Case Study: Improving Organic Traffic, User Behaviour and CTR for an Online Betting Company
Background
This sports betting website is a prominent online sports betting platform in South Africa. However, in the competitive online betting industry, they were facing challenges in improving their organic traffic and enhancing their visibility in search engine results pages for both the betting platform and their news portal. The need for a comprehensive SEO strategy was evident, and we were tasked with boosting their organic traffic and online visibility.
Executive Summary
Our approach was to first gather insights by combining qualitative and quantitative data for a comprehensive understanding of current performance. We gathered qualitative data through content and competitor analysis, expert reviews, and user behaviour tracking. The insights we gathered helped us to understand user perceptions, industry trends, and optimisation opportunities.
Quantitative measures included the implementation of more robust tracking of organic traffic, keyword rankings, conversion rates, bounce rates, page load times, and backlink quality.
Together, these data sets provided valuable insights into user behaviour and allowed us to identify targeted opportunities for growth. Starting out with a clear set of objectives allowed us to demonstrate tangible improvements in traffic, keyword rankings, and conversions resulting from our SEO campaign.
Summary of results:
Comparison of Search Data between 2022 and 2023
May 2022 – June 2022 VS May 2023 – June 2023
Bet.co.za
70% increase in total impressions
154% increase in clicks
45% increase in CTR
Central.bet.co.za
65.8% increase in total impressions
27.3% increase in total clicks
40% increase in CTR
Objectives
- Increase organic website traffic.
- Improve SERP rankings for targeted keywords.
- Enhance the site’s user experience (UX) and mobile optimisation.
- Initial Assessment and Strategy
Game plan
- Indexation: Exhaust any all avenues to ensure that indexation is where it should be and the client is ranking ahead of their competitors as far as possible
- Content Marketing: Once we have resolved the indexation issue – we need to grow both platforms via a combination of content marketing and link building
- Increase keyword rankings: We need to build out pillar pages that will give the blog structure and allow Bet.co.za and central.bet.co.za to break through the noise and rank in favourable positions for keywords and keyword clusters that are very important to us (predictions, stats, past results, tips)
- Increase website traffic, CTR and visibility on search engines.
- Internal linking strategy: Embark on an internal linking drive that correctly clusters content and instructs Google as to which themes belong together.
Implementation & Results
Creation of Sports Betting Academy:
We pride ourselves on our creative and strategic approaches, and our latest project with the news website is a testament to this. We conceptualised and developed an innovative solution – a comprehensive Knowledge Base Content Bank, specifically tailored for their site. The idea was born from our strategic insight, recognising the need for a one-stop resource guide for their users. We took charge of the entire process, conducting thorough research to ensure accuracy and relevance. The prototype was meticulously crafted by our team, then we wrote engaging and informative copy designed to improve user experience and engagement and provide users with a comprehensive space to learn everything there is to know about how to bet on sports online, by sports category. We didn’t stop there; we meticulously integrated optimisation strategies throughout this section to boost visibility and accessibility, demonstrating our end-to-end involvement and commitment to enhancing the site’s SEO performance.
Sports Academy Growth:
Over the last 12 months:
Indexation/Migrations and Technical Optimisation:
As the SEO team, we successfully managed the complex task of indexation and migration of the website. This entailed a variety of technical SEO processes aimed at enhancing the site’s search engine visibility and seamless transition to a new platform. We first conducted a comprehensive crawl of the existing site to understand its structure and identify any existing indexation issues. Using a range of SEO tools, we mapped out all the pages, links, and structured data to ensure no vital components were lost during the migration. We then carefully planned the URL redirection strategy to maintain the site’s link equity and minimise potential traffic loss.
Our team ensured that all new pages were correctly indexed by search engines, and we monitored the process to quickly spot and fix any crawl errors. Post-migration, we performed an extensive audit to confirm everything was functioning as expected and that the migration had no adverse effects on site rankings. Our hands-on approach throughout the process ensured a smooth migration and optimal indexation of central.bet.co.za.
All-time account growth – Organic traffic
Last 12 months vs previous 12 months (Total Users)
2023 vs 2022 Organic Traffic
Last 12 months vs previous 12 months (Total Users)
2023 vs 2022 Organic Traffic
Content Optimisation:
We performed comprehensive keyword research to identify high-volume, low-competition keywords in the betting industry. We then optimised existing content and created new, high-quality content targeting these keywords.
A key aspect of our work involved close collaboration with bet.co.za’s writing team. Recognising the importance of integrating SEO practices with industry-specific knowledge, we provided detailed content outlines designed to maximise search engine visibility while preserving the authentic voice of the platform. Our team blended its SEO expertise with the writing team’s in-depth understanding of sports editorial content to create SEO-optimised content for critical pages across the bet.co.za platform. These pages were identified as significant drivers for the business, and through our cooperative efforts, we were able to enhance their visibility, attract more organic traffic, and ultimately drive growth for the betting platform.
May 2022 – Page 5 for “online sports betting”:
May 2023: Page 1 position “online sports betting”:
All of the above, resulted in a 23% increase in user acquisition
The drop in sessions per user and bounce rate indicate that users were able to find what they were looking for, much easier. This positive website engagement also contributed to a higher ranking.
Conclusion
This case study illustrates the transformative power of a comprehensive SEO strategy. By focusing on user experience, content optimisation, technical SEO and link building, both websites saw a significant increase in their organic traffic and SERP rankings. These results emphasise that a well-planned and executed SEO strategy can greatly contribute to improving online visibility and user engagement.