Found the right keyword? SEO for banks and insurers demands more

Andrea MaleleAugust 2018

Keyword research is just the beginning

Search engine optimisation has long since outgrown the previous question: «Should we optimize our site for the keyword 'Vorsorge' or for 'Vorsorgen'?» Both terms are unsuitable for three reasons.

  • First, they are too broad in terms of a bank's advisory skills. After all, forward-looking planning and the anticipation of risks also include questions about a living will, health check-ups at the doctor's or a life insurance policy.

  • Secondly, the terms often originate from internal logic, in that they make it possible to distinguish them from other business areas such as mortgages or everyday accounts.

  • And thirdly, it has been proven that Mr. and Mrs. Schweizer rarely search in Google for «Vorsorge» and «Vorsorgen». While these two terms are only queried four times, a hundred searches are made in the same period for «occupational pension provision», «BVG» and «pension fund».

In this case, the users search concretely, as the keyword search shows.

What are the target groups' search intentions?

The banking services on the subject of pension funds are aimed at up to three different target groups.

  1. The largest target group in terms of volume is made up of employees. However, their options are very limited. Because they can only make an individual choice in the event of an interruption in their income: namely with which provider they want to open a vested benefits account. In addition, the level of previous knowledge in this target group varies. Therefore, a general introduction to the 3-pillar model may be useful.

  2. The second target group are HR managers in Swiss companies. They are an expert audience searching with specific niche terms. A general introduction to the topic does not do justice to the specific interests of this target group. Worse still, this would unintentionally lead the general public to a B2B site. HR managers are interested, for example, in the various outsourcing models, in accounting tasks or in the management of the pension fund. This must be incorporated into the main content.

  3. The third target group is the pension funds themselves, namely institutional investors. At the Annual General Meeting, they and their assets under management can become important shareholders and thus influencers.

It turns out that although the three target groups are interested in one and the same topic, they have different prerequisites and expectations. In order to be able to control this potpourri wisely, well-founded SEO analyses must first be carried out. In the next step, keyword and topic clusters are developed for each language. Finally, the content of the three offer pages can be specifically tailored to the respective target group.

Why you should optimise the internal linking

Let us stick to the example of the pension fund. The offer pages, specifically elaborated for the target groups, are carefully aligned to the needs and the respective search behaviour. However, even maximum care cannot prevent a user from landing on the «wrong» offer page in the future. Ideally, internal links here make it easy to switch to the appropriate offer page. The fact that these links are a jump to another business unit is an inward-looking way of thinking that must be overcome. The competition is outside in the market, not inside the company.

A well thought-out internal link not only improves the user experience, but also prevents the session from being terminated. And a low bounce rate is a positive ranking factor for organic rankings as well as for Google Ads campaigns.

Do you want to initiate or further refine this type of SEO activities? We would be happy to accompany you on your journey.

Our Service

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): How to Get Found

​The things people ask their search engines can sometimes be very general in nature, and sometimes very specific. To rank high in the search results, you need to adapt your content to their different needs and to the language use of the target groups.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): How to Get Found

Contact for your Digital Solution

Book an appointment

Are you keen to talk about your next project? We will be happy exchange ideas with you: Melanie Klühe, Stefanie Berger, Stephan Handschin and Philippe Surber (clockwise).

Melanie Kluhe
Stefanie Berger
Philippe Surber
Stephan Handschin

Contact for your Digital Solution with Unic

Book an appointment

Are you keen too discuss your digital tasks with us? We would be happy to exchange ideas with you: Jörg Nölke and Gerrit Taaks (from left to right).

Gerrit Taaks