Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a core marketing strategy for any business with a website. It is a medium to long term play, with the aim of attracting a greater number of relevant visitors. These visitors come primarily via Google’s organic (i.e. non-paid) search results. Of course, there are other search engines such as Yahoo! and Bing; however, Google is clearly the market leader. Generally, sites receive 70% of their traffic this way.
Whilst Google Ads are highly visible on any Search Engine Results Page (SERP), organic traffic is still the main channel for businesses to receive traffic from.
Although Search Engine Optimisation plays a critical role in ensuring that businesses are discoverable by their target audience on search engines, mastering SEO requires expertise and ongoing optimisation efforts. An effective Fractional Chief Marketing Officer (FCMO) can support fintech businesses by implementing effective SEO strategies to improve their online visibility and drive organic traffic (the term ‘organic traffic’ refers to the visitors that land on your website as a result of unpaid search results).
We’re going to outline five basic steps a FCMO would take to help visitors find your site without using paid advertising.
1. Keyword research & content optimisation
When you decide it’s the right time to hire a FCMO for SEO growth, the first step of the strategy would be to conduct keyword research for the website. A FCMO will conduct comprehensive keyword research to identify relevant terms and phrases that potential customers are searching for.
This might include looking at:
- Phrases directly related to the platform that the software vendor provides
- Phrases directly related to the sector that the software vendor operates in
- Location-based keywords
- Queries that your target audience may also be searching for with regards to your software/ solutions
These keywords will then be assigned to each page or proposed page of the website, allowing the FCMO to monitor the impact they’re having on organic traffic.
An FCMO will also look to target broader keywords associated with the sector that the client operates in, incorporating these into some of the different content types that might be suggested for the website, including blogs, whitepapers and additional landing pages.
Keyword research is essentially based on identifying target audience pain points – solution-based queries people will be searching for online. An FCMO will look at search volume (how many people search for these keywords), keyword intent (why your target audience is searching) and the competitiveness of these keywords. The FCMO will then decide which page of your website should use each keyword based on these factors.
FCMOs will then consider the importance of optimising website content, including meta tags, headings, and on-page copy, to incorporate the targeted keywords and improve search engine rankings.
2. Technical SEO audit & optimisation
A Fractional CMO will generally perform a technical SEO audit to identify and address issues such as site speed, mobile responsiveness, crawl errors, and broken links.
The significance of optimising website structure, URL structure, and site architecture to enhance the user experience and search engine crawlability is key. A technical SEO audit is an imperative part of site maintenance to analyse the technical aspects of your website. An audit will check if a site is optimised properly for the various search engines.
As the website evolves according to the FCMOs suggestions, regular tech audits should be conducted to ensure the domain is serving users with good technical performance. The FCMO will assess which tech fixes would have the biggest impact and work through each audit findings list accordingly.
Tech audits typically include looking at internal linking across the site which provides website visitors with more of a pathway for them to explore the site. Your FCMO would identify on-site page opportunities, for example, looking at the design of the site to better serve your target audience. An FCMO, would also keep on top of website speed to ensure site speed does not hinder your visitors’ user experience.
Typical priority technical issues include unoptimised image sizing, meta content that exceeds recommended character counts, and missing canonical tags. Often an FCMO would look to allocate some of the retainer hours to tech maintenance, and devote an agreed amount of time to an in-depth tech audit twice a year.
3. Content strategy & creation
Content really is king in today’s online world. Most Fractional CMOs will develop a content strategy aligned with SEO objectives, focusing on creating high-quality, relevant content that addresses user intent and provides value.
FCMOs will consider the role of content optimisation techniques, such as using relevant keywords, optimising meta descriptions, and incorporating internal and external links, to improve search visibility. As the initial challenge is usually to grow overall visibility, the FCMO would look for ways to increase the client’s authority on key topics, driven by the search volume behind those thought clusters. Often FCMOs will turn these key topics into blog posts and use them to target lucrative areas of the site.
Blogs should aim to serve your target audience at each stage of their buying journey. The FCMO would look to create blogs that serve an informational search intent (targeting people who are looking for more information on a certain topic), a commercial search intent (people who are looking to explore certain brands and or services), a navigational search intent (once your brand has become more established within search, you can use branded keywords to ensure your website appears in search results for those who are already familiar with your brand) and lastly, the FCMO will target transactional keywords for those who are looking to make a purchase.
Each piece of content should cover a range of search intent keywords to ensure that your website appeals to your target audience at every stage of their buying cycle. This is something that you will probably find your competitors are doing and it is allowing them to become more visible in search results for a range of branded and non-branded keywords. Your FCMO may conduct some further competitor analysis to better understand your competitors’ strategies and identify opportunities and gaps for your firm to exploit.
FCMOs will plan out a range of content that serves a purpose in terms of being informative, educational but also optimised for search. Ultimately, a content calendar is recommended to identify opportunities that align with competitor strategies and will overall improve your visibility online.
4. Link building & outreach
It is worth briefly exploring how a Fractional CMO can devise a link building strategy to acquire high-quality backlinks from reputable websites, enhancing domain authority and search engine rankings. Backlinks (also known as “inbound links”, “incoming links” or “one way links”) are links from one website to a page on another website. Google and other major search engines consider backlinks “votes” for a specific page. Pages with a high number of backlinks tend to have high organic search engine rankings.
A FCMO will highlight the importance of outreach efforts, such as guest blogging, influencer collaborations, and partnerships, in building relationships and securing valuable backlinks.
5. SEO performance monitoring & reporting
One of the beauties of SEO is that it is measurable. An FCMO will emphasise the role of tracking key SEO metrics, such as organic traffic, keyword rankings, backlink profile, and conversion rates, to assess the effectiveness of SEO efforts.
A Fractional CMO can generate regular SEO performance reports and provide insights and recommendations for ongoing optimisation and improvement.
In conclusion, leveraging effective SEO strategies is essential for fintech businesses to enhance their online visibility, attract targeted traffic, and ultimately drive conversions and revenue. A FCMO can offer valuable expertise and guidance in implementing and optimising SEO initiatives, helping businesses achieve sustainable growth and success in the digital landscape.
Most startup fintech ventures are, after all, selling some form of technological expertise. Would you hire a builder whose own home had crumbling masonry, an untidy front yard and no signage to tell you that you had arrived at the right place?
Want to create a solid organic presence for your business with the help of our Fractional digital marketing services? To arrange an initial discovery call, simply contact us and we’ll be in touch.
