As the fintech industry becomes increasingly competitive, so does showing up on search engine results pages (SERP). Search-optimized content is vital to ranking for more search queries, and Google has an exceptionally high standard for finance topics.
Google classifies finance material as YMYL content. Understanding YMYL is essential to creating a successful fintech content strategy, and the concept is extremely straightforward. Let’s explore YMYL content, why it matters, and how you can use it to guide your content.
Differences Between E-E-A-T and YMYL
YMYL stands for “Your money or your life.” YMYL content is any online content that could affect a reader’s health, wealth, and future happiness. Because misinformation could harm a reader, Google has exceptionally high standards for content in this category.
E-E-A-T and YMYL are complementary guidelines Google uses to present the best possible content. All content has a better chance of ranking if it demonstrates E-E-A-T, regardless of industry. However, in YMYL industries like fintech, proving E-E-A-T is even more critical.
E-E-A-T
Let’s look again at the four E-E-A-T guidelines:
- Experience: The author has real-world experience with the topic.
- Expertise: The author and site owner have earned credentials or industry recognition for their subject knowledge.
- Authoritativeness: The website has recognized authority in its niche, usually demonstrated through citations and links on other websites.
- Trustworthiness: The website displays trust signals, such as security certificates, published author credentials, and reviews or testimonials.
Google uses E-E-A-T signals to determine which content pages best answer a reader’s question. Sites with stronger E-E-A-T have a better chance of ranking well, especially in YMYL industries.
YMYL
“Your money or your life” sounds like a threat, but it’s the exact opposite for Google. The search giant takes these topics seriously because, according to its Search Quality Rater Guidelines, “Low-quality pages could potentially negatively impact the health, financial stability, or safety of people, or the welfare or well-being of society.”
To rank for a YMYL query, content must check four boxes: experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. Google refers to these four qualities as E-E-A-T, the foundation of the search engine’s helpful content standard.
How They Work Together
It might be helpful to think of Google YMYL guidelines as E-E-A-T with more stringent standards. To rank as high quality, a YMYL page must demonstrate higher expertise, more direct experience with the topic, and stronger trust signals.
For fintech companies, creating YMYL content is critical to earning consumer trust, particularly for top-of-funnel and mid-funnel leads. While there is no gold standard for YMYL, there are strategies for achieving the best possible results.
Successful Fintech YMYL Content Strategies
A successful content marketing strategy looks different for every fintech company. No two organizations have the same target audience or value proposition. Still, beneath the details and individual choices, a few best practices remain universal.
Let’s explore them in detail.
Collaborate With Influencers in Your Space
Influencers can broaden your audience and reach people you wouldn’t otherwise encounter. Fintech has a strong cohort of influencers with industry knowledge, and their collaborations move the industry forward.
These fintech influencers share thought leadership content about industry developments. Their reach and reputation give their content strong E-E-A-T signals, and collaborating with them can benefit your business. They may be willing to highlight your technology in a post or let you provide a quote.
It’s also important to partner with influencers in your niche. Most fintech spaces have influencers unique to that audience, from the viral world of cryptocurrency to the specialized insurtech industry.
Niche influencers also have high E-E-A-T potential and can help you reach more specialized audiences. Partnering with them can fast-track your fintech content strategy.
Tell Stories That Resonate With Your Audience
Humans are wired for storytelling. Even in highly technical fields like fintech, narratives engage audiences and strengthen relationships with your brand.
According to recent research in Psychology and Marketing, storytelling activates a consumer’s personal connection with a business. The reader has an emotional response they associate with the brand, which then takes on a more personal meaning.
When we think of YMYL, we usually think of fact-checking and providing statistics. Those are still essential and are not necessarily mutually exclusive with relatable stories.
Savvy marketers can combine topic authority and emotional storytelling to earn consumer trust. The key is developing story-based fintech marketing that engages and educates. Consider these fintech content ideas:
- Customer success stories. Case studies and testimonials help readers imagine themselves in your customers’ shoes, benefiting from your expertise.
- Brand story videos. Turn your knowledge into a narrative with a video that showcases your business’s early growth. This type of content highlights your expertise and personalizes you to your audiences.
- Team member Q&As. Google wants to see the experts behind your brand, and audiences do, too. Showcase that expertise by interviewing your thought leaders and technical innovators. Ask them to tell their stories and share their proudest moments on the job.
Don’t worry about shifting the focus away from tech. Google wants to see people-centric content, and nothing is more people-centered than a story.
Don’t Forget About SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is why we discuss E-E-A-T and YMYL in the first place. Strong E-E-A-T signals help fintechs and other YMYL companies to rank above the competition.
That said, E-E-A-T is not a complete Fintech SEO strategy on its own. SEO content marketing also requires a firm grasp of other fundamental SEO techniques, including:
- Creating content around frequently searched topics
- Integrating keywords organically in your content
- Using metadata, such as meta descriptions and title tags
- Linking to other relevant pages on your site
- Optimizing for a top-notch user experience
These evergreen best practices should be in place across your entire fintech content strategy to give your material the best chance of showing up on SERPs.
Keeping up with SEO trends in fintech and beyond is also essential. Search engine algorithms change often, and SEO best practices change with them. By incorporating trending strategies like content siloing and optimized video, you can stay ahead of the curve and impress Google on multiple levels.
