Online sports betting operators in the UK and Ireland found themselves under the microscope of corporate research and data specialist Global Reviews in 2014.

Global Reviews analyzed three different areas of betting companies’ digital performance: digital sales effectiveness (DSE), which ranks how well companies convert customers online; mobile sales effectiveness (MSE), which analyzes mobile conversion; and digital marketing effectiveness (DME), which measures how well companies attract online customers. Full details of methodology are exhaustingly detailed in the webinar video at the bottom of this page.

DIGITAL MARKETING EFFECTIVENESS

In one study, using a sample size of 200 punters in June 2014, Global Review found that over 90% of participants used search engines to find a new betting provider but 89% of participants began their quest via a search engine. Of these, 62% went directly from search engine to a betting website, underscoring the importance of strong brand identity.

Around 65% of punters claimed they had an initial brand preference before beginning their search, a preference that was usually based on having used this brand in the past. Some 68% of punters in the study said they were already current customers of at least one sports betting provider.

The prime factor that drove ‘shortlisting’ of potential betting companies was familiarity with the brand (14%) followed closely by their results having come up via a search engine (12%). Having a site that looks ‘easy to use’ scored 11%, the same number that shortlisted the site for having ‘good prices/offers’.

Global Reviews found that while Ladbrokes and William Hill scored roughly the same in terms of unprompted brand awareness, Hills performed much better at the conversion from brand recall to ‘preferred’ betting site. Betfair started from a much lower base of brand awareness than Hills or Lads, but scored best in terms of conversion.