Though smaller banks are at a significant disadvantage against the big banks and directory sites for broad high-value terms like “business credit cards,” it’s important to ensure that SEO fundamentals are covered on your website, particularly when you’re getting to launch a new product like a business credit card.
There are several reasons why this matters.
First, despite the establishment bias for broad search terms, getting rankings for location- and industry-related searches (for example, “florida business credit cards” or “business credit cards for contractors”) is possible with a reasonable amount of effort and investment. You can see this in action in the screenshots below, where results for “business credit cards” is two major issuers plus a Google-generated “people also ask” block, while results for “florida business cards” prominently feature credit unions and a community bank.
Second, besides making your bank and credit card program more likely to be discovered by in-market searches, it's important to set up your site correctly so that people you actively market to can find your offer. Leveraging SEO best practices also makes it easier to build a website that clearly identifies who you are and why someone should do business with you, increasing the likelihood that a visitor converts into a customer.
Third, beyond helping support your brand-new business credit card offering, the increased visibility will help your bank’s brand as a whole and attract more customers for your other business lines as well.
Proper use of title and header tags
Title tags and header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) are fundamental elements of on-page SEO. The title tag appears in search engine results and should be clear, concise, and include relevant keywords, such as “Business Credit Cards for Contractors in Florida.” Given how Google currently displays search results, putting your brand name in the title tag isn’t important (but it should go at the end if you want to include it).
Header tags help structure your content, making it easier for both search engines and users to understand. Use your primary keyword in the H1 tag and secondary keywords in H2 and H3 tags. This structure improves readability and relevance, boosting your search rankings while making it easier for visitors to navigate your content and determine your value proposition.
Leveraging local SEO
Local SEO is a subdiscipline that focuses on helping businesses rank for searches in or about their physical location or service area. For institutions, optimizing for local SEO involves ensuring your business is listed on Google My Business, Bing Places, and other local directories.
Make sure to include your bank's name, address, phone number (NAP), and business hours. These should also be clearly listed on your website (typically in the footer). Getting links from other local websites, such as community websites or local business directories, can also enhance your local SEO efforts.
Gathering Customer Reviews
Customer reviews are critical for local SEO and building trust with potential customers. Positive reviews on platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, and industry-specific sites can improve your search rankings and provide social proof. Implement a strategy to actively solicit reviews from satisfied customers and display them on your website to serve as social proof for new visitors.
It's also important to respond to reviews, whether positive or negative. This shows that you value customer feedback and are committed to improving your services – just be sure to actually address any complaints you say will be addressed to avoid being seen as dishonest.
Though you can have profiles on multiple platforms and customers can freely leave reviews on any of them, your active review-gathering efforts should be focused on one of them. Not only will it be easier to manage your outreach efforts, but having your reviews concentrated in one place will make that review profile more trustworthy for prospective customers who are researching your bank.
Build a Successful Business Credit Card Program With Torpago
There are additional aspects of SEO that aren't covered here, including keyword research, technical SEO, and link building. While these are important, they’re components of broader content marketing and public relations strategies that require specialized skills, sustained effort, and investment to succeed.
The need for specialized marketing is why we offer marketing support services as part of our Powered By solution suite, which we built to make it easy for community banks and credit unions to launch business credit card programs.
Featuring a powerful Bank Admin Tool that gives ready access to all of your program data, the ability for customers to quickly issue physical, virtual, and tokenized cards, and a full-feature mobile app, our white-label solution enables institutions to start offering a modern business credit card to their customers In just a few months. Request a demo today to learn more!