In the face of escalating customer acquisition costs and intensifying competition within the financial services industry—especially in a mature and saturated market like the United States—financial institutions are compelled to adopt more sophisticated marketing strategies to attract and retain customers. As consumers increasingly turn to online platforms for financial products and services, paid search advertising has emerged as an indispensable tool for financial services firms, enabling them to stand out when potential customers are searching.
This case study delves into how a financial services company leveraged a paid search advertising strategy to achieve significant customer growth and return on investment without increasing their ad budget with the help of
FoxAdvert.
Client Story
Our client, a diversified financial services company, offers a comprehensive range of products from personal and business loans to investment management and insurance services for individuals and businesses. In response to the digital revolution, they aimed to maximize their market impact within a limited budget by employing precise and effective online advertising strategies.
They realized that traditional advertising methods were no longer effective in the crowded online finance market, so they pivoted to the more dynamic and measurable
paid search advertising, aiming to gain a competitive edge in the fierce market competition.
Challenges
The main challenge faced by the client was how to realize a reduction in Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) and an increase in conversion rates, which would, in turn, enhance market share and profitability. This needed to be accomplished while either maintaining or reducing ad spend in a market teeming with competitors.
Solutions
To address these challenges, we implemented the following strategies and execution steps:
A/B Testing
To better understand what elements of their PPC campaigns were effective and which were lagging, we conducted A/B tests, tweaking and experimenting with ad copy to find the highest converting combinations of keywords and messaging.
- Defining Objectives: It is essential to clearly define the objectives and metrics that need to be measured. Our experimental goal is to enhance the click-through rate of advertisements.
- Creating Variants: A range of ad copy and keyword combinations were designed, each varying in specific elements like headlines or body copy, while other elements were kept constant.
- Monitoring and Analysis: We used the analytics tools provided by the ad platforms to monitor the performance of each variant, analyzing data to determine the best performers based on predefined objectives.
- Iteration and Refinement: After identifying the most effective ad variants, new creative elements and keywords were tested to ensure continuous performance improvement and market adaptation.
Keyword Analysis
By combining data on expenditure and conversions, we stratified keywords. We conducted in-depth keyword analysis, focusing our ad budget on those with high conversion rates and cost-effectiveness, while reducing spend on more challenging keywords, thus optimizing CPA.
- Tiered Strategy: We categorized keywords into several tiers, such as:
- High-Performance Keywords: High conversion rate and low CPA keywords received higher bids and budgets.
- Medium-Performance Keywords: Keywords with moderate conversion rates and CPAs maintained steady bids while seeking performance improvement methods.
- Low-Performance Keywords: Keywords with low conversion rates and high CPAs had reduced investment or were considered for pausing.
- Data-Driven Decisions: Regular data analysis identified which keywords delivered the highest ROI, allowing for strategic adjustments.
Enhancing Ad Creative Assets
We enriched ad creative assets to foster greater understanding and interest among potential customers, thereby improving click-through rates.
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Diverse Ad Formats: We developed a variety of ad formats, such as static images, GIFs, videos, and carousels, to capture the attention of different user demographics.
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Personalized Marketing: Leveraging data analysis and user behavior, we created personalized ad materials for specific user groups to enhance the relevance and appeal of the ads.
Results
With the implementation of the above strategies, we helped the client achieve the following results:
- Reduced CPA: We successfully reduced the CPA by 40%, meaning the client could attract more potential users at a lower cost.
- Increased Conversion Rates: The conversion rate increased by 168%, significantly boosting the return on ad spend and bringing more business opportunities and revenue to the client.
In summary, our expert paid search advertising strategies and meticulous execution enabled the client to achieve remarkable cost efficiency and conversion rate improvements in the highly competitive US financial services market. This not only supported the client's short-term market expansion and revenue growth but also laid a solid foundation for their long-term business success and market position consolidation.
Perhaps you would prefer to find a professional paid search ads team to help you formulate your strategy, plan your advertising account, and ultimately achieve results such success.
If so, please contact us. We are committed to customizing and managing effective paid search ads for you, to maximize the achievement of your marketing objectives.
