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regard to the quality of content in its search results .
“ Google has encouraged the flight to quality ,” says Simms . “ We are getting regarded for the reputation of our content . Google rewards that , so the UK market rewards valuable insight .”
But Moffat argues that some of the larger affiliate organisations initially judged this move wrong . At the same time as focusing on other markets , he says it also appears that many of the larger affiliate operators have been investing in media partnerships in the UK .
“ Rather than building their own high quality UK brands , some have looked to piggyback off the authority of news sites , or as some would call it , use parasite SEO ,” he argues .
“ The UK affiliate space can still be seen as the Wild West , with operators concerned they are paying the wrong people , especially with regards to regulation ”
STUART SIMMS , FAIRPLAY SPORTS MEDIA
“ This strategy seemed to come tumbling down recently when Google took manual action against what was termed as site reputation abuse . With many of these media sites dropping out of the rankings , those focused on long-term UK brand building seem to have gained .”
The flight to quality , then , has some resonance in the UK . While Better Collective might have enjoyed some success with the ‘ pure ’ affiliate of AceOdds , the feeling is that as with the rest of the world , it and by extension some of the other acquisitive affiliates are moving away from buying that type of pure affiliate operation . Instead they are more looking at properties in the sports media space .
Russell says that OneTwenty is certainly looking at a similar strategy . “ I would love to buy one of the bigger sports media , nonaffiliation assets in the UK because they have the audience ,” he says . “ Something like LADbible , though I fear that it isn ’ t for sale .”
Moffat argues that if there is further M & A involving the UK market , it will be unlike what the market has seen previously .
“ In the growth stage of the larger affiliate sites , M & A was used to buy large margin assets and grow volume ,” he says . “ What we may see is investment in one or two bigger , well-established brands where a larger company wants to increase its UK exposure .
September 2024