“Hey, Siri, where’s the nearest ATM?”
Consumers increasingly turn to voice-activated devices like smartphones or smart speakers to find information, make purchases, and engage with brands. This growing trend presents a unique opportunity for financial marketers to enhance their visibility and reach their target audience more effectively. By adapting strategies for voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple’s Siri, businesses can stay discoverable in a world that’s quickly becoming voice-first.
Why Voice Search Matters for Financial Institutions
The Rise of Voice Search and Advancing Technology
Voice search is on the rise, with an increasing number of consumers relying on voice-activated devices for convenience and speed. According to Forbes, more than 50% of adults worldwide utilize voice search daily with the market for the speech recognition market projected to reach around $50 billion by 2029.
For financial institutions, this shift offers an opportunity to enhance discoverability and improve customer engagement. Consumers are using voice search not only to ask basic questions but also to explore specific financial services. If your bank or financial service provider isn’t optimizing for voice search, you may be missing out on a substantial portion of potential customers.
Enhancing Discoverability Through Voice Search Optimization
With the growth of voice assistants, financial brands must find ways to integrate voice search strategies into their marketing plans to remain competitive. Voice search SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a critical aspect of digital marketing that focuses on making content discoverable through voice queries. (Learn more about the future of SEO and AI-driven search in our blog.)
The reliance on voice search for information across all generations means that financial institutions can no longer afford to ignore voice capabilities. Whether customers are asking for the nearest bank branch, inquiring about the latest loan rates, or checking account balances, voice search is a key element in ensuring your brand stays visible.
Best Practices for Financial Institutions Optimizing Content for Voice Search
To successfully leverage voice search, financial institutions can adapt their content for voice search optimization. Here are some voice search tips for making your content more discoverable by voice-enabled devices:
1. Focus on Conversational Keywords (Long-tail Keywords)
Voice search queries tend to be more conversational and longer than text-based searches. Instead of searching for short phrases like “credit card offers,” users are likely to ask, “What are the best credit card offers right now?” As a result, it’s essential to focus on long-tail keywords and natural language that match the way people speak.
For example, optimizing for voice search means incorporating phrases like “What is the interest rate for personal loans at [Your Bank]?” or “How can I set up mobile banking with [Your Financial Institution]?” Using these conversational keywords increases the chances of appearing in voice search results.
2. Local SEO: “Near Me” Queries and Google My Business (GMB)
Voice search is often used for location-based queries, making local SEO vital for financial institutions. (Find more local marketing strategies in our blog.) Many voice searches are made with location-based phrases like “near me” or “in [city name].”
Financial institutions can benefit from optimizing their presence on Google My Business (GMB) and keeping all local listings up-to-date and relevant. Ensure the address, phone number, and business hours are accurate. This helps the bank appear in voice search results when potential customers ask for services nearby.
For example, a user might ask, “Where is the nearest bank for a mortgage application?” or “Is there a financial advisor near me?” If your financial institution is properly optimized for local SEO, it will be more likely to appear in these relevant searches.
3. Structuring Content for Voice Search
The structure of your website also plays a crucial role in voice search optimization. To make web content more voice-search-friendly, consider:
- Using structured data such as schema markup or metadata to help search engine crawlers understand the content of your website better.
- Writing concise, direct answers to common financial queries. Voice assistants often prefer direct responses that match the user’s query.
- Creating a mobile-friendly website, as most voice searches occur on mobile devices. Consider factors like page speed and load time for better usability.
4. Develop Comprehensive FAQ Pages
A great way to optimize content for voice search is by developing detailed FAQ pages. Voice search queries often focus on questions and answers, making FAQ pages essential for voice search SEO.
For financial services, questions about loan options, account services, or the nearest ATM are common. By answering these questions clearly and concisely on your website, you increase your chances of being featured in voice search results.
5. Optimize Financial Service Queries for Voice Search
Financial institutions should specifically target common voice search queries in their marketing strategies. For example, questions like “What are the mortgage rates today?” or “How do I set up an online savings account?” can be optimized by providing simple, direct answers that voice assistants can easily read out.
Additionally, consider including content that addresses both broad financial topics and niche services, for example, investment advice, retirement planning, or personal loans. This helps capture voice search traffic across a wide range of consumer needs.
Voice Search and Content Marketing: A Powerful Combination
Combining voice search optimization with content marketing can be incredibly powerful. Consider developing content such as:
- Blog posts that target voice search queries related to finance.
- Video tutorials and webinars with transcripts that answer common financial questions in a conversational tone.
- Interactive content such as quizzes and calculators that are easy to use on voice-enabled devices.
By integrating voice search optimization with engaging content marketing, financial institutions can effectively drive traffic, enhance customer engagement, and establish themselves as leaders in the voice search landscape. We share some content marketing topic ideas here.
The Takeaway
Voice search is rapidly transforming the way customers interact with brands, and it’s here to stay. For financial institutions, optimizing for voice search is no longer just a trend—it’s a necessity to ensure long-term success in an increasingly voice-first world.
Download our eBook, How Banks and Credit Unions Can Win at Digital Marketing, for more insight into the data behind successful businesses.
Looking for personalized guidance? Our team of experts is ready to help you craft a marketing strategy for financial services that works for your business. Get in touch with us or send us an email at experts@emfluence.com.
