Get the Best Bang for Your PPC Buck: Smart Strategies for Financial Firms
The financial services sector, comprising industries from insurance to fintech to retirement planning, is a battlefield when it comes to pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. With 65% of small-to-mid-sized businesses actively investing in PPC and an average cost per click (CPC) of $3.72 in the financial industry, competition isn’t just steep — it’s expensive. Top CPC rates of financial services keywords can range upwards of hundreds per click. But with a few teachable tactics, you can navigate this battlefield more efficiently — and reduce your costs while improving ad performance.
Leverage the long tail. Specificity can save you big time on your ad spend. Seek out higher intent long-tail keywords to reduce competition and increase ROAS. Use search terms that target users closer to converting, giving your ads a higher chance of engagement. For example, the search term “financial advisor for small businesses in Miami” likely signifies greater intent than “financial advisors.” Avoid broad targeting to preserve your Google Ads budget.
Pinpoint your audience. Identifying and targeting your niche is far more cost-effective and impactful than casting a wide net. By specifying your ideal customer — with attributes such as age, income and location — you not only reduce the competition in Google Ads bidding but also connect with a more highly targeted group of potential prospects that are likely a better match for your firm and offering.
Filter out unwanted traffic. Negative keywords are a potent weapon in your Google Ads cost-controlling arsenal. By ruling out irrelevant search queries, you can avoid wasting budget on non-converting clicks. If you’re trying to get your ads in front of those interested in homeowners insurance, for example, you don’t want to draw job seekers in the insurance industry. So including “jobs” or “career” as negative keywords can help focus your traffic and improve results, as can filtering out auto and life insurance.
Optimize for quality. Take steps to increase your page quality score by creating well-optimized landing pages with your target keywords in the headers and body copy. Craft tailored landing pages with relevant, clear, valuable and compelling information that match the user search intent — and your ads — for a better user experience, higher engagement rates — and lower CPC. Set up a separate landing page for each ad group you create in Google Ads aimed at a more specific target market or for separate top- and bottom-of-funnel ads.
Track conversions and calls. Conversion tracking within Google Ads lets you see what happens after a customer clicks. For example, are they completing quote requests for your life insurance policy? And with call tracking, you can learn which ads are prompting potential clients to pick up the phone. This two-pronged approach can reveal what’s working and what’s not, enabling you to allocate your budget toward the most effective tactics over time.
Spend Smart and Save
Don’t let the highly competitive PPC landscape for financial services deter you from taking advantage of this powerful tool to quickly build your practice or advance organizational goals. By spending strategically, you can generate leads, grow your brand — and build your book.
Sources
https://alconost.medium.com/global-ppc-advertising-how-it-works-bd3fef5840dd
https://www.lido.app/metrics/cost-per-click
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/most-expensive-keywords-google