EMERGING MARKETS
Mexico
Looking at some of the current top performers in Mexico based on indicative SEMrush data ( Fig 1 ), a few snapshot observations can be made .
Firstly , it ’ s notable how top brands are battling it out for quite high-level terms such as ‘ casino ’ and ‘ apuestas deportivas ’ ( sports betting ). This , along with the not-inconsiderable cost per click for paid advertising , implies a level of maturity and development in the market in spite of the ambiguous legal situation .
As the market regulates , new entrants won ’ t be dealing with a blank canvas but should have audiences of informed bettors to compete for – and also the presence of battle-hardened unregulated books who might find ways to go legit .
The challenge for some may be around more long-tail terms given the high level of competition already in the market .
Colombia
For Colombia , let ’ s take a look at some of the shared backlinks that top performers Rushbet , Wplay and Codere have ( Fig 2 ). It is worth noting that of the 5,000-plus domains linking to these brands overall , they share links from almost 300 of them .
What this indicates is that there is an immediate block of publishers and sites that could be plausible targets for link building to establish a baseline in this SEO ‘ neighbourhood ’, but of course it pays to be discerning .
The other side of the picture is that there are 4,700 other sites that don ’ t link to all three of these top performers . A deeper analysis might reveal sites that are particularly interesting and strong as well as , I expect , some less relevant sites that might be providing little benefit .
The goal for those looking to compete more effectively in regulating and emerging markets like Colombia is to try and identify the quickest routes to get into a position of competitiveness . This can be
Fig 1 . Top performing websites in Mexico based on SEMRush data
Fig 2 . Backlinks shared by Rushbet , Wplay and Codere
Fig 3 . Sites ranking for ‘ apuestas deportivas ’
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