SEO for financial services is crucial for any financial services company looking to increase its online visibility and attract new clients. The financial services sector is highly competitive, and with a strong SEO strategy, it can be easier for financial services companies to stand out in search results and attract the attention of potential clients.
Adobe’s 2021 Digital Trends survey found 54% of surveyed FS&I firms experienced rapid digital and mobile user growth in the six months prior. The rapidly evolving competitive landscape stresses the importance of having a well-crafted SEO strategy for your FS&I business to maximize customer reach.
In this blog post, we will discuss financial services SEO, its benefits, challenges, KPIs, and the various essential strategies to ensure SEO success.
Table of Contents
What is financial services SEO?
First, let’s define what financial services SEO is. Financial services SEO is the process of optimizing a financial services company’s website, content, and online presence to improve organic visibility on search engines. It includes optimizing the website’s technical elements, creating high-quality content, and building backlinks to improve its authority and trustworthiness. The goal of financial services SEO is to increase organic traffic to the website, which in turn can lead to more leads and conversions.
What are the benefits of doing SEO?
There are many benefits to doing SEO for financial services companies. One of the most significant benefits is lead generation. SEO can help financial services companies attract more website visitors searching for financial services and products. These visitors can then be converted into marketing qualified leads (MQLs) and eventually into sales.
Another benefit of SEO for financial services is the impact on brand perception and reputation. A strong SEO strategy can help financial services companies establish themselves as leaders in their industry, where consumer trust and information are increasingly important.
What are some challenges of SEO for financial services companies?
Despite the many benefits of SEO for financial services companies, some challenges need to be addressed. One of the biggest challenges is the increasing importance of consumer trust and information in SEO. Financial services companies must ensure that their online presence is trustworthy and credible to attract and retain clients. Additionally, the financial services sector is highly regulated, and companies must comply with all relevant laws and regulations.
SEO KPIs
It’s essential to define business objectives and align SEO with business KPIs. Keyword rankings, organic traffic, and MQLs are excellent KPIs, but financial services companies’ most important SEO KPI is leads generated and closed from organic traffic. To correctly measure the impact of SEO on business objectives, it’s vital to collect data correctly via Google Analytics and Google Search Console.
Content Marketing for Financial Services
Another important aspect of financial services SEO is content marketing. Financial services companies can use content marketing to establish their expertise, authority, and trustworthiness in their industry. Content can include creating a blog, creating video content, and starting a podcast. Creating high-quality and informative content can help financial services companies attract more organic traffic to their website from all sections of the marketing funnel.
Digital Growth Institute reports that only 15% of banks and credit unions have a planned digital experience. Establishing a content marketing campaign covering the customer journey will give your business a competitive advantage.
It’s also important to remember that a strong content marketing strategy is the backbone of a successful off-site SEO strategy.
Off-site SEO
Off-site SEO is another critical element of SEO. This includes reputation management, reviews, getting backlinks to your website, and social media presence. Reputation management is crucial for financial services companies, as negative reviews or poor ratings can significantly impact a company’s online presence. In addition, social media presence can help companies increase brand awareness and reach more potential clients.
Competitor Research and Analysis
Competitor research and analysis is another essential element of SEO for financial companies. By analyzing the competition’s website and content, companies can gain valuable insights into their SEO strategies. This can help companies identify opportunities to improve their SEO and outrank their competitors.
Competitor research should inform your company’s content marketing and off-site SEO strategy.
Technical and On-Page SEO
Technical and on-page SEO are crucial elements of any SEO strategy. These elements include optimizing the website’s technical elements, such as the URL structure, site speed, and core web vitals, as well as optimizing the on-page factors, such as meta titles and descriptions, structured data markup, and mobile optimization. Regular SEO audits can identify any technical and on-page SEO issues that a website may be experiencing.
One of the most criticaltechnical SEO elements for financial services companies is URL structure. URLs should be clean and easy to read, with keywords included in the URL. This can improve the website’s visibility in search results and make it easier for users to understand the page’s content.
Site speed is another important technical SEO element. A fast-loading website can improve the user experience, increase the chances of conversion, and improve the website’s visibility in search results. Companies should use tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights to check the website’s speed and identify areas for improvement.
