Why fintechs need to pay closer attention to YMYL and EEAT in their digital strategy

Why fintechs need to pay closer attention to YMYL and EEAT in their digital strategy

SEO should be central to any business’s digital strategy. But when you’re targeting an international audience – as is often the case for fintechs – it’s not always easy to get things right. As the internet and how we’re able to use it change, businesses have an ever-growing number of channels to cover and activities to consider. From content marketing and user experience (UX) to digital transformation and market expansion. But while most brands already understand the impact of SEO, many fintechs are overlooking the demands of their specific search engine categorisation. And with fintech businesses invariably falling into the Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) category for Google, this can have serious ramifications if you fail to meet the relevant requirements.

What does YMYL mean for fintech digital strategy?

YMYL refers to all websites and web pages that ‘could potentially impact a person’s future happiness, health, financial stability, or safety’. So, it’s vitally important for fintechs to demonstrate an understanding of their potential power. And to do this – and to perform well in SEO in a YMYL category – they must provide Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (EEAT). Although EEAT is not a direct ranking factor for Google, sites that soundly deliver EEAT standards typically have stronger SEO, which is explained in detail in Google’s search quality rater guidelines (org).

How can fintechs use EEAT to enhance SEO performance?

Experience

Google’s guidelines ask whether the content creator has the ‘necessary first-hand or life experience for the topic’. For example, if you are an expert in FinTech with a large social following, you are in a perfect position to showcase your experience in the field. Consider displaying yourself as an author for every article you publish on your website.

Expertise

What you do with your money can change your life. Put it in the wrong place, trust the wrong people, and the consequences could be devastating. Work with experts, and the reverse could be true. Demonstrating your expertise is integral if you wish to not only gain the trust of your audience but of search engines. So, show your accreditation (if you have any). And ensure all content is of high quality, genuinely authored by people with clear experience in the industry.

Authoritativeness

Authoritativeness and expertise are often used interchangeably. But there are subtle differences between the two. And for search engines, your authority refers to your overall reputation as a business and within your industry. If you are known for providing sound advice – if others within your industry refer to you as a reliable data source, and you are recognised as a good source of reliable information – you can be confident of your status in this area. Building high domain links is the ultimate goal. And a good place to start with this is by ensuring that any sources you use on your own site are credible and highly regarded.

Trustworthiness

Trust is fast becoming the most important factor for customers. In an internet that is full of misinformation and fraudulent activity, customers are becoming increasingly discerning. And they only want to work with brands and websites that are secure, accurate, factual, and clear. Without obfuscation or jargon. Leveraging user-generated content (UGC), including real reviews from real customers (even the ones that don’t entirely glow) can help with this.

Can these principles be applied to PWAs?

The difficulty a lot of fintechs face with implementing EEAT is that they are app-based businesses –Progressive Web Apps (PWAs). And this can present challenges for search engines, making discovery, crawling, and the accurate indexing of content problematic due to the app’s reliance on JavaScript. That’s why app store optimisation (ASO) should also be part of any digital strategy. Analytics should also be configured to track users across platforms, ensuring that all activity – website, app, social media – is covered and monitored to enable maximum optimisation.

The core foundations of SEO – keyword research, content creation and renewal, on-page and technical SEO, and link building – have become common knowledge. No business worth its salt would contemplate launching a site without taking these areas into account. Let alone a fintech. But the requirements of YMYL – and the potential of EEAT to deliver them – are still frequently overlooked. Leaving many fintechs with plenty of room for improvement.

About Author:

Guido Ampollini is a highly experienced digital marketing expert helping businesses improve their digital marketing strategy for over 15 years. He has established himself as a leading authority in the industry as the founder and CEO of GA Agency, an independent digital agency based in London, specialising in international expansion with an in-house team fluent in over 16 languages.