SEO snapshot: Looking ahead to Super Bowl 2023

The relative importance of enormous mainstream sporting events for profitable customer acquisition is heavily debated by many industry marketers, given the risks of shelling out big sums for new signups who then go on to never bet again.

In some quarters in the US, this cynicism is coupled with increasing scrutiny of acquisition costs and the cost per action (CPA) model in general, as well as the ‘over optimistic’ calculations of player value throughout recently regulated states in the US.

While US operators have not shown themselves to be the most agile, with continuing dependence on paid media, performance marketing, and the affiliate channel, it does feel like more emphasis is being placed on long-term organic approaches to acquiring traffic directly.

At ICS, we have a partial view of moves being made in the US market from the projects already commissioned across our teams, as well as our ongoing market analysis. From this vantage point, it looks like a shift is currently taking place, and the 2023 Super Bowl could be a different story to the hit-and-miss initiatives of the recent World Cup.

From where we sit, it’s our expectation that this time around there will be multiple brands making a serious effort across content, SEO, and PR initiatives anchored by the Super Bowl — and in this article I’ll make a few predictions for what we’ll likely see.

However, before getting to that and running through the key marketing battlegrounds, it’s worth taking a look at those who have already made inroads for Super Bowl-related betting terms.

The split is similar between operator/affiliate rankings for other related keyword variations with even ‘superbowl’ (rather than ‘Super Bowl’) phrases being fought over.

Of course, rankings fluctuate over time but it’s clear why many operators are now looking to become more aggressive in pursuing top rankings and variations of high-volume keywords.

So, let’s see what kind of actions we might see in the future.

Prediction 1: Brands getting serious about platform efficiency

In the rush to go live in the US, it’s no secret that some brands became saddled with platforms that were limited or, while in principle a solid option, not customized to their requirements of the teams that had to use them.

By the time the Super Bowl comes around, we anticipate that multiple brands will have revised their approach to platforms and either gone some way to make a switch or shifted into gear with a need to complete efficiencies in advance of the big day.

For those making changes and efficiencies, we expect to see improvements in site indexation and speed, and user journey. In some cases, there will be relief at the customization and flexibility of their chosen platforms, while others will have by now experienced that ‘locked in’ sense of dread.

Prediction 2: More purposeful content and use of personalities to build trust

The threadbare nature of content on operator sites, particularly state-specific content, has been notable in the US market. With extra pressure to reduce reliance on external partners and manage acquisition costs, we predict the Super Bowl will be a major priority for operators investing in their own proprietary content and making moves to inject more personality into their brands.

We anticipate even operators with offline heritage and brand recognition will seek to put a more human face to their content and coverage, but without relying entirely on A-list ambassadors.

So, expect to see lower-level influencers with genuine organic reach, former players and coaches, and local legends all pop up to add an extra ‘trust factor’ and substance to content — just in time for Google rolling out its experience, expertize, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) approach to online content. Go to the raters guidelines on Google for more information.

Prediction 3: New year, new SEO priorities

In any developing sector, it’s not unusual for brands to be burned by SEO misfires and, particularly in the US, it’s been notable quite how far behind the curve local agencies are compared to their battle-hardened European counterparts who have weathered many storms in this most competitive of sectors.

With the pressure to drive direct traffic rather than maintain the outflow of revenue to affiliates, especially for brand-related search queries that they should be mopping up easily, we predict that the Super Bowl will be seen as a big test. This is the case both for internal teams that have expanded and for those who have moved on to their second or third agency relationship since regulation, but the consensus appears to be that it’s time to get real about direct acquisition and the potential to build stable traffic without constantly manning the paid search pump.

The pressure is most definitely on to perform and more attention, more searches, and more traffic gives data for SEO teams to judge their progress and the relative strengths of their approach, even if the event itself might not produce the most valuable bettors.

Summing up

With operators challenged to drive up profitable growth and with fewer mergers and acquisitions on the immediate horizon due to the macroeconomic outlook, we predict the Super Bowl will be the first big test of more ‘prudent’ marketing initiatives.

From onsite content and player experience/platform optimization to more tactical use of influencers and partnerships, as states like Ohio come into view we’ll see the most grounded operators trying to do more to drive up rankings, traffic, and direct player acquisition, with a renewed focus on SEO.