Search engine optimisation (SEO) is an essential element of any financial services business’ online presence. It is the process of optimising a website so that it can be found more easily by search engines and be more visible to potential customers. SEO involves both on-page and off-page optimisation techniques, such as keyword research and content optimisation, link-building, social media optimisation, website architecture, and more. By using these techniques to optimise a website, it can increase its visibility in search engine results and generate more qualified leads and customers.
For financial services businesses, SEO is critical for success. Financial services are highly competitive, and SEO can help businesses gain an edge over their competitors by increasing their visibility in search engine results and driving more organic traffic to their websites. SEO can also help financial services businesses build trust and credibility with their customers, as well as ensure that their websites are optimised for mobile devices and other digital platforms. By optimising their websites for SEO, financial services businesses can gain a competitive advantage and maximise their online visibility. for your business.
One of the biggest barriers to customer acquisition is the cost- per acquisition, which is driven higher due to paid advertising costs. Every time a customer clicks on an ad, the cost of acquisition goes up. SEO is a cost-effective way to drive more organic traffic to your website and help reduce your cost-per-acquisition.
SEO is a long-term strategy and can be more cost-effective than pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. SEO is an organic process, meaning it increases your visibility on search engines without the need for paid advertising. It is also more targeted, as it focuses on optimising your website in a way that will make it more visible to potential customers who are searching for terms related to your business.
PPC is a short-term strategy and can be expensive. It involves paying for ads to appear in search engine results, meaning that you are only visible to customers when they are actively searching for a related term. This can be expensive and can limit the potential reach of your business.
Overall, SEO is a more cost-effective and long-term strategy for financial services businesses, as it can help increase visibility and drive more qualified leads and customers to their websites. It is also more targeted, as it focuses on optimising your website in a way that will make it more visible to potential customers who are searching for terms related to your business.
Essential SEO Strategies for Financial Services
Effective SEO strategies are crucial for financial services to increase online visibility and attract potential clients. Here are some key strategies:
- Assessing Current SEO Status: Before implementing any SEO strategy, it’s important to understand your current SEO status. This involves analysing your website’s structure, content, and current search engine rankings. Tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Ahrefs and SEMrush can provide valuable insights into your website’s performance.
- Conducting a Content Audit: A content audit involves reviewing all the content on your website to ensure it’s relevant, up-to-date, and optimised for SEO. This might include improving existing blog posts, removing duplicate content, or adding new, relevant keywords.
- Keyword Research: Understanding what terms your potential clients are searching for can help you tailor your content to meet their needs. Keyword research tools can help you identify popular search terms in your industry.
- Competitor Analysis: By analysing what your competitors are doing well in terms of SEO, you can gain insights into strategies that could also work for your business. This might involve looking at their keyword usage, content quality, and backlink profile.
- Creating User-Centric Educational Content: Providing valuable, educational content can help attract and retain visitors to your site. For example, you might create blog posts or guides that answer common questions about financial services.
- Enhancing E-A-T: E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, three factors that Google uses to assess the quality of a website. To enhance your E-A-T, ensure your content is accurate and written by qualified individuals.
- Focusing on Technical SEO: Technical SEO involves optimising your website’s structure and code to improve its visibility to search engines. This might involve improving site speed, ensuring your site is mobile-friendly, and creating an XML sitemap.
- Enhancing Local SEO: If your financial services business operates in a specific geographical area, local SEO can help you attract clients in your local area. This might involve creating a Google Business Profile and optimising your website content with local keywords.
- Monitoring and Boosting Off-Page SEO: Off-page SEO involves strategies that improve your website’s reputation and visibility, such as building high-quality backlinks and managing your online reputation. Regularly monitoring your off-page SEO and taking steps to improve it can help boost your search engine rankings.
A well-rounded SEO strategy needs to cover these areas, and it takes a lot of knowledge and experience to execute well. A good place to start is grasping keyword research.
Search Demand for Financial Services on Google
There is plenty of search demand for financial services on Google. It is important to understand what people are searching for related to your business and use these keywords in your content. You can use tools like Trends to research relevant keywords.
Financial services have been searched for consistently since 2004, reflecting a constant demand for financial services businesses in the UK. Once your SEO experts assess which keywords and geo targets to set, they will create a strategy from the keywords and search volume for your business.
People Use Lots of Search Terms to Find Financial Services
Through the optimisation process, experts will find the most relevant and frequently used search terms for financial services. This information can be used to create content around those search terms and optimise it for SEO.
