Category: Financial Advisor

How Can Website Design Affect SEO Results On Search Engines?

Posted on by altastreet

SEO is not just a long-running game of keywords. Obviously, keywords have special importance in SEO, but Google is much sharp to recognize the overall reputation of your business.

How your site deals with search engines, it depends upon design, on-site optimization and user’s experience. As search engines like Google come closer to SEO, it has arisen a fashion to design every element of a site to put a heavy impact on Search engine optimization.

The web designers who have the capability to design emotions/dreams of users lean to be more successive to influence SEO. Having creative minds in a company allows a site to capture the soul of a user and strike search ranking in a robust form. The Financial Website design is one of the elementary aspects that have a positive or negative impression on final outputs.

What are the facts, a website design must have to strike the top rank?

Perfect layout:

A clear or beautifully created layout is a big factor to engage users to your site. With this pattern, users can easily get their answer and will return back to your site soon. Avoid adding over sized images that discard the appearance of content over a site. The incorrect layout shows bad SEO designing. Add relevant blogs and other content but only if required.

Content size:

After putting content to a site, analyse content size properly. A fragile content is useless in SEO. Need to fix extra space, font style, Titles and details. If you want to add testimonials, put it in double commas like “ ”. Keep in mind where content should be small or large in size, which portion should be Italics, Bold or underlined.

Here are some other examples to improve content:

  • Quality writing
  • Beautiful images
  • Real videos

Decent color schemes:

The intense colors, effects create an attitude of disappointment in users because sometimes color reflection is so high, you can’t read out the content effectively. Avoid using very bright and very light colors. Use a decent looking color scheme to impress the investors. As in the finance department, clients are more attracted toward useful information or valuable results, so it’s better to pay little more attention while choosing colors.

Assume, a user is not engaged to your site, is it because of unattractive design? Definitely, it can be the reason. He/she returns to the Search Engine Results Page to explore another site for their satisfaction. And it drops your online ranking.

The design should be well formatted or executed with the association of SEO experts to create a website which is search engine friendly and AltaStreet will offer you helping hands to design an amazing website.

How Financial Marketing Services is helpful to convert website Visitors into Clients?

Posted on by altastreet

The Quotation; “the first impression is the last impression”, really works for this article.

You’d expect unconditional traffic to your site which directly means you want more customers and high sales rate, yet it’s not working so? Why? Simply, traffic is not sufficient if that’s not able to convert your website visitors into clients.

Move on further to understand how AltaStreet transfer visitor into a client for Financial Advisor Website Services.  There are a bunch of factors reside behind this statement, we’ll discuss that step by step.

Here is a list of crucial financial Marketing services:

SEO:

SEO contributes to bringing your website up in top results over search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Technical support and innovative minds join hands to drive traffic and spread awareness regarding business, brand or product. Make sure your website is responsive and optimized for search engine results, to visualize by the customers.

Social Media Marketing:

To play the game of social marketing, informative enrich or relevant content you have to collect. The promotion can be done on different social sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Write down the eye catchy content pertinent to financial services, post the ad over Facebook, Instagram to grab the attention of your customers and wait till they make a call for their next project.

PPC:

The PPC (Pay-per-click) marketing is helpful for financial companies in the promotion of financial services. It’s absolutely risk-free service you can adapt for your site. It creates uncountable calls to make inquiries about the financial requirements of the business.

Your website plays a vital role to take attention of the customers. You should make the landing page informative plus attractive because user stays longer when they find relevant or good stuff on the landing page at the starting seconds. Otherwise, they lose interest and get back to another source.

Below are the required things you have to add in your website for better results:

Content:

You can say, content is the main accessory of your website. Make a killer strategy for a long term goal and here important point is be turned out about to whom you’re promoting? Who is your targeted audience? Where you are offering services?

Everything should be cleared in the content section; tiny to vast. The more audience turns into a client when they have found good opportunities to know about you well like by posting blogs on the site, highlight main terms, etc. While reading your content, if the user finds it interesting then definitely they’ll get back to you soon.

Add testimonials:

The feedback from the previous clients is another big opportunity to boost up. If you satisfy your clients, surely they left with positive feedback and use that response as a weapon to attract the viewers.

Add all golden words to your site, when visitors read about your work, then again there is a chance they changed their mind. The testimonials are like social proof of your work and your strong bond with your clients. It sounds respectable vibes both parties have shared.

Free trial:

A free trial is an opportunity for the visitor to examine the thing carefully before making a final commitment. Maximum organizations offer free trials to visitors. There are advantages of free trial:

  • Customers do not feel anxiety at the time of the final deal
  • Customers have a chance to quit if they don’t get impressed
  • See the competition level

In an incredible world, the competition is incredible. To convert the audience to your client is not that easy, you’re in a business line to make money. Hence, it’s not just like to create a website and wait for traffic. You have to figure out the finest tools and resources to implement in your work to get the best.

