Although technical SEO is an important factor, it has been losing weight in recent years due to Google’s growing concern for the quality of results in terms of user satisfaction. Moreover, the nature of the CMSs used by most operators, with their virtues and their inflexibilities, means that most operators are almost always on the same level in this respect.
- Content and Search Intent satisfaction: The difference maker is therefore often in the more creative elements of SEO. Unlike sports betting, the legalisation of online casino and online poker in the US has been a slow grind. Even online sports betting is not yet fully legal in all states. In a context in which the degree of satisfaction of users’ searches is more important for Google, who, in this case, want to play or bet wherever they are, this represents major obstacles and great challenges for operators.
What differentiates the leaders in these markets from the rest? We have the answers and we would like to invite you to our space at BSC to talk about the future and the possibilities in the sector.
Stay tuned. Over the next few weeks we will analyze the impact of the September Google Core Update on the European market.
