Financial services companies operate in a highly competitive industry. SEO is crucial for any financial services company looking to stand out and drive more traffic to its website. Advanced SEO for financial services involves optimizing your website to improve its visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs) and increase organic traffic.
Keyword research is the foundation of any successful SEO strategy. Identifying the keywords and phrases that your target audience is using to search for financial products and services is critical to attracting qualified traffic to your site. In the financial services industry, the most commonly searched keywords include:
- Banking
- Credit cards
- Investments
- Insurance
- Mortgages
- Loans
- Retirement planning
However, simply targeting these broad keywords may not be enough to drive qualified traffic to your site. Long-tail keywords are more specific phrases that are less competitive and more likely to attract qualified traffic to your site. For example, instead of targeting a broad keyword like “credit cards,” you might target a more specific long-tail keyword like “low-interest credit cards for college students.” Long-tail keywords can also help you establish your brand as an authority in a particular niche or area of expertise.
Keyword Research
Keyword research involves identifying the keywords, phrases, and queries that your target audience is using when searching. These keywords then need to be incorporated into your website’s content and structure.
There are several tools available for conducting keyword research, including Google’s Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz Keyword Explorer. These tools can provide valuable insights into keyword search volume, competition, and potential for ranking.
When conducting keyword research for financial services, it’s important to consider both broad and specific keywords. Broad keywords, such as “credit cards” or “mortgages,” may have high search volumes but can also be very competitive, making it difficult to rank for them. Specific keywords, on the other hand, are longer, more detailed phrases that may have lower search volumes, but can be easier to rank for and attract more qualified traffic.
Again, as an example, instead of targeting the broad keyword “credit cards,” you might target a more specific long-tail keyword like “secured credit cards for bad credit.” By targeting these specific keywords, you can attract more qualified traffic to your site and improve your chances of ranking higher on SERPs.
When selecting keywords for your financial services website, it’s important to keep the following factors in mind:
- Search volume: Choose keywords that have a high search volume to ensure that your content will be seen by a significant number of users.
- Relevance: Ensure that your keywords are relevant to your target audience and the financial products and services you offer.
- Competition: Choose keywords that have low to moderate competition to improve your chances of ranking higher on SERPs for them.
- Long-tail keywords: Target long-tail keywords to attract more qualified traffic and establish your brand as an authority in a particular niche or area of expertise.
Keyword research is an ongoing process, and it’s important to regularly revisit your keyword strategy to ensure that it is aligned with your target audience’s needs and search habits. By staying up-to-date with your keyword strategy, you can optimize your website’s content and structure to attract more qualified traffic and improve your search engine rankings.
On-Page Optimization
On-page optimization involves optimizing your website’s content and structure to improve its visibility on search engines.
There are several factors that can impact your website’s search engine rankings, including:
- Title tags: These are the titles that appear on SERPs and at the top of web browsers. Your title tags should be concise, descriptive, and contain your target keywords.
- Meta descriptions: These are brief descriptions that appear below the title tag on SERPs. They should be compelling and contain your target keywords.
- Header tags: These are the headings (H1, H2, H3, etc.) that break up your content. They help search engines understand the structure of your content and can improve your website’s readability.
- Keyword placement: Make sure to include your target keywords in your content, including your headings and subheadings, without overstuffing them.
- Content optimization: Your content should be high-quality, relevant, and engaging to your target audience. This can help improve your website’s dwell time and reduce bounce rate, both of which can improve your search engine rankings.
In addition to these factors, there are several other on-page optimization strategies that financial services companies should consider, including:
- URL structure: Your website’s URL structure should be logical and easy to read, with relevant keywords where appropriate.
- Internal linking: Link to other pages on your website where appropriate to improve your website’s structure and make it easier for search engines to crawl and index your content.
- Schema markup: Adding schema markup to your website’s HTML can help search engines better understand the content and structure of your website.
