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Why Should Banks Prioritize SEO?

Banking CIO Outlook | Thursday, August 20, 2020

By leveraging SEO capabilities, banks can not only deliver their sales and marketing campaigns at scale but also find and engage new customers.

FREEMONT, CA: Although it has changed throughout the years, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for banks has always been a more-than-vital marketing channel. The position of the bank in the search engine index determines its popularity among the customers. More than 90 percent of all traffic actually comes from search engines. A bank that has a website that is optimized will be able to get a great deal of traffic and acquire new leads at low costs. This is where best practice SEO comes into play. In the ever-changing world of SEO and consumer search habits, there are a few best practices that are critical for enhancing banks’ online search presence.

To begin with, a solid keyword strategy is crucial. When it comes to keywords, banks must remember that they cannot be everything to everyone. Banks' SEO specialists must focus on what banks do the best, and use that for formulating keywords around customer questions and needs. With a keyword strategy in place, the next step includes optimizing the static content on pages. The banks’ content should line up with keyword strategy and drive visitors down the conversion funnel.

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Local SEO includes claiming listings, review generation, and monitoring. Local SEO is essential for banks with local branches as it helps keep each branch and ATM’s information up to date. This includes the contact address and operating hours of each branch or ATM. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) is an essential addition to any successful digital marketing strategy. PPC can be used to get the bank at the top of the search results page with the flip of a switch.  Meeting customers at their point of need via appearing in their search results will build long-term relationships and ensure banks to stay top of mind when customers need financial services. 

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