Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on February 16, 2022
6 min readLast updated: February 9, 2026
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By Lee Wilson, Head of Services at Vertical Leap
Search marketing is more expensive for finance companies than most. You’ve got some of the highest costs per click (CPCs) in PPC to deal with and Google algorithm updates have a history of hitting finance websites particularly hard.
It’s not all bad news, though, because the returns on finance search opportunities are also among the highest, provided your SEO and PPC strategies are capturing them.
Search marketing for finance companies looks expensive when you compare CPCs with other industries – and the most competitive keywords are some of the most expensive around.
That being said, how much you pay for a click on Google Ads doesn’t say anything about the profitability of your search marketing strategy. Retail companies would love to have the high conversion rates, conversion value and customer lifetime value finance companies can achieve with the right strategy.
The question is, how can finance companies pinpoint those high-value opportunities in search marketing to hit ROIs that eliminate any worries about high CPCs?
Market disruption in the UK is at unprecedented levels for peace time with the combined impacts of Covid-19, Brexit, soaring energy prices and a host of other factors. Volatility weakens pre-Covid data and continued disruption makes sentiment unpredictable. Finance companies need to look at search data for real-time insights into sentiment.
For example, YouGov data tells us Brits are still looking to get on the property ladder, despite all the current uncertainty, but the same survey says people in the UK are less likely to borrow – so what are lenders supposed to believe?
Well, the search data for “first time mortgage” shows that interest in taking out a first mortgage is, in fact, on the decline.
Search data reveals the truth behind survey responses where people are more likely to respond with what they would like to do rather than what they are doing.
Digital adoption is another key disruptor – one that’s been emphasised by the pandemic and 81% of UK adults say the quality of online experience determines who they bank with. The pandemic has driven adoption of mobile banking, too, with the UK seeing a 200% increase in mobile banking registrations in April 2020.
Finance companies need to prioritise the mobile experience through mobile apps, where possible, and their website. And, to take advantage of those higher PPC conversion rates and conversion values, you have to optimise campaigns for conversions: landing pages, loading times, lead forms, mobile experience, etc.
To maximise profitability from search marketing, finance companies need to prioritise high-value prospects who are more likely to convert and spend more. PPC gives you delivery tools to help you target these high-value prospects at each stage of the funnel.
Don’t be afraid of targeting the more expensive keywords if your campaigns are optimised to target high-value prospects and your funnel is optimised to convert them.
Organic search allows you to reach prospects during the early research stage of the customer cycle and this is especially important during uncertain times when people’s situations can quickly and drastically change.
Over the past couple of years, a new world of keywords including the phrase “Covid-19” has emerged and an even larger pool of related queries. We’ve also got a cost of living crisis, taxation changes and a host of economic factors producing new keyword opportunities.
Address these concerns with content written by proven financial experts in your field (this is crucial for Google’s E-A-T and YMYL quality guidelines) to capture these leads and protect yourself against future algorithm updates.
High CPCs for the most competitive keywords can make search marketing expensive for finance companies but the long-term returns are what really matter. Targeting high-value prospects, seizing new opportunities quickly and increasing customer lifetime value will tame the expense of finance search marketing by driving ROI.
CPC stands for Cost Per Click, a digital advertising metric that indicates how much an advertiser pays each time a user clicks on their ad.
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the practice of optimizing a website to rank higher in search engine results, increasing organic traffic.
PPC, or Pay-Per-Click, is an online advertising model where advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked.
Conversion rate is the percentage of users who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter, after interacting with an advertisement.
Customer lifetime value (CLV) is the total revenue a business can expect from a single customer account throughout their relationship.
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