Our NoGood team has worked with some of the world’s most innovative leaders in Fintech like Chime, Intuit, and Merlin, so we understand the nuances and unique pain points of marketing in a regulated industry.
In this blog, we’ll cover some of our top SEO strategies for fintech brands, driven by our own experiments and results.
Why SEO Matters for Fintech
Organic search accounts for 19.3% of the website traffic Fintech companies receive. A solid SEO strategy allows you to gain visibility at the top of search results without paying for expensive PPC ads.
Fintech topics typically fall under the Your Money, Your Life (YMYL) category for Google. This distinction is for topics where the information that Google provides has the potential to significantly impact your life – like healthcare, or finance.
As a result, it’s imperative that Fintech brands position themselves as trustworthy and authoritative to their customers and to Google by publishing website content that is accurate, true, and helpful.
The Fintech industry faces unique challenges such as complex regulations and technical jargon. SEO helps simplify these topics for users by creating accessible, user-focused content that aligns with both compliance requirements and search intent.
It helps you align your brand as a top choice for the challenges customers need solutions for. Through high-quality content production, you can position your brand as an authoritative source in your niche while building trust and brand recognition with your target customers.
7 Fintech SEO Strategies to Drive Traffic and Conversions
1. High-Quality H-E-E-A-T Content with Backlinks
As a Fintech brand, you face steep competition amongst other brands for recognition. There are many reputable brands fighting for the same audience. That’s why creating high-quality, authoritative content is so important.
It helps you communicate to both search engines and your target audience that you’re a trustworthy source for financial information. By continuously showing up in finance-related queries with valuable information, you’ll remain top of mind when customers are ready to choose a financial partner to entrust with their earnings.
As part of an SEO strategy, we build credibility and trustworthiness through H-E-A-T content:
- Helpfulness: The information presented answers the user’s query directly and provides substantial value.
- Expertise: The content demonstrates that the author has significant knowledge of the subject.
- Experience: The content contains examples of first hand experiences or knowledge obtained through experience.
- Authority: The content demonstrates reliability by citing other reputable sources.
- Trustworthiness: The content contains information that is reliable and factual.
For all blog content and FAQs, focus on providing direct, clear answers to users’ questions and pain points. When applicable, you can share examples of how your company approaches certain financial concerns to give customers more insight into your brand’s ethos and further build trust.
As you begin to build authority for your blog posts, utilize internal links to transfer link authority from one page to another. When incorporating internal links, use descriptive anchor text and naturally include them throughout your blog.
To effectively incorporate a backlinking strategy on your website, you need to link lower authority pages to pages with higher authority. You can check a page’s authority by using a tool like Ahrefs or Semrush to check the URL rating. In Ahrefs Site Explorer, you can filter pages by “Best by links” to show the pages with the highest URL Rating and backlink profile.
2. Niche Keyword Research Without Duplicate Content
When creating content on topics like banking and credit cards, it can be difficult to target niche keywords without creating duplicate content. Many of the Fintech keywords contain similar phrasing, making it more difficult to target certain topics.
To start your keyword planning, create a keyword list within a platform like Ahrefs or Semrush. When choosing keywords, focus on long-tail keywords and monitor the search intent of the keywords.
Long-tail keywords are great for two reasons. First, they’re usually easier to rank for. Second, they can help you avoid duplicate content issues by making your blogs more specific. Search intent can also help you avoid duplicate content issues.
For example, if a keyword has commercial intent, you should target it with a landing page for your product or service. This is because commercial intent signifies users are looking to compare offerings from different companies.
If a keyword has informational intent, you should target it with a blog post. This is where you can educate potential customers with helpful information.
There are often keywords that are very similar but have different search intents, so knowing how to target them helps differentiate your new content from both any existing content you have and competitors’ content.
3. Optimizing for AI Overviews
Much like other verticals in Fintech marketing, SEO for Fintech is about building top-of-funnel (TOF) brand awareness. This means positioning your brand as a go-to source for as many searches related to your niche as possible.
Financial queries often return AI Overviews because users want quick, helpful answers to these types of questions. The good news is, you can rank in AI overviews and appear in that highly sought after real estate at the top of the search results even if your content isn’t ranking number one organically.
Your first step is to find which keywords trigger AI Overviews. You can do this in Ahrefs or Semrush by filtering for specific SERP features and selecting AI Overview. Make a list of the keywords in your niche with an AI Overview, then focus on creating content to target them.
