WesBanco SEO Case Study

WesBanco’s SEO Strategy: From Invisible to Undeniable

WesBanco wasn’t showing up for the searches that mattered. Connected SEO and content work changed that. 

  • 5,000%

    YoY increase in organic mortgage applications

At a Glance

Client
WesBanco
Engagement
SEO & Content
Duration
3 years
Focus
Mortgage products & application starts

Overview

Potential customers searching for banking and mortgage keywords were not discovering WesBanco as the leader in the space that they are.

WesBanco had the products. They had the expertise. What they didn’t have was visibility. And in search, invisibility is indistinguishable from absence. 

The website had almost no content targeting the keywords their customers were actually using. One mortgage page. No landing page architecture. No path for search engines to follow. 

Three years of disciplined SEO and content work built that path. And the results compounded from there. 

The Proof

Three years in. The organic visibility WesBanco deserved finally matched the market position they’d already earned. 

  • 2x+

    YoY increase in organic traffic to mortgage web pages

  • 50

    Position improvement in targeted keywords within six months

  • 36

    Terms onto page 1 within six months

The Goal

WesBanco was invisible for the keywords their customers were searching. The goal was to fix that, and turn organic search into a real driver of mortgage product awareness and application starts.

  • Visibility

    Rank for high-value non-branded banking and mortgage keywords in major search engines 

  • Conversions

    Drive measurable growth in mortgage product awareness and application starts

The Challenge

In search, WesBanco wasn’t ranking for non-branded keywords. That meant potential customers were finding competitors first and never discovering WesBanco at all. The website compounded the problem. Almost no content existed beyond a single mortgage page. 

We needed more content that spoke to WesBanco's unique product offerings, built to rank, and designed to move a potential customer toward an application.

The Solution

Our SEO and content teams built the work in stages.

A person typing on a laptop with a search bar overlaying the image.

  1. Year 1

    In year one, we created SEO-optimized content pages around core products and expanded one mortgage page into 10 targeted landing pages to widen keyword reach and audience coverage.

  2. Year 2

    In year two, we added long-form pages to support SEO and link back to key product pages, while revising blog content for stronger performance.

  3. Year 3

    In year three, we refined site optimizations around specific audiences and needs, building new content and improving user experience to strengthen internal linking and external awareness. 

We knew we had great mortgage products. Brunner made sure the right customers could actually find them.

WesBanco

CMO

Wesbanco Content Strategy Case Study

Audience-Based Content Strategy Reached New Customers

Audience research, grounded in real life experiences, shaped banking content that mattered to people.

  • 3

    new target audience segmentations

At a Glance

Client
WesBanco
Engagement
Research, Content Strategy
Audiences
Gen Z & Millenials
Focus
Reaching younger adults at the moments that matter most

Overview

We studied Gen Z and millennial banking behavior, identified the life stages and events that mattered most, and used search behavior to set content priorities.

WesBanco wanted a smarter way to speak to people entering new stages of adulthood and making high-stakes money moves. We built the content strategy around real research, not assumptions. 
 
That connected view shaped communications planning, targeting, channel choices, flighting, sequencing, and brand messaging.  

The work gave WesBanco a practical system for showing up when its audience needed financial guidance most with content rooted in the truth of what people were already looking for. 

The Proof

The content and brand marketing framework informed communications planning, targeting recommendations, and channel recommendations. It also identified three target audience segmentations based on research and opportunity, a life event content production calendar for the year, and videos, social posts, blog posts, and landing pages. 

  • 1

    Year lift event content calendar

  • 38

    Content topics developed

The Goal

WesBanco wanted to prioritize its marketing around people in early adulthood who needed guidance for major life events, while building a clearer content and brand strategy for the bank. They needed a platform they could build from that would support their goals and their customers’ goals over time.

The Challenge

The bank’s customer base was getting older and they wanted to expand and stay relevant. Gen Z and Millennial audiences had different life experiences and banking needs than the bank’s existing Gen X and Baby Boomer customers.

WesBanco needed to understand which life moments to prioritize, how they may differ for these new generations, and how to turn that into a content plan informed by search behavior and business priorities. 

  • New Audience

    WesBanco wanted to expand to a younger audience, but they needed to know what mattered to them first. 

  • Endurance

    The content needed to be relevant and evergreen ― not a flash in the pan, but something that would drive continued growth. 

The Solution

  1. Third-party Research

    Conducted third-party research on Gen Z and millennials in banking to understand what their goals and pain points were, and what banking features they looked for.

  2. Life Stages

    Defined and ranked the life stages and events most relevant to these audiences and where and how they overlapped with WesBanco products and business priorities.  

  3. Search Behavior

    Used online search behavior to shape content priorities and inform campaign messaging, channel selection, flighting, sequencing, and planning.  

  4. Audience Segmentations

    Developed a structured set of audience segmentations and a yearlong content calendar the team could build from, which included the initial 38 content topics brought to life across multiple formats.

WesBanco Paid Social Case Study

Wesbanco’s Gen Z TikTok Content Test

Audience-First financial literacy content for TikTok engaged a new generation for a 150-year-old regional bank. 

