personal loans online - nz seo reach 2014

Which websites are maximising their market share?

Searching for Personal Loans Online

Copyright © FIRST., part of the BeyondD Pty Ltd Group. http://www.firstdigital.co.nz

2

Calculating share of search

• Rankings Based Reach (RBR)* provides a simple way to compare a

website’s search engine rankings with its competitors.

• RBR is an estimate of the percentage of available search traffic a

website will receive for a set of phrases – this gives the sites share

of search or reach.

• It is weighted based on the popularity of each search phrase and the

relative click through rate (CTR) of each ranking position.

Source: Rankings Based Reach (RBR) is a methodology developed by First, http://www.firstdigital.co.nz

http://www.firstdigital.co.nz/



3

Selected sites

Leading New Zealand personal loan sites were selected for Ranking Based Reach (RBR)

performance analysis.

Sites

admiralfinance.co.nz loanplus.co.nz

anz.co.nz maxloans.co.nz

asb.co.nz mikepero.co.nz

bnz.co.nz mtf.co.nz

budgetloans.co.nz nzcreditandloans.co.nz

creditunion.co.nz nzlending.co.nz

dinersclub.co.nz nzloan.co.nz

financenow.co.nz nzpersonalloans.co.nz

financepoint.co.nz pioneerfinance.co.nz

firstcreditunion.co.nz rapidloans.co.nz

gemoney.co.nz speedyloans.co.nz

genevafinance.co.nz tsbbank.co.nz

instantfinance.co.nz westpac.co.nz

kiwibank.co.nz zoomcarloans.co.nz



4

What are people searching for?

Source: Google Keyword Tool, New Zealand exact match, Apr 2014

In order to investigate which websites are leading in search we researched frequently used

personal loans - related phrases.

Search Phrase Local searches

per month Search Phrase

Local searches

per month

personal loans 1900 personal loans for bad

credit 20

payday loans 1600 boat loans 20

car loans 880 home improvement loans 10

car loan calculator 390 signature loans 10

personal loan calculator 320 personal loan comparison 10

instant cash loans 320 apply for personal loan 10

bad credit personal loans 260 wedding loans 10

auto financing 210 holiday loans 10

no credit check loans 170 consumer loans 10

fast cash loans 170 motorbike loans 10

unsecured personal loans 140 best interest rates on

personal loans 10

personal loan interest rates 50 personal loans provider 10

personal loan rates 30

Total searches per month

6,580

Total searches per year

78,960



5

Google: Search engine results page 1 What the consumer sees: The top of the Google search results page for a search on “personal loans”

ASB is ranking on

position four of the

paid search but also

smaller players as

Loan Direct rank here

on position 5. In total

there are ranking 11

companies in the paid

search. That

represents the

maximum amount for

the 1 Page. This

market is highly

competitive.

Up to 3 keyword-related

Google ads lead the

Google ranking: GE

Money, First Credit

Union and Future

Finance are ranking

under the top 3

positions for the paid

search term “personal

loans”.

Under the organic

search results a large

variety of the

analysed companies

rank on Google’s first

page starting with

Westpac, followed by

Finance Now, ANZ

and on fifth position

Kiwibank, for the

search term “personal

loans”.



6

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

paid organic

Source: Chikita, 2010 (Organic Search) & Accuracast 2009 (Paid Search)

35% of users click

on the top organic

search result

Almost 95% of organic

traffic goes to the top 10

results

The importance of top rankings

Search engine position

Pro

po

rtio

n o

f clic

ks



7

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Ran

kin

gs B

ased

Reach

Rankings Based Reach: Natural Search

Source of ranking data: Google New Zealand, www.google.co.nz, Apr 2014. * includes all websites under the relevant domain name (eg, including www.)

MASSIVE OPPORTUNITY

Nearly half of all companies have a low

RBR of 2% or less, which means that

there is still a lot of room for

improvement.

The RBR leader “Finance Now”

which reaches a fantastic RBR of

nearly 34%. Surprisingly BNZ is far

behind. Finance Now and Westpac

stand out from the crowd, the other

companies/banks will need to

optimise personal loans related

search terms if they want to compete

online.

There are quite a few companies

“present“ within search, although the

overall RBR for more than half of all

companies is below 5%. These

companies are missing opportunities

for potential sales.



8

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Ran

kin

gs B

ased

Reach

Rankings Based Reach: Natural Search (Mobile)

Source of ranking data: Google New Zealand, www.google.co.nz, Apr 2014.

* includes all websites under the relevant domain name (eg, including www.)

MASSIVE OPPORTUNITY

These websites can compete by

optimising for mobile searches.

ANZ is even more

present on mobile

devices, in contrast to

Westpac.

In mobile search, it is more important

than ever to rank on the first page.

Smart phones are critical shopping

tools with 74% of NZ users having

researched a product or service on

their mobile device*.

*Source: Scary eCommerce Statistics , www.ecommerce.org.nz, Apr 2014.


http://ecommerce.org.nz/2013/11/scary-ecommerce-statistics-trends-predictions


9

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

payday loans

Search trends for “payday loans”

Although small volume companies not ranking for “payday loans” in the

Google search engine are limiting their possibilities, the search volume has

been constantly rising over the last few years and the search term is

increasingly important.

