Financial Spread Bet

Competitor Analysis:
Spread Betting Google Ads
By Karim Gargum, October 18th, 2010

© Karim Gargum 2010 www.KarimGargum.com email Karim@KarimGargum.com

Summary
In this document I’ll be reviewing the google ads and associated landing
pages for the top ﬁnancial spread betting providers. I’ll outline strengths
and weaknesses as well as outline any changes I’d make.


CMC Markets
No mention of the
new ‘pricing
engine’ from the
ad. A clear ‘find
out about our new
pricing engine’
headline or link
would do the trick.
Also, the ad lacks
a clear ‘apply now’
type of call to
action.

Clear page with easily
identifiable call to
action buttons for
users who just want
to get on and open
an account

Further information
for newbies and
those wishing to find
out more about
CMC’s service.


IG Index
Clear ad with no-
nonsense call to
action.

Nicely designed
page, however what’s
missing from this
page is a clear,
prominent ‘apply
now’ button. The
‘how to apply’
section is good but
it’s just not prominent
or clear enough.

They could also
better organise this
page by creating a
better division
between information
for spread betting
novices and more
experienced users
who want to ﬁnd out
more about IG’s
particular service.


City Index
Clear enough ad,
good closing call
to action and ties
in nicely with the
landing page
headline.

Very clear,
uncluttered landing
page. Nice prominent
‘apply’ button.
Includes link for user
to visit main website
for more information.

This page is very well
suited for users that
are far along the
buying cycle, i.e.
ready to apply for an
account. For users in
the research phase
it’s not as useful.
However one could
argue that it’s better
to focus on the
former group when
advertising using
Google Ads.


GFT
At least this ad
sounds a bit
different from the
rest, what’s this
surprise then eh?

They do have a link
for a practice account
but a clear ‘apply
now’ button would be
useful, instead of a
live chat button. Also
there’s no tie into the
promise of ‘being
surprised’ made in
the ad.

This could be more
clearly alluded to in
the main headline.
Perhaps with a link to
ﬁnd out more about
the GFT service.


SpreadEX
Attractive offer and
good call to action.
I’d suggest putting
the £400 offer in
the ad headline
however.

Clear page with very
prominent apply
button. the ‘1,2,3’
buttons are useful too
for outlining the
process potential
clients need to go
through to claim the
£400 account bonus.

I would look at
making the £400
more prominent on
this page too but
putting it in the main
headline. After all,
this will be a main
motivator for
potential clients.


WorldSpreads
Bold ad to go with
a bold marketing
tactic. Could be
strengthened with
a clear call to
action.

Clear page, however,
with two competing
promotions for
different target
groups it would be
better to split these
into two separate
landing pages each
with their own
speciﬁc set of google
ads.


Saxo Bank
Ad promotes a
demo account but
this isn’t very
prominent on the
landing page.

Very prominent and
scannable ‘apply
now’ button. Nicely
organised links for
users to ﬁnd
additional information
to support their
purchase decision.


Conclusion

Obviously this isn’t an exhaustive study and only focuses on one
particular keyword. Hopefully it will be useful to those wishing to get a
quick over-view of how the various ﬁnancial spread betting providers are
conducting their Google advertising. As well as provide some useful tips
for anyone managing the search marketing for these or other spread
betting brokers. If you have any questions about this document or want
more information feel free to email me at Karim@KarimGargum.com.


About the Author
I’m a London-based online marketing specialist with over eight years
experience marketing retail financial services. This includes financial
spread betting, foreign exchange trading and Contracts For Difference. I
focus on helping companies generate more flow from their online
marketing with a special focus on search marketing and social media.
My key details are as follows:

Website - www.KarimGargum.com
LinkedIn - http://uk.linkedin.com/in/karimgargum
Twitter - http://twitter.com/Kazimor


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