Affiliate Marketing for the Esports Industry: Learn with Income Access

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With the popularity of esports betting on the rise, this vertical represents a great opportunity for affiliates looking to capture new market segments and build a stronger affiliate site.

Experts already predict that the total revenue for esports could be up to $516 million USD by 2023 and that the global audience will reach nearly 600 million people by 2024. As this vertical grows quickly, affiliates should work to stand out for audiences and deliver the best betting experience.

In this article, we break down esports betting to understand a player’s journey and what could appeal to them, as well as explore strategies to bring in more esports traffic to your affiliate site. Continue reading to learn more!

How does Esports Betting Work?

Betting on esports is very similar to online sports betting, one of the most popular forms of iGaming among players. Just like with sports betting, esports bettors can wager their funds on competing teams or individuals, but for video games instead of traditional sports. Bettors will research odds for the esports competitions they are interested in and then wager on who will win or by how much they’ll win by.

The important differences between sports and esports betting, however, are the various ways players can bet. Real-money betting is of course popular and the most like online sports betting, but there are other types, some of which are listed below.

  • Skin Betting: Players make bets using virtual or in-game currency and other items from the game
  • Pool Betting: Bets for a game are all collected, and the winnings are distributed
  • Social Betting: Players bet as a group on the results of a game or set
  • Challenge Betting: Players can play against each other and bet on who will win, essentially betting on yourself

These newer formats of esports betting are becoming more popular with esports bettors, especially as the main audience is younger than most traditional betting markets and audiences seek out more innovative gaming features.

Affiliate Strategies for Esports

Now that we have discussed how esports betting works, let’s look at how affiliates can use this to attract esports bettors! Firstly, it’s important to build off what you already know your audience will like. When designing and adding media to your site, try to use imagery and colours that match with popular esports games.

Some of the most popular esports games include first-person shooter (FPS) games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games like League of Legends and Dota 2, and even sports games like FIFA.

It’s also crucial that affiliates know the games they promote. Take some time to research trending esports games and even try playing some if you can. With this knowledge, begin writing original content on your site that discusses the game and betting opportunities. Using unique and relevant design on your site, as well as incorporating informative content, will bring more users to your site as search engines pick up on your efforts. By appealing to what esports bettors enjoy, more people will trust your site which builds the incentive for more to visit.

Finally, to make sure that your site remains visible on search engines and keeps users interested, stay up to date on new esports games and trends. The market is constantly changing and knowing what drives esports betting can help you create targeted website content and offers for your audience. One easy way to do this is by identifying upcoming esports tournaments, which are a major source of betting.

What are Popular Esports Tournaments?

Esports tournaments drive a significant portion of total esports viewership and present a great opportunity for affiliates to reach new audiences. Promoting these allows affiliates to show off their esports knowledge, as discussed earlier, and provide time-sensitive and desired information – a combination that will keep users coming back for more.

Here are a few major upcoming esports tournaments:

To see all past and upcoming esports tournaments, click here.

Takeaway

As the esports betting market expands and grows in popularity, affiliates should look to explore new marketing strategies to capitalize on this attention. By familiarizing yourself with the main esports games and ways of betting, you can enhance your site and build trust among users. And, by staying up to date with new trends and tournaments, you can solidify your position as an esports betting expert.

We hope this article was helpful and provides a path forward for affiliates interested in esports!