Mahi Sall, Advisor, Fintech-Bank Partnerships, Payments and Financial Inclusivity
January 25th, 2023
Sep 28, 2023
Image: Unsplash/John Schnobrich
Fintech is an ever-evolving world where every click counts and every lead may be game-changing; therefore mastering SEO has become essential. Welcome to Fintech SEO where competing for top search engine results pages (SERPs) rankings doesn't simply translate to visibility but rather leads to sales conversion. In this article, we'll uncover its immense power, discuss why high SERP rankings lead to conversions and traverse organic traffic that fuels fintech success.
Imagine this: you need financial advice or are searching for investment options, where would you go? Chances are you would consult your search engine; the websites appearing at the top of those search results have built trust among both their users and search engines alike.
Achieving high rankings on SERPs for your fintech website is like earning a gold star of trustworthiness from users; they know Google or Bing have already approved and reviewed your services - often leading to them opting for them over those offered by your competitors.
When you enlist the expertise of a fintech SEO agency such as Sure Oak, you're essentially enlisting professionals who specialize in elevating your trustworthiness on the digital stage. They know the ins and outs of Fintech SEO, ensuring that your website not only climbs the rankings but also maintains its reputation as a trusted source in the world of finance.
When competing against thousands of companies for user attention in fintech, SERP rankings cannot be underestimated. Not just being found; being chosen often begins with being at the top-ranking positions on SERPs.
Think of your fintech website like a physical storefront: foot traffic is essential, but not sufficient; action must also be taken by visitors - for instance inquiring or signing up as leads - which means your online traffic represents a potential customer base.
Fintech SEO's true potential can be seen here. It goes beyond simply driving visitors to your website; instead, it involves crafting an engaging user journey. By optimizing landing pages with compelling content and clear calls-to-action (CTAs) as well as user-friendly forms, Fintech SEO allows businesses to turn visitors into leads that could later lead to sales opportunities.
Fintech SEO goes beyond generic optimization; it's about personalization. By harnessing user data, you can tailor conversion strategies based on individual user data - such as personalized recommendations or targeted promotions tailored specifically towards individual user behaviors - which in turn increases conversion rates substantially.
Advertising fintech services can be expensive and competition for paid ad space fierce, which is where organic traffic comes in handy: when your website ranks highly on search engine result pages (SERPs), users find you naturally without needing paid advertisements to do so. This method gives fintech businesses an alternative form of traffic they can rely on: organic visitors!
Paid traffic can be like renting space at a shopping mall; once your payment ceases, so does the traffic. Conversely, organic traffic acts more like investing in long-term real estate - once your website ranks highly enough it should continue attracting visitors even without ongoing ad spend.
Image: Unsplash/Suzanne D. Williams
Keyword research and optimization are at the core of Fintech SEO. By identifying those that resonate with your target audience, you can tailor content specifically tailored towards their needs and intent.
Content is king, but only valuable content will suffice. Produce resources that answer user queries, solve financial issues and offer insight into the fintech industry. Valuable content not only attracts attention and shares easily but is also converted easily.
User experience encompasses more than the design of a website; it encompasses navigation, page load times and mobile-friendliness as well. An exceptional user experience could mean the difference between visitors bouncing away quickly or becoming leads for further business opportunities.
KPIs for Lead Gen To measure the success of your Fintech SEO efforts, you should monitor key performance indicators (KPIs). Monitor changes to search engine rankings while also tracking user behavior, and conversion rates and measuring the impact of content strategies on lead generation.
Never settle into fintech with complacency; A/B testing is your friend in refining strategies and honing in on what resonates best with audiences. Use data-driven insights for continuous improvement of strategies.
Fintech SEO is more than simply being found; it's about capturing leads and driving sales. SERP rankings play a crucial role in building trust, authority, and conversions in fintech industries.
With an effective Fintech SEO plan in place, visitors to your website could become long-term customers while harnessing organic traffic for sustainable success. Are you ready to elevate your fintech game using Fintech SEO's winning formula? The choice is yours--there are endless opportunities ahead.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
Support NCFA by Following us on Twitter!Follow @NCFACanada |
Cyber Security | Sep 27, 2023
Image: Wikimedia Commons/BlueBreezeWiki
According to a report from Infosecurity Magazine, ransomware attackers are increasingly targeting smaller, less defended organizations. There was a 47% increase in new victims in the latter half of 2022, with many of these being small businesses with less mature cyber postures.
Specifically, 57% of the victims of the LockBit gang, known for high-profile attacks on the Royal Mail and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), were small businesses.
Many of these groups are moving away from traditional encryption-based attacks. Instead, they threaten to expose and publicize sensitive information, shifting from ransomware to pure extortion tactics.
To counter these threats, Trend Micro recommends:
The ransomware landscape in 2023 is evolving, with attackers shifting their focus to smaller businesses and adopting new tactics. Organizations must remain vigilant, adopt robust cybersecurity measures, and prioritize incident response and recovery to mitigate the impact of these threats.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
Support NCFA by Following us on Twitter!Follow @NCFACanada |
Release | Sep 27, 2023
Canada's startup landscape has always been a vibrant tapestry of innovation, ambition, and collaboration. At the heart of this ecosystem, organizations like the Canadian Innovation Exchange (CIX) have played pivotal roles in spotlighting the nation's most promising startups and bridging the gap between innovators and investors. As a long-time community partner and admirer of CIX, the National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association of Canada (NCFA) is thrilled about this acquisition announcement.
