The use of keywords is essential when it comes to internet search. There are two main types of search; high intent and low intent. By understanding why and when people are likely to use different search terms, advisors can position themselves accordingly, providing a boost in traffic to their website. In this blog we will answer two questions regarding search keywords. What are high intent keywords, and how you, as a financial advisor, can use them.
What are high intent keywords?
Briefly put, a high intent keyword is used when consumers have a preexisting intention to purchase a good, conduct a transaction or they are ready to take the next step in the buying process. For a financial advisor, the next step can be contacting them to book a meeting. These consumers have already shown an interest in purchasing, or inquiring about a good or service with the keyword they have chosen being used to carry out this intention. This is opposed to a low intent keyword which is generally used by consumers to collect information or to navigate to a specific website.
High and low intent keywords fall into the 3 types of searches, which you can read about here. A high intent keyword is transactional, with the searcher already having prior knowledge of what they are seeking to obtain with their search. On the other hand, low intent keywords can be either informational or navigational. These searchers will be asking questions or searching for a website they are previously familiar with.
You may still not be sure of what a high intent keyword actually is yet, so here are some examples:
• “Buy”, “discount”, “coupon”, “sale”
• Names of products and brands
• Product quality, ie. “best”, “cheapest”
• Best place to buy “____”
How can advisors use high intent keywords?
High intent keywords are of greater value to most businesses, advisors included. By targeting high intent keywords you can focus on the consumer that is already prepared to conduct a transaction, giving advisors a far easier time making sales. They will be able to deal with more informed consumers who already know what they are looking for, with the groundwork already being laid for the advisor.
This is not to say that low intent keywords are necessarily useless for advisors, however. For advisors with well-known businesses, navigational keywords can be of more use as consumers who may be considering using a financial advisor are more likely to search for companies they are previously aware of directly. It is also worthwhile to use informational keywords to allow people who are less familiar with financial advisors and the benefits they can provide to learn more about what you do, potentially creating consumers who may use high intent keywords in the future instead.
Overall, while it would be best for advisors to focus on making use of high intent keywords, they should feel free to mix in lower intent keywords to give themselves a wider breadth on search engines.
