Why India's BFSI entities need a strong organic digital roadmap to drive sustainable growth in 2025
From making high spends via traditional marketing to taking on a digital-first approach, India’s BFSI industry has witnessed a significant transformation in the last few years.
The continuous exponential adoption of digital banking and mobile applications has influenced how customers interact with their financial services provider. India’s digitally savvy customers are now seeking faster and more convenient options for their financial transactions.
Evolving customer expectations along with technological advancements and a heightened growth of fintech in the country, have created a new, and perhaps previously unanticipated, demand for BFSI institutions to amp up their digital marketing game. India’s BFSI entities have to address a number of unique challenges to interact and engage with the new generation of digital savvy customers.
As things stand now, BFSI institutions cannot ignore the rising dominance of fintechs that are giving stiff competition to traditional banking models and reaching wider audiences. Agile fintech startups are disrupting traditional banking and payment systems in India- reaching a wider audience and attracting new customers. The advent and growth of fintech in India has democratized finance by making financial services more accessible and convenient - for consumers and businesses alike.
Their edge is clear, lower operational costs without the need for physical branches; agile services powered by AI and machine learning; and highly personalized solutions through digital platforms providing a great user experience.
There is a burden of high acquisition costs associated with paid digital media.
In recent years, BFSI companies have increased their digital ad budgets by 20-30% annually, with digital ad impressions surging by 40% in 2023 as compared to 2022. Programmatic advertising now accounts for nearly 50% of total digital spending. (Source: TAM AdEx Report for 2023).
Industry insights highlight that the average organic CPL (Cost per Lead) in the insurance sector is around ₹25, as against paid media costing nearly ₹400 per lead.
With Securities, the organic CPL usually comes in around ₹10 compared to ~₹550 for paid media. These budgets are not sustainable in the long term; even if leads are generated, the conversion ratio from lead to customer acquisition/purchase/transaction is not always strong.
A solid organic digital marketing strategy, combined with personalized experiences, is the key to the BFSI industry's future. Organic search remains the most significant driver of website traffic, accounting for over 53% of total visits, according to BrightEdge.
More tellingly, 70–80% of users actively skip paid advertisements, gravitating instead towards organic results that they perceive as more trustworthy and relevant. This behavior is critical for BFSI players, given the high-stakes nature of financial decision-making where trust and credibility are non-negotiable.
With more than two-thirds of clicks concentrated on the first five organic listings, achieving top SERP visibility becomes a powerful differentiator. Financial institutions that invest in high-quality content and a technically sound SEO foundation are far better positioned to capture this traffic, regardless of their product or service offering.
Equally important is the quality of leads that organic search brings. Unlike paid campaigns that often prioritise volume, a well-optimized SEO and content strategy attracts users who are actively researching or ready to convert, shortening sales cycles and improving cost efficiency.
This becomes especially valuable for complex financial products that require a higher degree of consideration.
Moreover, a robust organic presence has tangible financial benefits. Better SEO performance can significantly reduce reliance on paid media, freeing up budgets that can be reinvested into enhancing digital infrastructure, customer experience, or product innovation.
For BFSI companies, this reinvestment creates a virtuous cycle, where organic growth fuels better products, which in turn drives deeper engagement and stronger retention. In the best case scenario, even meeting goals on their Annual Operating Plans (AOPs).
So, how can India’s fintech and BFSI institutions amp up their organic digital marketing game?
Leverage the BFSI advantage through local and hyperlocal SEO
Meeting customers where they are and addressing their specific needs is a powerful engagement and conversion driver for the BFSI industry, which is exactly where local or even hyperlocal SEO can add great value.
According to industry estimates, ‘near me’ searches on Google have increased by 16.81% between 2022 and 2023; i.e. local and hyperlocal SEO is giving BFSI companies the competitive edge they need to scale.
Give top priority to organic app marketing
With 200 million active users in 2024, mobile banking apps are booming in India—65% of them driven largely by a young, digital-first population (Source: India Mobile Banking Market - Industry Dynamics, Market Size, And Opportunity Forecast To 2032).
With such a heavy inclination towards mobile banking, the need for app marketing has never been greater. However, with countless financial apps online, it’s easy for users to get lost.
In a highly competitive and low-differentiation market, financial companies must have a strong organic app marketing strategy to encourage higher usage from their customers along with higher levels of trust.
Working with a strong digital marketing partner can significantly increase app visibility and maximise its potential while driving both user engagement and long-term success. When they combined app store optimization with strategic content marketing, a leading Indian NBFC increased app visitors by 144% and app installs by 122%, all within a span of one year.
Sometimes, it’s good to let the experts lead.
The future of organic digital marketing in the BFSI sector is exciting. Organic digital marketing can help companies thrive in this ever-evolving landscape.
The current stumbling blocks and corresponding strategies to address them call for a holistic organic digital marketing strategy. The idea here is to fuel sustainable growth without burning a hole in marketing budgets through paid media.
By making prudent choices with their marketing strategies, BFSI players can get the best of both worlds, staying ahead of fintech competition while delivering unique experiences and new value propositions for their customers.
This article is penned by Sarvesh Bagla, CEO and Founder, Techmagnate
Disclaimer: The article features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the stance of the publication.
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