How Financial Synergies Went To The Top Of Google With SEO

In 2015, Houston financial advisory firm Financial Synergies started seeing their website conversion rates dropping. In fact, visits to their site all around were plummeting. It was more than a little concerning, and yet they didn’t know why their website was having such issues.

Scrambling to figure it out, they did a Google search and found themselves at the bottom of the page. Could this be the reason why visitors and converting clients had been dropping?

SEO is one of the most difficult parts of marketing for a business, but it’s also one of the most important with a high ROI if done properly. Without SEO, many businesses see their customer and visitor count dwindle as they struggle to get visibility. In 2016, nearly 90% of Americans accessed the Internet.  Moreover, today Google gets over 100 billion searches a month. SEO is the only way to get to the top of one of those 100 billion searches.

However, getting a top ranking is difficult without a targeted SEO strategy. Financial Synergies found themselves searching for an answer to a big problem. If they wanted to fix their dropping numbers and visibility, they would need a website that would be at the top of search engines. Moreover, they need to convert website visitors to paying customers. With little SEO knowledge and web design, they knew they would need an expert to help them reach their goals. Financial Synergies found their answer in Midstream Marketing, who helped them achieve their objectives and exceed high expectations.

SEO and Conversion Rates

In 2016, the top entry on Google’s search engine results page (SERP) got 30% of clickthrough rates (CTRs), while the third position only got 12%. That is a huge difference, and most likely means the last entry gets little to no CTR. Although a high CTR doesn’t necessarily mean a high conversion rate, it does mean visibility. Every business owner knows that visibility makes it easier, although not guaranteed, to gain paying customers. More to the point, a customer can’t become a customer if they don’t know the business exists.

So, how does a business gain visibility on the SERP? The answer is in search engine optimization, or SEO.

What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

SEO simply means optimizing a website so that it ranks well on a SERP. It’s a relatively convoluted process, involving things like algorithms, analytics, keyword research, and even market research. More to the point, SEO is a way to connect with potential customers online.

Those involved in an SEO strategy must know the high-ranking search terms the target market uses. These search terms are called keywords and are essential in the optimizing process. The goal of search engines, like Google, is to bring the user to the website they’re looking for – to be more intuitive, helpful, and easier for someone to find what they’re looking for quickly. Therefore, a good SEO strategy must answer the following questions:

1. Is the site mobile-friendly and easy to navigate?
2. Does the page load fast?
3. Will the content meet the needs of the user, i.e. does it have keywords?
4. Are there call-to-action statements?

SEO is all about the ideal customer. Without SEO, a business will be unable to connect with their customer online. Since the majority of the world is online, not being able to connect means missing a lot of potential business. Furthermore, SEO helps builds trust and credibility. It’s a targeted approach to gaining customers, which means higher conversion rate potential.

Connecting with more Potential Customers through Online Searches

Like many other businesses today, Financial Synergies had to adapt to the ever-changing and complicated world of search engines. If they wanted to connect with more potential customers online, then they needed to change their website strategy. Without visibility on the SERP, they were missing potential business, which meant stagnation and, inevitably, a decline in paying customers.

Financial Synergies realized they had a huge opportunity to improve business growth through SEO. They sought out Midstream Marketing, who was able to help them devise a targeted and comprehensive SEO strategy.

An SEO Strategy with the LeadGen Formula ™

After working closely with Financial Synergies, we were able to create a comprehensive strategy that would reach all of their goals. Our LeadGen Formula ™ was the blueprint for this strategy. Our LeadGen Formula ™ consists of three foundations: design and technology, inbound marketing, and conversion optimization. These three foundations lay out the blueprint for a strategy that was designed and customized specifically to help Financial Synergies achieve their goal. The steps of the LeadGen Formula ™ account for every detail – from the back-end coding of the website to the aesthetics and visitor-facing content.

Financial Synergies not only needed a strong SEO strategy, but also a better designed website. The goal was to take the three foundations of the formula to yield a higher conversion rate, ultimately getting each website visitor to take action on the website and become a client.

Financial Synergies’ goals were always kept at the center of the strategy – to have a higher SEO ranking and better online experience for their clients. The LeadGen strategy began with a new responsive web design, which directly affects SEO, and ended with conversion optimization.

1. Design
We designed a website that is not only visually appealing and mobile-friendly, but also contains no errors in the code and loads fast. Within the design, we considered SEO to ensure that it would have a high SEO ranking.

2. Inbound Marketing
We helped Financial Synergies build trust with potential customers through high quality content and brand discovery. The goal was to bring in more traffic through the website, which was done by implementing a strategy that included organic and local SEO.

3. Conversion Optimization
We brought the first two steps together to create a well-oiled machine that resulted in converts. We used the new responsive web design and inbound marketing strategy to generate potential leads and convert them into paying customers. By building effective landing pages that are simple and contain strong calls-to-action, website visitors became paying clients at a higher rate.

The three steps of the LeadGen Formula ™ were successful in helping Financial Synergies convert their website’s anonymous visitors into clients.

Visibility Matters

For Financial Synergies, and many other businesses, they experienced the consequences of not having an SEO strategy. Their search ranking dropped, which meant the number of site visitors plummeted as well. They realized that without an SEO strategy and a better-designed website, they would be passed over by other financial firms that took advantage of the targeted online connection.

However, with the aggressive and comprehensive SEO strategy created by Midstream Marketing, along with a new responsive web design and social media strategy, Financial Synergies experienced a direct increase in visitors and lead generation.