How to Market to High-Net-Worth Individuals

Posted on by altaadmin

High-net-worth individuals require a different marketing approach than the rest of the world’s consumers.

According to the PwC Strategy & Global Wealth Management Survey 2016, high-net-worth individuals possess generous amounts of digital literacy. They use multiple devices frequently with 98 percent accessing the internet and/or apps on a daily basis.

Financial services not marketing to this demographic are missing out on a key group. Note, however, that marketing to high-net-worth individuals must be done right to be effective.

Highlighting Exclusivity and Top-Tier Service

High-net-worth individuals are used to having exclusive access and perks. These individuals expect products and services that are not available to the mainstream population. Your marketing needs to reflect that. Whatever you are offering, your strategy needs to promote this messaging.

Consider marketing your VIP perks, top-tier service not available to the mainstream, members-only benefits and anything else that requires a certain level of gatekeeping to access. This not only gives aspects of your business highly prized exclusivity, but it helps your high-net-worth individuals feel like their privacy is paramount.

The AltaStreet Client VAULT, for example, assures efficiency and confidentiality, giving your clients secure access to documents and personalized collaboration.

Personalization in Marketing

High-net-worth individuals expect individual attention and care. Providing this is easier said than done in marketing. When you are working with people one-on-one, you can tailor your activities and strategies to the individual. With an online or digital approach, this is harder to accomplish.

This is where data-driven marketing comes in. Focused campaigns should be monitored and analyzed to make sure that strategies are working well. If, on analysis, they are not effective, you can – and should – adjust them.

Generic campaigns like mass emails will not work with the high-net-worth segment of your market. Instead, your approach should be highly personal, without losing sight of what your clients want and need.

AltaStreet’s content filtering is one way to deliver highly personalized content. It allows marketers to pick and choose what each client or client group sees.

AltaStreet’s Features for Financial Marketing

Our Client PORTAL, Client VAULT, and content filtering are just three of the ways we can help tailor financial marketing to high-net-worth individuals. We are happy to build custom programming to suit any marketing needs.

Reach out to us today to learn more about our offerings. Schedule a consult with our team and we’ll get started right away.

 

Designing a Financial or Corporate Website for the Millennial Generation

Posted on by altaadmin

Millennials are people born between 1977 and 1995. (It’s really important to note that you can be born within three years on either side of the beginning or ending of a generation and have all the characteristics of the generation before or after.) Each generation has a mood or tone, and a value system, and it’s worth thinking about these to serve these groups more effectively.

Why do we need to be thinking about Millennials right now?

Most Millennials are in their 20s and 30s. Some are at the age where they are in senior positions in business. They’ve worked, have life experience, and are now in a position to make decisions, financial and otherwise, that affect the world.

The youngest Millennials have made the transition from young adult to adult. They are making decisions that will affect their financial futures.

Since each generation has different experiences and expectations, it’s worth knowing how all these people tick. If you know what they want, you’ll be able to give it to them better.

What Millennials Want and How Your Financial Website Can Deliver it to Them

Describing a generation is a massive generalization, but this is a generalization that is useful. Not everyone of this generation will fit the same description, but it’s a useful guide when it comes to things to consider for this age group.

Generally-speaking, then, Millennials are unlike previous generations. The world changes with each generation and if you’re aware of this you can adapt.

Here’s what makes Millennials tick.

 -Millennials value flexibility more than previous generations.

They have grown up during the the birth of the information age. They understand that a Wi-Fi connection means that they can work and do business from anywhere; and they demand that right.

They take part in recreation, shopping, socializing, and working, but you can add “on-the-go” to all of those words. If they can’t do it with technology, they may not bother.

More users will expect to be able to interact with your business online at any time as devices evolve, internet coverage grows, and connections become faster.

Mobile use has been growing steadily since 2009. Globally, more people searched through Google on mobile devices than on desktop computers back in October 2016.

Your Millennial audience is looking for services like yours via their mobile devices. You need to make sure that a) they find you, and that b) your site looks good on any mobile device.

Unfortunately, your potential customer is not likey to be forgiving about your website design, especially if he or she is a Millennial. They will just expect it to work. Fast. Now. On whatever device they are using.

– Millennials want it now, whatever it is.

They don’t care how long you spent coding. They just want it to work.

According to CNN, you’ve got 2.4 seconds for your page to load before people start clicking away. By 2.5 seconds, Millennials are wondering if there’s something wrong with the website or their device.

If someone has found you and the site loads within 2 seconds, you then need to make sure that it is attractive and usable on the mobile device in question.

The cues that a visitor gets from this interaction with your business can inform their impression of your firm, especially if it is the first contact they have with your business.

– Millennials are less interested in meeting people in person than other generations.

