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A combination of strategic planning, unique content, expert knowledge and a focus on the target audience can increase both visibility and customer loyalty. The following seven steps show how a content strategy for financial websites can lead to success in search engines:
1. Hypothesis creation and the goal
A hypothesis for a financial website might be something like this: “By creating informative content, the website “Your Website” can increase visibility, serve search queries (keywords) and close the keyword gap of 10 million non-branded search queries.”
The goal should be clearly defined and important SEO metrics should be tracked. A goal should match the company’s expectations and budget. It is important that the goals are tailored to the individual needs of a financial company.
2. Competitive analysis and customer needs
Competitor analysis is an essential part of a successful SEO growth strategy. To remain competitive, financial companies must understand not only their competitors but also their customers needs. A careful analysis of the market helps to identify the expectations of the target group and develop “tailor-made” solutions. It is crucial to analyze both direct and indirect competitors.
An SEO competitor analysis goes beyond simply observing competitors. It examines the strategies, strengths and weaknesses of competitors in detail, in order to work out your own advantages. The competition and competitor analysis show which gaps exist in the market and how companies can use them to their advantage.
By understanding customer needs and integrating insights from competitor analysis, created content can strengthen its position in SERPs and ensure long-term success. This creates a content strategy that is aligned with market demands and customer expectations.
3. SEO briefing creation and processes
The processes must be clearly defined before the SEO briefings are created and the resources must be available so that content creation can run smoothly.
A professional and local SEO expert can take on the task of creating a precise briefing. The SEO briefing includes detailed keyword research, identifying the target group and defining technical requirements. It is important to identify the topics and keywords that interest the target group but are not yet covered on the website. It also describes important measures such as the creation of meta data, content specifications and on-page optimizations. With the expertise of an SEO manager, the briefing is designed so that all measures correspond to current best practices.
4. Content production
Content production would be the next step and includes the creation of texts, images and video content production. Here it is important to address the target groups on different platforms. An omnichannel strategy can help to ensure consistency across all communication channels. The use of appealing visuals is crucial to educating and attracting the attention of the target group.
Financial companies often work with a specialized content production agency. Agencies are almost always a good solution, but not the cheapest. An experienced SEO expert can replace an overpriced SEO agency.
Nowadays, artificial intelligence plays a larger role in content production by automating processes and enabling personalized content. It is very important that the high-quality content has expertise and if possible conveys a brand message.
Another aspect of content creation is the production of unique content that stands out from the competition and offers readers real added value.
5. Legal and content review
When creating content, the legal review of content is essential. The texts must be subjected to a rigorous review and all input from sources must be checked again. All Risks such as copyright infringements should be avoided.
A carefully prepared editorial plan helps to structure the publication of brand content and ensure that all legal requirements are met. The production of video content requires special attention, as in addition to image and sound rights, the personal rights of the people depicted must also be taken into account.
Effective content strategies therefore always incorporate legal review to maintain brand integrity and avoid legal consequences. The goal is to create content with added value that both complies with legal requirements and appeals to the target audience. By combining creative content and legal due diligence, financial websites can build greater trust.
6. Developer team and CMS
In modern companies, the developer department plays a crucial role in creating and managing content in content management systems (CMS).
The full-stack developers are particularly valuable here because they master both the frontend & the website backend and can therefore ensure a seamless integration of design and functionality. Their expertise makes it possible to efficiently create, edit and publish content in CMS, thereby optimizing the user-friendliness and performance of the website.
Using full-stack developers ensures that both the technical and content requirements of a website are met, which can lead to an improved user experience and a stronger online presence.
7. Going live, indexing, keyword tracking and keyword ranking
After going live, content must be checked again to ensure that all elements are displayed correctly and that there are no formatting errors. At the same time, indexing by search engines should be monitored and if necessary, initiated using tools such as Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tool.
It is advisable to analyze the performance of the content in terms of loading time and usability in order to ensure an optimal user experience. Finally, targeted internal and external links should be checked and adjusted if necessary.
After going live, tracking should be set up and tested to ensure that all relevant KPIs (e.g. page views, average time on site/page and conversion rates) are recorded correctly. Tools such as Google Analytics and Tag Manager help to gain detailed insights into user behavior.
It is essential to regularly monitor the development of keyword rankings in order to evaluate the success of SEO measures. The Keyword-tracking-tools such as Advance Web Ranking can be very helpful in this regard. If there are significant deviations or stagnation, targeted optimizations can be made to improve the position in the search results.
Summary
Implementing an SEO strategy requires careful planning and continuous adaptation to meet the different needs of users. Providing high-quality, informative content can strengthen the positioning of the website and make a significant contribution to achieving the defined goals.
Defined goals and tracking relevant SEO metrics could increase the visibility of the website. A comprehensive competitor analysis could also help to better understand the needs of the target group and identify existing gaps in the market more easily. A precise SEO briefing lays the technical and content basis for successful content production. This should deliver high-quality and unique content that meets legal requirements and underlines the brand’s expertise. The development team plays a central role by efficiently integrating the content into the content management system.
After going live, it is important to monitor indexing and user behavior in order to continuously optimize SEO measures. In summary, successful content creation requires strategic planning and close cooperation between different departments.
