Many financial planners and similar firms are vaguely aware that regular blog posts, updates and content additions to their website can help their search engine rankings. Yet how does this all work, exactly? Moreover, what are the benefits and what sort of commitment in time and resources does this involve?
At CreativeAdviser, we specialise in financial copywriting and newsletters for UK financial services firms, so we have a good deal of knowledge to share on this subject. We’ll be tackling each of these questions below, and invite you to get in touch if you’d like to discuss your financial firm’s marketing strategy with a member of our team.
How Financial Copywriting & SEO Work
Have you ever visited a competitor’s financial website and wondered how on earth they could get away with such poor writing? It’s very off-putting to the target audience, who instinctively think: “If these people cannot even spell or express themselves properly, how can I trust them with my savings, pension or investments?”
Naturally, this reaction typically has a big, negative impact on this company’s branding – perhaps leading the website visitor to walk away. This, in turn, can have a detrimental effect on the firm’s search engine optimisation (SEO) efforts. Why? Because Google partly determines your website’s position in its search engine results based on how people engage with your content.
If you have a good click-through-rate (CTR) on your search engine results, for instance, then Google is likely to see that as a positive sign of user engagement and so boost your rankings. Moreover, if these users then go on to stay for longer periods on your website, then Google is also likely to take that as a positive ranking signal.
The reverse is also true, however. Poor CTRs on your website links and low “dwelling times” on your pages is likely to signal to Google that your content isn’t really cutting it for your audience. As a result, your search engine rankings are likely to suffer.
Of course, a lot of things will affect your CTR and dwelling times. For instance, your website’s design and layout are important, as is the quality and style of your branding. Your value proposition is also crucial; i.e. your offering needs to really appeal to the audience.
However, to support and underpin all of this you also need really great financial copywriting to express who you are, what you offer, how you do it, what makes you different and why it’s important.
What are the Benefits?
We have touched on some of these points already, but here are the benefits of a strong financial copywriting profile on your website:
- Higher perceived prestige, relevance and quality by your target audience.
- Longer dwelling times on your pages.
- More “traffic flow” between your website’s pages and content.
- A higher likelihood of strong conversion rates (CVR) on your website (i.e. more leads!).
- Strong search engine rankings in Google, leading to more brand exposure and engagement.
- A higher likelihood of achieving greater market share, as more people become aware of your brand and have increased confidence in its thought leadership. Think, for instance, of how Martin Lewis’s content strategy on moneysavingexpert.com has helped to propel him into a market leader.
- Increased retention from existing clients who read your articles, content and guides. As a result, their confidence in your brand grows and relationships are strengthened.
- Increased chance of client referrals, due to higher confidence and trust in your brand.
Time & Resource Commitments
How much work is involved when it comes to producing a viable financial newsletter or content strategy for your financial firm? Naturally, it varies from firm to firm.
First of all, you need to establish your goals with your financial copywriting. For instance, is the goal primarily to knock a competitor out of the top spot in relevant, local Google search results? Or, is the goal primarily to engage existing clients with great content in order to encourage retention and referrals? Do you have a set of goals for your financial copywriting, and if so what’s the order of priority?
This will have a big impact on the type of content you need to produce, who it is for, how long/extensive the content will be, which subjects you will talk about and what kind of unique angle/perspective you will bring (in order to make your voice stand out from the noise).
Secondly, what kind of time and resource can you realistically commit to your financial content or copywriting strategy? Will you need outside help, or do you plan to do everything internally?
It might seem cheaper to take a “DIY approach” to your financial copywriting. After all, you know the subject matter very well – so it’s probably best that you write it, right? That can certainly make sense if you are considering a range of external copywriters who do not understand the intricacies of your particular corner of the financial sector. However, if you are able to find a financial copywriter who can confidently write on the topics you need to cover (e.g. pension, investments etc.), then it might actually free up a lot more of your time to outsource the strategy and legwork to an experienced writer.
Here at CreativeAdviser, we can offer this service to a range of financial firms – and to investment management and financial planning firms in particular. We have a strong set of writers who have spent many years producing content on topics such as QROPS, pension transfers, inheritance tax, money tips, mortgages, wealth management, EIS/SEIS and much more.
If you are interested in discussing your financial copywriting strategy with us, then we’d be delighted to talk to you and offer a free consultation (no-commitment). One of the main challenges of writing for financial services is conveying “meaty” subject matter which informs and educates your clients, without confusing them with jargon. We can help you achieve this balance.