When communicating with Millennials, they will be less likely to want to “come into the office.” Expect text messages, instant messaging, or emails, and voice or video calls.

When designing your financial website, putting your business address at the bottom of the site and expecting people to turn up at your business is not going to get as many people contacting you as including a range of contact details, including telephone, email, a contact form, social media, and instant messaging.

Whichever communication media your target audience is using, offer these too.

– They value knowledge and experiences

Doesn’t everyone? Well, yes, but what this means for Millennials is that they are less likely to be impressed by qualifications, certifications, or awards, as opposed to experience or testimonials.

This means that your website provides you with a good opportunity for sharing your knowledge on relevant subjects. Guest blogging and other techniques can also help you establish yourself and your business as a trusted thought leader.

– They Love to Learn – Their Own Way

Millennials are more likely than other generations to seek a self-service solution to a problem.

A Millennial’s first stop may well be a website, where they will use information to diagnose their problem and find a solution they can employ themselves. When they need professional help, they are also likely to use the web to find the best-reviewed businesses or companies recommended by their peers.

What does this mean for your financial website? You want to consider not being so quick to offer a consultation or a package of solutions to a particular problem. Yes, you can offer these things, but also provide helpful advice that will inform your visitors and help them to diagnose and solve their own problems.

You can achieve this through an FAQ or knowledge base. Helpful blog posts on key questions asked by your customers will also provide value for people looking for those answers.

These posts can also build your brand, develop trust, and help establish you as a thought leader.

– A Millennial’s work-life balance has tipped towards life

The Millennial generation works to live. Friends and family and lifestyle are at the forefront. Hobbies and pastimes have great importance and value.

This is not to say that Millennials don’t work. They do. But their businesses become more a part of their lives and their identity than for other generations, who may separate work and play.

Millennials prefer to use businesses and brands that align with their values and say something about the kind of people they are.

Consider the values of your target demographic and psychographic. Make sure that they know where your business intersects with their ideals. You might be providing stability, flexibility, simplicity, or transparency. Make sure that your branding reflects your core values and that you tell the world so that your kind of people will join you.

The more information you have about your customers, the better you can serve them. We design high-quality, high-performing financial websites and we know how to serve Millennials. We also understand the value of maintaining a website that makes your potential customers feel as though you were expecting them.

Whether your website represents the first contact with a potential customer or it is sealing the deal after you’ve met, make sure that it’s working it’s best.

We know finance, we know website design, and we know Millennials. Get in touch with us today and we’ll make it easy for you to attract new clients and to serve your existing clients better.

Contact Dan Stark at www.altastreet.com to set up a call to find out if we figure out if we can have the impact we both want on your business.

 

How to Make a Better First Impression with Your Financial Website

Posted on by altaadmin

 

How do you normally aim to make a good first impression? A firm handshake? A winning smile? Steady but non-threatening eye-contact?

What about people who first discover you online? What first impression does your financial website give your potential clients?

If you’re thinking that once your website has their attention, you’ll close the deal in person or during a call, you could be losing a lot of business.

Neglecting your website can mean turning off many potential clients. And those that get in touch will be cooler and harder to win over than if your website had been performing optimally.

Why Making a Good First Impression is Important

– People use your site’s appearance to make decisions.

n the digital age, with so many people checking out your website to research your reputation and ability, it’s essential to make a good impression with your website.

– We are human

While good business and financial decisions are based on facts, statistics, and mathematical probabilities, we are still human. First impressions affect our decisions, whether we know it or not.

We want to do business with some people, because we get a good feeling about them. When all other factors are equal between two firms, we’re likely to go with the firm that made the best impression on us.

– A good impression can put you ahead of the competition

There’s a lot of competition in the financial services industry. Don’t let your business suffer because you are relying on your track record, testimonials, and reputation. These will help you get more business, but you’ve got to work on that first impression too.

– Improving the quality of your site is good for everyone

The work you put into creating a great first impression will improve the quality and usability of your website for all your visitors, whether they are existing clients or not.

How to Make a Great First Impression Online

According to Business Insider, you have only 7 seconds to make a first impression in person. According to the Nielson Norman Group, your financial website has 10 seconds to get your point across.

How do you do well in the face of these statistics? By focusing on the objectives of your financial services business, and by working on high-quality design to communicate clearly and quickly with your client base.

Here are some things to consider.

– Don’t try to please everyone

Making a good impression on your customers involves understanding who your customers are. What one demographic or psychographic will find welcoming might be off-putting to other groups.

Be specific with your marketing and branding. Think carefully about your ideal customer and design your website for them. This is not excluding other types of people who may also use your services.

Target the main people you are trying to attract and let them be your standard bearers for the rest of the world.

– Tell people what to expect

There are many ways for your financial website to communicate what your business does and who it’s for. Your imagery and colors and design will speak volumes. A few words on your homepage, such as a tagline or company slogan, or your mission statement, can be helpful.

