Affiliates and operators: greater integration is in everyone’s interests

Operators have worked closely with affiliates to help boost their registrations and maintain a flow of new players to their platforms, but the further strengthening of these relationships through affiliate integration could drive even more value for operators during Euro 2016, the year's landmark betting event, writes Jesper Søgaard of Bettingexpert.

The aim for operators when working with affiliates is clear – bring us more regularly-depositing punters. They structure their accordingly, offering rewards for those affiliates that can deliver sign-ups with a high lifetime value and continuing activity.

For the affiliate, the focus is threefold. Firstly, how can I drive traffic to my site? Raising a site’s profile using SEO techniques, publicity content, marketing and great editorial are just some of the areas that should be considered.

Secondly, affiliates need to keep those users returning. For this, they need to make sure that content is constantly updating and is of the highest possible quality. We need to build trust and add value for users.

For example, if the draw for players is betting tips (as it is for us at Bettingexpert), then those tips need to be consistently good, continuously renewed, and constantly reviewed.

“visitors need to click through to a bookmaker’s website in order to even start the process of betting. Why put that barrier in the way?”

Thirdly, and importantly, affiliates then need to hand off the most appropriate users, the potential punters, to the most appropriate bookmaker. It’s not just about numbers, it’s about the quality of those numbers.

Currently, affiliate visitors need to click through to a bookmaker’s website in order to even start the process of betting. But why put that barrier in the way? Every click that a user makes is another chance for them to slip away and be lost.

It’s an issue that has been recognised, and now affiliates and operators are working together to provide a solution – and it’s all about greater integration.

Placing a widget, or an embedded portal, into an affiliate site, users will be able to place a bet without ever leaving the page. This has some very exciting possibilities that benefit everyone – operators, affiliates, and punters.

On the operator side, this ease of access to the betting opportunity has the potential to greatly reduce drop-off, meaning a much higher conversion rate.

They’ll also be able to have great control of their analysis of their affiliates – they can analyse exactly who is betting on what, from each partner that they work with.

Understanding their affiliate click-through efficiency means that operators can also manage these relationships with more accuracy. The benefit of this efficiency is the ability to walk the right punters through the right doors.

The demand from modern customers is for information and data to be correctly presented, up-to-the-minute. Greater integration between platforms allows for this to happen by streamlining in-play tipping and betting data.

Affiliates will be able to give out live ante-post and in-play tips and odds, and show the changing nature of the markets with greater liquidity. Operators looking to find cut-through with odds updates will be able to put those markets in front of potential users instantly.

“Integration places operators' offers in the supportive context of tips and advice. Having all these aspects working together is of great benefit to the bookmakers, as well as the user”

Of course, while there is an obvious need for affiliates to provide bookmakers with the most effective service possible, a strong priority remains attracting as many quality users as possible, and providing them with reasons to journey onward towards placing a bet.

Perhaps most crucially, integration takes down that additional barrier that has, up until now, torn the context of placing a single bet, and separated it into two different realms.

Integration further closes this gap by placing offers from operators into the supportive context of tips and advice. Having all these aspects working together in tandem is of great benefit to the bookmakers, as well as the user.

A shortened journey is just one of the benefits for a user. With all the up-to-date odds information within the affiliate site, they can make informed decisions quickly and more easily.

Plus, the more bookmakers that a user has accounts with, the better overview they have to find preferable odds, which increases the likelihood of that user to act. This benefits both the operators, giving them a better hook to attract punters, while it also decreases hassle for bettors.

The race is now on for affiliates and operators to take advantage of the benefits of integration before the next, huge betting event: Euro 2016. For tipping sites, the large international football tournaments offer a draw like no other event for new unique users.

This is an opportunity to convert huge numbers of casual bettors into returning punters. Giving users the easiest route from sporting interest through to betting activity is key to delivering the best possible results.