FINANCIAL SERVICES DIGITAL MARKETING CASE STUDY: How a new website design & UX increased online leads generated by 724%.
In March 2022, Sydney Digital Marketing Agency Webbuzz delivered a completely new digital presence for Seniors First, one of the leading Reverse Mortgage companies in Australia.
The company has developed a reputation as an award-winning Reverse Mortgage broker for seniors and a trusted name among public policy organisations, the aged care industry, senior’s groups, older borrowers and their families.
And as part of its commitment to provide the best online service, it commissioned WebBuzz to update its online presence.
Although the previous website had been very successful at lead generation over a long period of time, it was seven years old and becoming less effective.
The project took six months, and completely reimagined the customer journey. The key objectives were to:
- Increase conversion rate
- Improve UX signals
- Lift organic search traffic
- Reduce reliance on paid search
Seniors First’s refreshed website design
The WebBuzz team provided a full-service digital marketing transformation plan, which includes:
Full digital strategy
We identified which online channels are best for reaching Seniors First’s target market and the content required to stimulate the desired action or behaviour. Our strategists developed a customised plan to achieve the client’s marketing and sales objectives that are wholly reportable and measurable.
New site map & architecture (for Google search engine)
Our SEO specialists updated Seniors First’s site map for better information architecture mapping. The URL structure has been based on ‘content silos’ – an important step necessary to increase the crawlability of a business website which is often overlooked by web developers.
Fresh web design & ad creatives
The team also improved the website’s core web vitals, specifically loading time, page interactivity and visual stability. We also supplied fresh ad creatives to attract more leads.
Revised messaging strategy
Seniors First is part of the Reverse Mortgage industry, which is a bit challenging niche. So our copywriters had to rethink the messaging strategy and produced engaging content that is sufficiently persuasive to encourage the client’s target customers to convert into a ‘lead’ or prospect.
New page content mapped to target keywords
To win the battle for ‘local search’, the client’s target customers need to see the website on Google. So we developed new page content surrounding target keywords so that pages will appear high in the search results for queries that people might use to search for Reverse Mortgage and related services.
New animated video (for UX signals)
Webbuzz is a growth marketing agency, so we recognize when emerging trends and tools become truly beneficial for clients. Video is now increasingly central to many digital marketing strategies, so we conceptualised and produced new animated videos for Seniors First.
Better conversion funnels
Our Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) specialists reviewed the client’s existing site analytics and user data in order to establish a ‘baseline’ of website performance. From there, we made changes in the funnels, which are then tested to measure any change in conversion rate. This iteration is ongoing until the target conversion rate is achieved.
More social proof
Seniors First is an award-winning Reverse Mortgage company but it still requires social proof to verify its brand. We worked with the client’s customers to extract testimonials and increase positive image of the client. We added reviews, social media traction, and interviews all throughout its website and social platforms.
Latest tech web forms
To further increase conversions, WebBuzz implemented the latest multi-step web forms. This improves the conversion rate of web traffic to lead, whilst also helping Seniors First get more qualified leads.
Full marketing automation
Using automation tools like Zoho CRM and Zapier, we were able to fully automate marketing processes for the client. This saves time for the owners to focus on nurturing the leads that are regularly coming in from the funnels we established.
Google Analytics Results
Beyond aesthetics, WebBuzz considerably improved the client’s website as a ‘lead generating machine’ for the business.
After the redesign, Seniors First achieved the following:
- 724 per cent increase in leads – more leads to convert. Yay!
- 2,193 leads via organic for new website vs 1,203 leads for old website over same time span
- Bounce rate down 14.50 per cent*
- Avg session duration up 18.32per cent**
*A website’s bounce rate is an important metric because it will tell you how visitors are engaging with your content or user experience SEO. This metric is calculated when someone visits a page on your website and does nothing before clicking the return button or closing the page, thus the name.
**Average session duration is another website metric to track. A session starts the second a visitor lands on your website and ends when they remain inactive for a predetermined time span or exited. The session continues as long as the visitor engages with your website. The longer a visitor spends on your website, the higher your chance to convert that person into a paying customer.
Meanwhile, the new Seniors First website also achieved 211% in conversion rate for new visitors and 67% increase in goal completions for returning visitors.
WebBuzz optimised the client’s website for higher conversion rates so there will be more sales, fewer lost customers and maximised returns on advertising spend.
Search Console Highlights
We also tracked the client’s website using Google Search Console (GSC). In a span of six months, Seniors First received 690 more clicks from organic search on two important keywords in the niche: reverse mortgage and reverse mortgage australia.
If you are not using it yet, be sure to add GSC in your performance tools. It is developed by Google and will allow you to understand how Google algorithm perceives your website.
Using this free tool, you can see how many times your web pages appear in search results, the number of clicks on specific pages, and where the pages rank in search results when someone is using any keyword that your website is ranking for.
GSC will help you identify which keywords are driving search traffic so that if you need to optimise your website, you’ll be able to clearly identify where to focus your efforts.
SEO Results
With calculated combination of engaging content, improved website infrastructure, and focus on core web vitals, WebBuzz was able to achieve significant milestones for Seniors First.
In only six months since the redesign and implementation of the new strategy, the client’s website received more than 3 million impressions in Search Engine Results Page (SERP) with 1.75 million increase in SERP impression.
The average position in SERP also jumped by 23 places, which is crucial for SEO because the higher the position in SERP, the higher the Click Through Rate (CTR) or the number of people clicking a website’s link.
Seniors First is also now dominating Google search for “reverse mortgage”, which is an important industry keyword.
The client’s website captured two entries on page 1 of Google’s SERP for the key term and consistently in position 4 and page 1 organic for key search term.
Three or more entries appear on page 1, which includes an animated video.
And why have we added video into the mix? Because Google now loves video.
Websites with video content have more chances to rank for competitive terms and appear more prominently in SERP as demonstrated in this case study.
Snatching prime SERP real estate will generate more unique visits, and relevant video is effective in engaging visitors long enough to convince Google that yes the website is helpful.
Webbuzz have developed a range of innovative video SEO strategies that can get your business videos on page 1 of the Google SERPs.
First-movers and early adopters of the video channel are better positioned to win the video game.
Success loves speed, so to skyrocket your video SEO partner with a video SEO agency such as WebBuzz.
Outcomes for the Business
So, we have achieved a lot of digital marketing successes for Seniors First. By redesigning the client’s website and updating its SEO strategy, the business was able to:
- Generate 5,000+ leads per annum (mostly organic)
- Hire four extra staff to cope with demand
- Save minimum $60K p.a. in ad spend
If you think a website redesign is still a luxury, you might be missing out on life-changing opportunities.
Savvy business owners consider redesign as an investment and not as an added expense.
However, you need to choose a digital marketing agency that does not solely focus on the design aspect but mostly on the business side.
You need someone who knows the essence of website as revenue-generating machine and not a shiny digital brochure.
Contact WebBuzz
If you want to power up your digital marketing for rapid growth, work with Sydney digital marketing agency WebBuzz.
We’ve solved key strategic marketing challenges for early stage companies in property, financial services, legal services, technology, Fintech, healthcare and more.
And we have a high degree of tactical problem-solving capability across:
- Digital strategy
- Paid search campaigns
- Content creation & video marketing
- Conversion optimisation
- Marketing automation
- U.X. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Call us on 1300 41 00 81 or send us an email at info@dev.webbuzz.com.au
Disclosure: the author of this post is a director of both companies
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