SEO snapshot: A tale of two US acquisitions

With acquisitions and partnerships coming thick and fast, there isn’t always much in-depth discussion of the latest big money deals before another one arrives to grab the headlines.

Now that there’s been some time for the dust to settle, it’s worth taking a little time to analyze two specific deals to identify a) some of the key motivations from a digital perspective, and b) what these deals tell us about how the market is likely to mature as new states come on board.

What’s driving the frenetic pace of deal-making?

When I see the pace of development across the US gaming market I (perhaps unusually) think of historian Alexander Gerschenkron’s evocatively titled ‘big spurt’ theory of economic development that proposes that the further ‘behind’ a country is, the faster its development is once industrialisation kicks off skipping past the steps that other countries had labored through.

In the case of the US gaming landscape, it feels like something similar is driving the pace, fueled by lots (and lots) of investment, informed in many cases by the lessons of other mature markets and benefiting from a customer-base that is already digitally savvy and ready to bet.

In looking at recent business deals then, it’s worth wondering: what have the parties learned, and how are they applying that learning to get ahead?

When we look at the specific keyword rankings of these brands, we can see that while there is some significant overlap, there’s also ample examples of how online visibility can and will be expanded. As someone who works predominantly within SEO, it’s my instinct to first look at these deals from an SEO perspective.

However, more than this, the nature and form of the content produced by each brand give some strong clues as to why each deal was seen as a good fit.

DraftKings and VSiN

In what’s been reported as a $100m deal, DraftKings has acquired Vegas Sports Information Network (VSiN) with a staged goal of dramatically increasing its sports content capabilities.

This would seem to be an example of a deal where the form of content complements each brand. With VSiN broadcasting approximately 18 hours of live sports betting content each day, the qualitative nature of the content will help DraftKings develop deeper player experiences while building trust.

In the current phase of the sector’s development, there just aren’t that many content-rich brands available for acquisition – and it’ll take time for a new ‘middle class’ of publisher and affiliate brands to spring up.

It’s a logical move for DraftKings and they don’t appear to have any plans to rock the boat, with VSiN CEO Brian Musburger and the wider leadership team staying on to manage operations.

SEO dimension: DraftKings and VSiN

While DraftKings CEO Jason Robins emphasized the “authentic and credible content” of VSiN as being a major driver, there is also the imperative of mopping up rankings and traffic from sports
bettors.

The table shows keyword rankings shared by the four brands under discussion – notice how VSiN isn’t even closely challenged for the top terms.

This is notable for two reasons. Firstly, this acquisition is unlikely to ‘cannibalize’ DraftKings’ existing rankings – it adds wholly new swathes of SEO visibility.

Secondly, if we consider the search terms that VSiN ranks for highest, they fit in well with what we know of the wider DraftKings strategy shared on recent investor calls – Robins stated: “We’re considering whether or not to ramp up in our own content creation.”

With such an acquisition, not only is that content creation ability massively enhanced overnight, there’s also valuable technical infrastructure and a shortcut to SEO visibility (and credibility) among fans specifically for high-value real money betting terms for multiple sports.

This credibility is absolutely essential to establish repeat visits from fans looking for a safe, entertaining, and trustworthy experience.

Authoritative content, fan-friendly data, and SEO strategy that anticipates (as well as responds to) what players care about most is not just a strategy pursued by big beasts like DraftKings – it’s also the most sustainable way for those challenger brands to carve out their own niche in the developing middle-tier of US gaming sites.

In this case however, a big play can lead to a big leap forward.

Better Collective and The Action Network

The recent Action Network acquisition by Better Collective (BC) shares some aspects in common with the DraftKings and VSiN case, but it’s worth noting the affiliation-based business model. This, of course, creates a special imperative to acquire traffic that can be monetized.

With the Action Network acquisition, not only does Better Collective gain a substantial US-facing media brand, the addition of subscription and app income will surely be considered a big plus.

The acquisition announcement was a bold one, stating that “with the acquisition of Action Network, Better Collective gains clear market leadership within sports betting media and affiliation in the US.”

I have no doubt that more subscription-based and affiliation-focused brands will emerge and grow in the US, but there will be a lag while this ‘middle-tier’ of publishers grows. Although the $240m investment sounds relatively enormous, once again, there just aren’t many deals of this size available.

Notwithstanding the 500k+ users of the Action Network app, for Better Collective there are (once again) some quite clear SEO benefits to being so thoroughly ‘in the game’ at this point. As co-founder Jesper Søgaard told the Wall Street Journal: “We expect that eventually (the US market) it’s going to surpass the European sports betting market.”

Once again, we don’t see much in the way of keyword cannibalization, and this acquisition leads to an immediate head-start for BC, not just as a super affiliate but as a leading US betting entity.

The stock market responded very positively to this acquisition but, as ever, my immediate reaction is to look at events with an SEO mindset.

The strength of the Action Network domain, and the rankings that complement rather than compromise Better Collective’s other US-facing properties, is really significant. More than this, a company as SEO-savvy as Better Collective is in a strong position to maintain and grow these rankings, whereas others may let them die on the vine unwittingly.

There may not be such a thing as a true ‘moat’ in the fast-moving US gaming landscape, but both of the acquisitions discussed here come pretty close.

With Better Collective in particular, quality of traffic is critical to a) make money from operator partners, but also to b) demonstrate that the affiliate tier of the US gaming landscape is here to stay.

So, given such huge deals, is there a place for smaller start-ups to really benefit in the longer term? My view is absolutely yes.

As discussed, there are comparatively few big deals of this nature available and, once they’re locked up, there will still be dozens, if not hundreds, of sport and casino operators that need traffic and FTDs.

For affiliates, this means there are opportunities to go deeper, rather than broader, to uncover profitable (and possibly highly specific) keyword clusters. New and mid-tier operators will seek to compete based on player experience, differentiated branding, and mutually beneficial arrangements with the developing affiliate tier.

What all brands can learn from acquisitions such as those detailed about is the need to prioritize credibility, qualitative multimedia content, a tech stack that scales and has intrinsic value and (of course) a logical, hype-free approach to onsite and offsite SEO that underpins smart business decisions.