OGQ: DraftKings leads in SEO in the US online gambling market
Online Gambling Quarterly provides a vertical/segment-specific analysis of US online gambling operators' affiliate and SEO activities
According to the analysis carried out by the Online Gambling Quarterly (OGQ) for winter 2023-24, DraftKings leads the search engine optimization (SEO) betting rankings in the US.
BetMGM leads the betting affiliate ranking and is featured on 89% of the betting-focused affiliates in the US, while BetMGM also leads the ranking in the case of casino affiliates and Bovada leads for casino-related keywords (SEO casino ranking).
The top gambling advertisers on affiliate websites in the US
To benchmark brand/operator presence on affiliate websites, OGQ looked into the affiliate sites that appear among Google’s US top 50 results for 20-30 betting- and casino-related keywords. The researchers then analyzed the advertisers/brands (gambling websites) featured on each affiliate site.
Betting-specific affiliate benchmarking — the analysis was based on 112 affiliate websites that made it into Google’s local top 50 search results for 20-30 betting-related keywords. BetMGM leads this ranking and is featured on 89% of the betting-focused affiliates. Runners-up are DraftKings and FanDuel.
Casino-specific affiliate benchmarking — the analysis was based on 71 affiliate websites that made it into Google’s local top 50 search results for 20-30 casino-related keywords. BetMGM leads this ranking and is featured on 76% of the casino-focused affiliate sites. Runners-up are FanDuel and BetRivers.
The top-ranked US online gambling operators
As in most online industries, ranking in search engines is a crucial success factor. Therefore, the OGQ team prepared some analysis to answer the question of which operators are doing the best job in SEO in the US. They applied the following approach:
The team analyzed the top 50 Google organic search results (desktop and mobile) for about 20-30 specific keywords (or terms) related to betting or casino (eg. NFL betting).
They then produced a search result ranking for every keyword and vertical, and gave each website ranked a reciprocal number of ‘SEO points’ regarding its rank (eg. rank one = 50 points, rank two = 49 points, all the way through to rank 50 = one point).
The OGQ team then associated each website to key online gambling brands. The focus of the analysis is on brands/websites and not on companies operating these brands. For the final ranking, the brand/website with the highest number of SEO points received the SEO score of 100. All other websites were given scores based on their SEO points in relation to the score of the top brand.
In Q4 2023, the SEO analysis for the US market included 31 betting-related keywords and 21 casino-related keywords (the full list is available from the OGQ. Ideas for keywords to be added to the list are also welcomed).
Betting SEO analysis: DraftKings leads the ranking
DraftKings leads SEO betting ranking — across all 31 betting-related keywords, DraftKings takes the top spot. For 66% of the analyzed keywords, DraftKings was able to take the first rank (26% rank two).
Runners-up are FanDuel (3% rank one; 13% rank two) and BetMGM (6% rank one; 15% rank two).
Casino SEO analysis: Bovada leads the ranking
Bovada leads SEO casino ranking — across all 21 casino-related keywords, Bovada takes the first rank. For 10% of the analyzed keywords, Bovada was able to take the first rank (5% rank two).
Runners-up are 888casino and BetMGM.
Top-ranked affiliates on Google in the US
So far, only a few affiliates have been able to establish their own brand reputation in the US. Therefore the Google ranking is of crucial importance for most affiliates. To prepare the SEO ranking for affiliates, the OGQ team analyzed the top 50 Google organic search results for 20-30 specific keywords (or terms) related to betting or casino (eg. ‘best casino sites’). Then they produced a search result ranking for every keyword/vertical and gave each affiliate site ranked a reciprocal number of ‘SEO points’ regarding its rank (eg. rank one = 50 points, rank two = 49 points, all the way through to rank 50 = one point).
The SEO analysis included 31 betting-related keywords and 21 casino-related keywords:
For betting-related keywords, Covers.Com and Vegasinsider.Com reached the highest SEO score.
For casino-related keywords, Casino.Org and PlayUSA.Com reached the highest SEO score.