The payday loans algorithm continues to challenge search engine optimization (SEO) practitioners across the world, notably in the US and UK \u2013 the two largest markets for payday loans.<\/p>\n
In 2012, UK\u2019s payday loan market was worth around \u00a32 billion and was so sought after that Google\u2019s entire first page for payday loans was dominated by black hat results.<\/p>\n
In response, the tech giant created a dedicated algorithm \u2013 which was revised in 2018 – known today as \u2018payday loans 2.0\u2019. The purpose of the algoritm was target what Google deemed \u201cspammy queries\u201d; never before had Google devoted an entire algorithm for one particular product or service.<\/p>\n
The payday loan market in the UK is now heavily regulated and no longer as lucrative. But SEO professionals looking to help promote payday loan companies are still hoping to land on a search engine\u2019s first page in order to access very high converting products with over 100,000 monthly searches.<\/p>\n
Drawing on Tudor Lodge\u2019s findings from the 2019 and 2021 algorithm, we look at how the payday algorithm has developed in the UK and US, and what techniques are succeeding in 2022.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong>Payday loan companies looking to rank their sites higher on search engines may fine they are struggling to make progress, even with the help of SEO practitioners. When this progress will appear, may also seem uncertain.<\/p>\n In the UK, Google infrequently updates its SEO algorithm which means a company with \u2018good\u2019 SEO could result in it ranking highlight for months or even a year, without having to change very much. This means companies can \u2018ride the wave\u2019 of their previous good SEO work.<\/p>\n There is an age-old SEO assumption that Google takes the techniques used by websites on page 1 of its search and uses these techniques as the basis for the algorithm. Therefore, companies which copy the links and style of content of page 1 should be successful.<\/p>\n In the US, however, the frequency of SEO changes for payday loans is significantly quicker, with the search results changing far more regularly and competitors having to be consistent to maintain those results.<\/p>\n This could reflect the more competitive environment in the US and how state-specific lenders, such as those from Florida or Ohio, might suddenly start to rank higher due to demand in those areas.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>Traditionally, having the word \u2018payday\u2019 in a business\u2019 domain name was a strong ranking signal to secure a page 1 position, but this seems to be less relevant as time goes on.<\/p>\n Filtering by the UK\u2019s geography, only one website appears on Google\u2019s Page 1 search results page with the word payday in the businesses\u2019 domain name; it is one of the oldest payday lenders in the market. The same occurs when filtering for the US market, only in this instance, the firm has used a black hat technique.<\/p>\n As a result, companies looking to set up a website in this market do not need to include the word \u2018payday\u2019 within their domain name to be successful.<\/p>\n There are a couple of techniques, however, which will stand businesses looking to gain traction in the payday loan market in good stead.<\/p>\n These websites tend to use the following terms: \u201cdirect lenders\u201d, \u201cbad credit\u201d, and \u201calternatives\u201d. Other popular phrases include payday loans online<\/a> used by Dime Alley and include the word \u201cinstalment\u201d.<\/p>\n Tudor Lodge\u2019s previous investigation into the algorithm suggests these phrases push websites up the ranking because Google wants to: provide \u201calternatives\u201d rather than expensive payday products; ensure \u201cdirect lenders\u201d are promoted over brokers; and appeal to \u201cbad credit\u201d which is the real use of the product.<\/p>\n Arguably this is not surprising since figures show Google Business clicks are surpassing normal clicks on Google for the first time ever this year. This is particularly relevant in the US where there are over 23,000 payday stores and the role of local listings is far more important than in the UK where the industry is mainly online.<\/p>\n For SEO practitioners, having a populated Google Business account with images, descriptions and organic reviews will only help to secure more exposure and clicks, even for new entries.<\/p>\n And of course, making sure the address and contact details on your website are very clear on the footer and contact us page. Without any contact details or address on your website, you are pretty much a ghost in Google\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\nRole of exact match and partial match domains<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Popular techniques and red flags<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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