Financial Services Advertising Restrictions and Examples

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Financial-Services-Advertising-Restrictions-and-Examples

Financial Services Advertising

Within this article, we will share examples of Google and Facebook ads as well as respective regulations, discuss advertising costs in more detail, and explore the keywords your financial institution should target. Follow along or skip to our Financial Services SEO page to learn more about advertising alternatives.

Before starting on a financial services advertising campaign, there are some important things to consider in regards to restrictions.

First and foremost, banks and other financial institutions must adhere to strict federal regulations on advertising. The FTC has rules and guidelines specific to credit and financial issues that can not be overlooked.

There are also several compliance rules for bank and credit union marketers to follow including the Truth in Savings Act, Equal Opportunity Credit Opportunity Act, the Community Reinvestment Act just to name a few.

Financial services advertising restrictions: Google Ads

As noted in Google’s personalized advertising policies, financial institutions are unable to use personalized advertising (which enables advertisers to reach users based on their interests and demographics) on those with:

It is important that you closely review all Google’s advertising policies relating to financial products and services. There are several policies that pertain to:

  • advertising for personal loans
  • loan modifications
  • debt services
  • cryptocurrencies and more

The more familiar you are with these policies, the less likely you will violate one of them and have Google remove your ads.

Examples of financial services Google Ads

Google Ads are important for financial services because of two words: search intent. Search intent is the term used to describe the purpose of an online search. It’s the reason behind why someone conducts their Google search in the first place. If someone searches “financial advisors near me” they have already expressed interest in your service by looking up this keyword. Now it is up to your ad to provide them with the exact information they are looking for to get them to click on your website.

Here are a few examples of Google Ads that come up regarding financial services and why they work:

financial services

Why it works: This ad is short, sweet and to the point. It doesn’t have any fancy financial jargon, but simply gives someone a call to action to speak with one of J.P. Morgan’s financial advisors today.

scottsdale financial advisor

Why it works: The title of this ad is exactly what we typed into the search bar, “scottsdale financial advisor”, making this the most relevant ad to our search efforts. This ad offers a physical address at the bottom as well as a local phone number to call, making it easy to plan a visit to meet with them.

investment financial services

Why it works: This search is more specific to investment financial services, so someone who searches this would be scanning the ad for those keywords, which are featured in the first line of the description. While not searching for a specific location, this ad also offers a physical address and local phone number to call.

How much do financial services keywords cost for Google Ads?

Numbers speak volumes to financial institutions, so it’s understood that cost can not be overlooked when constructing a financial services advertising plan.

Your firm will pay anywhere from $18 to $19 per click, on average, for a financial services keyword (according to ahrefs.com). Assuming an average conversion rate of 2%, meaning that 2 out of 100 people that visit your site will actually become a paying client, you’ll pay an estimated $900 – $1,000 to acquire each new client if you resort to a pay per click (PPC) advertising method.


Listed below are 10 of the best keywords regarding financial services on Google along with their average cost per click (via ahrefs.com):

  • Financial advisors near me: $25/ click
  • Financial services: $13/ click
  • Credit repair: $20/ click
  • Investment services: $11/ click
  • Financial planner: $16/ click
  • Wealth Management $20/ click
  • Insurance company near me: $25/ click
  • Banking near me: $13/ click
  • Financial planning: $20/ click
  • Online banking $20/ click
  • Insurance rates: $25/ click


Pay per click (PPC) means you will pay Google every time someone clicks on your ad with the related keyword at the rate listed above. With all the keywords well over $10, this can get expensive fast.

Financial services advertising restrictions: Facebook Ads

In 2019, Facebook updated its ad policies for Financial Services and Products. Within this update, they prohibited the promotion of:

  • contracts for difference
  • initial coin offerings
  • binary options

They also clarified that written approval is required to advertise cryptocurrency products and services on Facebook. To ensure that your Facebook ads will not be taken down, we recommend taking a look at all of Facebook’s Advertising Policies.

Examples of Facebook Ads for financial services

Unlike paid search on Google, which helps businesses find new customers via keywords, Facebook Ads help users find businesses based on the things they’re interested in and the ways in which they behave online.

Here are some examples of Facebook Ads for the financial services industry:


fisher investments 1Why it works: This ad offers something of value to potential clients, for free. People who are looking to make substantial investments in a company to handle their money want information before they make decisions and will seek out any free financial advice they can get.


country financialWhy it works: This ad is targeting a specific location about a specific service they offer; car insurance in Myrtle Creek. It is straightforward and will likely help attract people searching for keywords that include “near me.”


financial investments 2

Why it works: This is a great interactive tool that will attract people that are worried about their retirement fund. It is specific about the type of client they are hoping to attract.

Financial services advertising alternative: SEO (search engine optimization)

When making SEO a part of your advertising strategy, there are three things to consider: clicks, costs, and conversions.

When looking at the data surrounding the keyword “financial advisors near me,” it is important to look at the percentage of traffic that comes from organic search results compared to paid search results. In the case of “financial advisors near me”, an estimated 85% of all traffic goes to organic search results.

cpc

The reason behind the drastic difference in percentages comes down to trust. The majority of people searching for someone to handle their money are going to trust organic search results over paid ads.

As noted above, the financial industry has an extensive list of rules and regulations to adhere to. Due to the restrictions on many financial services companies like credit repair businesses, binary options platforms, initial coin offerings, payday lenders and more, Google won’t show paid ads pertaining to these companies at all, contributing to the percentage difference as well.

This evidence speaks to the fact that people (and Google!) simply trust organic search results over sponsored results when it comes to financial services. That results in lower advertising costs and higher conversions⁠—a better ROI!

Conducting a free SEO audit of the current state of your financial services website could give you a better insight into how you can maximize your advertising budget and abandon paid ads altogether.

Another advertising alternative: financial services directories

Yet another alternative to traditional advertising takes the form of securing listings of your company on financial services directories.

Utilizing this tactic allows you to promote your financial institution to clients that are doing extensive research to find the right company for them. Being featured on sites like Financial Service Directory or National Association of Personal Financial Advisors creates relevance and trustworthiness surrounding your site.

The Big Question: How do financial companies actually attract more clients?

After listing several courses of action to take when creating a financial services advertising strategy to attract more clients, investing in SEO seems like the clear answer. It’s cost-effective and isn’t subject to Google’s strict advertising policies. SEO will deliver clients that are serious about working with you.

See for yourself what SEO can do for your financial company. Contact us to schedule a consultation. We will schedule an initial 15-minute call to learn about your company then we will work to conduct a free SEO audit on your website, keywords, and competitors. If it makes sense to work together, we will propose one of our SEO solutions.

While you wait for us to get back to you, read up on how creating financial services blog content can help engage and inform potential clients. Just another piece to the SEO puzzle!

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