Conversion Rate Optimisation, or CRO, is important in digital marketing as it is one of the main ranking factors for a successful campaign. This article will take a closer look at conversion rate optimisation (CRO) meaning in SEO, what it is, what are the right approaches to improve CRO, and how a collaboration between 1win and BetZillion successfully increased CRO in African regions by using the best marketing strategies and SEO techniques.
With BetZillion’s SEO expertise and 1win’s industry insights, the two companies have managed to analyse the interesting African digital market and find unique opportunities and winning formulas for increasing conversion rates.
Definition of Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) and Its Significance
Conversion rate optimisation is an important concept for both individuals and companies. It is a process of increasing the number of conversions from a mobile app or a website, or in other words, increasing the percentage of people or users who perform a desired action on a website – whether on a landing page or a specific webpage.
Top CRO strategies typically include creating ideas on how to affect user behavior and introducing elements on the website or app that can be improved mainly through A/B testing.
The significance of CRO can’t be overstated, as it directly leads to getting more value from website or app visitors by lowering customer acquisition costs through effective conversion methods.
An effective CRO strategy will lead to a better website conversion rate and increased revenue per visitor, making it one of the most important website performance metrics in online marketing.
Specifics of the African Market
The African digital market has proven to be a gold mine for all online digital marketing businesses, and more and more companies offering CRO for SEO services seem to be aware of it. In 2020, over $10 billion was invested in digital marketing in Africa – which is still a small number compared to Europe.
However, the latest figures suggest that the number will increase significantly by 2026. This is largely thanks to the increased internet accessibility in the continent. However, unlike other places, Africa is quite different in its digital adoption.
Unlike Europe and other parts of the world, Africa jumped over the computer era and directly into the mobile internet stage. While computers are still used, more and more people use their phones to access the internet, mainly to enter the world of betting and gambling.
However, while it is a booming market, companies that want to understand how to make CRO working in Africa have to be aware of the continent’s different languages, cultures, and, ultimately, vastly different customer behaviour tendencies.
Analysis of Cultural Peculiarities
Web traffic conversion has the same goal regardless of the market or location. However, it’s important to understand preferences and cultural nuances that influence user behaviour. It will lead to more efficient customer journey mapping and conversion funnel optimisation.
With Africa, that’s quite intricate due to the different levels of development, laws, foreign policies, and taxation. However, a big factor that makes African digital marketing a complex field is cultural differences and preferences.
Africa comprises 54 countries, various religions, and, by some counts, has over 3,000 languages, which indicates how much variety there is across the continent. It also leads to cultural differences that affect how users behave – which is essential to understand when figuring out which CRO and SEO in marketing strategies will be most efficient.
The challenges also show in African currencies, with 54 different uses as of 2024. While there were attempts at creating a single currency, none succeeded and the most recent one was postponed until 2031. Until then, the CFA franc (XOF or West African and XAF or Central African) will remain the most popular across 14 countries.
From a betting perspective, it’s also important to understand that Africa is very different in terms of which sports, leagues, or teams are the most popular. The biggest difference comes when comparing the favorite teams, which will vary depending on local preferences.
Yet even when we discuss sports, the preferences vastly differ between the African nations.
Football (soccer) remains the most prevalent sport, with over 76% of all African punters betting on football regularly. It makes sense as football is one of the few sports played across the continent, which has 5 African regional federations.
- UNAF (North Africa)
- WAFU-UFOA (West Africa)
- UNIFFAC (Central Africa)
- CECAFA (East-Central Africa)
- COSAFA (Southern Africa)
Athletics, namely long-distance running, is prevalent in Ethiopia and Kenya, whereas Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria are four countries mostly known for handball.
Rugby tends to be more popular in South Africa, Namibia, Ghana, and Kenya, while cricket is mainly played in South Africa, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. Basketball has gained a foothold in Egypt, Ghana, Uganda, Tunisia, Cameroon, Kenya, and Nigeria.
The list goes on, but the main point here is that even though there are dozens of sports played in Africa, some parts or countries aren’t as interested in certain sports relative to other countries.
Understanding who you are targeting will help you develop better local SEO strategies since something that works in one area might not be nearly as efficient in another market.
Technological Landscape and Internet Penetration Rates
Africa’s internet development process is very different from that of other countries, which we have already mentioned above. Even though computers are still used, most people rely on phones to access the internet.
The differently developed technological landscape also affects how the locals approach sports betting.
In some countries, internet development is still in the very early phases, which explains why most people use land-based betting kiosks more for their betting needs. The trend is much different in more developed regions, where nearly 90% of the population prefers to bet using their phones.
Soon, this trend will catch up everywhere, as the penetration rate of phones in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to cover nearly 70% of the population by 2025. And with more betting operators entering the market, mobile betting has immense potential.
Some factors have expedited the popularity of online mobile betting, namely the integration of mobile payment solutions, which simplified financial transactions. That explains why betting, in general, is very popular in some of the more developed countries. Yet even Kenya and Ghana, which are 20th and 30th on the development index, rank among the top-five countries in the percentage of the population that engages in sports betting.
The availability of land-based bookmakers ensures that betting popularity is not solely dependent on technological advancements. Still, while there are options, the rise in sports betting was primarily driven by the availability of smartphones.
So, all conversion rate optimisation strategies must focus more on mobile optimization and better user experience on mobile devices rather than the standard (and more like dated) desktop optimisation.