One of the top reasons a visitor leaves a page within the first few seconds is that the page did not deliver what was expected. Your page is not going to be right for everyone who visits it, but don’t lose visitors because your message is unclear.

– Don’t overwhelm your visitors

A typical reaction to hearing that you must make an impression with your financial website is to list all of the great reasons for working with your firm. To avoid losing visitors, some firms create explanations of all their services, with links, and squeeze this onto the homepage.

Depending on the design, your business, and your target clients, this could lead very quickly to overwhelm, which is a prime reason for people clicking away.

You’re likely to create a better impression by keeping things simple. Designers talk about the importance of negative space, which is the space that surrounds an object in an image. Your financial website design should give people room to think and breathe.

– Be authentic

Today’s consumers are savvier than ever. Millennials, in particular, care about the culture, ethics, and values of the companies that they do business with. Don’t try to play them.

Trust is particularly important to the financial services industry. Your financial website doesn’t only need to be genuine. It needs to sound genuine from the very start. Achieving this might mean hiring professionals to help you communicate with your target customers.

Creative imagery and natural text can help you get your message across. It may be counter-intuitive, but sometimes it takes a professional to create writing that sounds natural, so outsource accordingly.

Display your Authority

People are looking for a financial services firm that they can trust. You can communicate this quickly online by linking to testimonials and displaying your social proof.

Social proof is often explained by describing two restaurants. One has a tumbleweed blowing across the tables. The other has a queue going around the block. Which appears to be the better restaurant?

Popularity isn’t the only measure of a company’s quality, but it’s a hint. If you have people queuing around the block to get hold of your financial services and if people are coming back again and again, let the world know.

A widget that tells visitors how many people have ‘liked’ your page and offers them the opportunity to do the same can be an effective strategy for communicating and improving social proof for financial websites.

Once someone has received their first impression of your business, it’s very hard to change their minds. Don’t leave the first impression of your business to an outdated or unfocused website. With an audit or overhaul of your business’s presence online, you can stop fighting this uphill battle.

At AltaStreet, we have design professionals that understand the financial industry inside out. We will help you communicate your unique message to your clients to make a lasting first impression.

To learn more and find out why over 1K clients have worked with AltaStreet, you can contact Dan Stark.

 

You Have a Financial Website. Now Make it Good.

Posted on by altaadmin

Looking to improve your website? That’s a great idea.

It’s no secret that in today’s world, on of the first places customers evaluate you is on your website.

Knowing the value of making a solid first impression, it’s worth investing time and money in your “online storefront.” If potential clients don’t like what they see when they reach your page, they will simply click away.

Improving What You Have

Unless you are a brand new company, chances are you already have a website in place. Whether or not it’s doing the job you need it to is another story.

There are several key functions that a website should perform to be effective, both from a user experience perspective, and from a marketing one.

To find out how well your website is achieving your marketing goals, you can test it by visiting the site grader.com. Type in your website address and email, and your site will be analyzed instantly. Once you’ve received your report, you will get an overall score, as well as an individual score across a range of parameters. These parameters greatly affect your search engine result placements (SERPs), and therefore the effectiveness of your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts.

If your site is only scoring “OK” or “Poorly” on any of these parameters, particularly performance and SEO, you need to take action. That may mean improving your hosting package so that page load times decrease, leading to a better experience for your users. It could also mean condensing the code.

There are lots of different techniques for improving every aspect of your business website. If your IT person or web developer says that raising your site’s scores is not possible, that’s a good indication that your business needs to provide extra training for your IT staff or that it’s time to find a new web development company.

Content

While the Grader report focuses very much on performance, mobile-friendliness (how your site looks and operates on a mobile device), and SEO, it doesn’t take your content into consideration.

You’ll notice that keywords found on your site have ZERO IMPACT on your SEO score. Times have changed and keyword stuffing your pages does not improve your organic search rank (unpaid placement) in Google.

What is important in the first instance is having your page titles, meta tags, and descriptions on point. And the way to drive a lot of traffic to your site – and encourage those important backlinks from authority sites – is to have great written and graphical content.

So, what does great content look like?

Well, first and foremost it should speak directly to your customers. Instead of using sentences that start with “We…” for example, “We are great at growing our customers’ pension funds,” try flipping this to put your potential customers in the spotlight. So, how about:

“You know you need a sizable pension to retire by 65, but you’re not there yet. If you want no nonsense, objective, financial advice, you can contact us for a free consultation.”

By focusing your web copy on your customers and speaking directly to them, you are more likely to engage them convincingly enough for them to reach out. That should be the primary function and marketing goal of any business website.

Social Media

Do you have company profiles across all of the major social networks, including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest, SnapChat, and YouTube? Don’t worry if you are not on every social network, as long as you are on the main social networks used by your potential customers.

