For many marketers – even experienced ones – Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can seem like a topic suited only to Fortune 100 companies. Not true. Granted, utilizing SEO across the entire spectrum of a company’s digital presence is far from simple, but 1) it can be achieved with a bit of work, and 2) it’s an absolutely essential process for community banks.
As a community bank marketer, you can increase your visibility on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) and drive traffic to your digital platforms by optimizing your website, blog, newsletter, and social media content. While our discussion of SEO best practices here is far from exhaustive, it will – at least, hopefully – acquaint you with some of the practice’s basic tenets and get you started on your way to optimizing your content efficiently.
A: Audit and Analyze
Before you can improve your SEO, you need to understand where your website and digital content currently stands as a benchmark. Conducting an SEO audit is the first step to optimizing your online presence.
- Assess current performance: Use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to analyze traffic, bounce rates, and keyword rankings. This data will highlight areas that need improvement.
- Research keywords: Identify keywords and phrases your customers are searching for. Tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs can help you discover terms relevant to banking, such as “local mortgage rates,” “small business loans,” or “savings account tips.” Focus on long-tail keywords that reflect your unique services and geographic location – the more specific your keywords are, the better chance you’ll have in ranking for them.
- Watch competitors: Take a look at your competitors’ websites to see which keywords they’re targeting and which pages are performing well. Assessing the performance of a competitor's web page involves analyzing its traffic, user engagement, search visibility, and other key metrics. Again, tools such as SEMrush, Ahrefs, and SimilarWeb can provide insights into SEO performance indicators, such as organic traffic, keyword rankings, backlinks, view times, and more. Tools such as BuzzSumo can even help you see how often the content has been shared on social media platforms.
B: Build Better Content
Yes, content is king. We’ve talked about this many times before because, frankly, optimization relies on great content more than anything else. Any content can be optimized, that’s easy enough. The real challenge here is creating content that is worth viewing and acting upon.
To sum up, sort of, creating high-quality, keyword-rich content is the cornerstone of any SEO strategy. So, as a community bank marketer, how do you go about ensuring that your content is best-in-class and keyword-rich? Here a few key content types and suggestions on how to make the most of them:
- Website: According to Google, page load time can significantly impact user experience and search rankings. Ensure your site is mobile-friendly and fast-loading. (There are “speed checker” programs out there that will tell you if your site loads slowly or quickly). Include clear calls-to-action (CTAs) that encourage visitors to engage with your bank, ideally CTAs that can lead to scheduling a consultation or opening an account online. Use meta descriptions, alt text for images, and proper header tags to improve readability and enhance your ranking on SERPs.
- Blog Posts: Share helpful articles about financial topics relevant to your target audience, such as “5 Ways to Save for a New Home” or “How to Apply for an Agricultural Loan.” Include internal links to other pages on your site to guide the reader and boost engagement. Post consistently to establish authority, maintain audience interest, and build relationships with your readers. Make sure your articles are tailored around those keywords you found in your research in part “A.”
- Newsletters and emails: First, optimize your subject lines and headings with target keywords – try your hand at A/B testing and see which types resonate with your audience. Make sure that the content you’re providing has value. Updates on products and services, financial guidance, and upcoming community events are popular topics that are proven to engage readers. Include links back to your website for more detailed information than what is offered in the newsletter or email, thus generating additional site traffic.
- Social Media: How you approach your social messaging is critical. It’s where the world is heading – or more to the point, is already there. Social media channels are, as we all know, crowded and competitive. Share blog posts, infographics, and videos on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Pinterest, and Instagram to drive traffic back to your site. Use hashtags like #FinancialPlanning, #MortgageTips, or #[YourCity]Bank. And, importantly, remember to track the effectiveness of your messaging so that you can make better-informed decisions around topics and posting times, for example. How? Most social media platforms provide free analytics features:
- Facebook: Insights provides data on likes, comments, shares, and reach.
- Instagram: Insights shows metrics such as likes, shares, saves, comments, and story views.
- X: Analytics displays retweets, likes, replies, impressions, and clicks.
- LinkedIn: Analytics provides insights on likes, shares, clicks, and demographics.
- TikTok: Creator tools track video views, engagement rates, and followers' activity.
Use what you learn, such as number of likes, comments, shares/retweets, clicks, and saves, to set benchmarks and improvement goals. Our Social+ platform can do this for you and you can learn more about it in “Supercharge your social media marketing. With Social+”.
C: Consistency and Continuous Improvement
SEO is not one-and-done work. It requires ongoing effort and adaptation as search engine algorithms and customer behaviors evolve. And, again as we all know, these are evolving rapidly. Not a day goes by, in fact, that Google isn’t contemplating an algorithm change that will throw everyone’s SEO strategy out the window! So, it’s best that you…
- Monitor progress: Regularly review your website analytics to track improvements in traffic, engagement, and rankings.
- Stay up to date on SEO trends: Yes, search engines like Google update their algorithms frequently. Following updates and industry blogs can help you adjust your strategies as needed.
- Use data to learn: Speaking of Google, claim and optimize your Google Business Profile. Ensure your name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent across all online platforms. Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews. Positive reviews not only improve your reputation but also boost local search rankings. And, of course, quickly respond to those “not so favorable” reviews. How you respond to a negative review can be more effective brand building than a whole slew of positive ones. Lastly, create content tailored to your local community. For instance, highlight local partnerships, charity events, or unique banking services specific to your area. The bigger banks can’t do that, can they?
Why SEO Matters for Community Banks
Unlike large financial institutions, community banks thrive by building strong, localized relationships. SEO can help community bank marketers to level the playing field a bit by competing more effectively in the digital space. Moreover, SEO can drive measurable results. According to the Content Marketing Institute, “53% of website traffic comes from organic search.”1 Optimizing your content ensures that your bank appears in the right place at the right time with the right message in front of the right audience.
Bank Marketing Center
We’re bankmarketingcenter.com, the leading, subscription-based provider of automated marketing services to community banks. Our goal is to help bank marketers with that topical, compelling communication with customers that builds trust, relationships, and revenue. And we do this through automating critical bank marketing functions, such as content creation, social media management and digital asset management, as well as regulatory and brand compliance.
We also want to share what we know – and learn along the way – with all our community banking friends. Whether it’s the latest on AI technology, suggestions on how to attract and retain top talent, or the importance of data protection, we’re here to make bank marketing the best that it can be.
Want to learn more about what we can do for your community bank and your marketing efforts? You can start by visiting bankmarketingcenter.com. Then, feel free to contact me directly by phone at 678-528-6688 or via email at nreynolds@bankmarketingcenter.com. As always, I welcome your thoughts.
Sources: 1The Content Marketing Institute. “Organic Search Traffic: One of the Best Reasons for Content Marketing.” April 22, 2022.