Off-Page Optimization
Off-page optimization refers to the actions you take outside of your website to improve its visibility on search engines. This includes link-building, social media marketing, and other promotional activities.
Link building involves acquiring backlinks from other websites to your own. These backlinks signal to search engines that your website is authoritative and trustworthy.
Some effective link-building strategies for financial services companies include:
- Guest posting: Writing guest blog posts for other websites in your industry can help you earn high-quality backlinks and establish your expertise.
- Content promotion: Sharing your content on social media and other channels can help you attract more links and drive traffic to your site.
- Influencer outreach: Collaborating with influencers in your industry can help you reach a wider audience and earn high-quality backlinks.
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing can also be an effective off-page optimization strategy for financial services companies. By engaging with your target audience on social media platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, you can build brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, and establish your authority in your industry.
To make the most of your social media efforts, you should:
- Choose the right platforms: Identify the social media platforms that your target audience is most active on and focus your efforts on those platforms.
- Create engaging content: Share relevant and valuable content that resonates with your target audience. This can help you build a loyal following and drive traffic to your site.
- Engage with your audience: Respond to comments, messages, and mentions promptly to build a rapport with your audience and establish your brand as approachable and customer-focused.
Advanced SEO Best Practices for Financial Services Companies
To get the most out of your SEO efforts, there are several best practices that financial services companies should follow:
- Stay up-to-date with algorithm updates: Search engine algorithms are constantly evolving, so it’s important to stay up-to-date with the latest updates and changes. This can help you avoid penalties and maintain your search engine rankings.
- Focus on user experience: Your website should be easy to navigate and use, with a clear hierarchy and logical organization. This can help improve your dwell time and reduce your bounce rate, both of which can improve your search engine rankings.
- Optimize for mobile: More and more consumers are accessing the internet on mobile devices, so it’s essential that your website is optimized for mobile. This includes having a responsive design and fast page load times.
- Perform regular keyword analysis: Your target keywords and phrases may change over time, so it’s important to perform regular keyword analysis to stay up-to-date with your target audience’s needs and search habits.
Conversion Optimization
Finally, conversion optimization is critical for financial services companies looking to get the most out of their advanced SEO efforts. Conversion optimization involves optimizing your website’s design and content to improve its ability to convert visitors into leads or customers.
To improve your website’s conversion rate, you should:
- Create clear calls-to-action: Your website should have clear, prominent calls-to-action (CTAs) that guide visitors toward your desired action, whether that’s filling out a form or making a purchase.
- Use social proof: Testimonials, case studies, and other forms of social proof can help establish your authority and build trust with your target audience.
- Optimize your forms: Your lead capture forms should be easy to use and optimized for conversions. This may involve reducing the number of form fields, optimizing the design and layout, or adding a progress bar.
Conclusion
Effective SEO is essential for financial services companies looking to compete in the online space. By following advanced SEO techniques like keyword research, on-page and off-page optimization, link building, and content marketing, you can improve your SERP rankings, drive more organic traffic to your site, and increase conversions. By focusing on conversion optimization, you can further improve the ROI of your SEO efforts and drive sustainable growth for your business.
At Datawyze, we have helped numerous companies achieve top positions in Google SERPs for relevant local keywords through our advanced SEO techniques. By implementing a comprehensive SEO strategy that includes keyword research, on-page optimization, off-page optimization, and conversion optimization, we have been able to drive sustainable growth for our clients in the financial services industry.
For example, we were able to consistently generate over 3,000 total monthly leads for a financial services client that specializes in alternative lending solutions. Through our content creation, guest posting, and backlinking strategies, we were able to improve their visibility on search engines and attract more qualified traffic to their website. Our conversion optimization strategies helped improve their website’s ability to convert visitors into leads, ultimately leading to increased business and revenue growth.
To learn more about our successful SEO strategies for financial services companies, we encourage you to download and read our case study on how we helped our client achieve sustainable growth through advanced SEO techniques. Contact us today to see how we can help you achieve similar results for your financial services business.