Are your linking to your social network profiles from your website “above the fold?” This is an old newspaper term, but in a modern context it simply means the area of a website that is visible on a user’s device, without them having to scroll.

Why is the area “above the fold” so important? Statistics show that as many as 75% of new visitors to a website never scroll down to view all the content on the loading page. You have to grab their attention at the top!

Social proof is vital

“Social proof” includes things like public reviews, forum discussions mentioning your company and staff, referrals on social media, “likes,” and followers.

It demonstrates that you are trustworthy and allows your site visitor to form a more detailed impression of your company. For example, will a new customer clicking over to your Facebook page see that you and the team received thousands of “likes” for raising money for a childhood cancer charity? Or, will they be hit with a stream of negative reviews aimed at your customer services department? The power of social proof cannot be underestimated.

Think of social media as an extension of your financial website. Think carefully about the brand and image which you wish to portray. If you get stuck, speak to a web design expert who can carry your branding to your social media pages.

Be sure to moderate any comments on your profile pages, and keep the pages regularly updated so that there is always fresh content for users to consume.

Blog

Not all financial institutions have a blog on their website yet. The lack of enthusiasm for blogging often comes down to a lack of time or resources. This is an opportunity for your company. Blogging is one of the best ways to showcase your brand and ethos to a wider audience. If the content is of a high quality and you are actively promoting your content across social media, some of your content may go viral.

Of course, there needs to be a hook in the blog title that encourages the user to read it – just like you chose to read this one after reading the title.

Check out CoSchedule’s headline analyzer tool to make sure you are always creating catchy titles that resonate with your audience. Spend time writing compelling content – or outsourcing it to a writing agency – so you always have well-conceived and well-written content to share with your growing network.

To give your financial website an overhaul and put some distance between you and your competition, fast, get in touch with a financial website professional.

As you can see, having a great financial website isn’t rocket science, but it does require some time, effort, and resources to get it right. Once the results start rolling in, in the form of new leads, customers, and sales, you’ll be glad you put in the time.

Learn how we have helped over 1,000 Companies in the Financial Space thrive. Contact Dan Stark at AltaStreet today.

 

Using Jungian Archetypes To Market Your Financial Website

Posted on by altaadmin

The use of Jungian archetypes has become a great hack everywhere from film scripts to dating sites. Websites and brand management are no exception. Once the basic concept is clear, you’ll see why it makes a lot of sense for financial websites.

How Jungian Archetypes Work

Archetypes refer to characters that can be found in stories across cultures. Their names may vary, but they are so recognizable that we accept them as universal. Essentially, the Jungian archetypes are little different from any other set of characters, whether they are from Greek Mythology, the Zodiac, or ‘The Seven’ from Game of Thrones. However, Jungian archetypes are useful because they are widely written about in a marketing context, providing a fixed point of reference.

These characters’ main asset is that they are intrinsic to global culture. This makes them familiar in a way that is extremely powerful and, according to neuroscience, helps us to remember information associated with them. This happens via common emotional patterns and the stories they trigger in the viewer’s unconscious, as well as the stories that brand managers construct for them.

Market Context

So how does this benefit a financial website? Previous models of financial branding are not as solid as they once were. The more paternal, traditional brands such as the wise and dependable institution have been integral to offline financial branding for many years. However, negative personal experiences and the banking crisis have soured the credibility of this approach, leaving many consumers wary of this branding. But market context is just one part of the picture. Equally important are customer demographics and brand.

Customer Demographics

A major driver of branding is positioning a product or service to appeal to the kind of customer the financial institution is hoping to attract. Banks and financial services companies have aimed at gathering the widest customer base possible, which poses problems for Jungian archetypes.

With online services and niche markets expanding, targeted branding using Jungian archetypes makes sense for financial websites focusing on a particular demographic for their customer base.

Brand Management

Site development and content management all rely on tone to vector the information they provide. Finding the right brand for financial services can be a challenge – it needs to be both serious and engaging. By taking on an archetypal character, or even a combination of two or three of them, the information can be framed in such a way that it becomes more of a narrative with specific traits; a pre-packaged brand ‘identity.’

This way, it’s easier to find a narrative hook and strong adjectives that will enliven the writing, without blundering into hyperbole, because the archetypal character keeps the writing coherent to the brand, even when it’s pushing the envelope.

It’s in the use of images that archetype branding really takes off. Images for financial websites tend to be the same blue-gray pictures of white men looking down at documents, women and children jumping, or something that vaguely suggests digital via overlaid strings of soft focus binary code.

By digging into archetype branding, however, a completely different palate and symbolic language become available. This greater visual range can be employed without detracting from the brand message or identity. Archetype branding is much more visually exciting than traditional design.

