Uploan
Responsibilities
PPC || SEO
The Client
Uploan was a UK direct lender offering short-term personal loans from £500 to £2,000, with repayment terms of up to 12 months. Founded in 2016 and regulated by the FCA, the Manchester-based business operated as an online-only lender, providing near-instant decisions and same-day funding for borrowers who may not have qualified for mainstream credit. Uploan positioned itself as a more affordable, transparent alternative to traditional payday lending, with flexible repayment options and no hidden fees.
Uploan engaged Digiconomy to build an efficient online acquisition channel that would generate a steady flow of qualified loan applications while keeping cost per funded loan tightly controlled in a market where margins are thin and competition is fierce.
We delivered a targeted strategy combining Google PPC and SEO. Within 12 months, this approach produced a 60% increase in attributable revenue alongside a 26% reduction in acquisition costs, delivering a 5x return on investment.
To ensure spend was consistently directed toward the most productive activity, we implemented tracking that connected every ad click and organic visit to a funded loan outcome, providing the data foundation for continuous, revenue-led optimisation.
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Increase in Revenue
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Cost Optimisation
ROI
The
Objectives
Generate Consistent Application Volume
Establish paid and organic search as reliable, scalable sources of qualified loan applications, building a predictable pipeline that the underwriting team could plan around.
Ensure all performance measurement was tied to funded loans and revenue rather than front-end metrics like clicks or incomplete applications.
Control Costs in a High-Competition Market
Operate profitably in one of the most aggressively competed segments of UK consumer lending, where comparison sites, brokers, and rival lenders drive up click costs across all core borrowing terms.
Maintain strict cost discipline while still achieving meaningful revenue growth, proving that efficiency and scale could be delivered in parallel.
The Strategy
A lean, performance-focused search strategy designed to capture high-intent borrowers in a crowded short-term lending market, convert them efficiently, and maintain tight cost control at every stage.
Intent-Driven Keyword Targeting
Focus spend on the search terms most closely associated with genuine borrowing intent, filtering out low-quality traffic from comparison shoppers and information seekers to protect both conversion rates and cost efficiency.
Compelling, Compliant Messaging
Develop ad copy and landing page content that met FCA requirements while clearly communicating Uploan’s key differentiators: fast decisions, same-day funding, flexible repayments, and a fairer alternative to payday lending.
Organic Visibility for Sustainable Growth
Build search rankings for high-intent personal loan and short-term borrowing terms, creating a growing stream of qualified applications that complemented paid activity and progressively lowered blended acquisition costs.
The Campaign
Google PPC campaigns were built around high-intent borrowing terms, with tight keyword structures designed to capture consumers ready to apply while filtering out lower-quality comparison traffic. Ad copy communicated Uploan’s core proposition of fast, fair, and flexible lending within full FCA compliance.
SEO targeted short-term loan and direct lender terms, building organic authority that delivered qualified applications at a fraction of the paid cost. End-to-end attribution tracked every visitor through to funded loan, ensuring bid adjustments and budget allocation were always grounded in real revenue data.
Free Site & Market Audit
We will analyse your website against the performance of the main competitors in your niche, providing you with a breakdown of the changes we’d recommend along with examples of the traffic potential for your business.