User experience (UX) is one of the most important things for affiliates to master. To put things simply, you cannot expect to retain your audience if you can’t keep your audience engaged. And if they find your website difficult to navigate, they won’t stick around for long.
The UX space is changing all the time and keeping on top of current trends is essential if you want to succeed. With that in mind, here are the top things you need to look out for when designing your online sportsbook and casino comparison site and apps.
A/B Testing
Perhaps the most important path to success is testing all of your ideas before rolling them out across your website. A/B testing – also known as split testing – is incredibly popular in the affiliate space as it allows you to try two different ideas at the same time and see which works best.
For example, you can split test the following:
- New button ideas
- Style
- Calls to action
- Colors
You can also A/B test your copy for paid advertising, and it’s a good idea to try a broad range of concepts for social media as well. By split testing, you’ll figure out what your audience engages with best and then ensure your website provides this to them.
Dark Mode
We’re not sure whether the inventors of dark mode expected it to become so popular at all times of the day, but that’s exactly what happened.
According to a survey on medium.com, more than 80% of users said that they use dark mode on their devices at all times. While that’s only a small sample compared to the world’s population, it does go to show that it’s incredibly popular.
Users might prefer using dark mode. In some instances, it can be better for their eyes – and in other cases, they simply prefer the look. Regardless of the reason, you need to understand this trend and adapt accordingly.
To meet user desires for dark mode, consider offering it on your website. You can work with programmers to get the right coding if you’re unsure how to do this.
Moving Towards Mobile
It’s not a new phenomenon that many people are moving away from their desktops and more towards mobile. Nowadays, over 50% of traffic comes from mobile devices. Smartphone penetration is only increasing across much of the world, so you can expect that figure to rise even further over the coming years.
What does that mean for you, then? Simple – you MUST make sure that your website is optimized for smartphone devices.
You can use accelerated mobile pages (AMPs) to ensure that people can access your content on their smartphones. On top of that, you can keep the images you use to a smaller size – which will let them load quicker on tablet and smartphone screens.
Personalization
If the past few years have taught us anything, it’s the importance of person-to-person connections. And with so many websites for users to visit, especially in the online casino and sportsbook comparison space, you must find a way to stand out and continue engaging your audience.
More and more, personalization is becoming popular with affiliates – both in the iGaming space and beyond. This means thinking about each site visitor and tailoring the experience you provide to them, including the brand you push in their direction.
One challenge to keep in mind is that Google will soon remove third-party cookies. So, you’ll need to find an alternative way to collect the information you need on players to understand their behavior across your site and others.
Artificial Intelligence
Also making significant moves in the online world is artificial intelligence (AI), which is growing year on year in terms of value and revenue. Many companies have adopted AI and machine learning to finetune their offerings, and you should consider using it across your website, too.
You can use AI in several ways including:
- Chat bots
- Digital assistants
- Text correctors
UX Is Crucial If You’re an Affiliate
Knowing the most recent UX trends is critical if you want to grow an affiliate business in the long run. Satisfying your users will help grow your traffic, improve search engine rankings and most importantly ensure visitors come back for more.
There are plenty of ways to enhance your user experience. You can use minimalistic themes that load quickly, for example, along with A/B testing everything before you use it. You should also think about personalization and artificial intelligence.
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