I am not all that convinced that they can make this happen. To be honest, banks need to look to smaller options like blogs and podcasts. Not every ad in the universe needs to be on a major portal to show some level of success, you know.

Searching for “computers” on Google one January evening brought up a trove of hits on the usual suspects: Dell, Gateway, Apple and CNET. “Trucks” produced front-page links to Chevrolet and GMC, along with a sponsored tie-in to Nissan’s bad-boy Titan King Cab.

So how about “banks”? On this night, not a Bank of America, Wachovia, Citigroup, Chase or Wells Fargo turned up in the bunch. The most relevant hits, per Google’s algorithms (and discounting sponsored links), were SunTrust Banks and Huntington National Bank-along with blood donation centers, the Outer Banks, NC tourism bureau, and British science fiction novelist Iain Banks (The Algebraist). Even in the paid listings space that stayed within the bounds of financial services, Bank of America, HSBC, ING and Countrywide Bank had to share space and credibility with “Get-A-Bank-Account-Today.com,” a last-chance specialist for check-bouncing scamps in trouble with ChexSystems. [Read the rest]

Tags: banks, bank of america, wachovia, citigroup, chase or wells fargo