The finance industry is one of the most competitive in the whole world, which is not a surprise considering the sums of money that people and companies within the industry can earn. As a result, it is important that finance companies do all they can to get a fair competitive advantage over their rivals.
One of the key ways they can do this is by looking to maximise their SEO efforts. What should finance companies be doing to strengthen themselves in this area?
Consider Professional Help
The nature of the finance industry is such that those working within it are better when they focus on the job at hand. While finance companies will have marketing departments and various other areas of the business, something like SEO is probably better to outsource.
In order to get more from their SEO and so they can concentrate on their business, financial companies should simply look to hire an SEO company to take care of everything on their behalf. This means one strand of their marketing is taken care of and doesn’t need to ever be on the company agenda.
Think Target Audience
All financial businesses know who their target audience is, whether they are a wealth and asset manager or they work in the private equity industry. The trouble is that many financial websites are basically an identikit of each other, and all target the same keywords and have the same layout.
By thinking about how web design, keyword optimisation, and other technical factors are geared towards their target audience, financial companies would find their SEO works much better in their favour.
Blog Maintenance
Content is the big SEO driver at the moment, and maintaining a blog section is a huge quick win that many SEO companies could easily take advantage of. They wouldn’t necessarily need to put a great deal of effort into it, either, they could simply look to write news stories about the industry and use other sources for most of the content, but write it in their own words.
Financial companies could also be well served by using blogs on other platforms, such as Blogger and Live Journal, in order to boost their SEO performance.
Social Media
Maintaining a social media presence is crucial for all businesses, but for those in the finance industry it could prove a great way not only to boost their online visibility but also to make the industry more open and understandable to the wider public. It is also an idea for individuals who work within the finance industry to have accounts so they can push people to their company.
ACPI co-founder Brett Lankester is one example of a finance professional who does this, and many others could benefit on a personal level while also increasing exposure for their companies.
Even finance businesses that are currently doing well will be able to see added benefits when they take advantage of the opportunities that SEO can provide. If you’re involved with a finance company, start talking now about increasing your online presence.
Featured images:
- License: Creative Commons and Flickr
Stan Jackson is a financial analyst who is bemused at how little his company uses SEO as well as other digital marketing tools like social media to best effect. Stan lives in London with his wife and their three children.