Keywords related to financial services such as “what is financial services” and “why financial services” allow your business to answer such questions in the content on your website. As customers search for the answers to those questions, your page is more likely to rank higher on SERPs for the answer.
Below are some of the other most important keywords related to financial services on Google:
Local SEO for Financial Services
Leveraging local SEO is even more important for financial services companies. Local SEO involves optimising for local search terms and making sure the website is listed on local directories like Yelp and Google My Business. This can help increase visibility for local customers. Local SEO strategies include optimising for local keywords, optimising for local directories, and more. SEO experts start by understanding the local market and then optimising the website and the rest of the business’ content accordingly.
They then work on optimising your content and profiles for the local markets your business is targeting through the following strategies:
- Optimise for Local Keywords – Local keywords are keywords that include a location. For example, if you’re a financial services company in New York City, you would want to optimise for keywords such as “financial services New York City” or “New York City financial services”.
- Leverage Local Directories – Make sure your financial services company is listed on local directories such as Yelp, Google My Business, and Yellow Pages. This will help increase visibility and make it easier for potential customers to find your business.
- Create Local Content – Creating content that is relevant to your local market can help increase your visibility and ranking. You can create content about local news and events, local economic trends, and more.
- Build Local Links – Getting links from local businesses and websites can help boost your local SEO. You can do this by guest blogging, sponsoring events, and more.
- Optimise Website for Mobile – It’s important to ensure your website is optimised for mobile users. This will make it easier for customers to find and use your services.
Establishing Authority Through Content
The financial services sector is extremely competitive, with hundreds of businesses fighting for the top spot in search engine results. With so many firms offering similar services, the challenge lies in distinguishing your brand from the rest. For instance, if you’re a mortgage broker, you’re not just competing with other brokers but also with banks, comparison sites, and financial advice websites. This intense competition necessitates a robust SEO strategy that can propel your website to the top of the SERPs.
Luckily, due to the huge subject matters covered by financial services, you can cover many topics – from personal finance and investment advice to insurance and banking services. And as these topics are inherently complex and require a deep understanding, there is plenty of scope to stamp your authority as the go-to resource for financial services information.
For example, explaining the intricacies of investment portfolios or the nuances of different insurance policies requires a level of expertise that not all content creators possess. Therefore, it’s crucial to create content that not only resonates with your audience’s needs but also simplifies complex financial jargon into understandable, actionable advice.
Given the specialised nature of financial services, working with a growth agency well-versed in financial services SEO is a significant advantage. They will understand the specific challenges and opportunities in the sector, from regulatory constraints to the latest industry trends. For instance, they would know how to navigate the compliance landscape while creating SEO-friendly content that adheres to industry rules. They will also be able to help you navigate the complexities of financial services SEO, from keyword research and link building to technical SEO and local SEO.
The Power of SEO in Lead Generation
SEO is a potent tool in the arsenal of any financial services firm, particularly when it comes to generating new B2B leads. By optimising your website and content for search engines, you can attract your target audience to your site and divert business from your competitors.
One of the key aspects of using SEO for lead generation is the creation of high-quality content. It should be relevant to your target audience and provide value to them. For instance, if you’re a financial services provider, you might create blog posts or white papers on industry trends, investment strategies, or regulatory changes. This type of content can attract other businesses looking for insights or solutions in the financial sector, leading them to your website.
Once you’ve attracted visitors to your site, the next step is to make them potential clients. This is where calls to action (CTAs) come into play. A good CTA will prompt visitors to take a specific action, such as signing up for a newsletter, downloading a white paper, or requesting a consultation. For example, at the end of a blog post, you might include a CTA like “Download our free guide to investment strategies” or “Book a free call”.
However, SEO can only take you so far in the sales process. After a visitor has expressed interest in your services by responding to a CTA, they should enter your sales funnel. You should have a tried and tested process through which leads can be nurtured and converted into paying clients. An effective sales funnel will likely involve follow-up emails, personalised content, and sales calls.
Other Financial Services Companies Are Already Getting Results From SEO
Not sure whether SEO is right for a financial services business? Just take a look at some of the top financial services companies on Google and see how they are using SEO to their advantage. Not only are they gaining more leads and conversions, but they are saving money by not needing to pay for ads.
Consider the leading financial services and management consulting company McKinsey & Company. The company saves thousands by focusing on keywords related to their business, and ranking higher on Google. In this case, each click would have cost the company roughly $6,800, but by optimising their website, McKinsey can reach more customers for a fraction of the cost with the help of a search engine optimisation company.