Have a Great Linking Strategy
Strategic linking is an essential SEO strategy for YMYL companies. Google uses the links in your content to verify your subject matter expertise and evaluate your reputation, which means your link portfolio must be strong.
Your link portfolio includes all internal and external links in your content. Internal links point to relevant pages on your site, and inbound and outbound external links connect your site to others.
Internal linking matters because it helps users and Google crawlers navigate your site. When a link connects relevant pages, it shows the relationship between them.
Like all content on your site, linked-together pages should be valuable and trustworthy. A page with strong E-E-A-T gets even stronger when you link it to more E-E-A-T content because it adds to reader value.
Backlinks also improve your site’s E-E-A-T signals. A backlink is a link to your site from a reputable third-party website. It tells Google that a respected organization thinks enough of your content to send its readers there.
The best linking strategy is to nurture relationships with others in your niche. Participate in industry conversations online and comment on others’ blogs, providing valuable information about your topic of expertise. You can also offer to guest post on reputable blogs in exchange for a backlink.
Finally, remember to link out of your site to reputable sources. Any time you share a fact or statistic, point to its source, which should be original research or an established subject matter expert.
Explore New Formats and Platforms (If They Make Sense)
E-E-A-T and YMYL are about demonstrating topic expertise. You demonstrate that expertise to rank higher on SERPs, with the ultimate goal of broadening your audience.
Let’s close that circle. Reaching a broader audience isn’t just a goal; it’s also a way to strengthen your reputation and earn more E-E-A-T equity. By producing YMYL content in new places and formats, you can gain recognition and even backlinks from more people.
For example, suppose you’ve historically relied on blog posts and social media to demonstrate your expertise. What new audiences could you reach if you expanded to different types of content? From podcasts and webinars to interactive quizzes, there are more options than you might have considered.
Think about which formats feel authentic to your business. If you’re a wealth management group with a hip, young consumer audience, you might have success sharing memes and short-form videos on social media. For a business-to-business (B2B) embedded finance company, however, more formal options like ebooks and whitepapers might be more appropriate.
As you think about expanding your content formats, consider what other platforms you might publish on. Again, think about what your audience would respond to. Would you get a better response on LinkedIn or TikTok?
Also, consider community forums specific to your niche. You want to avoid spamming a discussion board with blog links, but you can answer questions and offer links to more information, provided the link is relevant.
Lean on Other Experts in Your Field
Influencers are just some of the subject matter experts who can help you. YMYL content benefits from as many credentials as possible, whether those belong to an in-house contributor or cited expert.
As you develop your fintech content strategy, consider whose contributions would boost your E-E-A-T signals. Every niche has its celebrities — the in-demand keynote speakers and association presidents whose viewpoints earn instant respect.
These experts are often willing to provide quotes, sit for interviews, or serve as webinar panelists. Incorporating them into your content is a fantastic way to boost your topic authority.
Be as Transparent as Possible
Optimism is tempting for content creators. You want audiences to become customers, and to do that, they need confidence in your brand and industry.
In YMYL content, that confidence must come from balanced and transparent information. If you write about the benefits of a specific fintech product or service, it’s important to mention any significant downsides.
Government regulations make many of these disclosures mandatory. For example, Rule 2210 from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) prohibits “false, exaggerated, unwarranted, promissory or misleading” statements in public communications.
But transparency is about more than avoiding sanctions. You earn potential clients ‘ trust when you honestly present products, services, and opportunities. Audiences who see you as unbiased will likely trust what you say. They may even feel inspired to share your content, boosting your E-E-A-T even further.
Remember, YMYL exists to protect consumers. Transparency shows the intention to protect your readers, earning you an extra boost for the trustworthiness element of E-E-A-T.
Quality Is Key
Google crawlers consider many quality markers beyond E-E-A-T. Your YMYL content must be well-produced and accurate to serve audiences effectively.
Well-produced content is engaging, easy to read, and valuable. It flows smoothly from beginning to end and doesn’t distract with grammar or spelling mistakes.
All web content should be scannable and undemanding, with short paragraphs and plenty of white space to let the eyes rest. Images also improve engagement and make a piece more appealing, so aim to use at least one per piece. Yes, even in highly technical whitepapers and long-form articles.
Also, remember to create for your audience’s needs. Target their search needs and answer their questions as completely as possible.
Producing high-quality content can be challenging, but plenty of content marketing tools can help you. Tools are available for all aspects of content research, creation, and distribution, including:
- Keyword research: Moz, Semrush, Google Keyword Planner
- SEO: Ahrefs, Yoast, Google Search Console,
- Grammar and usage: Grammarly, Hemingway
- Image curation: Canva, Unsplash, Venngage
Many content tools have multiple functions. For example, Ahrefs is a top-notch SEO tool that helps with keyword research. Find the tools that fit smoothly into your workflow, and you’ll be surprised how efficient content creation can be.
Hire a Fintech Content Marketing Company
Developing and executing an effective fintech content strategy is no small task. Neither is researching and creating high-quality YMYL content. Adding top-notch content can feel like a big ask for a fintech company whose team already has its hands full.
Sure Oak is here to help. Experienced in SEO for fintech companies, we create an optimized online experience for your target audiences. Our end-to-end services take everything off your plate so you can focus on serving your customers.
Schedule your free strategy session today, and learn how the right fintech content strategy can help you reach your goals.