AI Overviews are extremely dynamic. The search results are always changing so tools like Ahrefs and Semrush don’t always provide the most updated information about keywords with AI overviews. These tools are a good starting point to find keywords that trigger AI overviews, just make sure you verify the information by checking the SERP before you start creating content.
Best Practices for Optimizing for AI Overviews
- Use question-based headers to align with user queries
- Answer user questions directly and concisely underneath each question-based header
- Format content in lists, tables, and short paragraphs for better scanning by AI algorithms
- Review the AI Overview for the keyword and ensure your content answers all the questions the AI Overview provides information for
- Answer questions from the People Also Ask SERP feature to differentiate and deepen the scope of your blog topic
4. Multimedia Content
Multimedia content is a ranking factor for Bing, and it also provides a ranking opportunity for your videos to be featured in AI Overviews and the video panel. Video is a valuable tool for Fintech brands to help explain complex financial topics to users. Brands can also use this as an opportunity to showcase their brand voice and ethos while educating potential customers.
You can start by repurposing TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube videos. Find videos that align with your blog posts and landing pages, then embed those videos directly into those pages.
The video embed accomplishes three goals:
- It provides a helpful explanation for users and supports the information in your blog post.
- It improves your ranking opportunities in SERP features like AI Overviews and video panels.
- It communicates social signals to Bing, which is a direct ranking factor for this search engine.
5. Conduct Technical SEO Optimizations
Conducting technical SEO optimizations ensures your website is fast, secure, mobile-friendly, and easily crawlable by search engines. These optimizations are key in the Fintech industry, where trust, compliance, and user experience are priority.
If customers use your website to complete transactions and manage their accounts, it is extremely important for your website to be fast, reliable, secure, and user friendly.
6 Technical SEO Optimizations for Fintech Brands
1. Improve Website Speed
Why It Matters: Fintech users expect fast-loading websites; delays can lead to higher bounce rates and lower conversions.
How to Optimize:
- Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to identify performance issues.
- Compress images and enable browser caching.
- Minimize HTTP requests and reduce unnecessary code.
- Implement a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to improve load times globally.
2. Ensure Mobile Responsiveness
Why It Matters: With over 60% of global web traffic coming from mobile devices, Fintech websites need to provide seamless mobile experiences.
How to Optimize:
- Use responsive design frameworks to ensure your website adapts to all screen sizes.
- Test mobile usability with Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool.
- Consider Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) for faster mobile load times.
3. Strengthen Website Security
Why It Matters: Security is critical for fintech brands handling sensitive financial data. Google also prioritizes HTTPS-secured sites in rankings.
How to Optimize:
- Install an SSL certificate for HTTPS encryption.
- Regularly update software and plugins to prevent vulnerabilities.
- Implement two-factor authentication (2FA) for user accounts.
4. Optimize Core Web Vitals
Why It Matters: Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID, CLS) impact both user experience and search engine rankings.
How to Optimize:
- Enhance page load speed by optimizing server response times.
- Improve interactivity by minimizing JavaScript execution.
- Ensure visual stability by specifying dimensions for images and videos.
5. Implement Structured Data (Schema Markup)
Why It Matters: Schema markup helps search engines understand your content better and display rich snippets in search results, increasing visibility. It also increases your chances of being featured in voice search results.
How to Optimize:
- Add schema for financial services, customer reviews, FAQs, and events – where applicable.
- Use tools like Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper for implementation.
- Test schema with Google’s Rich Results Test.
6. Fix Crawlability Issues
Why It Matters: Search engines need to crawl and index your site efficiently to rank it effectively. Fintech websites often have several security features in place to protect transactions and customer data. This can potentially pose crawling issues if the algorithm encounters issues with the security wall.
How to Optimize:
- Conduct regular audits using tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs to identify broken links and errors.
- Create an XML sitemap and submit it via Google Search Console.
- Ensure a clean robots.txt file that doesn’t block important pages.
6. On Page Optimization
On-page optimizations involve improving readability, user experience, and helpfulness of your content. They also include optimizing image size for faster loading and adding internal links to build authority.
5 On-Page Optimizations for Fintech Brands
1. Enhance Readability
Why It Matters: Fintech topics can often be dense; simplifying them improves user engagement and retention.
How to Optimize:
- Use short sentences and paragraphs.
- Include visuals like infographics or charts to explain complex concepts.
