The Swiss financial market is highly competitive: the range of products on offer is huge and competition is fierce, especially in organic search. Banks compete not only with each other, but also with comparison portals such as moneyland.ch, finfluencers and specialist media.

Bernese Cantonal Bank (BEKB) also felt this pressure. The crucial question for them was: how can a medium-sized bank prevail in this intense competition?

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[[callout]] About BEKB

Berner Kantonalbank (BEKB) is a regionally based Swiss bank headquartered in Bern. As a financial services provider for private and business customers, an employer and a training bank, it plays a central economic and social role in the Bern and Solothurn area.

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The starting point: visibility largely limited to the brand

Although BEKB achieved good organic visibility for its brand, it was hardly found for important search queries on financial topics, products and services – such as mortgages, pensions or investments. In these areas, its competitors had previously been clearly superior

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This meant that BEKB was missing out on a lot of potential. The website wasn't doing what it was meant to do: connecting with the target group along the customer journey, building trust, and winning them over as customers.

We wanted to change that together.

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Technical setup: exploiting low-hanging fruit

To understand why the BEKB website was not performing organically, we started with a comprehensive SEO audit and examined the website from both a technical and content perspective.

The technical analysis revealed potential for optimisation, but most of the changes would have required a lot of effort for little effect – in other words, a poor ROI.

We therefore focused our technical optimisation efforts on improvements that could be implemented quickly (‘low-hanging fruit’) rather than a complete overhaul.

The main focus was on resolving technical indexing issues.

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Example:

A bug initially prevented the indexing of all BEKB fund pages. After the bug was fixed, these pages now generate an average of 500 clicks per month.

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UX: Designing information architecture for users

Right from the start of the analysis, it became clear that the website's information architecture and navigation had considerable room for improvement.

Users had difficulty finding the content they wanted. The navigation was confusing and the page structure was user-unfriendly. Important information was either hidden too deep in the structure or missing altogether.

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This flawed structure not only frustrated users, but also made it difficult for Google to crawl the website efficiently.

To create more clarity for users and Google, we implemented the following measures:

• We eliminated redundant content to avoid confusion and potential keyword cannibalisation.
• We adapted the navigation terms to the language of the target group – instead of internal jargon, we used clear, search-relevant terms.
• We removed less important pages from the main navigation to give central content more visibility.

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The hub: content that conveys expertise and builds trust

However, the greatest untapped potential was found in the website content.

Three key weaknesses prevented the content from having an impact:

• Outdated information undermined user trust and Google's rating.
• OSuperficial content offered too little depth and added value when it came to complex financial topics.
• Overly technical language made it difficult to understand and deterred potential customers.

As a result, most of the content hardly met the search intent of users, offered neither guidance nor added value to the target group, and did not convey expertise. Readers had no reason to stay, and Google also failed to recognise any value in the content.

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Example:

The previous page on the topic of ‘extending your mortgage’ was limited to around 200 words and mainly referred to the consultation appointment. However, key questions for the target group, such as ‘When should I extend my mortgage?’, remained unanswered.

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Ironically, it was precisely where trust needed to be built that valuable potential remained untapped. After all, in a highly competitive market such as the financial sector, content with real substance is indispensable. Especially when it comes to topics that require intensive consultation, such as mortgages or pensions, it is crucial to demonstrate expertise, authority and experience and to build trust among the target group.

But although BEKB had this technical expertise, it remained largely invisible to users and search engines in its content at the time.

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Rethinking content – for users and Google

So it was clear to us: we had to better position BEKB in line with the principles of EEAT.

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[[callout]] What is EEAT?

EEAT stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness – four criteria that Google uses to evaluate the quality and credibility of content. Especially in sensitive areas such as finance, these factors are crucial for good rankings and user signals.

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In order to identify suitable topics – ones where BEKB not only has the relevant expertise, but which are also relevant to the target group and offer opportunities against the competition – we conducted customer journey workshops with subject matter experts, customer advisors and marketing managers.

These workshops formed the foundation for a targeted content strategy. Since pure technical expertise is not enough, we combined the internal perspective with a data-based external perspective:

• From the target group's point of view, where is content missing along the customer journey?
• Which topics are relevant to potential customers and can be verified by search data?
• What content can trigger the next step in the journey – be it building trust or ultimately a concrete conversion?

This resulted in a sound basis for decision-making that combined topic prioritisation, business relevance, target group needs and SEO opportunities.

The early involvement of the specialist teams also ensured their active cooperation as project partners and experts for later content interviews.

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Expertise + customer understanding + SEO = content that converts

We set a clear goal for the new and revised pages: to convey the expertise of the specialist teams and the unique perspective of BEKB in language tailored to the target group.

In order to consistently implement this requirement, we worked with BEKB to develop a structured process for content creation. We combined SEO analysis, target group understanding and internal expertise into a holistic approach:

1. Expertise & Experience (E + E): We planned each topic together with subject matter experts. Their experience and knowledge were incorporated directly into the content via interviews. The result was content that is not only accurate, but also practical and credible.
2. Authority (A): We formulated the content with a clear brand voice, positioned it on the strengths of BEKB and supported it with internal sources and expert quotes. This enabled the bank to establish itself as a reliable point of contact for these topics.
3. Trustworthiness(T): We paid attention to transparency, comprehensibility and topicality – both linguistically and structurally. We optimised the content based on real user questions, with a clear value proposition and comprehensible recommendations.

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This resulted in pages that...

• meet the actual need for information,
• are technically accurate AND understandable, and
• create trust – for Google and real people.

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"You quickly immersed yourselves in our topics and understood the target group. This was a pleasant surprise for many people internally." - Manuel Zigerli, BEKB

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The result: greater visibility, more traffic, more conversions

The joint effort paid off: the visibility of the entire domain has more than doubled since the first changes were published!

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In the financing section, where we revised or recreated around 65% of the pages, traffic increased by 154% year-on-year.

Particularly encouraging: non-brand traffic – i.e. visits via search queries without any brand reference – doubled as a result of the collaboration.

And most importantly, conversions in this business area increased by 40%. This clearly shows that not only are more people visiting the website, but also those who are genuinely interested in BEKB's offerings.

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From project to partnership: sustainable SEO thanks to knowledge transfer

After the initial revamp, BEKB decided to secure its SEO success in the long term. What began as a temporary project developed into a genuine partnership with the aim of establishing the website as a permanent success factor.

Today, we not only support BEKB with SEO consulting and content creation, but also assist in setting up editorial processes and train internal specialists. We look forward to continuing to achieve SEO success together with the dedicated BEKB team.

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Next steps: What you can learn from the BEKB success story

1. Focus on high-quality content with real added value

Instead of focusing on quantity, concentrate on well-researched, target group-oriented content that demonstrates expertise and builds trust. This will set you apart in a competitive market and impress both users and search engines.

2. Work closely with specialist departments

Involve internal experts at an early stage to integrate authentic know-how and tailor topics precisely to customer needs. This will strengthen the quality and credibility of your content in the long term‍

3. Improve user guidance and page structure

Optimise navigation and information architecture so that visitors can quickly find what they are looking for. A clear structure also helps search engines to better understand and evaluate your website.

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Would you like to increase your visibility, reach and leads through SEO and content? Contact us for a no-obligation consultation or hands-on support.

👉 Book your first call.

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