The 12 archetypes:

The Innocent, also known as the orphan

Idealistic, pure, straight dealing, optimistic, kind and simple. Not many financial companies run with this archetype, but The Co-operative Bank is one example.

The Hero

Strong, fierce, relentless, disciplined, like Paypal.

The Everyman

Real, honest, hardworking, fair. GoCompare.com, though not strictly a financial company, is one. Amalgamated Bank and Visa are also examples of this archetype.

The Caregiver

Kind, generous, comforting; someone who serves. Several insurance companies aim for this archetype, including Legal and General, Guardian Life, and Prudential.

The Jester

Spontaneous, fun, playful, and sometimes inappropriate. Virgin Money is a good example of this brand.

The Explorer

Freedom, self-improvement, discovery, daring, self-sufficiency. This seems like a space that’s waiting for a big player to fill it. Discover.com and Libertybank.net are giving it a go, and accounting software FreeAgent.com provides a masterclass.

The Outlaw / Revolutionary

Mould-breaking, tear down and rebuild. E*trade and Virgin.

The Magician

Change-makers who cause us to shift our perspective, grandiose. Magicians are also logical, insightful, and analytical. Oracle.com is a classic example of the magician archetype – as are a lot of cloud-based services and quant-driven investment firms, such as Robeco.com.

The Lover

Orientated towards the senses, deep connections and lasting relationships. This is more Dove soap and Hagen Daas than financial services.

The Creator

Creative, driven, open-minded, determined. Usually associated with brands such as Lego and Apple, the creator archetype is rare in risk averse financial institutions. However, ally.com, Hellobank, and eLife online banking are all going there, and Commerce Bank online has arrived.

The Ruler

Authoritative, in control, responsible; always seeking improvement. Moody’s investment service.

The Sage

Knowledgeable, objective, research orientated. Wisely even has an owl logo. Other Sage companies include Credit Insights and Personal Capital.

Financial websites are getting a lot livelier. If you want to stand out, consider looking at where your brand might go via archetypes.

Imagine how much more interesting and exciting your website could become. And use these archetypes to help attract the ideal customers looking for your product or service and style.

Learn How AltaStreet has helped well over 1,000 Firms thrive in the Financial Space. Contact Managing Partner, Dan Stark to set up a Discovery Call or email: dan@altastreet.com

 

 

How to Avoid Your Financial Website Being Penalized by Google

Posted on by altaadmin

If you are running a financial website, you can learn a thing or two from Google. At Google, they are always trying to serve their customers as best they can, and they know how to do it. If you follow the spirit of Google’s content guidelines, you’ll be pleasing your visitors too.

Keep up with Google. You’ll slip down the rankings if your content and site design do meet their ever-changing content requirements. When you do something that is against Google’s guidelines, you are penalized. Their aim isn’t to punish you, so much as it is to elevate content that its users will like, and push the rest down the rankings.

When Google updates, it does so for good reasons. These changes, however, can force poor quality content off the map. An example is 2012s Penguin update, described as a webspam algorithm, which affected 1 in 10 search results.

Since 2012, the Penguin update it has been gone through several iterations. It works in real time, which means that new businesses can no longer get away with poor quality content or site design for a few months until they get round to improving their offering. Google will spot and deal with these sites immediately.

And Penguin is just one of many algorithms that Google uses to maintain the quality of its search results. Since Google can wipe out a business with the flick of a switch, you’d better be aware of what they’re doing and when.

If you’ve been working hard on your site, but it’s still not ranking well, you may have been penalized for something without realizing it. If you search for your brand name and your site ranks poorly, or your page one positions have slipped to page two or three for no apparent reason, you’ve most likely been penalized.

Google doesn’t always announce the changes it makes. There are common reasons for being penalized, however, so we recommend that you look at these first.

Duplicate Content

Whether it’s found within your domain, or across the net, duplicate content gets Google’s heckles up.

Some people deliberately create duplicate content for non-malicious reasons. For example, you might have a page of content and a duplicate page that is simply-formatted for printing.

In this kind of situation, you need to indicate your preferred URL to Google. This is called canonicalization. One way to do that is by using Search Console.

Google prefers it if you do not try to prevent its spiders looking at pages (such as by using a robots.txt file). It is far happier when you use canonicalization to tell it which pages as duplicates and which page you prefer.

You can also avoid being penalized for duplicate content by:

  • being consistent about the format you use for linking to pages internally;
  • using 301 redirects if you’ve restructured your site;
  • minimizing boilerplate repetition, such as by avoiding lengthy copyright text at the bottom of every page and replacing it with something shorter that links to your main copyright information page;
  • avoid placeholders if you’re in the process of (re)designing your site;
  • consolidating or differentiating pages with similar content.

Some people create duplicate content across various domains to deliberately boost their keyword use and move up the rankings. Google doesn’t want its users to see an entire page of links that all deliver the same content though.