Core web vitals are a set of metrics that measure a website’s loading speed, responsiveness, and visual stability. Google considers these metrics an important ranking factor, and financial services companies should ensure that their website’s core web vitals are optimized.
On-page SEO elements include meta titles and descriptions, structured data markup, and mobile optimization. Meta titles and descriptions should be concise and contain relevant keywords. Structured data markup can help search engines understand a website’s content and improve its visibility in search results.
Additionally, mobile optimization is crucial, as more and more users are accessing the internet via mobile devices. Financial services companies should ensure that their website is mobile-friendly and responsive to improve the user experience.
EAT and YMYL
EAT, or Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness, and YMYL, or Your Money or Your Life, are essential considerations for any companies in the financial services industry looking to improve their SEO. EAT is a set of guidelines established by Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines that are used to determine the quality and relevance of a website’s content.
YMYL is a category of websites that Google has determined could potentially impact a user’s well-being or financial stability. Financial services companies fall under the YMYL category and must ensure that their website’s content is of the highest quality and demonstrates expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.
One of the most critical factors for EAT and YMYL is building trust with your audience. Financial services companies must establish themselves as experts in their industry and demonstrate their credibility and trustworthiness to attract and retain clients. This can be done by creating high-quality and informative content, including testimonials and reviews, and ensuring the website is secure and compliant with all relevant laws and regulations.
To improve EAT and YMYL, creating a solid social media presence is essential. This can be done by regularly updating your social media accounts with relevant and engaging content and responding to comments and messages promptly and professionally. . Financial services companies should also ensure that their website’s contact information is up-to-date and easily accessible.
Another vital aspect of EAT and YMYL is reputation management. Financial services companies must ensure that their online reputation is positive and that any negative reviews are addressed in a timely and professional manner. Additionally, financial services companies should actively manage their online reviews and encourage satisfied clients to leave positive reviews.
Local SEO for Financial Industry Websites
Local SEO is an essential strategy for financial services companies, as it can help them reach their target audience in specific geographic locations. Local SEO involves optimizing a website’s content and online presence to improve visibility in search results for local searches.
One of the most critical elements of local SEO for financial services companies is Google My Business. Google My Business is a free listing service provided by Google that allows businesses to create and manage their business listings on Google Search and Google Maps. By creating and optimizing a Google My Business listing, financial services companies can improve their visibility in local search results and make it easier for potential clients to find their business.
Another important aspect of local SEO for financial services companies is NAP – Name, Address, and Phone Number. Financial services companies should ensure that their NAP is consistent across their website and all other online listings, such as Google My Business, Yelp, and Yellow Pages. Inconsistencies in NAP can confuse search engines and negatively impact the website’s visibility in local search results.
Additionally, encouraging customers to leave reviews on local business listing sites can help improve the website’s visibility in local search results.
Utilizing a Third Party Partner to Help with SEO Strategy
Utilizing a third-party partner to help with SEO strategy can be a wise decision for financial services companies. SEO is a complex and ever-changing field, and it can be difficult for financial services companies to stay up-to-date on the latest best practices and trends. Additionally, SEO requires a significant investment in both time and resources, which can be challenging for financial services companies with limited resources.
Working with a third-party SEO partner can provide financial services companies with the expertise and resources they need to implement a successful SEO strategy. These partners can help companies create and implement a customized SEO strategy that is tailored to their specific business goals and target audience. Additionally, they can provide financial services companies access to a wide range of SEO tools and technologies, such as keyword research tools, analytics platforms, and link building tools.
Third-party partners can also help financial services companies stay up-to-date on the latest SEO best practices and trends. They can monitor the industry and adjust their strategy accordingly to ensure that the website is always optimized for the best possible search engine rankings. Additionally, they can help financial services companies identify and resolve technical issues on their website that could negatively impact their search engine rankings.
Conclusion
SEO is essential for any financial services company looking to increase its online visibility and attract new clients. By implementing the essential SEO strategies discussed in this blog post, financial services companies can improve their website’s visibility in search results and establish themselves as leaders in their industry. Additionally, by aligning SEO with business KPIs, financial services companies can measure the impact of their SEO strategy on their business objectives.
However, it’s important to note that SEO is a long-term strategy that requires consistent effort and monitoring, and it’s always recommended to work with a third-party SEO partner, like Growth Skills, to help you with the strategy and execution.