Key SEO KPIs for Financial Services
Monitoring Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are crucial to assess the effectiveness of your SEO strategy. These metrics provide valuable insights into how well your website is performing in search engine rankings and how users are interacting with your content. Here are some key SEO KPIs you should be tracking:
| KPI | Explanation | Example Tools |
| Keyword Ranking | This measures the position of your website in search engine results for specific keywords. A higher rank can lead to more visibility and traffic. | Google Search Console, SEMrush, Ahrefs |
| Impressions | Impressions refer to the number of times your website appears in search engine results. More impressions can indicate higher visibility. | Google Search Console |
| Organic Traffic | This refers to visitors who arrive at your website through unpaid search results. Increasing organic traffic is a key goal of SEO. | Google Analytics |
| Engagement Metrics | These include metrics like bounce rate, pages per session, and average session duration, which provide insights into how users interact with your site. | Google Analytics |
| Conversions from Organic Traffic | This measures the number of visitors from organic search who complete a desired action, such as filling out a contact form or making a purchase. | Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager |
By regularly monitoring these KPIs, you can gain a better understanding of your SEO performance and make informed decisions to improve your strategy. Remember, the goal of SEO is not just to increase traffic but to attract visitors who are genuinely interested in your services and likely to become clients. An SEO agency will look after this kind of tracking and provide you with reports containing not only key metrics but recommendations for improving SEO performance.
What Does an SEO Company Do?
Search engine optimisation for financial services takes a specialised skill set that only a professional SEO company can provide. An SEO company will analyse your website, research the best keywords, create content that is optimised for SEO, and build links to your website. The company will also develop an SEO strategy and track the progress of the SEO efforts to ensure that the website is ranking well and driving more organic traffic.
NUOPTIMA is one of the leading SEO companies that specialise in financial services. We have extensive experience in optimising financial services websites and helping them increase their visibility and organic traffic. Some of the key services we provide include:
Creating SEO-Optimised Content
We begin with researching the best keywords and creating content around them. We also optimise existing content and webpages for Google’s algorithms. This includes optimising the titles and meta descriptions, as well as making sure the website is optimised for mobile devices.
Link Placement
Link placement is also important for SEO. It involves getting other websites to link to your website, which helps increase its visibility in search engines. We identify high-quality websites that are related to your financial services business and then place links to your website on those websites.
Creating Necessary Pages
We also create the necessary pages for your website, such as About Us page, Privacy Policy page, and Terms of Service page. These pages help create trust with customers and make sure the website is compliant with Google’s guidelines.
Optimising Existing Content and Webpages
We also optimise existing content and webpages for Google’s algorithms. This includes optimising the titles and meta descriptions, as well as making sure the website is optimised for mobile devices.
Book a Discovery Call With NUOPTIMA
Search engine optimisation for financial services is the best way to increase visibility and drive more organic traffic to your website. If you are looking for an SEO company to help optimise your financial services website, then book a discovery call with NUOPTIMA today. We have a team of experienced SEO experts who specialise in optimising financial services websites and will help you get the best results.
Boost Your Financial Services with SEO
In the dynamic and fast-paced world of financial services, making your mark is crucial. With the right SEO strategies, your financial service can rise above the competition, attracting more potential customers, investors, and partners. SEO is not just about increasing website traffic; it’s about attracting the right kind of traffic – those who are actively interested in what your financial service has to offer. Don’t let your financial service’s potential get lost in the digital noise. Start your SEO journey with NUOPTIMA today and watch your growth accelerate.
FAQ
SEO is important for financial services because it helps improve their online visibility. With the right SEO strategies, a financial service’s website can rank higher in search engine results, attracting more potential customers, investors, and partners. It’s a cost-effective way to increase website traffic and generate awareness for your financial service.
SEO is a long-term strategy, and it often takes a few months to start showing results. However, once your website starts ranking higher in search results, it can retain those positions even if you pause your optimization efforts.
Local SEO is a strategy that helps businesses rank higher in local search results. For financial services, this means appearing in search results when potential customers or investors are looking for financial services in their local area. It’s a powerful way to attract local support and build a strong presence in your community.
NUOPTIMA provides a range of SEO services for financial services, including keyword research, high-quality content creation, link building, and technical SEO. These strategies can improve your website’s rankings, increase its relevance and credibility, and attract more support for your financial service.
You can get started with NUOPTIMA’s SEO services by booking a slot to talk to one of our SEO experts. We’ll discuss your needs and how we can use SEO strategies to improve your financial service’s website rankings.
