Developing robust first-party data capabilities will not only futureproof your affiliate business from unpredictable shifts in a digital marketing landscape increasingly shaped by consumer privacy concerns. It also offers the potential for improved user experiences and SEO outcomes. In the first of a two-part series, Sharon McFarlane covers the core sources and processes required to effectively leverage first-party data to improve visibility in the SERPs.
Many affiliates breathed an audible sigh of relief last summer when Google u-turned on plans to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome. But with the search engine joining others in introducing more user privacy controls, affiliates should still be reducing their reliance on cookie-based tracking and collecting more actionable data direct from their users. Failing to do so also means they are missing out on crucial opportunities to boost their search engine visibility.
In both parts of this series, we discuss how you can leverage first-party data to give you a competitive edge within the igaming affiliate space by personalising your strategy to work for you and your users.
What is first-party data?
As a marketer, the most reliable type of data you can get is first-party data. It’s information that you collect directly from your own users either directly from your website or from other data sources such as an app interaction, a customer survey, social media and even certain offline channels where there is a digital interaction.
As a marketer, the most reliable type of data you can get is first-party
How to collect it
As an affiliate who uses SEO as means of generating traffic and sending players to operators, the likelihood is that you should already have some of the tools in place that will enable you to analyse and make the most of the data you are collecting on your portal. The most common are:
- Site analytics such as Google Analytics and Search Console. Here you will find invaluable information such as impressions, click-through rates and average search positions
- Email sign-ups: most affiliate sites have some form of email signup element to their portal where you are collecting data such as name and email address from website visitors
- On-site search queries: not all affiliates have this, but for SEO we would definitely recommend that there is functionality for users to enter search queries on your site. Not only will this allow them to find the information they are looking for more easily, but it will also give you useful first-party data info
- Heat map software such as Hotjar: This uses first-party cookies to collect data on how users are interacting with your website
All of these tools make it simple for you to collect and analyse data from your website to make more informed choices when it comes to your overall SEO strategy.
For SEO we would recommend your site has the functionality for users to input search queries
Informing keyword research and content strategy
Now you have all the tools and mechanisms in place to collect first-party data, how do you use it to help with your keyword research and content strategy?
Well, first of all, it allows you to identify high-intent keywords. This means you can analyse your search data to identify key terms that have a particularly high value for you, and that are frequently searched.
Once you’ve done this, you’ll be able to create a content strategy that is much more user-centric. You can really start to leverage on-site searches and popular questions as well as to fill any content gaps that will resonate with players and meet their needs in terms of what they want to see on your site.
For example, if a user were to search for “best sportsbooks for live betting” this would allow you to optimise for that topic, creating a content cluster around that key term. You can create betting guides, news and promotions, reviews on platforms and odds targeting that keyword.
Segmenting audiences
Behavioural segmentation is critical for SEO, and definitely something that affiliates should take care to effectively. Using the data and analytics tools we mentioned you can really start to drill down into the user behaviour and start to segment. You can do this by page visits, time spent, search terms and time spent on certain areas of site.
Personalisation is always key when it comes to any form of marketing, and having these audience segments in place allows you to do that. Once you have your segments in place you can then start to tailor your content towards those segments. By doing this, you should then start to see improved relevance metrics such as bounce rate and dwell time. You can also use this info in any mail shots you send out to improve open and click-through rates on that medium.
Now we have covered the fundamentals you need to have in place, in part 2 I will provide actionable insights on how you can enhance on-page SEO by using first-party data and also how you can refine using A/B testing and analytics.
Sharon McFarlane
is managing director at Glasgow-based Digital Footprints, a digital marketing agency specialising in content marketing, social media, UX design, website design, branding and conversion rate optimisation.