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  1. #1
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    Default Sports bets: Extended previews v low-detailed (compact) picks

    I researched a little the forum (as a new member here) and found several hints but i would like to share my personal experience with an issue.

    I am into sports betting since 2008(i consider myself still newbie in the field) and i always had either my own website or worked for another site as "tipster".(I don't like this word to be honest).
    My issue is that when i spend time researching a match (latest news, weather & pitch conditions, player stats, odd history etc.) and i do write an extended preview of the game the avg.time a visitor stays in such a post is quite low considered to what would be expected.
    I don't like posting just a table with 5 matches and their picks for various reasons. The main reason is that with a 500+ words post you get more in-post ad space and always considered it to be the pro way.

    However, these posts generally (at least in my sites) tend to be less attractive. It's like people ignoring all the thoughts behind the prediction and they scroll just down to get the pick.

    I get more ad clicks in posts with minimum text and clearly focusing on displaying the predictions in a table format than writing an extensive text and then showing my picks table. I average 3 clicks per 600 Unique visitors(didn't convert to 1000 since that's the average i get in my posts) and i have seen up to 37(!!) on the low-detail ones.

    Is this considered a normal behaviour for this target group? I've read online some general demographics about the"betting websites audience" and they are considered -if i recall well- very low in quality(as regards education and age i think). This was confirmed by the the avg. ppc price.

    PS I am currently experimenting with the ads layout and the body format of my page to see if i get any difference in results. So far, text links get more clicks than banners :-/

  2. #2
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    Short and sweet, but not too short.. quite a lot of your viewers will be mobile users usually just before the game starts.,. i have found 500 words is the perfect size, if you were to do a tournament then perhaps a 1000+


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  4. #3
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    I have limited my "analysis" to 300-400 words in my recent posts in order to minimise the time i spend writing (since the users don't seem to be interested) and yet have enough text to display advertisement.
    Still searching for the right formula though. Any suggestions/tips from your experience are more than welcome :-/

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    What is the main source of your traffic?
    If it's Google then I'd write 500 words-ish as I don't think Google particularly likes short-form articles. You have to find that balance, as we all do, of writing enough for Google to like it and rank it highly, but not enough to bore the reader. This also can be influenced by the strength of your writing, I'm happy to read a longer article if it's well-written and done in an interesting and engaging style.

    As for CTR in betting tips articles, I find them low generally. But you can help by selling the offers, experiment with different layouts and selling styles:
    The obvious tipster site might say:
    "you can get selection 'x' at 10/1 with Betfred, who have a Bet £10 Get £30 Free Bet"

    You could maybe try that but also have a nice image or button for the users to click. You;re then getting into CTR optimisation which is one of the main things if you're looking for more clicks and signups.

    You could also maybe say:
    "Selection X is available at 10/1 with Betfred. Betfred are our main recommendation for football as they have their famous Goals Galore offer for BTTS bets, which is ideal for this tip. If you haven't got an account yet then they have a Bet £10 get £30 Free Bet offer for new customers which you can get here."

    Try and be relevant to the type of tip you're giving, each bookie has their own selling points that might work better with your users. Sportingbet are pretty strong for tennis for example. Stan James good for horse racing. Certain bookies good for footie accas, some good for 1st goalscorers, correct scores etc etc. Be relevant to your user base and sell the merits of the particular bookie, give them a reason to sign up - it's much better than just putting 'bookie X has the best odds for this tip so sign up'.

    Hope that helps. You got a link to your site?

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    @RacingJim thank you for your time providing me your suggestions.
    My main traffic source is social media - Facebook as i have partnerships with various sports related pages-groups that i can share my posts and so do the other tipsters.
    I have tried in my predictions which are in table format(like a sum up after my main text) to add right next to the odd a small banner of the bookmaker i suggest(it's a common tactic i think) but nothing really worked well(so far).
    I have currently removed the in-post Affiliate advertisements(300*250 banners) and added an Adsense unit (468*60) under my predictions as well as some text links in the bottom of every article(they tend to be the "best" in regards of clicks and conversion). As i stated before i still haven't found the right formula.

    PS. I haven't shared my link to my website (yet) since it's not a gpwa approved portal and i am still very new to the forums. I will share it when time comes with the results of this sort of "experiments" in layout and ads formats i am trying. i don't have a clear view yet of how adsense works for my website and if i could a get sufficient profit from it.

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    Main Source of traffic is Social media, Facebook specifically as i have partnered with many football and sports related pages/groups to post my articles.
    I still am experimenting with a combination of adsense and affiliate links as well only adsense ads in the main article body. There is nothing sure for now.
    I would like not to post my URL at the moment as it's not a gpwa approved portal yet But i will do so, soon!

  9. #7
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    I concur with previews being short and sweet. The only time I'd consider an extended preview would be for an important game.

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    We run longer analysis and previews. We believe tips has to be explained otherwise is like playing the lottery! If you know about the betting market you will want to write the rational of your tips!!

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    It's an interesting topic as it is clear that their is difference in opinion with what works. Personally we do 500 word previews with the tip at the end. But I am unsure if this is the way to go as click thru's are lower than I would of expected. For SE's eyes though I would not want to do less than 500 words.

    I agree with bettingspin that some kind of explanation is needed why this tip should be backed
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  12. #10
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    Whatever you do, you'll be struggling to convert.

    The news traffic at least clicks on ridiculous links, Russian brides, billionaires etc. Tips traffic doesn't click on anything. They take the tip and leave.

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  14. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by DanHorvat View Post
    Whatever you do, you'll be struggling to convert.

    The news traffic at least clicks on ridiculous links, Russian brides, billionaires etc. Tips traffic doesn't click on anything. They take the tip and leave.
    Unless there is a good new player promotion at a new book? I think what you said just adds more weight to shorter previews.

  15. #12
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    I'm sure everyone has different views and numbers, but from were i'm sitting i had have to double stamp what Dan had to say. With tips you might be providing a daily service, but you can forget customer loyalty when it comes to opening new accounts. Freemium users are just that, and you can expect very little return.

    I would suggest you found alternative ways to interact and offer services. Although, i agree with Poker Aussie that something new could have an impact, although it might not have the trust value thus hard to sell. Take 1XBET for example, attractive offer with more live streaming and bets than most. Better odds, loads of payment providers and first to price up the market - But it all means little when people find out they are Russian (no offence intended - just trust value). And, that google search and bad reviews stand in the way -- The other thing is new has to be a cultural fit, and most don't have a clue!

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