- Format text with bolding or italics for emphasis where needed.
2. Structure Content Effectively
Why It Matters: Clear and organized content improves readability for users and helps search engines understand your page.
How to Optimize:
- Use a single H1 tag per page with the primary keyword.
- Incorporate target keywords naturally into H2 and H3 headings.
- Break up dense fintech topics with bullet points, numbered lists, and short paragraphs.
3. Add Internal Links
Why It Matters: Internal links help distribute link equity across your site and improve navigation for users. A strong internal linking strategy allows you to gain more visibility in search results by outranking competitors.
How to Optimize:
- Link relevant blog posts, product pages, or resources within your content.
- Use descriptive anchor text that includes keywords naturally.
4. Add FAQs to Blogs and Landing pages
Why It Matters: FAQs directly address user questions, are often featured in AI Overviews, and read aloud in voice search results. This is an opportunity to build trust with your customers by showcasing your expertise in the finance industry. You can answer questions related to security, compliance, and specific Fintech services.
How to Optimize:
- Include a dedicated FAQ section addressing common user queries.
- Use structured data markup (FAQ schema) to make these questions eligible for rich results like featured snippers and AI overview.
5. Optimize Metadata
Why It Matters: Titles and meta descriptions are the first elements users see in search results, influencing click-through rates (CTR). Optimizing your title tags and meta descriptions provides an opportunity to persuade users to click your website over one of your Fintech competitors.
How to Optimize:
- Include primary keywords in title tags and meta descriptions.
- Keep title tags under 60 characters and meta descriptions under 160 characters.
- Make metadata compelling and accurately reflective of the page content.
7. Optimize Landing Pages for Bottom-of-Funnel (BOF) Conversions
Now that you have used the first 6 strategies above to build authority and brand awareness, you can optimize your landing pages for bottom-of-funnel conversions.
The first screen of your landing page should have a short, easy-to-read description of your key offerings with a clear CTA to sign up or get more information about your product.
Next, you’ll provide information about how your product works, the results customers can achieve by using your product, and why they should choose your product over competitors. Make your descriptions concise yet informative and include keywords strategically placed throughout each paragraph.
When it comes to finance, many people have questions about how transactions and account management work. Each brand does it differently, so highlight how it’s done with your brand.
The more questions you can answer for users up front, the more they will place trust in you and consider you as a financial partner.
At the bottom of your landing page, you should have an FAQ section with topics related to security, account management, transitions, compliance, and regulations.
Measuring SEO Performance for Fintech
Measuring your SEO performance is key to understanding your customers and how to align your content with their unique challenges.
The tools that are the most helpful to track SEO performance are Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and a third-party tool like Ahrefs or Semrush.
Key Metrics for Tracking SEO Performance
- Organic Traffic: Tracks the number of visitors arriving through search engines.
- Keyword Rankings: Monitors the rankings of target keywords in search engine results.
- AI Overview Rankings: Monitors how frequently your website appears in AI Overviews. For Fintech, building brand awareness is important, and AI Overviews can help you achieve it.
- Conversions and Conversion Rate: Tools like Google Analytics can track form submissions, sign-ups, or purchases. You can then compare your conversion rates to Fintech industry benchmarks.
- Bounce Rate and Dwell Time: A high bounce rate may indicate irrelevant content or poor user experience, while longer dwell times suggest engaging content.
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): Reflects how compelling your meta titles and descriptions are in driving clicks from search engine results pages (SERPs).
- Backlink Profile: Measures the quantity and quality of backlinks pointing to your site, which impacts domain authority and trustworthiness which is crucial for fintech.
- Core Web Vitals: Includes metrics like Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), which assess site speed, interactivity, and visual stability. Website speed is essential to keep customers happy while managing their accounts and making transactions.
Fintech SEO Is a Continuous Process
Fintech SEO is not a one-time task, but an ongoing process. The dynamic nature of the industry, coupled with continuous updates to search engine algorithms, means that consistent monitoring, adaptation, and optimization are essential to stay compliant.
By staying informed about industry trends, regularly analyzing your SEO performance, and proactively adjusting your strategies, you can maintain a competitive edge and ensure your fintech brand continues to attract and engage your target audience effectively. View SEO not as a project, but as a continuous investment in your brand’s long-term success and visibility.
If you need to refine your Fintech Strategy, our growth experts can help. Feel free to drop us a line.