Google does not suffer this kind of deception. It will penalize these domains without a second thought.

Buying Links

Having more sites link to yours used to be taken as evidence of the usefulness and quality of your site. These days, however, one link from a high-quality website is worth much more than many links from low-quality websites.

If you’re buying links, the standard of sites linking to you is likely to be very poor. Not only does this not help your rankings, but it will actually go against you.

Too Many Reciprocal Links

As with buying links, Google takes too much reciprocity is a sign that you are attempting to manipulate the rankings rather than provide a quality experience for your visitors.

The response? Penalization.

Not Enough Outbound Links

Google expects high-quality websites to understand that they do not exist in isolation and that there are other sites that its users may find useful. Almost every business has complimentary products, services, and information. Google rewards businesses that have a wider view of their customers’ needs.

Broken Internal Links – If you have broken links on your website, it means that your visitors are falling into potholes and bumping into each other in dead ends. Since Google wants the best possible experience for its users, it penalizes websites that don’t look after their infrastructure.

Broken External Links – Linking to quality sites is looked on favorably by Google. If the details of those pages change, however, that leaves you with broken external links, frustrated visitors, and a potential penalty from Google.

Keyword Stuffing – Since the Penguin update in 2012, keyword stuffing and other attempts to manipulate search results have been going rapidly out of fashion.

The best approach to SEO is to be aware of the keywords your target audience will be searching for and to use them naturally in genuinely useful content.

Overusing Meta Keywords – This is similar to keyword stuffing, but, in this case, you’ve been stuffing the meta tags rather than the main content. Essentially, your meta keywords are intended to help search engines and their users understand the content of your site.

Overdoing it with meta keywords is the equivalent of those envelopes where advertising messages are printed all over the envelope. You don’t even need to open the envelope to know that you’ve received some time-wasting spam. Do this to Google and they will blacklist your site and move on.

Spun Content – spun content is reworded content. The only originality you can expect in these articles is creative use of a thesaurus. Spun articles can push the boundaries of grammar, as writers strive to rewrite existing content for the sole purpose of evading anti-plagiarism software.

There are many articles written about how much content you need for your website and how often you should post. Too few articles talk about how quality wins over quantity.

A site that offers original, useful, expert advice will serve its visitors better than websites that pay cheap writers to spin content.

Google agrees.

Poor Mobile Websites – Google loves mobile. As is typical of Google, this is because Google’s users like mobile.

Mobile internet searches surpassed desktop searches in 2014. The percentage of web pages visited via mobile devices is on the increase all around the world.

With access to mountains of data and a direct line to the desires of its users, Google knows that mobile is critical. If you are not meeting the needs of mobile users, you can expect your site to slip down the rankings in favor of sites that feature mobile versions or responsive design.

One of the more recent additions to Google’s idea of what makes a good mobile site concerns pop-ups. Pop-ups can be effective for lead generation, capturing many email addresses. They are also very intrusive, however, and can impede a visitor’s experience, particularly via mobile.

Thanks to the ‘Intrusive Interstitial’ Update, pop-ups that cover an entire page are considered a barrier to the content being sought. Sites that use them face penalization by Google.

In addition to getting your site moving up the rankings, you need to maintain best practices to avoid going the other way. The landscape of the internet is always evolving. While some factors for delivering quality, useful websites are common sense, others take some expertise to understand, unravel, and repair.

Having financial expertise and the ability to deliver it to your visitors is essential to your success, but that’s not enough to ensure that you do well in the rankings.

To make sure that your financial website is offering the best possible experience to your visitors and avoiding unnecessary penalization by Google, get in touch with a financial web design professional with years of experience in financial services and web design.

Get in touch with Dan Stark to learn how AltaStreet helps Financial Advisors with their SEO.

Email: dan@altastreet.com

www.altastreet.com

AltaStreet Financial Websites and Marketing Chosen by the Nation’s Largest Independent Broker/Dealer* and Leader in the Retail Financial Advice Market

Posted on by altaadmin

LPL Financial, the nation’s largest independent broker/dealer* and leader in the retail financial advice market, has selected AltaStreet Financial Websites and Marketing for inclusion in LPL Financial’s Vendor Affinity Program.

The Vendor Affinity Program was designed to help its more than 14,000 advisors reduce the complexity and costs of running their businesses. The program consists of a centralized repository of vendors that have agreed to provide their products and services to LPL advisors at discounted prices. AltaStreet offers LPL advisors creation of custom websites across a range of budgets.

AltaStreet is a leading provider of advisor-centric technology solutions including custom website design, custom back end development and automation technology for financial services companies.

