There are many factors to consider when implementing SEO for your site, but the sports betting industry has its own specific set of problems. The sports betting industry is incredibly competitive – thousands of websites publish guides and blogs on the same topics. The same content is also published across millions of content sites. That means that sports betting websites face unique challenges when it comes to search engine optimization. Here are a few of the biggest problems they face.
The Mobile-First Doctrine
As the sports betting industry is regulated by more and more countries, onsite SEO for betting sites is becoming more important than ever. In addition to content, these websites need to be mobile-friendly, as mobile users are increasingly consuming information on the go. A lack of mobile-friendly design can lead to a drop in ranking, as mobile users are more likely to use their phones or tablet to access the web.
Google’s Mobile-First Indexing puts a greater emphasis on websites designed specifically for mobile devices. Since the vast majority of online users use their smartphones, it only makes sense to optimize your website for mobile users. If your site is slow or unresponsive, 60 percent of users will abandon your site.
The first step in the process of mobile-first indexing is understanding how it works. Since crawling is done before indexing, it’s possible that the new indexing method will affect your site. This will affect how your bot renders data and how long it takes. It’s crucial to know how to optimize your site for mobile-first indexing to ensure that your site ranks high in search results.
Link-Building Issues
Another challenge is obtaining valuable links. While affiliate programs can increase ranking, the problem with this strategy is that they usually generate no-follow or spammy links. To remedy this problem, consider hiring an SEO expert team to help you acquire quality links. This doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Choose a sports betting SEO company with highly SEO-adept writers who understand the regulations that govern the sports betting industry. When it comes to SEO services for sports betting websites, you need the best in their field. Have your team perform an audit of your website and create an SEO strategy focused on on-site and off-site optimization, keywords and mapping, high-quality content and link building, etc.
Lack of Meta Descriptions
If you manage a sports betting website, you might want to optimize your meta descriptions to increase your conversions and page views. Many of your competitors have a meta description that’s too long and confusing. You can get around this by optimizing your meta descriptions and turning them into valuable calls to action or sale pitches. Don’t forget that Google usually truncates the description or re-writes it, so it is a long-term commitment to get the meta descriptions that will stick.
Although meta descriptions don’t directly affect your search ranking, they increase the chances of getting more clicks and linkers. Your meta description is the place to tell searchers why they should choose your page, so a well-written one can grab their attention and generate extra clicks. Those extra clicks can boost your rankings over time. But you need to make sure to make it a point to include a meta description in your content.
Paid Links Issues
When it comes to SEO for sports betting websites, it is particularly difficult to get organic links and achieve high rankings. The reason is that Google frowns upon websites that pay for links, and penalizes them. Paid links, while useful, are usually problematic even if you don’t run a sports betting website. In addition, articles and blogs that contain tips or strategies for betting on sports are a regulatory nightmare for both content creators and webmasters.
Articles about sports betting need to follow all possible rules and be informative rather than transactional. Backlinks are still important – they are the foundation of a solid SEO strategy – but you need to be careful when creating your articles and guides. Most importantly, be careful what you pay for and who you pay. Some webmasters will never consider sponsored content around the idea of gambling, while others will ask you for a load of money. If you want to become a market leader, you have to consider onsite SEO as revenue-critical.
Lack of Original On-Site Content
While many websites struggle with SEO, sports betting sites face special challenges. For one, the industry is saturated with content. Thousands of websites have their own blogs and guides, and millions of content sites publish the same material. Nevertheless, a well-written article can boost your ranking and even encourage players to bet. However, not all articles can pass the E-A-T rules. A good way to increase your odds is to provide daily tips, actionable information, news, and how-to guides to achieve content diversity and pique your readers’ interest.
Bottom Line
It is evident that the world of sports betting is no different from any other business. The more traffic you get, the more money you make. This can be tricky for sites that don’t want to attract a lot of attention in their niche – and sports betting sites are no exception. So gather your troops to build a solid SEO strategy while keeping up with the current restrictions or hire an SEO service dedicated to sports betting websites to boost your marketing and ranking efforts.