SEO for Industry

SEO for Financial Services

Learn the keys to effective SEO for financial services – optimize for user intent, build trust and expertise, focus on speed and mobile, earn quality backlinks, and track keyword rankings.

What is SEO for Financial Services?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is critical for financial services companies to attract new customers, build trust, and stand out from the competition online.

With so many banks, credit unions, insurance providers, and other financial institutions to choose from, having an effective SEO strategy can help your business connect with more qualified leads and grow revenue.

Focus on User Intent

The key to successful SEO in the financial space is understanding user intent. What are people searching for when they look for a bank, insurance, investments, loans, etc?

Then optimize your content to match those search queries and provide the information searchers want.

For example, someone searching for “best savings account interest rates” has different intent than a query like “how to open a business checking account.” Make sure your website content answers the questions for each of those searches.

Build Expertise and Trust

Financial services require expertise and trust.

Use your content to demonstrate knowledge in your field and build confidence in your brand. This means having in-depth articles on topics related to your products and services, thought leadership content like guides and ebooks, and bios for your management team.

Transparency is also important – be upfront about fees, rates, risks, and other details so visitors feel they can trust you.

Localize Your Financial Services SEO

For location-based searches like “credit union near me” or “financial advisor in Chicago”, optimizing for local SEO is key.

This includes having a Google My Business listing, creating location-specific landing pages, and using geo-targeted keywords. Ranking for local searches helps you connect with customers looking for financial services in your geographic area.

Make sure your NAP (name, address, phone number) information is consistent across directories like Google My Business, Apple Maps, and Bing Places for Business.

Optimize Site Speed

Site speed is a ranking factor, so having fast load times helps with SEO.

Trim large images, compress files, and optimize code to improve performance. Financial content with tables, charts, calculators and other dynamic elements can impact speed, so keep an eye on page size.

Focus on Mobile Optimization

With Google’s mobile-first indexing, optimizing for mobile search is mandatory. Use responsive design, limit pop-ups/interstitials, and check your site on mobile devices. Many financial service queries happen on smartphones.

Build Quality Backlinks

Relevant backlinks from trusted sites help search engines determine your authority on financial topics.

Guest post on industry blogs, partner with complementary businesses, and focus on securing backlinks from .gov, .edu, and other high-quality domains. Avoid low-quality links from spammy sites.

Monitor Your Rankings

Track keyword rankings regularly to see how your SEO efforts are paying off.

Are you gaining visibility for your target queries? Which pages are ranking? Use this data to shape your optimization strategy.

Top Financial Services Keywords

• best savings account interest rates
• free checking accounts
• credit cards for bad credit
• debt consolidation loans
• lowest mortgage rates
• financial advisor near me
• auto insurance quotes
• life insurance rates
• 401k rollover
• investing for beginners

How to Outrank Competitors

• Create longer, more comprehensive content than competitors – aim for 1500 words on critical topics
• Optimize pages for both informational and transactional keywords – informational content builds trust while transactional converts customers
• Focus on speed – financial sites with complex functionality can load slowly, giving a poor user experience
• Build links from high authority sites like finance blogs, newspapers, universities, and government resources
• Produce visual content like videos, infographics, and charts – these tend to attract links and engagement
• Localize content for geographic keywords by having location pages and optimized Google My Business listings
• Publish regularly to establish expertise and authority on financial topics

By out-optimizing competitors on key factors like content length, page speed, backlinks, and localization, your financial services site can gain an SEO advantage and rank higher in search results.

Key Takeaways

• Optimize for user intent with relevant, in-depth content
• Build expertise and trust through thought leadership
• Localize SEO for geographic keywords
• Improve site speed and mobile optimization
• Earn high-quality backlinks from trusted sources
• Monitor rankings for target keywords

With the right focus on these SEO best practices, your financial services website can earn more qualified visits and leads. SEO is an ongoing process, but the investment pays off by connecting your brand with more customers searching for your products online.