INTERVIEW
BUILDING ON A
YEAR OF SUCCESS
To reflect on events of 2013 and look forward to where the industry’s
advancements may develop over the next 12 months, iGB Affiliate spoke
to Eddie Matthews, Affiliate Marketing Manager at bet365.
When reflecting on 2013, what are
the principle events and trends that
have had the most impact on the
affiliate sec tor of the iGaming industry?
2013 has been a very interesting year
for both the affiliate industry and for
bet365. We’ve witnessed some key
developments across some really
important marketing channels and
such influences have helped to
future-proof both the industry and the
modern day affiliate.
For the affiliate industry, search
engines like Google have grown to become
incredibly influential in recent years,
and 2013 has cemented their place in
any stakeholder’s thought process.
Google has continued to optimise, and
in order to maintain any real chance
of landing traffic success, affiliates in
particular have had to learn and mature
with the ever-evolving requirements set
out. Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird
all spring to mind, and all of these updates
have helped to shape the modern day
affiliate site; focusing on elements such
as content quality, depth, unique text and
link building. bet365 has recognised the
importance of this for all stakeholders
and all Affiliates Managers have received
training in the field so that we continue to
be equipped when guiding our affiliates
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iGB Affiliate FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014
on a daily basis, which has certainly helped
both us and our affiliates in 2013.
In the last year, player experience and
convenience has become heightened to a
new level with further developments made
in social media, mobile and the concept of
multi-screening. bet365 now caters for each
type of handset and tablet, with tailored
versions of the site on each device. The
continued uptake in Smartphone betting
has supplied a more trustworthy and
enjoyable experience all round, helping
to boost conversion and retention rates
for our affiliates. With such accessibility,
multi-screening has taken off too, with
users watching the game live or on the
television, whilst checking the latest odds
or promotions from a laptop and at the
very same time, placing a bet via a mobile
device. Along with the constant and
consistent updates secured from social
media usage, affiliates and operators have
an additional and valuable route to market.
As such, the betting experience has never
been so convenient and to some extent,
mobilisation has harnessed industry-wide
development for years to come.
How well has the affiliate industry coped
with the more challenging aspects to have
impacted the sector in the last year, such as
the Google updates you mention?
Most affiliates have coped very well
with Google’s updates, although there
have, of course, been long-term and
detrimental effects for others who found
themselves in the firing line once updates
had been rolled out. These issues have been
challenging to recover from in most cases,
particularly when search engine traffic had
been heavily relied upon.
It’s been a steep learning curve for all
stakeholders involved, but there has been
a great level of acclimatisation in the style
of affiliate site that Google has indirectly
moulded. The updates have been extremely
beneficial to many affiliates on the other
hand, rewarding well-established affiliate
sites that are unique and content-rich. This
won’t be applicable to all affiliates, but the
updates have facilitated greater conversion
rates for affiliates in many cases, with the
prospective player being won over with
unique text that is informative, well written
and personable.
These changes have also secured a
powerful sense of realism amongst affiliates
who now need to cater for the updates set
from such large third-party organisations,
like Google, as affiliates need to safeguard
their traffic sources. Such phenomenal
uptake in Google’s services has developed a
more competitive environment, and these
issues have heightened the importance