“At AltaStreet, we approach work with our clients through a lens of true discovery in an effort to uncover stumbling blocks and obstacles our clients face when using the Internet to market their business, generate leads, acquire clients and add revenue to the bottom line,” said Dan Stark, director of Business Development at AltaStreet. “The technology solutions we offer can significantly cut costs and boost revenues and ultimately help clients thrive in the digital world.”

“We recognize that technology is a major contributor to creating increased efficiency and driving greater productivity in our clients’ businesses,” said Victor Fetter, LPL Financial managing director and chief information officer. “Being able to connect LPL clients with leading technology solution providers adds a new dimension to the level of service and support we can provide to clients to help them manage and grow their businesses.”

AltaStreet was founded in 1998 by CEO Robert Sheinbein, a former financial advisor who created technology automation to serve his own office. As an advisor managing a family’s multi-billion dollar portfolio, Sheinbein could see the tremendous value the automation provided. With a unique perspective to be able to deliver technology solutions that solve advisors’ unique needs, he parlayed his experience into building complex back-end systems for a variety of companies and began AltaStreet. His financial services industry experience separates AltaStreet from other businesses in the website design and development space, as the company blends Sheinbein’s perspective with that of experts in business, marketing, sales, branding, websites and technology to create a premier company providing custom website design, custom website development, and web marketing services to the financial services industry.

AltaStreet is an industry leader in the custom website design space, specializing in design, development, SEO, branding and logo design. The company’s programming skills can support a range of needs, including social networking tools, shopping carts and payment gateways, with the proprietary tools for supporting compliance needs.

About AltaStreet:

AltaStreet Financial Websites and Marketing was founded in 1998. AltaStreet is a leading provider in custom website design, custom development and automation technology for financial services companies. They often function as an outsourced CMO for the companies they help. AltaStreet’s solutions provide a very high return on investment for their clients. In the space they operate in, where their clients need credibility, image matters. What does your website say about you?

For more information about AltaStreet, please visit  http://www.altastreet.com

About LPL Financial:

LPL Financial, a wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA), is a leader in the retail financial advice market and served approximately $486 billion in advisory and brokerage assets, as of May 31, 2016. LPL is one of the fastest growing RIA custodians and is the nations largest independent broker-dealer (*based on total revenues, Financial Planning magazine June 1996-2016). The Company provides proprietary technology, comprehensive clearing and compliance services, practice management programs and training, and independent research to more than 14,000 independent financial advisors and over 700 banks and credit unions, enabling them to help their clients turn life’s aspirations into financial realities. Advisors associated with LPL also serviced an estimated 45,000 retirement plans with an estimated $121 billion in retirement plan assets, as of March 31, 2016. LPL also supports approximately 4,200 financial advisors licensed and affiliated with insurance companies with customized clearing, advisory platforms, and technology solutions. LPL Financial and its affiliates have more than 3,400 employees with primary offices in Boston, Charlotte, and San Diego.

For more information, please visit http://www.lpl.com

Securities and Advisory Services offered through LPL Financial. A registered investment advisor, Member FINRA/SIPC.

What Steps A Financial Advisor Can Take When Considering To Start Own Business?

Posted on by altastreet

Every business can reach its level of potential only if that business is led by a number of important strategies and techniques and talking about initiating a business of a financial advisory, it may sound a small business, but if you exactly know how to extract the actual potential then this business can do wonders for you.

Business can be opened anywhere start by renting out a home office or a small commercial place so that you can offer your services and suggestions to your clients. In this era, where people are more seeking out for financial advisors, more and more people are trying to play their fortune in the field of investments, so a financial advisor websites is a must thing that one must keep in mind!

Though, if you are already experienced in the field of financial advisors then putting up this business will be very helpful for you as well as for your business. It may sound very tempting, but before you make up your mind about this business, there are certain things which you must be fully aware of.

So, let’s get going with some of the tips which will help you to start your own business.

  • Costing:

Starting a business initially requires a lot of costs, which may include renting of a place, buying furniture, advertising, etc. You need to pretty sure of extra expenses which you feel might affect your budget so work accordingly so that it’s not your business who suffers at the end.

  • Licensing & Training:

Getting a genuine license is very important as it helps to build up your trust with your new clients earning a professional degree or two bits of help in enhancing g your way to tackle your clients in a much-sorted manner. It not only adds credibility to your business but also helps to enhance the reputation for your business.

  • Appropriate Business Model and Services Offered:

After you know where you can actually target your audiences the next thing that one must be focussed about is the type of services they offer to their clients. At times, some financial advisors work on commissions so as to earn more while on the other hand, there are many advisors available who work strictly on fees.

  • Liabilities:

Stepping into any business brings a whole amount of liabilities with them and this is what you are supposed to accept not fear of. So, go through all the rules and regulations before you step in!

Bottom Line!

Everyone wants to start their own financial advisors business, but for that, a financial advisor website is must things which will help your clients know about you! So, work well and embrace your techniques of handling customers.