Are you working in the financial industry? It’s a very competitive industry. In fact, 50 percent of financial analysts in a class drop out by the time they reach the associate level. Moreover, selling financial products is even harder due to the high targets, and with millennials prefer saving money than investing, the market is quickly becoming scarce.
Don’t be discouraged if you work in this industry. There are many ways you can gain an advantage over your competitors, and we’ll share with you one of the best ways you can do that is called local search engine optimization (local SEO).
What is local SEO?
For many of you who work in financial institutions and markets, this could be the first time you have heard of local SEO. Let’s quickly discuss what it is to give you a better idea of how it can help you gain an advantage.
Local SEO optimizes the content of your website and social media platforms so they will rank better in search engines for a local audience. It’s a great way for financial advisers and other industry professionals to promote their products to people who are geographically near to them at the exact time they do a local search. According to Propelrr, five out of the top 10 “near me” searches are in the financial industry. That’s a huge potential for the finance industry to penetrate the digital landscape.
What are the benefits of local SEO for your financial business?
Wondering how local SEO can help your financial business? Take a look as we list down the benefits the financial industry can get out of local SEO.
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1. Better visibility in search engines - When you search online, have you noticed that you seldom reach the second page of the results? Do you know how many online users reach the second page? Only 0.78 percent click the second page!
The main reason why you’ll be doing local SEO is to make it easier for people to see your business online. The higher it ranks in search results, the better the chances that your potential customers will see you.
2. Increased online and foot traffic - When people don’t see your business, they can’t come to you. Local SEO strategies will help put your business out in the open. And because of that, business owners can expect an increase in online and foot traffic if they execute their strategies correctly, especially if your name, address, and phone numbers (NAP) are updated and consistent across all channels. An updated NAP will help the cause as it builds online consumers’ and Google’s trust in your business. Fintechs, like local SEO, is a great way to disrupt the domination of big banks in local areas.
3. Better brand authority - Did you know that businesses who get the number 1 spot in a search engine get 32.58 percent of online search traffic? That’s because links/websites on the top spot of the search engine results page (SERP) are considered an authority on whatever it is a user. It is searching for. And because you are the authority, you get a huge chunk of online visits.
4. Google My Business (GMB) page optimization increases map visibility - Want people to know where your bank’s branch is? A great way to inform people of your bank’s location or office is by optimizing your GMB page. The GMB page is usually shown at three locations online: 1. Google search page, 2. Google Maps, 3. in most online listings, like Google, Bing or Yelp.
People will get to see your business name, address, and phone number (NAP). The information is used by Google to show in searches and maps, making it easier for them to visit you or send you a message. Just make sure that your details and business category is correct so that Google won’t penalize you.
5. Increases your website’s rank in search engines - Local SEO requires you to optimize your content locally, website, and GMB page. As such, it’s safe to assume that your rank in search engines will go up if your local SEO strategy is executed properly. What this means for a financial business like yours is that your website and business are easier to find and discover by first-time and returning customers.
6. Local SEO reaches customers who are in need of your service - Unlike paid ads that intrude on the user experience, local SEO reaches customers who are in need of your financial service in an organic manner. Your business can be presented first to a person who has done an online query searching for a service similar to yours. It’s an efficient and cost-effective method of getting more reliable conversions, as well as building an online reputation and domain authority.
7. Local SEO is 100 percent free - Unlike running paid ads on social media platforms, local SEO is basically free to use for all. Setting up your GMB page is free, optimizing your content is something you can do for free using the many free online tools, and keeping your NAP consistent across all platforms is free. For someone working in a financial institution, it shouldn’t take much for you to realize that this is a good deal that can help you earn big.
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8. It’s easy to learn - SEO, in general, is relatively easy to learn compared to the number-crunching a financial business does. As mentioned, it’s basically free. Moreover, there are hundreds of blogs offering free resources to learn how to do SEO. If you’re worried about financial institution regulations, well, local SEO is the future of the digital world and Google takes care of those who break the rules.
9. Social sharing - With local SEO, the possibilities of building partnerships with other businesses are there through backlinks and social sharing. Doing this helps both your financial business and your partner. The more citations they do, the better it is for your business and for theirs.
10. Increase in repeat business - As mentioned, local SEO builds trust in Google and in your customers. And if you provide great customer service and value to them, the trust you’ve earned will turn into repeat customers and, of course, more profit for your business.
The fact that you can learn and use local SEO for free should be a great bargain for the many benefits you can get out of it for your business. These benefits should convince you to update your website and GMB page as soon as possible to reap the rewards of a Local SEO for your business.