Not everyone realises the true benefit of having a business blog on your website. This is especially the case in the financial services sector where advisers still get a lot of business through referrals. Yet, there is still massive potential and conversion opportunities if you have a website blog. We discuss the details here.
Why advisers should be blogging?
Businesses in the financial services sector should be blogging for many reasons.
Three of the biggest are:
- To attract more website visitors
- To establish industry expertise to increase lead conversions
- To increase website visitor sessions, and thus SEO performance
Some of these benefits overlap. We’ve elaborated on each of these blogging benefits with a specific focus on the financial services sector…
#1: Generate (repeat) website visitors
A blog is good for your website’s Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). It allows you to create content that can attract website visitors searching different – but relevant – terms.
For example, your standard website pages might not reference a recent finance industry change. But publishing a blog on the subject could attract search engine users looking for information on this contemporary topic, which then brings them to your website.
Now that these users have made it to your website, they might look at your other pages and consider your services. You can even make links between your blogs and service pages or contact pages to heat up those leads.
#2: Highlight expertise to increase sales
Your blogs should provide readers with valuable content and make the information easy to understand, especially for non-finance professionals. This allows you to establish your expertise in the industry.
Showcasing knowledge and expertise causes readers to trust you more, which is influential in consumers choosing a service provider. This could be argued to be even more true when consumers are considering financial advice services, due to the importance of these services on their wealth and long-term future.
#3: Increase website sessions
Not only will your blogs generate more traffic and conversion opportunities, but they will keep visitors on your website longer (as long as the blogs are informative and engaging, of course).
If the reader liked your content, they may return to your website in the future when they need more info about finance. Longer website sessions and repeat visitors are good for your website’s overall SEO performance, which makes it more visible on search engines.
How to structure a finance blog
Standard business blogs are uploaded to a website and often categorised with tags. This is still popular today, but it’s slowly becoming the outdated method of structuring your blog. Google now wants to see blogs that have a hierarchical structure which facilitates easy navigation across the same topics and through the website.
For example, you might have a main category blog about getting your first mortgage. This blog will contain links to sub-category pages about mortgages, such as pre-approvals and borrowing power. These sub-category page blogs will then link to smaller blogs and more niche topics, such as How Long Does a Mortgage Pre-Approval Last? or Does Student Debt Affect Borrowing Power?
By creating a blog with a hierarchical structure, there is a clear journey that the reader can take on any given topic, and Google now loves this so it’s worth paying attention to.
Repurposing your blog content
Blogs can be an investment that don’t just have to be used on your website. You can repurpose the content of your blogs in other places, even in marketing strategies. For example, you might decide to use the content created for a blog in your email marketing. Or you could use it within social media posts, preferably linking back to the blog on your website. This makes potential blogging ROI even greater!
Not got time? Outsource to WEBPRO Adviser’s finance bloggers!
There is a recipe for a successful and results-driven blog. You need to complete SEO research, carefully consider topics and upload frequently. It’s ideal to edit existing blogs with updated information too.
Not all businesses have time for this, which is why they choose to outsource the management of their blog and content creation to web designers and marketers.
WEBPRO Adviser offers content creation services specifically in the financial services sector. We create unique and compelling content to generate more leads and make more conversions. Speak with us not to find out more.
