A huge factor in financial marketing success is being able to rank for the keywords your target audience is searching for on Google.
Appearing in the top positions can seem like an unattainable fantasy, especially when you’re releasing a new website on a fairly modest budget, and within a specialist niche.
Well, the good news is that this doesn’t have to be an impossible dream. One of the best ways to achieve it is to find “long tail” keywords, and drive your position higher in Google for these specific queries.
What are long tail keywords, you ask? They’re the longer, often weird and wonderful things people type into Google which go beyond broad phrases, such as “financial adviser” or “wealth manager”.
They might include, for instance, rather phrases like “qrops financial adviser london”, or “income protection adviser in [X location]”.
These keywords are often lower in search volume than broader ones. However, because they often ask a specific question or reflect a particular need, they can often convert more easily.
They can also be easier to rank for in your financial marketing, because your competitors might not have noticed them. Or they’re giving the keyword less attention than it deserves.
How To Research Long Tail Keywords
One study by Statista shows that 50% of your efforts should be on long-tail keywords in order to conduct successful on-site optimisation. Why? Because users use long-tail search queries when they are serious about a topic.
A long-tail keyword should be a minimum of 4 words. To find them and include them in your financial marketing strategy, start small.
Use “seed keywords” in the AdWords Keyword Planner to unveil some longer search queries. For instance, if you’re looking to target “financial adviser”, one longer keyword you might find could include “defined benefit financial adviser.”
Make a list of the ones you need, just make sure it’s relevant. Another resource you might one to use is 7Search, which can generate up to 50 variations of your seed keyword. Finally, another route is to try some of your keywords in Google’s search engine, and look at the search suggestions at the bottom of the page.
Once you have your list, create a single piece of content where you use your long tail keywords in subtitles and bullet points.
Keep an eye out for descriptive long tail keywords to use in your financial marketing, as these users are generally more qualified.
Don’t be put off by the low search volumes for many of these keywords. Did you know, for instance, that between 15-20% of daily Google searches are for brand new phrases that the search engine hasn’t seen before? Also, long tail keywords comprise 40% of all search traffic online.
Choose the most promising keywords
Now you have your list ready, it’s time to actually start incorporating them effectively onto your website. Here are some general guidelines to consider when going forward:
#1 Be wary of higher volume keywords. These are almost always harder to rank for, due to increased competition.
#2 If your site is over a year old, consider mid-volume keywords. Your financial marketing will better placed to play in this ball park when you have an older website with some domain authority behind you.
#3 Target overlapping keywords on one web page. For instance, on our website we might target the following keywords in one blog: financial marketing consultant, financial marketer, financial marketing strategy, and financial adviser marketing. Try and limit the keywords you target on one page to 3 or 5. No need to go crazy at this stage.
Are you an IFA, wealth manager or financial planner looking to take your financial marketing to the next level? Find out more about what we offer.
Phil Teale is the Sales & Marketing Manager at MarketingAdviser, an agency specialising in marketing for financial services – and especially for financial advisers. Along with our sister company, CreativeAdviser, we also provide bespoke website design, branding, graphic design and video production services to financial clients.
Contact us on 01923 232840 or email me: phil@creativeadviser.co.uk