No one would argue that an online presence has become an increasingly important component of any financial services marketing program. However, most financial services companies are still struggling to determine what online marketing approach will cost-effectively promote their site to those target market segments that are most likely to become loyal and profitable customers.
For a time, banner ads generated large numbers of click-throughs for advertisers in virtually every industry, causing the number of such ads to sky-rocket. Studies soon revealed, however, that these early reports may have been misleading. As the number of banner ads increased, click-through rates fell dramatically. Research into the reasons for this decline revealed a major disadvantage of banner ads. Many click-throughs appeared to occur because the user was attempting to delete the banner. The truth is that, while banners reach a wide audience, a great number of viewers see them as “spam” and delete a company’s expensive advertising without ever viewing their site. Increasingly, banners were seen as an intrusion to be eliminated as quickly as possible.
Search engines offer financial services organizations a more controllable online marketing alternate. Effective use of search engine marketing tools enable organizations to attract a “pre-qualified” audience by screening what the user is looking for against what a company actually offers. As a result, search listings are more efficient than banners in generating brand recall, favorable opinion ratings and purchase origination. At the same time, however, a search on virtually any topic can produce hundreds of pages of Web site listings, and research shows that most users don’t look past the first page of results. In fact, many users will consider only the top 3 or 4 listings. Therefore, it is essential that a site be close to the top of a potential customer’s search to effectively reach its target audience.