Over the years, NCFA has had the privilege of walking alongside CIX, celebrating its successes, and learning from its vast experiences. Our partnership has been rooted in mutual respect and a shared passion for fostering innovation in Canada. We've watched CIX grow, evolve, and transform into Canada's largest startup awards program and investment conference. Their annual curation program has consistently showcased the crème de la crème of Canadian startups, attracting attention from North American VCs, corporates, and private equity investors.
Both Elevate and CIX have been champions of innovation, tirelessly working to provide startups and scaleups across Canada with the resources, platforms, and opportunities they need to thrive. This acquisition promises to amplify the efforts of both organizations, creating a synergy that will undoubtedly benefit the entire Canadian startup ecosystem.
Lauren (Prev Linton) Crerar, Executive Director, CIX:
I am thrilled that CIX is joining Elevate. This acquisition creates a powerful synergy of shared values and vision for propelling Canada’s top startups to new heights. I look forward to working with Lisa and the amazing Elevate team.
With Elevate at the helm, the future of CIX looks brighter than ever. Elevate's reputation as a hub for world-class innovators, combined with CIX's legacy, promises a future filled with more opportunities, collaborations, and success stories. As Elevate CEO Lisa Zarzeczny aptly put it, this acquisition will strengthen the tech ecosystem's engagement throughout the year, further supporting startups and scaleups from coast to coast.
For NCFA, this development reiterates our commitment to the Canadian fintech and funding communities. We will continue to support, collaborate, and grow alongside our partners, ensuring that Canada remains at the forefront of global innovation.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
Support NCFA by Following us on Twitter!Follow @NCFACanada |
AI | Sep 27, 2023
Image: Unsplash/Steve Johnson
The initial investment will see Amazon infuse $1.25 billion for a minority stake in Anthropic. Furthermore, Amazon retains the option to increase its investment to a total of $4 billion.
Anthropic, backed by notable investors including Google, Spark Capital, Salesforce, Sound Ventures, Menlo Ventures, and Zoom, has amassed a total funding of $2.7 billion so far, and has ambitious plans. In May of this year, the startup achieved a valuation of approximately $5 billion following a $450 million funding round. The valuation set by Amazon in their recent investment in Anthropic has not been disclosed. For context, OpenAI has already secured more than $11 billion in funding, with a significant portion coming from Microsoft.
Anthropic aims to raise as much as $5 billion over the next two years and has recently launched its consumer-facing premium subscription plan of chatbot Claude 2 and has plans to develop a "frontier model" named "Claude-Next." This model is projected to be ten times more powerful than today's leading AI models.
Amazon's investment in Anthropic is not just about capital infusion. The e-commerce giant sees potential in leveraging Anthropic's AI capabilities to enhance its cloud offerings. As part of the investment agreement, Anthropic will use Amazon's cloud giant AWS for mission-critical workloads, including safety research and future foundation model development. This collaboration will also see Anthropic utilizing AWS's Trainium and Inferentia chips for building, training, and deploying its future AI models.
The integration of advanced AI models like those developed by Anthropic has the potential to redefine the job landscape. A white paper titled "Jobs of Tomorrow: Large Language Models and Jobs" published by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Accenture highlights the transformative potential of Large Language Models (LLMs) - the paper provides a structured analysis of the potential impacts of LLMs on jobs. These models, such as GitHub's Copilot and ChatGPT, are expected to bring about significant shifts in global economies and labor markets. The integration of LLMs in workplaces could be a balancing act, offering opportunities while managing potential disruptions.
Education is the cornerstone of preparing the workforce for this AI-driven era. It’s imperative for educational institutions to evolve their curricula to incorporate AI literacy, coding, and data analytics. The emphasis should be on fostering a growth mindset, encouraging lifelong learning, and nurturing the ability to adapt to technological advancements.
As AI continues to evolve, businesses, policymakers, and individuals must proactively adapt to this changing landscape, ensuring that the AI revolution benefits all of humanity.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
Support NCFA by Following us on Twitter!Follow @NCFACanada |
Report Insights | Sep 26, 2023
Based on the Citi's latest "Global Perspectives & Solutions: Future of Cross-Border Payments" report September 2023, here are 10 of the most insightful thought leadership points, statistics, or facts and figures that would be of interest to fintechs and banks.
The report is the culmination of insights gathered from prominent market infrastructure specialists both inside and outside of Citi, as well as from FinTechs and a broad spectrum of banks spread across four continents. Additionally, it encapsulates the primary discoveries from an exclusive survey conducted among over 100 financial institutions affiliated with Citi.
Image: Citi Cross-Border Payments Sep 2023 Report
The report contains statistics and insights from key stakeholders, and recognizes both the pain points that both banks and fintechs must overcome to compete for market share along with key areas of focus to win including delivering 'best in class' client experiences with unprecedented speed, transparency, and low cost.
The future of cross-border payments is undergoing a tectonic shift as stakeholders jostle for a piece of a projected $250 trillion market by 2027. Download the full 120 page PDF report here.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
Support NCFA by Following us on Twitter!Follow @NCFACanada |