The gradual development of technology and changing consumer behaviors have been a massive driver of the growth of sports betting in Africa. However, regulatory challenges remain a huge obstacle due to inconsistent regulation across African regions and countries, leading to uncertainty.
Conversion Rate Optimisation Strategies for SEO Websites in African Geographical Areas
Despite the numerous challenges companies face when entering the African market, there are also many opportunities to take advantage of the growing popularity of mobile online betting.
There are an estimated 400 million mobile phone users in Africa. So, once operators and other actors manage to navigate the challenges of the need for increased regulation, Africa will turn into a massive online sports betting market.
Since the digital marketing industry in Africa is still in its infancy, it may take a few more years for the market to mature. However, it is growing rapidly, and companies that get in early and understand how to use SEO analysis tools efficiently and create strategies can expect to reap the rewards.
Yet it’s important to understand the differences in geopolitical locations, local laws, traditions, and behaviour variations of the population to integrate SEO and CRO practice successfully.
Marketing Strategies
In collaboration with 1win, BetZillion has achieved an effective marketing approach, which led to increased CRO, using specific marketing strategies and SEO tools.
A big part of the success was conversion tracking and analysing user behaviour with basic trackers, hot maps, and Google Analytics. It helped understand the differences in visitors` conduct based on their location.
Optimising landing pages and referral links was another big factor in creating successful conversion rate optimization techniques. Ensuring that users land on a page that meets their needs and are offered services tailored to them will streamline the conversion rate.
Having strong trust signals and promoting services that are only verifiably safe is a big part of any successful conversion strategy, and it works best by integrating social proof. BetZillion achieved that by implementing their rating for bookmakers and allowing users to share their feedback, which effectively boosted the trust in the products.
Conversion-focused content, such as conversion blocks in exit-intent pop-ups and catfish banner pop-ups, has proven to be an extremely effective tool for BetZillion, which boosted visitor engagement and actions.
While there are many ways to improve CRO, continuous testing and optimisation are the most important and indispensable. Some conversion rate optimisation services and strategies may work now, but constant tracking and testing are required to adapt to users’ needs.
SEO Strategies
Conversion rate optimization will improve any business’s conversion rate, but all that means little without an effective SEO strategy. BetZillion’s success story can be attributed to an efficient SEO and CRO integration strategy in collaboration with 1win to drive organic traffic and improve visibility. That ultimately led to increased CRO in African geos.
A big part of a successful SEO strategy is thorough keyword research to fully understand user intent. With that, it’s possible to implement effective content optimization and link-building tailored to meet the unique demands of the African market.
It’s important to note that SEO and CRO focus on different things. While SEO is a practice meant to increase a website’s visibility, CRO is the process of optimising the website to increase the number of users who want to take a desired action. Yet, one is meaningless without the other, so aligning CRO and SEO goals is important.
- Optimise keyword search intent; or, in other words, use keywords that reflect the true intent behind the user’s search.
- Call to action (CTA) text is a key in optimizing SEO and CRO, requiring legible text, solid keywords, and the right high-contrast colour.
- High-quality content has a much higher chance of ranking well in search engine results, leading to more traffic and more potential users to do a desired action.
- Social proof, such as testimonials and reviews, will benefit SEO, using the same idea as the strong trust signals, which greatly help CRO.
- A faster, more optimised website will improve user experience and directly lead to better SEO
- A good chunk of strategies used to improve CRO can also be used to improve SEO. That includes A/B testing and tracking to see what works and what doesn’t.
While some SEO practices work regardless of the location, it’s important to note that some might net great results in certain regions and worse in others. Even when targeting a single continent, the differences in preference of users are noticeable.
Even though there are obstacles that need to be overcome in Africa, there is a success story we can look at. By combining BetZillion’s SEO expertise with 1win’s industry insights, the companies saw tangible improvements in search engine rankings, conversion rates, and user engagement.
Example of Successful Conversion Rate Optimisation in African Regions
Let’s explore the success of the partnership between BetZillion and 1win in increasing CRO in 8 African countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, Botswana, Cameroon, Uganda, Tanzania, Namibia, Ghana, Nigeria in 2 separate periods: February 1-29 and March 1-31.
In February, 1win and BetZillion registered 2.13% click2dep and 11.48% reg2dep improving the figures to 5.52% click2dep and 20.58% reg2dep in March.
February
- click2dep = 2,13%
- reg2dep = 11,48%
March
- click2dep = 5,52%
- reg2dep = 20,58%
The click2dep conversion rate jumped from 2.13% to 5.52%, a 159.16% increase. On the other hand, the reg2dep conversion rate increased from 11.48% to 20.58%, a 79.26% increase.
The available data shows that the marketing and SEO practices directly contributed to increased conversion rates from February to March. It is due to continuous testing of implemented methods and adjusted strategies that were more successful in targeting specific African geos.
With further optimisation efforts, the two parties will continue to maintain the positive trend while exploring and testing new approaches to enhance the conversion rates further.
Conclusion
The case study of BetZillion and 1win is more than a success story others can look up to. It is proof that with the right approach, significant improvements in conversion rates can be achieved in a month.
A well-made strategy and the right tools are necessary, but when dealing with a complex and diverse African market, continuous testing and exploration of new strategies to enhance conversion rates play a bigger role. With its expertise and proven methods – as proven in the successful partnership with 1win – BetZillion is here to help you tap into and optimise conversion rates in the African market.
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