GPWA Times - Issue 21 - May 2012

Among operators offering the best foot- ball prices, Betfair offers better odds than most bookies. Among operators fea- turing regular football cash-back offers, bet365 usually has great promotions. So do Boylesports, BetVictor, Paddy Power and Betfred. Again, make sure you’re kept up to date by your affiliate team on all their offers. Focus on supplying your readers with strong content, give them everything they need to know to place a bet, and make sure they place that bet through your site by offering live odds on your site. What are you going to do to stand out? Have a think about why people would stick around and more importantly come back to your site. As I mentioned before, it’s a fiercely competitive market, so it’s important that you have what it takes to retain and convert your traffic. Carve out a niche for yourself. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Take a look at what your competitors are doing; maybe you’ll see something that you can improve on or tweak. Are you engaging with your visitors? Are you offering them the best advice on where they can get the best value – best free bets, cash-back offers + free bets? Are you giving them the best tips? Are you giving them valuable information/statis- tics which they can use to make their own selection? Do you give them information on the most popular markets (e.g., Golden Boot and Outright) and the most bizarre markets (e.g., how many red cards will there be?). Football fans are a bit geeky when it comes to football stats. They love nothing more than quoting obscure stats or facts to their mates in the pub. Have a chat with your affiliate managers. They will be able to give you ideas on any special opportunities or current gaps in the market. Also, if you get on well with your affiliate managers tap them up for some exclusives – maybe some freebies that you can use for a competition on your site or a one-day free bet exclusive that you can offer to your visitors. These are just a few straightforward tips on how you can get the most out of Euro 2012. It’s going to be a big betting event so it’s worth investing some time in it. Choose your bookie partners wisely. Make sure you know their strategy for the tour- nament and then get your content right. Best of luck! I already have my money on Ireland to win, currently priced at 80/1 with Paddy Power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sinead Lambert is the affiliate manager for ValueChecker Affiliates (affiliate.valuechecker.co.uk), a live odds solution created by OLBG.com. labrador33 / Shutterstock.com 10 Promoting Euro 2012: How to make the most of this summer’s main betting event