Commercial Loan Broker Institute SEO
How Long-Form Content Helped a Training Program Outrank a Better-Funded Competitor
The Commercial Loan Broker Institute (CLBI) is a training program for those who want to launch a commercial loan brokerage without purchasing a franchise. The program provides training in pitching financing services, matching businesses to lenders, and packaging loans.
The scenario: a major industry provider was heavily advertising its services but often delivering lower-quality support in key areas such as design, copywriting, and trainee support. To reach prospective students, Murdock Media Production leveraged SEO-optimized long-form content to answer questions found in common search queries. By providing valuable, in-depth information, CLBI positioned itself as a credible, cost-effective alternative to an aggressive industry leader, driving student interest and program growth.
Choosing and Optimizing Keywords
The first step in creating high-performing content was analyzing other loan broker training program websites and advertising messaging. The audit led to a master list of high-traffic and underutilized key phrases that CLBI could target. We compared the list to CLBI’s existing web copy and rankings to identify themes absent from the website that resonated with the brand and offered opportunities to increase traffic.
Next, we evaluated the competitiveness of each search phrase. High-competition keywords were already targeted by many competitors with established backlinks, making it more costly and effortful to rank on those phrases. We narrowed the list of keyword phrases, categorizing it into new pages and those to incorporate into expansions of existing content.
The result is a high-performing long-form page that provides a comprehensive overview of the journey from awareness of the industry to the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to grow and thrive. Each section is structured around a unique search phrase, giving multiple opportunities for prospective students to discover the page.
Read the page “How to Start a Loan Broker Business.“
What you see to the right is about one-third of a top-performing page on the site. The page provides a high-level overview of what is necessary to become a commercial loan broker. Each section is optimized around a meaningful phrase. That provides many varied search options that could result in a visit to the page.
Transparency Builds Credibility
At first glance, it may seem risky to showcase the structure of an entire program online. However, CLBI’s approach demonstrates a realistic picture of what it takes to launch a brokerage, including the challenges and barriers, which the CLBI program helps to overcome. The program covers website setup, CRM, social media, blogging, opportunity discovery, financing insights, lender connections, and business registration. While it can’t instill personal drive, offering this detailed view upfront contributes to a high completion rate. Most participants finish the program with an operational business structure in place.
Measuring Engagement
Data from May 16, 2023, to May 16, 2024, shows that one top-performing page received 6,777 unique visitors and 8,758 total views, averaging 1.29 views per person. Visitors spent an average of 1 minute, 31 seconds on the page, meeting CLBI’s target of 1 minute 30 seconds for long-form content.
While the home page averages only 17 seconds per visitor, high-value pages retain the attention of visitors genuinely interested in the content.
Aligning SEO with Goals
SEO metrics—keywords, content length, and engagement—are only meaningful when aligned with your organization’s mission and objectives. For CLBI, high traffic is necessary to reach individuals who are serious about entering the commercial loan industry.
The key to effective SEO is matching your objectives with the right language and structuring it thoughtfully on the page. This alignment ensures that your content drives tangible outcomes.
Ready to create and launch meaningful optimized content?
Contact Murdock Media Production today. We will help you develop your content strategy from concept through implementation, and document the work for your website along the way.