Personal Finance: 7 in every 10 searches on the web pertain to borrowing

London (PRWEB UK) 28 November 2013

Consumers going online to look up personal finance products in October searched mostly for loans, mortgages and credit cards, reveals analysis of the latest search data from leading independent digital marketing agency, Greenlight.

In fact, the agency’s “Retail Banking – Issue 18” report shows quarter-on-quarter search volumes pertaining to borrowing rose 6 per cent from 2.4 million in July to over 2.5 million last month.

In contrast, queries pertaining to savings & investment declined 18 per cent over the same period.

Little wonder. According to recent news reports, borrowing costs are at a record low. In September, British lenders approved the most mortgages in over five years, rates on personal loans have dipped below 5 per cent a year while the number of short-term interest-free credit card deals has surged recently.

Greenlight’s report profiled the online search behavior of consumers who went to Google UK to look for borrowing, banking and savings & investments offerings, identifying the most popular terms they used to source them.

Of a total of 3.6 million retail banking-related searches in October, 69 per cent pertained to borrowing.

Mortgages featured in six of the ten most searched for terms with ‘mortgage calculator’ proving to be most popular, notching up 550,000 searches.

Queries relating to savings & investment offerings accounted for a 22 per cent share of overall searches. However, October search volumes which totalled 823,300, fell below July’s 1 million.

Interestingly, looking at specific savings & investment search terms, the phrases ‘best interest rates’ and ‘fixed savings bonds’ which were not among the ten most queried terms in the previous quarter, featured in October, receiving 18,100 searches a piece.

Greenlight’s report established those websites that were most visible to consumer searches.

Overall, moneysavingexpert.com was the most prominent site in the organic* listings. It secured a 72% share of visibility being visible to over 2.6 million searches.

In the paid listings**, moneysupermarket.com was the most visible advertiser attaining a 78% share of voice.

ENDS
Notes to Editors:
*Natural /organic Search - Listings in search engine results pages that appear because of their relevance to the search terms

**Paid Media – an Internet advertising model used on websites, in which advertisers pay their host only when their ad is clicked. With search engines, advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases relevant to their target market.

Greenlight’s “Retail Banking – Issue 18” profiles consumer search behaviour in this sector. It assesses which brands, websites and advertisers were the most visible in Natural Search, Paid Media and Social Media and hence had the greatest share of consideration when consumers went to Google UK in October to look for banking, savings & investments and borrowings products.

To arrange an interview or for further information please contact:

Krishna Rao

T: +44 (20) 3326 6232
E: krishna.rao(at)greenlightdigital(dot)com

Greenlight’s research covers the following industries and sectors:

CONSUMER ELECTRONICS
PERSONAL CARE - Beauty
HOME GOODS - Home & Garden
CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES - Fashion Retail / Sports Retail
CONSUMER SERVICES - Online Dating / Entertainment
GAMING & GAMBLING - Online Gambling
FINANCE - Personal General Insurance / Life Insurance / Retail Banking
TRAVEL & HOSPITALITY – Holidays / Hotels / Flights / Car Hire / Cruises
UTILITIES - Energy
REAL ESTATE – Property (Residential)
RECRUITMENT
TELECOMS – Telecoms

About Greenlight:
Greenlight is a leading independent digital marketing agency. With over 100 blue-chip clients including Santander, Sky and ghd, Greenlight is a leader in the digital marketing space, and is recognized worldwide for its commitment to delivering record ROI for its clients and investing in the future.

Greenlight is considered the premier thought leader in the sector publishing widely read industry reports, original research and speaking at trade events. Founded in 2001, Greenlight is headquartered in London, with offices in New York.

Web: http://greenlightdigital.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GreenlightMKTG

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