T RAF F I C
C O LO M B IA
We’ve already discussed the opportunity in Brazil
and, even though that nation has a population
more than four times the size of Colombia’s,
many industry analysts see Colombia as the most
interesting market.
Coljuegos, the official body behind regulation
of the industry in Colombia, has a stated aim of
establishing the country as the leader in Latin
America. In this ever-more friendly and open
regulatory landscape, betting is an increasingly
legal and widespread sight. With major operators
set to invest more in Colombia, those entering the
market can anticipate a competitive race to establish
market share.
In contrast to Brazil, there are fewer official
restrictions on betting and, according to Frixo,
there are no laws to prevent Colombians from
betting at online bookies. There are approximately
462 offshore sportsbooks accommodating
Colombian players, including at least 92 with
Spanish-language site support.
While homegrown betting operations are set
to expand as the country opens up further, the
increasing support of the government is (of course)
driven by an appetite to tax the sector.
Nevertheless, making the effort to be compliant
and building presence in the country should reap
rewards – particularly as the mobile-connected
population becomes more accustomed to legal
betting and the trust factor created by regulation.
BETTING CONTENDERS COMPARED
Of the sites selected for analysis, Bet365
understandably has the best metrics in terms of
SEO trust and authority. A major international
player, it is the standout success of all the global
brands that have started to target Colombia.
The ability of ‘big beasts’ such as Bet365 to
rapidly acquire market share in regions of
opportunity in Latin America and elsewhere
may seem intimidating, but given how competitive
other countries are (not least the UK) there are
still big opportunities for any smaller betting
brands willing to work hard on localisation, player
experience and SEO.
As we can see, in terms of estimated monthly
traffic in the country (provided by SEMrush),
wplay.co is performing best. This could be attributed
to the homegrown nature of the site, and the much
higher spread of keywords that rank in the country,
even compared to Bet365.
COLOMBIA: SEO AUTHORITY OF LEADING SITES
Root domain TLD Domain
Majestic
citation flow Domain
Majestic
trust flow Domain
Majestic ext
back links Domain
Majestic
ref domains
Wplay.co co 21 23 5,686 80
Bet365.com com 61 67 25,383,540 20,679
Betplay.com.co com.co 18 10 4,319 59
COLOMBIA: KEYWORD RANK, TRAFFIC AND VISIBILITY OF LEADING SITES
Root domain TLD SEMrush
organic
keywords Wplay.co co 530 332,624 13,688 14,837
Bet365.com com 157 64,696 9,046 6,269
Betplay.com.co com.co 227 29,724 2,365 1,639
THE LONG VIEW
The future of betting in Latin America is still not set in stone,
and industry investors and operators need to be aware of the
differences between countries rather than being blinded by
hype. That said, the main driver of change across a variety
of nations in the region is tax, with Colombia furthest
along the road to formalising a modern and regulated
betting economy.
While other nations will be looking to the Colombian
example, they have the potential to go their own way.
SEMrush
organic
traffic Search metrics
visibility
(desktop) Search metrics
visibility
(mobile)
In SEO terms, some things always remain the same:
understanding the needs of your audience, the commercial
value of the keywords they use and the competitive challenge
are the keys to a profitable strategy.
The most proactive operators and affiliates will be preparing
to attract Latin American traffic through native-language content,
payment options and relevant offers in anticipation of further
deregulation. Laying the SEO groundwork now, informed by
the strategies of companies that are already ranking in these
individual countries, is a smart approach.
iGB Affiliate Issue 69 JUN/JUL 2018
27