The gold loan industry in India is currently experiencing a boom. The number of searches for gold loans in India has grown by 11.64% in FY23 and the amount of gold loans given has also increased. For lenders, these figures are very significant and help them connect with customers at scale.
According to a leading publication, the portfolio of bank loans secured against gold jewellery witnessed a substantial growth of 16.2% year-on-year as of January 2023. This growth is attributed to banks' competitive interest rates on these loans, making them more attractive than those offered by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).
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Further, Bajaj Finserv states that the Indian gold loan market is worth approximately USD 55.52 billion in 2022. Forecasts indicate a growth trajectory of 12.22% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2023 to 2029, with the market size expected to expand to USD 124.45 billion by the end of 2029.
Meanwhile, a report by Techmagnate, a leading digital marketing company from New Delhi, gives an overview of user search behaviour for gold loans in India: One of the most important takeaways from the report is that searches for gold loans have increased significantly in FY23.
The data from these reports also supports the rise in searches for gold loans in India, and the evolving customer behavior can be seen on both sides: Indians are open to gold-secured loans to fulfill their growing aspirations and needs.
This means there is an opportunity for Indian providers and lending institutions to tap into the gold loan search trending market and ramp up their digital marketing efforts to accelerate growth. Of course, the key here is to enable growth with great responsibility.
Gold Loan Search Trends in India: Current Situation
According to a study conducted by Techmagnate, gold loan searches grew by 11.64% from 9.55 million in FY22 to 10.66 million in FY23.
Moreover, in the list of top 10 keywords, “gold loan interest rate” and “gold loan calculator” are dominating the industry search trends, registering a 22.22% and 22.30% increase in search volume respectively over the previous year.
Leading the way: Top 5 Gold Loan Brands by Search Volume
In the gold loan industry, well-known brands like IIFL Finance, Muthoot Finance, SBI, BoB, Indian Overseas Bank etc. show up with the highest search volumes. Here we take a quick look at how these companies are performing in FY22-23.
IIFL Finance
IIFL Finance retained the top spot with 175,640 searches and a market share of 27.88% in FY23. Despite a marginal growth of 0.52% YoY, it still commands the largest share of search share.
Muthoot Finance
Muthoot Finance came in second with a search volume of 90.83K and a market share of 14.42% in FY23, growing search volume by 6.10%.
State Bank of India
State Bank of India ranked third with 56,580 searches and a market share of 8.98% in FY23. Searches grew by 7.67%, indicating growing consumer interest in the company's gold loan product.
Bank of Baroda
Bank of Baroda comes in at number 4 with a search volume of 54.63K and a market share of 8.67% in FY23. It has seen an impressive growth in search volume of 34.06%.
Indian Overseas Bank
Indian Overseas Bank, at the fifth position, had a search volume of 41.71K and a market share of 6.62% in FY23. The bank’s search volume growth was 29.25%.
Highlighting the importance of the newly launched report, Sarvesh Bagla, CEO and Founder, Techmagnate said, “An in-depth analysis of 1,400+ keywords related to gold loan searches has revealed an evolution in customer behaviour. Brands that leverage these insights to adapt and strengthen their digital presence are the ones that will benefit the most from the data in this report.”
Gold Loan Marketing Ideas: Leveraging Insights for Growth
The insights shared in the report reveal huge opportunities that brands can leverage for growth. For instance, the list of top 10 keywords is extremely useful for formulating your digital marketing strategy. Moreover, insights on local and dialect searches can also help brands fine-tune their targeting and messaging.
Here are three strategies brands should adopt to start leveraging these insights.
Take advantage of local search opportunities
Many customers search for gold loan services locally, such as ‘Mutoot gold loan near me’, ‘gold loan near me’ etc. However, searches from non-branded keywords have also been growing steadily, growing by 21.65% in FY23.
For loan providers, ignoring local listings and a fully optimized Google My Business profile is not a realistic option – you need local visibility to attract the right traffic and customers.
Dialect Search
According to a Gold Loan Search Insights report by Techmagnate, searches using non-branded terms have shown a rapid upward trend, with the market share standing at a staggering 96.51%.
There is a huge opportunity for moneylenders to understand these searches and create content that answers real customer questions in regional Indian languages.
Search trends for personal loans have seen a similar surge in local languages, with non-branded keywords accounting for 95.23% market share.
Leverage mobile app development and marketing
Gold loan mobile apps also show interesting search trends: non-branded keywords have grown by 1.23% with a market share of 15.41%, while branded keywords dominate the majority of the market share at a staggering 84.59%.
This gives lending institutions a unique app marketing opportunity to optimize for branded keywords and perform well on the App Store and Play Store. Gold Loan Lending Institutions can build a strong presence by leveraging targeted keywords and optimizing their app content for brand-specific search terms, ensuring visibility, competitiveness, and even relevance.
Data-driven insights to enable growth
The Gold Loan Search Trends report indicates growing consumer interest in online gold loan services, giving banks and NBFCs a unique opportunity to tap into the untapped potential.
Data shows that the gold lending market is evolving in India, and brands can expand their customer reach and capitalize on this market by focusing on multiple avenues such as local language content, mobile apps, and local SEO.
Loan providers should work with a top digital marketing agency like Techmagnate to fine-tune their SEO strategy and boost their online presence, as that is the best way to connect with customers.
Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and has no journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/support the content of the article/advertisement and/or the views expressed herein. Hindustan Times is not responsible or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that appears in the article and/or any views, opinions, statements, declarations, assertions etc. contained in the article. This information does not constitute financial advice.
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