odds comparison

[thebookiesoffers]

Looking for some help/advice on this as im a bit of a loss. I want to add odds comparison to a new site but no idea where to start. I'd be interested in getting my own solution created but don't know where to start. Any ideas on where to start, costs, etc etc.
I'd look into paying a monthly fee for a service as well but not interested in giving valuechecker 50% of traffic

any ideas or info would be appreciated greatly

[Pmig]

for a custom solution you need to import every single feed then parsing that feed, add a unique ID to every single team and then you can compare.

For sure is not a easy task and take a least a few months to identify every team on every different feed structure. You will need also a dedicated server to process all that xml's.

There's a lot of technical aspects I will not write here on this short answer but you will need a lot of expertise on XML processing (xpath or other), php/asp/ruby/other, database engine choose, etc.

[JackTenSuited]

I've looked in to this myself as Pmig said above it does get very complex, although most bookies offer a datafeed of some sort they are almost all structured differently i.e. some feeds may refer to 'Manchester United' as 'Manu' 'Man Utd' 'Manc U' etc so you have to spend a lot of time mapping the various names.
There are a lot of services out there that offer a single feed with this all sorted for you, you can then manipulate this data however you wish i.e. store it in a database, display the odds etc but they ofcourse cost money (most prices I was quoted were from £300 for 5 bookmakers to several thousand pounds per month for 20)

[thebookiesoffers]

cheers, that doesn't mean a lot to me but any idea the rough set up costs if someone built all that?

[thebookiesoffers]

I've looked in to this myself as Pmig said above it does get very complex, although most bookies offer a datafeed of some sort they are almost all structured differently i.e. some feeds may refer to 'Manchester United' as 'Manu' 'Man Utd' 'Manc U' etc so you have to spend a lot of time mapping the various names.
There are a lot of services out there that offer a single feed with this all sorted for you, you can then manipulate this data however you wish i.e. store it in a database, display the odds etc but they ofcourse cost money (most prices I was quoted were from £300 for 5 bookmakers to several thousand pounds per month for 20)

any links to services that I can have a look at?

did you go with any in the end?

[JackTenSuited]

any links to services that I can have a look at?

did you go with any in the end?

I just searched google for 'football odds xml feed' came across a whole load of sites offering feeds, lost track of which ones I emailed though :S
I would recommend posting on http://www.freelancer.com/ or http://www.peopleperhour.com/?utm_expid=3894779-18 I came accross a couple of experiened programmers who seemed to understand sports betting and odds feeds.

[thebookiesoffers]

can you pm me the costs for a full solution please

[TheGooner]

I would also be interested in hearing more about the service - either via PM - or publicly in this thread.

[thebookiesoffers]

I would also be interested in hearing more about the service - either via PM - or publicly in this thread.

did you get the om I sent you?

[stassaf]

did you get the om I sent you?

i've sent TheGooner a PM with details

[thebookiesoffers]

i've sent TheGooner a PM with details

it was about New Zealand lol

[stassaf]

it was about New Zealand lol

[Louis - Income Access]

I've worked quite a bit with Assaf and can vouch for him, at least in terms of doing business he's a great guy to work with.

The only thing I would mention for affiliates looking to add price comparison to their sites is that increasing retention and conversion does not happen automatically by adding price comparison, you still have to work at creating a truly unique and valuable user experience. Moreover, price comparison does generally result in a lower value user, though again with the right CRM it can lead to higher value users in the long term (by educating users they will be more comfortable and more likely to stay and play for months and years to come).

[stassaf]

Louis thanks for your kind words.
i'm looking forward to see you at LAC.
i mostly agree with you and i want to add a few points:
- conversion from odds comparison tables are much higher then banners. hence we even decided to drop all banners from our sites.
- odds comparison adds value to your site and give your visitor a better user experience and tools -> visitors are likely to return to your site.
- odds comparison users are indeed less profitable, but they keep betting for much longer then the average user.

[thebookiesoffers]

I've worked quite a bit with Assaf and can vouch for him, at least in terms of doing business he's a great guy to work with.

The only thing I would mention for affiliates looking to add price comparison to their sites is that increasing retention and conversion does not happen automatically by adding price comparison, you still have to work at creating a truly unique and valuable user experience. Moreover, price comparison does generally result in a lower value user, though again with the right CRM it can lead to higher value users in the long term (by educating users they will be more comfortable and more likely to stay and play for months and years to come).

To be fair I had a meeting with someone last month about something else and they mentioned a leading odd comparison site costing one firm a massive negative, it was soon clear why said odds site works on CPA and not rev share.

was thinking of adding it to offer my users more than just free bets etc but not sure now

cheers

[stassaf]

To be fair I had a meeting with someone last month about something else and they mentioned a leading odd comparison site costing one firm a massive negative, it was soon clear why said odds site works on CPA and not rev share.

was thinking of adding it to offer my users more than just free bets etc but not sure now

cheers

i'm sure sometimes users of odds comparison system win, but on the long run most of them lose.
we only work on rev. share and we're in this industry for 9 years now, profit is way up from year to year.

[RyanH]

Given our focus and performance on best price, I thought I'd chime in here too.

We work with all the major odds comp guys, inc. Assaf, and I can confirm that they all do very well from our partnership. To Louis' point, it is true that you can pull in some sharper punters via odds comparison and if you're on rev share deals this is definitely something to watch out for.

< sell > This is why our unique % volume commission can offer serious benefits over the more traditional rev share commission, we'll pay you for winners.< / sell >

If you do decide to go down this route, we should have a chat at some stage, PM me or get in touch via the site.

One thing I would add, by adding odds comp you'll be competing with some big brands and like any affiliate site, will need to try and carve out your own USP or niche to attract and keep visitors. The one thing I've not seen done well is to create odds comparison focusing on a very specific market. Yes your audience is reduced but your increased conversion and retention should make up for this.

Good luck whatever you decide.

[thebookiesoffers]

Given our focus and performance on best price, I thought I'd chime in here too.

We work with all the major odds comp guys, inc. Assaf, and I can confirm that they all do very well from our partnership. To Louis' point, it is true that you can pull in some sharper punters via odds comparison and if you're on rev share deals this is definitely something to watch out for.

< sell > This is why our unique % volume commission can offer serious benefits over the more traditional rev share commission, we'll pay you for winners.< / sell >

If you do decide to go down this route, we should have a chat at some stage, PM me or get in touch via the site.

One thing I would add, by adding odds comp you'll be competing with some big brands and like any affiliate site, will need to try and carve out your own USP or niche to attract and keep visitors. The one thing I've not seen done well is to create odds comparison focusing on a very specific market. Yes your audience is reduced but your increased conversion and retention should make up for this.

Good luck whatever you decide.

cheers, on another note, if you lot brought a free bet in I'd be happy to throw traffic your way

[RyanH]

You're not the first to say that...

I know you know but it's not our style. We're delivering more for our affiliates without the gimmicks; players bet more and for longer and there's zero bonus abuse to worry about.

But yes, we'd struggle to deliver anything for your current site. Now, if you get that odds comp site live...

[Remo]

Assaf, this is something I have looked at on a few occasions, so can you drop me a line or answer publicly (will probably answer other peoples questions)

My questions are

- No horseracing UK/IRL odds available?
- Does a publisher have a choice of bookmakers to use
- I have been looking on your site for a registered charity site number for ages as I cant find one, I can only assume that means costs, any detail, please

Thanks