Where Big 5 Banks Funnel 16% of
its Search Traffic Searching for
Mortgage Information
Financial Services
© 2022 RightMetric Digital Ltd. All rights reserved.
In 2021 Google searches for “mortgage” in Canada slowed down over the summer and picked
up during the last quarter of the year.
0
100
50
Google Search Interest Trend for Term “Mortgage”
January December
2021
2020
Search Term: “Mortgage”
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On average, 10% of Big 5 Banks’ search traffic lands on their websites after searching for
mortgage-related terms. RBC has the highest share of mortgage-search-driven traffic (24%), while BMO
has the lowest (5%). Almost all banks, except CIBC, saw a YoY increase in search traffic looking for
mortgage information.
TD CIBC RBC Scotiabank BMO
10%
(+1% pp* vs.
last year)
8%
(-1% pp vs.
last year)
24%
(+11% pp vs.
last year)
7%
(+1% pp vs.
last year)
5%
(+1% pp vs. last
year)
Share of Inbound Web Search Traffic from Keywords and Phrases that Include “Mortgage”
*Percentage points
© 2022 RightMetric Digital Ltd. All rights reserved.
Looking into specific keywords that drove the most traffic to Canadian Big 5 Banks, the
mortgage calculator is the most sought-after tool. Often Canadians would also specify whether
they are looking for a mortgage payment or mortgage affordability calculator.
TD CIBC RBC Scotiabank
mortgage calculator
td mortgage calculator
mortgage payment calc.
td mortgage rates
mortg. affordability calc
cibc mortgage calculator
cibc mortgage rates
mortgage calculator
mortgage affordability calc.
cibc mortgage
mortgage calculator
rbc mortgage calculator
mortgage affordability calc.
mortgage calculator rbc
rbc mortgage payment calc
mortgage calculator
scotiabank mortgage calc.
scotiabank mortgage rates
scotia mortgage calculator
mortgage calculator scotia…
bmo mortgage calculator
bmo mortgage rates
mortgage calculator
bmo mortgage
mortgage calculator bmo
Top 5 Organic Keywords:
BMO
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Consequently, mortgage calculator pages are the top organic search landing pages for
traffic searching mortgage information.
Click to view Click to view Click to view
Click to view Click to view
Top Organic Landing Pages for Inbound Traffic Looking for Mortgage-Related Terms:
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Big 5 Canadian banks leveraged high interest in mortgage searches and ran paid search
ads to compete for relevant traffic. Looking into the paid traffic that landed searching for
mortgage-related terms, we see that CIBC has had the highest share of paid search traffic
that followed mortgage-related searches.
TD CIBC RBC Scotiabank BMO
1%
no change
16%
(+3% pp*)
5%
(+3% pp)
4%
(+1% pp)
5%
no change
Share of Paid Search Web Traffic from Keywords and Phrases that Include “Mortgage”
*Percentage points
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Analyzing Big 5 Banks’ investments in search ads promoting its mortgage-related services,
banks on average allocated 25% of their total paid search advertising budgets to capture
web traffic looking to learn about mortgages. RBC is the largest investor in paid search ads.
TD CIBC RBC
Scotiabank
BMO
21%
23%
60%
7%
10%
0
100
50
Share of Paid Search Spend Allocated to Run Mortgage Ads, 2021, Canada
© 2022 RightMetric Digital Ltd. All rights reserved.
Diving into top mortgage search ads run by TD, we can see that the bank leveraged the market’s urge to
estimate mortgage payments and ran ads to drive traffic to its mortgage calculator. In addition to this,
TD also advertised its online mortgage pre-approval platform and mortgage protection.
mortgage pre approval calculator | pre approval mortgage
mortgage qualification calculator | mortgage preapproval
rbc mortgage preapproval | td preapproval mortgage | can i
get approved for a mortgage with $45,000 salary canada |
best bank to get mortgage pre approval in vancouver bc
mortgage estimator ontario | mortgage assessment
mortgage on 750000 | how much income do i need for a
500k mortgage | how to shop for morgate
mortgage insurance | getting rid of pmi mortgage insurance
lowest mortgage insurance rates | mortgage advisor
Top 3 Mortgage Search Ads, Canada, 2021
Targeted Keywords:
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The mortgage calculator and the pre-approval pages received the highest budget allocation in December
2021. However, people responded better to the mortgage calculator ads, which received 4% of total search
traffic visits. At the same time, less than 1% of search traffic landed on the mortgage pre-approval page.
Click to view Click to view Click to view
Spend:
$14K
Traffic Share:
4%
Spend:
$8K
Traffic Share:
1%
Spend:
$14K
Traffic Share:
>1%
© 2022 RightMetric Digital Ltd. All rights reserved.
