Sports betting is a huge global industry, worth an estimated £435bn – £625bn a year, and one that never sleeps. With billions of customers in different timezones across the world, sports bookmakers must provide the latest odds for a multitude of markets.
As sports betting becomes legal in more US states, as well as other countries, the appetite for sports betting is only increasing. So, too, is the need for authoritative and relevant sports news content.
Customer Value
That’s why the best sportsbook sites are consistently churning out sports-related articles, on everything from football and golf to motorsports and US sports. Sports betting sites publish many informative articles, matching news sites for the quality and quantity of content, with the added bonus of including the latest odds.
This is particularly true in the run-up to major sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup or the Superbowl.
When placing your bets, you want to be as informed as possible, to avoid betting on a dud. For example, if you are betting on a football team to beat their nearest rivals, the knowledge that their star striker is suspended or has been injured in training could drastically change your prediction. Likewise, if a horse is comfortable on the kind of terrain they are going to race on, that can affect your decision-making also.
Of course, bettors could, and likely do, follow specific sports news sites, as well as their club’s social media feeds for all the latest news, but the convenience of not having to switch tabs and come out of the betting site to find the relevant information should not be underestimated.
This content can be accessed through the site on any device and is usually also available via Android and iOS apps.
Bookmakers have always been ahead of the public in knowing what’s happening in the sporting world. They have to be to offer the latest odds. Now, they are passing that knowledge onto their customers. This one-stop-shop approach to content is not just for the customer’s benefit, however.
SEO
The other reason sportsbooks are producing so much news content, is to increase their chances of reaching page one in Google search engine results (SERPs). By producing long-form, relevant and authoritative articles that are likely to get their punters clicking (and promoting them via social media), bookmakers increase their Google EAT score and potentially move up in SERPs.
As SEO is generally a gradual process, sites also need to produce ‘evergreen’ content. These kinds of features often take the form of ‘ the top ten all-time greats’ lists or nostalgic reviews of specific historic games and events. Both kinds of content will contain key search terms in the form of short and long-tail keywords. A steady stream of content also signals to visitors that the bookie in question has its finger of the pulse and will therefore offer good odds.
News and feature content may come second to the actual odds and information pages on a sportsbook site but, without that content at their fingertips, customers may go elsewhere for their sports betting. This is particularly true if a competitor site appears higher on the first page of Google due to SEO.
