GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 47 - July 2020

Utilizing messaging that leads customers to think differently about your brand, website or offering is the first step in get- ting them to take notice, especially for those you are trying to tempt out of physical locations or are outside of your typical age demographic. OVERTAKE CURRENT COMPETITORS AND HOLD OFF NEW CHALLENGERS I have seen mixed responses and confused messaging from busi- nesses and websites relating to the pandemic. For some, it is a simple “things are taking longer” type message, for others there is no messaging at all. I have even seen some “non-essential” eCommerce sites remove all the “add to basket” buttons without providing any information to customers while their sister brand still traded! Make sure your messaging is robust, clear and consistent across all platforms and you are taking care with the targeting for this new au- dience and not alienating existing players. There is unlikely to be a point in time when so many of your competitors are standing still and you can keep moving. If you have content that needs to be added to your website to help grow brand awareness or strengthen messaging at sign up stage, now is the time to get that up without worrying about if your competitor is moving faster than you. If you have a link profile in need of some improvement you will never again get the chance to get as much coverage as you can now when journalists have empty column inches to fill and people are getting fatigued reading about a pandemic. I have been in SEO for 11 years and have seen link deficits overturned quicker now than ever before simply because some of the competition isn’t moving. If you can find a way to trade, grow your audience, increase your reach then keep doing it. Just because the output of that activity does not result in direct revenue now, trust that it will in the future. Across organic results in every sector there are websites no longer being considered from a performance perspective, just maintained. Content is no longer being updated, links aren’t being built and messaging not updated. That said, while there is an attempt to return to normality in some sporting calendars allowing sports betting affiliates to resume activities, you need to be prepared for the inevitable diversifi- cation that these brands will go through. Many sports betting affiliate programs have paused payments during the pandemic and the natural extension of any sports betting affiliate site is to move into esports and iGaming. So while your traditional competitors may be standing still there is likely to be an influx of new competitors looking for wider revenue sources. There are many schools of thought that suggest a second COVID-19 peak may occur when countries allow their popu- lations to head outside again en masse. Regardless of the response to a potential second wave, whether it is another variation of lockdowns or just more people looking to stay at home, the one fact that will remain constant is people will have more time on their hands, less commuting, less time at the restaurant, and at the pub. There will be another opportunity to capture more market share if this happens, but there will also be increased competition and it is why the argument for not stopping activity now is even stronger. RETENTION AND COMPLIANCE Begin work on your retention strategy now if you are lacking. If your affiliate site is in its infancy, or you are not looking to build your own audience beyond what you can capture from specific For affiliates, the current landscape serves as an opportunity unlike any other we’ve seen before. The ability to provide customers who are used to going to betting shops and casinos but now cannot, with the ability to access betting platforms online , and being the first to do so, should be taken advantage of . 33 G P W A t i m e s . o r g