CIBC focused on driving traffic to its mortgage calculator page leveraging a variety of very
specific search queries, such as “income for 500,000 mortgage”, “203k mortgage”, and
“650,000 mortgage rate.”
mortgage calculator ontario | affordability calculator
mortgages | mortgage affordability | how to calculate
monthly mortgage payment | income for 500000 mortgage
how much mortgage i am qualified for | 203k mortgage
morgage calculator | bdc commercial mortgage rates |
mortgage rates for commercial plaza filetype:pdf commercial
loan interest rates | best commercial mortage rate canada |
commerical mortage caluclator
mortgage payment calculator | mortgage rates morgage |
port mortgage | 650000 mortgage rate | morgtgate calculator
Top 3 Mortgage Search Ads, Canada, December 2021
Targeted Keywords:
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Looking into CIBC's December 2021 search ads focus, the bank allocated $38K to
advertise its “$3,000 cashback when you get a CIBC Mortgage” promo.
Click to view Click to view Click to view
Spend:
$38K
Traffic Share:
11%
Spend:
$16K
Traffic Share:
8%
Spend:
$>1K
Traffic Share:
>1%
© 2022 RightMetric Digital Ltd. All rights reserved.
Top 3 Mortgage Search Ads, Canada, December 2021
Targeted Keywords:
RBC also focused on driving traffic to its mortgage calculator page leveraging a variety of keywords,
from “how much would a mortgage be on a 400 000 house” to “mortgage pre-approval”
pre approval mortgage | house calculator | best place to
get a mortgage canada | home loan canada | how much
would a mortgage be on a 400 000 house | what is my
buying power for a house
mortgage eligibility calculator canada | can i afford a
house | how much can you get preapproved for a
mortgage in vancouver
mortgage pre approval | home loan calculator
canada | mortgage salary calculator
© 2022 RightMetric Digital Ltd. All rights reserved.
Top 3 Mortgage Search Ads, Canada, December 2021
Targeted Keywords:
Scotiabank consolidates all its mortgage-related online services into the eHome hub and
drove paid search ads aiming to capture relevant traffic.
scotiabank | scotiabank ehome | mortgage preapproval |
scotiabank mortgage login | mortgage estimator ontario |
scotia mortgage potection | scotiabank mortgage mexico
for canadians | instant mortgage pre approval estimation
mortgage pre approval calculator | how to get pre approved
for mortgage | how much do you have to put down payment
on a h$300,000 house in regina | income needed to buy a
house | mortgage pre approval calculator canda | how much
income do you need to qualify for a $650 000 mortgage …
how big a mortgage can i get | mortgage eligibility | can an
agent ask for mortgage pre-approval for visitors | mortgage
brokers st john's | how big a mortgage can i get with my
salary | home pre-approval estimate calcualor canada
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eHome hub received the highest budget allocation in December ($4K) amongst the
mortgage-related Scotiabank pages. The other two pages Scotiabank drove traffic to were
the “Get Started” page in the Advice+ section and Banking 101.
Click to view Click to view Click to view
Spend:
$4K
Traffic Share:
5%
Spend:
$>1K
Traffic Share:
1%
Spend:
$>1K
Traffic Share:
>1%
© 2022 RightMetric Digital Ltd. All rights reserved.
Top 3 Mortgage Search Ads, Canada, December 2021
Targeted Keywords:
In 2021, BMO focused on driving traffic looking for mortgage options to its get
pre-approved online page.
mortgage pre approval | mortgage pre approval calculator
pre approval mortgage | td mortgage pre approval | how
to get a mortgage | mortgage for non residents in canada
going back to school mortgage
rbc mortgage pre approval | pre approval mortgage
scotiabank | mortgage approval ontario | best bank to get a
mortgage from quebec | mortgage application form online |
mortgage pre-approva;
mortgage pre approval | mortgages | mortgage assessment
best bank to get a mortgage low income canada
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While Google searches for mortgage-related information continued to grow in 2021, the Big 5 Banks focused on driving traffic to its online
mortgage calculators and financing pre-approval pages.
Search Keywords — Canadians Actively Search for “Mortgage Calculator” and Similar Tools that Will Help Them Estimate Their
Payments. In recent years, Canadians heavily relied on online banking tools. Online mortgage calculators are a great way to independently
research and estimate mortgage payments. While the public looked for mortgage payment and affordability calculators, the banks actively
competed for these search terms with paid search ads.
Landing Pages — Mortgage Calculator is the Top Landing Page for Search Traffic Looking to Buy a House. All Big 5 Canadian Banks
developed a variety of comprehensive online tools that help prospects estimate their mortgage payments and get pre-approved.
Paid Search Ads — Throughout December 2021, Banks Focused on Targeting “Mortgage Calculator” Keywords with Their Search Ads.
TD invited prospects to get pre-approved for a mortgage online. CIBC called Canadians to get to know how what house they can afford. RBC
got very specific with their keyword targeting and ran ads for such searches as “how much would a mortgage be on a 400 000 house”.
Scotiabank launched and promoted a comprehensive eHome portal will all mortgage-related information. BMO focused on driving traffic to
its get pre-approved page.
Key Takeaways
