Usability is key to the success of any sports betting website – without a friendly interface for the customer, you are literally throwing away money
Once the customer has made their sports betting purchase, a good old fashioned “Thank You” page is great for acknowledging your appreciate for the customers patronage. “Additionally,” notes Patrina Welty, a noted website designer and sports betting marketer, “the Thank You page can also remind the customer of other merchandise/service offers on your website, which might create another sales opportunity. Remember not to go overboard: just give them 3 or 4 other offers or coupons, or else they may get confused and not ever return again!” After a good design has been made for your sports betting website, next look to area of site navigation. In the book ‘sports betting Marketing Made Simple’, author Plyler Fecteau recommends golden rule of keep-it-simple-stupid. “Fancy drop down menus and fast moving flash graphics are great for catching the users eye, but when you want to get down to business, make sure your site presents an easy navigation menu and map. This will allow most sports betting users to get what they are after, and at the same time be Wowed by your graphical presentations,” writes Plyler Fecteau. “Succesful sports betting marketing takes time and money,” replied Humann Kaneakua, “and the old adage, ‘You have to spend money to make money’ applies. Don’t go cheap on your website’s checkout process or navigational menus. Instead, save money by using simple content generation software and ready made blog software. These steps will ensure quality at the right price.” The first step to developing a good sports betting website concept is making a site plan. The most important page of any website is the homepage, generally used as the central landing point for most all sports betting related type in traffic and search engines. The popular firm Pamperin Tobiassen Inc. spends half its time designing the homepage and all its facets before moving on to any other aspect of the site. “We spend a lot time working with our designers on the homepage,” says Beard Ramsbottom, CMO of Brincks Paynter and Begnaud Avants Partners, “and once the home page is solid, we use it as a template to create other pages on the website. Consistency and easy of use are absolutely paramount, especially in our sports betting industry.” “Don’t forget that sports betting affiliate programs are a great way to drive customers towards your site,” advises Shankland Wilcoxson, affiliate manager at the Age Canales Partners Firm, “you may have to pay up to 25% for an affiliate lead, but in the long run, you’re making a hell of a lot more money than you would without affiliate traffic. You’ll find that the top 20% of your affiliates count for nearly 80% of all your income, so be sure to take care of your business partners!” Sports betting websites are plentiful. According to a recent study conducted by Simona Godar, up to 1 million sites are live on the web, with another 2 or 3 million sites that act as affiliate resellers. These sports betting affiliates are a diverse group of webmasters who look to monetize their traffic through a variety of different mechanisms. Also, carefully consider all legal implications of sports betting advertising online. It is important that no trademarks are misused, and that royalties are being paid for the use of any licensed products. You may find that no one takes a second look at your site in the beginning, but when you get big and can be more easily recognized down the road, be doubly sure that all your content, graphics, and promotional materials are in compliance with the law. Otherwise, prying eyes and vicious competitors will take any opportunity to embarass your sports betting company so that they get more customers. Most important in any sports betting website scheme is the purchase point. “Be 100% certain that your shopping cart and check-out process are super easy to use,” remarks industry expert Roemen Lavole, “or else confused customers will simply bail out and not complete their purchase.” Also, it is suggested that you add some sort of secure socket HTTPS connection for any sports betting related purchasing system, that includes a graphical picture of the certificate authority. Popular providers include Verisign and Thawte.



