SEO for Financial Services

The financial services sector is one of the most competitive SEO markets in Australia.

Given how lucrative leads in the financial services sector can be and the incredibly high cost of paid marketing channels like Google Ads, this creates a flow-on effect in which financial services companies have been investing heavily in their SEO strategy for years.

As a result, SEO for financial services providers is an incredibly mature niche, with companies that perform well in this space having strong SEO strategies they have been working on for years.

As a general rule, the more valuable a lead is, the more competitive the industry will be for SEO. Given that the value of a new client in the financial services space can run into five, six, or even seven figures, the result is fierce competition.

SEO for financial service providers are exactly what the name suggests – search engine optimisation strategies that are designed to help companies in the financial service space increase their online visibility, attract high-quality leads, and build trust with prospective clients.

Despite what some SEO companies would have you believe, the basic principles that go into an SEO strategy for a financial services company are not completely different to those in a different space. Some companies are marketing themselves as “specialist financial service providers” simply because they want to attract clients in that niche.

Just like any other industry, performing at the top of the organic search results in the financial services space will depend on the strength of your onsite, offsite, technical, and content strategies. These are the four pillars of SEO, and they apply across every single industry.

So whilst it is generally true that SEO for financial services businesses is largely the same as for most of the industry, it is worth noting that businesses in the finance space are heavily regulated and fall under the Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) category outlined in Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines.

Essentially, this means that industries in the Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) category, such as finance and health, are subject to greater scrutiny because inaccurate or misleading information can cause harm.

Think of it this way: a plumbing company publishing an online step-by-step guide to fixing your tap would not be subject to YMYL scrutiny because the outcome does not directly affect someone’s health or financial status.

Conversely, a financial advisor who provides information on how to apply for a loan or which credit cards to apply for can directly impact someone’s financial status and overall well-being and is therefore subject to a different, more stringent content quality assessment.

SEO is an essential digital marketing strategy for financial service providers because it drives free organic website traffic that increases brand awareness and reduces reliance on paid marketing channels.

Finance is one of the most competitive SEO industries due to the prohibitively expensive cost of paid marketing channels in the finance space. Where some industries may only pay a few dollars per click, financial service providers can sometimes pay in excess of $50 to $100 for a single click. Extortionately high PPC costs mean that SEO is the most cost-effective way to generate leads in search engines.

Data confirms that 99% of all organic clicks go to websites on the first page of Google. That means that when users search for keywords relevant to the financial products or service that you offer, you need to show up on the first page of the search results. If your website is not front and centre when users are looking for the goods or services that you offer, then you have a less than 1% chance of being found.

SEO isn’t just important for financial service providers on a cost front – it’s also essential for winning trust. According to the latest data, 2/3 of all users will completely ignore ads and seek out businesses in the organic search results. Organic search has a higher level of trust with users which means SEO improves credibility and drives significantly higher conversion rates for financial service providers.