A quick refresh for those new to the world of financial websites, PPC (pay per click) and digital advertising…

Financial firms can use PPC to rank their financial website instantly high up in Google’s (or Bing’s) search engines, for relevant search terms (e.g. “IFA Surrey”). If you want to drive traffic and qualified leads to your website fairly quickly, then PPC – and AdWords in particular – can be tremendously effective. It’s also a great, potential marketing channel if measuring your return on marketing investment is important to you

Of course, you need to pay Google to get your links quickly ranking high in their search engines. The question is, how much should you pay? What can financial services companies reasonably expect to fork out, given the averages in their industry?

Fortunately, there’s some new research just released by Wordstream which illuminates some answers to these questions.

#1 Average click through rate

Financial Websites Click Through Rate

Click through rate (CTR) refers to the percentage of people who see your link in Google’s search results, and who then click on the link through to your website.

According to Wordstream, financial firms including IFAs can expect their financial websites to enjoy a decent CTR compared to other industries. Indeed, financial services have an average CTR of 2.65%, which is second only to “Dating and personal services” – which comes first at 3.40%!

This means that firms can expect Google AdWords to be a great potential source of qualified leads. Future clients actually trust the paid links of financial advisers more than customers trust health and medical, legal and real estate adverts.

#2 Cost per click

Financial Websites Cost Per Click

Cost per click (CPC) is the amount you can expect to pay Google each time a user clicks on your AdWords link.

In this area, financial websites need to brace for a bit of discomfort. Financial services companies experience an average CPC of $3.72. This is the third most expensive CPC, after legal ($5.88) and employment services ($4.20). However, there is good news to follow below!

#3 Average conversion rate

Financial Websites Average Conversion Rate

Conversion rate (CR) refers to the number of people who click on your advert, who then complete desired actions on your website. This might be filling in your contact form, or downloading an ebook / white paper.

The Wordstream results here show enormous promise for financial websites. The data shows that financial services have an average CR of 7.19% – the highest by far. Consumer services come second, with a CR of 5%. Most industries after that hover between 1.91% and 4.4%.

This is great news for financial firms. It means that even though you may have to pay more than most other industries to click your AdWords links, the likelihood that these people are the most likely to become clients.

So you may have to pay hundreds each month towards your AdWords campaign, but if that generates tens of thousands in the form of new clients’ lifetime value, it’s a no-brainer.

If you are a financial company looking to tap into the potential of Google AdWords, then we can help. Get in touch to speak with one of our PPC specialists to start your campaign.

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