Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

How PPC Content Advertising Might Aid In The Online Battle For Roth IRA Conversions

Pat — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 10:45:25 -0500

It doesn’t happen often but sometimes the Universe helps with the blog-writing.

All week I’ve vacillated between two disparate topics: the Roth IRA Conversion Centers that are appearing on asset managers’ Web sites and pay-per-click (PPC) content advertising. Thanks to the Universe for showing a way to address both topics in a single (OK, little long) post.

When there’s a change requiring investor education and a deadline to take action—as is the case with the change in the IRA tax law enabling taxpayers to spread the taxes related to a 2010 IRA-to-Roth-IRA conversion over two years—this is an opportunity for asset management marketers to use marketing to raise assets.

How Much Traffic Is Facebook Driving To Your Site?

Pat — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:29:50 -0600

“That wouldn’t apply to us because… [wait for it] we’re in a regulated industry.”

There’s an underlying current in asset management marketing that trends that affect other industries don’t apply here. It’s an illusion that is almost never true online—what’s affecting other Web sites is probably affecting your mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) site, too.

We’ve written about how Facebook and other social networking sites are gaining at the expense of asset manager and other destination Web sites.

But there was a report this week about Facebook’s influence in driving Web site traffic that merits attention. Compete.com data cited by the San Francisco Chronicle on Monday suggests that Facebook is now a more important traffic driver than Google.

“Facebook has passed search-engine giant Google to become the top source for traffic to major portals like Yahoo and MSN, and is among the leaders for other types of sites,” the Chronicle reported.

Other types of sites even including investment manager sites? Yes, according to Compete.

Slow Site? Optimize—Or Forfeit Search Traffic

Pat — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 09:13:47 -0600

Have your repeated requests to speed up your Web site been falling on deaf ears? There’s a change in the works that might give you the argument you need for IT to move site optimization up to the top of the priority list.

Watch this video from Google on the global benefits of a faster Web and then let’s consider how their advocacy on this could affect the success of your firm’s digital marketing strategy.

2010 Predictions For Mutual Fund/ETF Digital Marketing

Pat — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:31:29 -0600

In addition to tracking marketing predictions (see our 2010 Marketing Predictions, Part 1 post for a round-up and see this article for 100 more), we’ve been keeping an eye on business predictions for 2010. And, the short version is that asset-gathering isn’t going to be any easier.

If you’re a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) marketer, you can expect competition to heat up as your marketing counterparts do what they can to encourage investors to return to equity funds, evaluate their Roth IRA conversion prospects and use new, improved tools and expert advice for investment portfolio-building and re-building.

Digital marketing strategy and tactics will be at the center of all of these, that’s a safe guess. Below are five Rock The Boat Marketing’s predictions for asset manager digital marketing strategy in 2010, sprinkled with a smattering of wishful thinking.

Multimedia Press Releases Tell Rich Stories, Raise Awareness

Pat — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:39:21 -0500

Two financial services companies issued multimedia press releases this week that are ready examples of how content assets can be used to tell rich stories, useful to the media as well as in advancing Marketing’s goal to raise awareness and drive Web site traffic.

Northwestern Mutual’s press release on survey results (“Young Americans Say They Need Millions to Retire”) and John Hancock’s promotion of its “Find The Answers” ad campaign and microsite can give mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) marketers ideas on how to think beyond the all-text, suboptimized, largely boilerplate press releases that do little for reporters and even less for profile-raising.

The Northwestern Mutual press release wins the award for the most number of links from PRNewswire.com to pages on Northwestern Mutual domains—we counted 26.

Mind The Keywords—'Unfortunate Market Anomaly' Won't Help Search Traffic Find You

Pat — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:04:37 -0500

Song selection. One of the maddening things about the American Idol competition is what consistently trips up the final 12. Their raw talent or personality gets them just so far but those who “go home early” fail to read the judges’ minds about the songs they should be singing.

Word selection. That’s the ground on which Web sites compete for search traffic. But unlike with the Idol wanna-bes, there’s no need to guess. There are ways to know which keywords drive traffic. The challenge for the leader of digital strategy at mutual fund, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other asset management companies is in persuading colleagues to use the more commonly used terms when they create content.

Amateur performers on Idol have youth and inexperience as their excuse for ignoring the judges' cues. But professional communications today need to cede to the easy-to-track "wisdom of the crowds.”

Journalists years ago agreed to follow the Associated Press style, and book publishers mostly conformed to the Chicago Manual of Style. But even companies that adopted either the AP or Chicago style tended to produce their own addendums documenting the instances when they wanted to deviate from common practice. Words are invented, hyphens are attached with abandon, spelling reflects individual manager’s preferences and then gets institutionalized. Nobody picks this bit of muscle-flexing as a battle that’s worth fighting.

But there’s a price to be paid for spelling and word idiosyncrasies, and your Web site traffic, your content, pays it. This is inadvertent, of course, and that’s why it’s up to you to point it out. Asset managers are publishers now and need to think of their readers.

Video-sharers Have Puppy Love for SPDRs Commercial

Pat — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:10:53 -0500

It’s been fun this week watching the growing social media success of State Street Global Advisors's exchange-traded fund (ETF) marketing. A SPDRS commercial introduced in June is getting uploaded to YouTube, as well as to other video-sharing sites, and commenters love, love, LOVE “the video.” (Note how the commercial aspect shrinks when the message is sufficiently appealing.)

Reviewers like the dogs, they like the accompanying song so much they want to buy it…and guess what else? According to their comments, some say they might even give State Street a look.

Watch the commercial for yourself and then let’s bat around some thoughts.

And Now for Your Next Heroic Act: Visualizations

Pat — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:36:05 -0600

When we talk to clients/prospects about what they’re doing on the Web, the conversations focus on what more they could be doing. Of course, there’s always more to do, especially for those responsible for how mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other investment products are marketed.

But we are always mindful of the range of work—development and strategy—that’s done, day in and day out by eBusiness, Internet Marketing, Interactive Marketing et al teams.

And now, here’s a picture of it.

A Stimulus for Your Search Engine Rankings: One Low-Cost ‘Tweak’ That Could Make a Difference

Pat — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 11:28:48 -0600

Across the country, businesses and individuals are focused on making their dollars go further. It’s an exercise that includes a forced examination of wasteful habits. Forgo that second coffee mid-morning, for example, and you’ll be saving a few dollars a day.

In that spirit, we have a suggestion for managements of mutual fund, ETF, broker-dealer and other investment-related marketing teams: stop using “Click here” as your anchor text.

A Belated Valentine for 10 Sites You Could Learn to Love

Pat — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:27:45 -0600

Work and some recreation kept me from posting this in time for St. Valentine's Day. Hate when life keeps me from the computer. Without further delay, the sites I love and think you will, too:

1. Quantcast.com
Quantcast is a free service established for marketers, agencies and publishers to serve as a basis for media planning. If you're buying online ads, you may already be familiar with its data about media sites.