  • 5.6M+

    impressions

  • 13K

    website clicks

At a Glance

Client
WesBanco
Engagement
Paid Social
Platform
TikTok
Duration
4 Months
Focus
Engage Gen Z with Financial Literacy

Overview

WesBanco needed a new kind of social content and a new platform.

Gen Z wanted to build their financial literacy through guidance from trusted experts.

TikTok was untested by the brand, but it was where their audience was getting answers – they needed to be present. 

The team researched topics and produced the content in our in-house studio, launch a successful four-month media test buy on TikTok. 

The Goal

Increase brand awareness among Gen Z consumers by creating educational content that would help them learn, manage, and stay disciplined on their financial journey. 

A grid of checks that are on top of cards with an envelope under the cards

The Challenge

WesBanco needed a new way to reach Gen Z consumers. TikTok was a new, untested channel for the brand, and they needed to know it was effective and the right fit.

The content created needed to resonate with Gen Z while being relevant, educational, and aligned with the bank’s goals.

The Solution

Videos no one wants have no staying power. We needed to capture the attention of a new audience, and that meant understanding what mattered to them. We researched online search behavior, SEO keywords, and banking trends to identify the financial content topics Gen Z wanted to hear about and aligned these with WesBanco’s priorities to produce the educational content in our in-house studio.

The Proof

The campaign worked because it was grounded in data. After delivering so strongly, TikTok was added as a consistent channel in WesBanco’s ongoing marketing plan. 

5.6M+
impressions
13K
website clicks

WesBanco

WesBanco Found its Voice in a Category Built on Sameness

With 150 years of experience and a target audience that barely knew they existed, WesBanco needed a brand built to break through.

  • 17 Year

    Client/agency relationship

  • $YoY

    Account growth

At a Glance

Client
WesBanco
Campaign
Let’s Talk Life
Channels
OTT, Social & OOH
Client Relationship
17 Years

Overview

They know what makes our company unique in a commoditized industry — our incredible people and our genuine relationships with our customers.

WesBanco EVP & CMO

Banking has a sameness problem. The products blur together, the messaging sounds identical, and most consumers couldn’t tell one institution from another without the logo. WesBanco knew this — and knew they had something most banks don’t. A hundred and fifty years of genuine relationships and a real point of view on what it means to show up for a customer.

The problem wasn’t the story. It was that not enough people knew WesBanco well enough to hear it. So we went looking for the white space. We found it in a feeling. And that feeling changed everything. 

Recognition

PRSA Pittsburgh Renaissance Awards

Award of Merit Winner (Audience-Centric Content Campaign)

Pittsburgh American Advertising Awards

Silver (Film, Video & Sound category)

The Goal

WesBanco had the history, the products, and the people. What they needed was a brand that reflected all of it and an audience that knew it existed. The ambition was clear: close the gap between who WesBanco actually is and how many people could find their way to them.

  • Awareness

    Grow recognition of WesBanco as a leading financial institution across target markets

  • Brand Position

    Establish a clear, ownable point of different in a crowded category 

  • Growth

    Drive measurable year-over-year account growth tied to brand investment  

The Challenge

The target audience didn’t just have low awareness of WesBanco. In some cases, they weren’t sure WesBanco was a financial institution at all. Standard banking messaging wasn’t going to close that gap. It would only disappear into the noise. Research pointed somewhere the category wasn’t looking.

Consumers feel vulnerable and overwhelmed when making big financial decisions. That was the real opening. And it required a campaign willing to meet people there — honestly, directly, and in a way that felt nothing like a bank.

“Let’s Talk Life” didn’t sound like a bank campaign. That was the point. Built on the insight that people feel vulnerable and overwhelmed when facing big financial decisions, the campaign positioned WesBanco as the partner who shows up for life’s biggest moments, not just the transactions that follow.

  • OTT

    Long-form storytelling that gave the campaign room to connect emotionally at scale

  • Social & OOH

    Extended the platform into everyday moments across channels where the audience lives

The idea traveled across OTT, social, and OOH — meeting audiences where they actually spend their time, with a message warm enough to earn their attention and specific enough to earn their trust focused on advice, retirement, and building a good credit score.

  • Let’s Talk Life

    A brand platform built around life's biggest financial moments, not products

  • WesBanco

  • WesBanco

  • WesBanco

  • WesBanco

  • WesBanco

  • WesBanco

  • WesBanco

The Proof

  • 17 Year

    Client/agency relationship

  • $YoY

    Account growth

Seventeen years isn’t a contract. It’s a track record. WesBanco’s partnership with Brunner has driven consistent year-over-year account growth and a brand evolution that’s kept pace with every market they’ve entered.

WesBanco has enjoyed a long-term partnership with Brunner that has helped propel our bank's growth and our brand's evolution! When we told them how we financially empower our customers every day and we wanted to spread the word, they were all in — because they 'get us'. And they know what makes our company unique in a commoditized industry — our incredible people and our genuine relationships with our customers.

WesBanco

EVP & CMO