In the process of creating an effective SEO strategy for banks, one question often pops up – What is the easiest way for bank websites to get to position one in the search engines and attract more potential customers? – The answer is simple – focus on local SEO. When it comes to banks, location is everything. And it makes sense – people who need bank services tend to go online and search for the nearest bank just to feel secure that they can visit the local branch if a service is not available online or simply to have that support close to them. So, it goes without saying that local SEO should be of the highest priority in the implementation of your SEO strategy.
Therefore, in order to be successful in the process, there are some aspects of this area that can’t be skipped. For that reason, we have prepared a local SEO checklist for banks so you can be certain that you haven’t missed out on any opportunities that can easily give you positive results.
Our local SEO checklist contains 5 important items for you to follow.
Set up a Google My Business Account
The first step in local SEO is creating a ‘Google My Business’ account. This is a free business profile on Google that can help you get to your potential customers easily. To create this type of profile all you need to do is add your bank’s address, contact details, business hours, website, and similar important information. Once you do this, Google will give you presence in search results and in Google Maps. In this way, whenever someone searches for your bank they will be able to find the contact information of your local branch.
Regularly Update your GMB Account
Setting up a google my business account and forgetting about it won’t do the trick. As it is with many aspects of SEO having a ‘set it and forget it’ mentality is not a good practice. Make sure to update your GMB account regularly especially if there are some changes in the business hours, address, or if a new branch is opened. Most importantly, one thing to add to your local SEO checklist is to update your account with recent photos of your bank entrance and include customer reviews.
Use Location – Related Keywords
Even when focusing on local SEO, content is something you should always keep in mind. And add location-related keywords to your checklist. Naturally, whenever someone needs any type of service the first thing they would search for online is a local store or a bank in our case. Some of the most common location-related keywords are ‘banks near me’, ‘what time does this bank close’, or ‘banks in Boulder, Colorado’. Create content around similar keywords and you will improve your website rankings in no time.
Create Local Business Citations
Working on your bank website content or optimization is not enough to be able to get the desired ranking results. It’s of prime importance to get referral traffic from business directories, or other related websites or business blogs. One way to do this is to get local business citations where your bank information will be mentioned. By doing this you will improve your NAP (name, address, phone number) consistency which can only be beneficial for your bank website. According to Moz, local citation signals are some of the top local ranking factors. Having that in mind, make sure to add this item to your local SEO checklist.
Establish Prominence Through Link Building
Establishing the prominence of your bank website is closely related to local citations as it’s all part of your link-building strategy. In fact, there are three aspects that Google measures when determining the local rankings and those are relevance, distance, and prominence. Relevance is achieved through your website content, while prominence is how well your business is known online. In order to establish local prominence focus on link-building activities such as getting listed to financial directories, or rating your bank in various review blog articles.
Why the Local SEO Checklist Matters?
Finally, a higher local presence in search engine results will always put you ahead of your competition. Particularly with banks, local SEO can make or break your bank website ranking, so having this checklist can only be beneficial for you. And if you need additional help in the process, the team at Banksite services is here to help with any aspect of your SEO journey.
