Here’s What Members Search for Most on Credit Union Websites
Pros say credit unions can do three things to beef up their search prowess.
The analysis of more than 10 million searches performed on SilverCloud’s self-service answer platform, which the Portsmouth, N.H.-based company said over 200 banks and credit unions use, found that 25 phrases (see accompanying list) were the most commonly searched for topics on credit union and bank websites in 2018.
However, many credit union websites fail to provide robust answers or help for those topics, SilverCloud Vice President of Marketing DJ Haskins told CU Times.
“We live in an instant-gratification era, meaning we’re trained on Google, we’re trained on Netflix and we’re trained on Amazon to self-serve,” he said. “So some members might prefer in-branch and some members might prefer over the phone, but the trend is going more toward ‘let me do this myself when it’s convenient to me.’”
In the survey, over half (54%) of support questions and 73% of mortgage questions come on nights and weekends, when branches and call centers are typically closed, SilverCloud found.
However, the average credit union doesn’t put many resources toward search efforts, Diane Knudson, director of web development at CU Solutions Group, noted.
Many credit unions do understand the idea behind keywords, backlinks and the basics of SEO, she said. “But they don’t understand how rapidly SEO changes. Just sticking a bunch of keywords in there isn’t going to guarantee you organic success.”
She added, “If you have the right people and they understand how to use the right tools, you can be very successful with search engine optimization. It really levels the playing field for smaller institutions against larger institutions.”
Credit unions can do three things to beef up their search prowess, the pros said.
Search your own website. Search your site for the 25 popular terms to see what users are experiencing, Haskins advised.
“If my members are looking for a routing number, can they easily find it? And then start to think about, well why are they looking for that information?” he asked. “Just providing them the routing number, that’s okay, but really think through what possibly they would want with that. Are they looking to set up direct deposit? Are they looking to do bill pay? Are they looking to do a transfer?”
Good search results follow what Haskins called the “three A’s”: Answer the question, provide additional information and provide a call to action.
Look beyond the website. SilverCloud studied what people searched for once they were on a credit union’s website, but credit unions should also think about what motivates people to visit their websites in the first place. Monitoring reviews, for example, is important, Knudson said.
“Understanding your reputation management, understanding what’s happening with your brand offline, what’s happening in your branches – all of that translates into reviews and what people post about you online,” she explained.
“If you put together a good review-generation strategy, that can really have a positive impact on your rankings,” she said.
Surveying the use of the credit union’s name across the internet is also important, she said.
“How is it mentioned? Is your name always the same? Because if you’re ‘ABC Credit Union’ in one place and ‘ABCFCU’ in another place, the search engines might not realize that you’re the same credit union and you could lose some link juice from that,” she said.
Train users. Credit union websites should have prominent search bars and robust support or FAQ pages. They should also remove their phone numbers from their website headers, the SilverCloud study said.
“This may seem counterintuitive, but if you want your consumers to self-serve, you have to direct them to it. Have you ever tried to find the phone number for Netflix, Amazon or Google? It’s purposefully hard to find because they offer answers for nearly all of your questions within their digital channels. Banks or credit unions often ask, what about emergency scenarios, such as a lost or stolen card? In these instances, you can still provide users with specific phone numbers or links within an answer. But for the majority of support scenarios, guiding users to find the answer themselves bolsters self-service and reduces call volume,” the study said.
The Top 25 Banking Search Terms Across Bank and Credit Union Websites in 2018
- Routing number
- Overdraft protection
- Order checks
- Skip a payment
- Online banking
- Wire transfers
- Credit card
- Open account
- Account number
- Direct deposit
- Rates
- Address change
- Loan rates
- Debit card
- Check card
- IRA
- CD rates
- Hours
- Mobile deposit
- Login
- ACH
- Stop payment
- ATM
- Mortgage
- Bill pay