5 Things Your Credit Union Needs to Know About Google Hummingbird

 

You may have heard by now that Google is changing how its search engine works. With all of the online flux between search engine sites and social media platforms, you may not have realized this change, known as Google Hummingbird, could have a major impact on your credit union’s website search engine optimization (SEO). We know you want your website to get all of the attention it deserves. We want that for you too – that’s why we’re going to share the top five things your credit union needs to know about Google Hummingbird. 

1. It’s more than keywords – Google has changed its search algorithm to include not just keywords but the context of the words as well. Believe it or not, this is kind of a big deal. Google itself is saying that this is the largest change to the algorithm in 12 years. Not sure what a “search algorithm” is? Think of it as a set of filters that Google uses to sort through results.
   
2. It’s already up and running – That’s right, Google Hummingbird has been up and running since August. Changes are you haven’t even noticed it when you search on Google. But you might notice the change when it comes to your websites analytics.
   
3. It’s gotten better at conversation – Google Hummingbird is paying more attention to how a question or search phrase is worded to put it in more of a context. If a member searches for “ABC Credit Union online banking” it’ll put a link to the credit unions online banking login page at the top of its results instead of just the credit union’s home page.
   
4. It’s more mobile-friendly – More and more people are using tools like Siri on their iPhones to perform searches. Google Hummingbird knows it needs to use your smartphone’s GPS when you ask to find a “credit union near me” and will pull up credit unions closest to your location.
   
5. It’s made it easier to write Web copy – No more stuffing your website pages with keywords. Google Hummingbird looks to answer the “who, what, where, when, why and how” of a search term or phrase. It lets you write your content in a more contextual way instead of trying to find creative ways to insert those impossible-to-incorporate keywords! 

So, what does all this mean for your credit union? Nothing, if you have well written and carefully thought-out content on your credit union’s website. You should be relatively unscathed by Google Hummingbird. But, if it’s been a while since you’ve taken a good strong look at your content and update it, this might be the perfect opportunity to do so.

If your credit union needs help with SEO, analytics or updating its Web content, contact CU Solutions Group at 800.262.6285 or info@cusolutionsgroup.com, or visit our website.

Adding Multimedia to Your Credit Union’s Website

by Amy Neale

Including dynamic content on your credit union’s website can improve traffic if done right – or repel visitors if done poorly. Like with many visual media it’s best to follow the “less is more” mantra. That being said, adding multimedia elements to your site can have a huge impact. While there are many aspects of website multimedia, we’re going to go with the basics: images, audio and video.

Images

While image quality is important, you need to be careful when using stock photography. Many images have been overused, so if you do use stock images make sure they’re fresh and original looking. Using quality images of real members and staff from your credit union is always preferable. They can add credibility and authenticity to your brand and are statistically known to keep visitors on your website longer. Images really do matter to your members. A survey by SEO agency BrightLocal showed that 60% of the respondents said that images associated with local businesses made them more likely to consider or contact that business.

Audio

When audio first became available as a website component, there were numerous sites out there that started incorporating music on their site – much to their visitors’ chagrin. But there is an audio component you can add to your site that visitors not only enjoy but find useful – podcasts. Educational podcasts to improve your members’ financial literacy are simple to add to your site and go a long way towards illustrating to your members how your credit union continues to put their needs first. Your credit union could create its own podcasts, but there are also pre-produced podcasts that you could include that would give your site a more professional image.

Video

According to comScore, 100 million Americans watch online videos daily – why not have it be a video on your credit union’s site? And visitors who view a Web video are 64% more likely to purchase than other site visitors. Video is definitely the “now” multimedia element to include on your credit union’s website. Just make sure the videos are of good quality, short and relevant to the viewer. Viewer generated content, such as member contests, etc. are a great affordable option as well. So is pre-produced/credit union branded videos from partners like Gas Station TV and Invest in America. And the use of educational or instructional videos has been known to grow brand loyalty. Whatever type of video you incorporate, just make sure it loads quickly or they’ll have the opposite effect.

The SEO Advantage

Including images and/or video on your credit union’s website not only improves traffic, but it can boost search engine optimization (SEO) as well. Effectively filling in the image and video descriptions can help move your site up in the search engine rankings. And depending on how your videos or images are added to your website, you should be able to track visitors, videos watched and click-through rates. Like with many things in life, adding multimedia to your credit union’s website is a trial and error endeavor – but it’s worth it.

 Related Services: New Media, Podcasts, SEO

CU Solutions Group Case Study: Catholic Federal Credit Union SEO Audit Success

The Situation 

Saginaw-based Catholic Federal Credit Union (CFCU) recently worked with CU Solutions Group to redesign their website (www.cathfcu.com). Happy with the results, the credit union soon decided to focus on search engine optimization (SEO) to help positively impact its website traffic.

Catholic Federal Credit Union’s Vice President of Marketing Bethany Dutcher explains, “I had the opportunity to attend the MCUL Marketing and Lending Conference in February 2011 and go to a session on SEO from CU Solutions Group. I learned there were so many details to the “backbone” of our site that needed attention.”

The credit union had several goals for undergoing an SEO audit by CU Solutions Group in May 2011. The main goals were to increase website visitors and the time those visitors spent on the site. Another goal was to have CFCU be a high ranking destination for surfers looking for loans or other financial products.

The Solution

Diane Knudson, CU Solutions Group’s director of marketing consulting and SEO specialist worked with CFCU on its SEO audit. The audit included a complete analysis of the credit union’s website and recommendations on how to improve the content to boost its SEO. 

Thanks to CU Solutions Group’s recommendations, Catholic Federal Credit Union soon discovered that SEO isn’t only about the quantity of traffic, but the quality of traffic as well. Some of the content changes it made, many of which were to the backend of the website, focused on keywords, metadata, link structure and numerous other proactive updates. Other content improvements included:

• Adding calls to action on many of its Web pages
• Replacing graphic page titles with text and keywords
• Turning PDF links into Web pages with unique content and high ranking keywords
• Creating a monthly website content calendar to keep content fresh

The Results

The most impressive indication that the SEO audit was a success is that they moved up to the first position when Internet users used Google to search for the term “loans credit union Saginaw.” Previously, CFCU had ranked several pages further into the search results.

Overall, CFCU saw a 62.7 percent increase in visitors to the website between June and September. And those visitors seemed to be interacting more with the website during their visit, with analytics showing they viewed more pages and spent more time on the website. Both are positive indicators that the quality of website viewers is improving.

Pages on the CFCU website that saw the greatest improvement were the Auto Loan page which increased visitors by 108.79 percent and the Join and Direct Deposit pages which increased by an impressive 305.48 percent. To keep these numbers on the rise, CFCU works with CU Solutions Group and Diane on a monthly basis to monitor SEO.

“We are very happy with the results of the SEO project,” states Bethany. “I would definitely recommend SEO audits to other credit unions. It was wonderful to have Diane’s expertise on the technical end of the site.”

Related Products: SEO Services, SEO Audits, Website Analytics, Custom Website Content