Companies/Banks offering personal loans therefore need to consider

niche consumer search behaviour, such as “payday loans” search

terms, in their digital marketing strategies.

Source: Relative total keyword performance on a normalised scale 1 to 100, Google Trends, New Zealand, Apr 2014



10

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

45.00%

50.00%

Visit the physical branch of a known personal loan

provider

Directly go to the website of a known personal loan

provider

Search for personal loan information on Google

Seek recommendations from friends or family

Visit other financial websites (such as

interest.co.nz)

Consumer Research: Finding Information

This representative survey was carried out by 3Di Research on

the Great Sites platform Apr 2014 (n=1,014).

Question 1: Typically, where is the first place you go to find information on personal loans?

More than 45% of Kiwis tend to

visit the physical branch of a

known personal loan provider.

One quarter of people tend to directly visit

the website of a known personal loan

provider. Therefore, improving the usability

of a website (on desktop and mobile) is a

key factor for lasting success.



11

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

Banks Other loan providers Creditunions Family/Friends

Consumer Research: Who did you choose?

Question 2: Who did you choose to provide your loan?



Only very few Kiwis ask their

family or friends when

considering a loan.

3 out of 4 Kiwis tend to consider a

loan at a Bank, leaving other loan

providers far behind.



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Consumer Research: Important factors when considering a personal loan?

Question 3: What is most important to you when considering

a personal loan? (Rank the following on a scale of 1-5, 1

being least important – 5 of great importance).



Conclusions: Lowest interest

rates, low fees and reputation

and credibility are the most

important factors for consumers

when considering a personal

loan.

Add-ons seem to play the least

important role by far.

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

Lowest interest rates

Low fees Reputation and credibility

Personal loan structure options

Service and support

Professional advice

Add-ons (fly buys, low

interest credit card, etc.)



13

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

Car Debt consolidation Building / Renovating

Travel Wedding Other (please specify)

Consumer Research: Main reasons for considering a personal loan?

Question 4: What was the main reason you applied for a

personal loan?



The number 1 reason for Kiwis

considering a personal loan is to

finance a car, but also debt

consolidation seems to play a major

role.

Nearly one out of 8 Respondents

consider a loan for covering the

costs for travelling.

In the other section people also mentioned

that they would consider a loan for their

business, to finance electronic goods (mainly

computers) and for buying a house

purposes.


• A recent survey revealed that New Zealanders inquiries for personal

loans increased by 17.7% from September to November 2013

compared with the year before. (1) This reflects the even higher

importance of being present online.

• Search results are broadly dispersed among a wide range of

competitors, even more in mobile. In this competitive personal loan

market, retailers are missing out optimising on the most cost effective

marketing channel: Search.

• Currently Finance Now, a non-bank lender, stands out in the search

landscape followed by Westpac, ANZ and Kiwibank capturing big

proportion of the voice thanks to prominent organic presence.

• The ownership of smartphones such as tablet ownership will strongly

increase over the next few years. Therefore, personal loan providers

should optimise being found in mobile search.(2)

• A considered digital strategy that integrates both organic and paid

search should be a key customer acquisition and revenue driver

for personal loan providers.

Summary &

Observations

(1) Source: Kiwis turn to finance companies for deposits, stuff.co.nz, April

2014 (2) Source: NZ will have 90% smartphone and 78% tablet ownership by

2018, scoop.co.nz, April 2014

Personal Loans

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/9523534/Kiwis-turn-to-finance-companies-for-deposits

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1312/S00422/nz-will-have-90-smartphone-and-78-tablet-ownership-by-2018.htm


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About FIRST.

Respected digital veterans are the foundation our agency is built upon: each team holds

a core capability that feeds into a business’ digital requirements. Our expertise in digital

has been built on over 14 years’ experience in digital strategy, analytics, conversion,

search marketing and digital campaigns.

FIRST, our award-winning team of internet marketers, has helped over 300 companies

across 100 industries achieve digital success. We provide companies with a digital

roadmap to success centered around a “digitally led” sales and marketing strategy.

Our services span search (SEO and SEM), email, performance media, conversion

optimisation and advanced analytics. Most importantly, our work is underpinned by a

focus on delivering the return on investment our clients expect.



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Contact us

Contact FIRST to find out more.

Phone +64 (9) 920 1740

Email [email protected]

Web http://www.firstdigital.co.nz

http://www.linkedin.com/company/first-digital

http://www.firstdigital.co.nz/blog


Our Vision

To be highly sought after for

making a measurable

difference

Our Mission

We’re a team focused on

transforming businesses and

creating market leaders

through digital marketing.

We innovate, test and

optimise to create a

competitive advantage to

dominate the digital channel.

Our data-driven approach

will keep things simple and

make a measurable

difference.

Our Focus

As a Google Certified

Analytics Partner (GACP),

we focus on smart customer

acquisition using search and

performance media,

maximising conversion

using best practice CRO and

helping NZ businesses

making the best possible

decisions based on

accurate, actionable web

analytics.

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personal loans online - nz seo reach 2014

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