6 tips for really effective Financial Broker websites
Financial brokers today recognise the importance of having a really effective website. After all, it’s the first touch point that many consumers have with your business.
If you’ve a fairly basic website or one that hasn’t been revisited in a while, here are some tips that can double or more the effectiveness of your website!
Make it Easy to Navigate
Don’t make the user have to “work out” where to find the information they are seeking. Make the navigation so simple that your mum or granny would find her way around it!! The main navigation bar, which to my mind should always be at the top of the page and not down the side, is really critical. It is through this that most users will enter the site from the homepage, so think this through very carefully. Think very carefully of what to include on this, as it typically will only cover 6/7 site areas. And then consider very carefully what you are going to call each section. Use standard terminology that makes sense to people, such as About / Our Services / Contact Us / News or Blog.
Focus on Financial Planning
I look at a lot of financial brokers’ websites. Probably the biggest bugbear that I have is the lack of focus on financial planning. This is the extremely valuable skill that you bring to your clients, helping them identify their financial objectives and then finding and implementing the best solutions to help them achieve those objectives.
However many websites talk only about financial products. This makes you appear as a hard-edged salesman, selling the latest and greatest products, not doing justice to your skill at all. I strongly suggest that you develop a very prominent, specific section in your website about financial planning and explain the value that you will bring to clients.
Reduce the Amount of Content
Yes, this is not a typo! Obviously this may not apply to every website, but in the main, too many of them are packed out with superfluous content. While it might please you seeing lots and lots of pages with long explanations and technical details about every product available, frankly the user will just get bored. And boredom is fatal on the web as the user just leaves your site.
Use your Google Analytics to identify your poorly performing pages from where people are leaving the site. You will often see that these are long technical pages. Either shorten them or get rid of them!
Update your News Section / Blog regularly
This is one of the most valuable areas of the site for a number of reasons. I’m not talking about taking a newsfeed from some online source or sending links to other people’s content. This section is for regular and relevant blog entries that educate users and demonstrate your expertise and these play a number of valuable roles. First of all, they draw people to your site after you share a link to a useful article you’ve written. This of course in turn opens up the possibility of the user finding out more about you and the services you offer.
Google loves fresh, original content. In fact new, authentic content that engages users and in turn is endorsed by them through sharing it, liking it or commenting is one of the most important drivers of bumping you up the search results. This is of course on top of the value that clients and prospective clients will get from knowing that you are a Financial Broker with a finger on the pulse and demonstrating your expertise and ability to solve their problems.
Have Clear Calls to Action
Users will come to your site for a range of different reasons. Some may be simply browsing around, others may be looking for specific information, some may want to buy and may be looking for your phone number. Try and appeal to all of them by having a range of Calls to Action. The last group are easiest – make sure they can easily see your phone number without having to go looking for it! For the others, have Calls to Action that will enable them to stay in touch with your business, even after they leave the site. Do you make it easy for people to connect with you on LinkedIn from your site? Make it easy for them to subscribe to your newsletter. Maybe offer an online Chat facility to answer their questions there and then.
Mobile is Key
More than one third of searches happen now on mobile devices. Your site simply must be responsive, ensuring that it is easy to read on a phone or other device. People today have lost patience with having to “pinch” the screen to go looking for the information that they want – this results in a terrible viewing experience. Responsive sites alter the screen layout to suit the device on which it is being viewed – a “must have” today.
Also in relation to mobile, if someone is looking at your site while out and about, very often they are simply looking for contact details. So again make sure your phone number is very visible.
For some Financial Brokers, these changes will mean a few hours work. For others they might mean a new site. For everyone though they are worth it. Research of financial brokers is happening more and more online so you want to make sure you demonstrating why you are the best choice for prospective customers!