What is the biggest weakness of mortgage / lending websites?

The biggest weakness for mortgage / lending websites is AEO, with an average score of just 20 out of 100. This means most sites in this vertical have significant room for improvement in this area.

Mortgage / Lending Website Audit Report - AISO Studio

Overview

The mortgage / lending industry faces a clear challenge online. Most websites in this space score well below what search engines and AI systems need to surface content. The average AISO score across all 271 sites is just 51 out of 100. That is a low bar. It also means there is a big opportunity for businesses that invest in their web presence now.

The strongest area for mortgage / lending sites is SEO, with an average of 73. The weakest area is AEO, at just 20. According to Google's SEO documentation, sites that fail to meet basic technical standards risk losing visibility in both traditional and AI-powered search results.

What does this mean for your business? If your site scores above 51, you are already ahead of most competitors. If it scores below, you risk losing traffic to rivals who fix these issues first. According to the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, accessible websites also reach a wider audience and reduce legal risk.

Key insight: 42% of mortgage / lending websites score below 50. The majority of sites in this vertical are underperforming across multiple dimensions.

Summary Scores

AISO Score

SEO

Readability

Engagement

AEO

WCAG

Key Findings

42%

Score Below 50

A significant portion of sites need improvement.

41%

Missing Schema Markup

These sites have no structured data, making them harder for search engines and AI to understand.

23%

No Open Graph Tags

Without OG tags, shared links on social media appear without rich previews.

What This Means

These findings tell a simple story. Most mortgage / lending websites were built without modern optimization in mind. They load, they look fine, but they fail to communicate with the systems that drive traffic today.

Search engines need structured data to understand your pages. AI answer engines need clear, direct answers to cite your content. Screen readers need proper HTML to serve users with disabilities. Missing any of these means missing out on visitors, customers, and revenue.

Key Takeaways

After analyzing 271 mortgage / lending websites, here's what stands out most. These are the three most important points from the data.

Most sites score poorly overall. An average AISO score of 51 means the typical mortgage / lending website misses more than half of what modern search and AI systems look for.
AEO is the weakest link. At just 20 on average, this dimension drags down overall scores. Fixing it first gives the biggest return.
Basic technical issues are widespread. 41% of sites lack schema markup. 23% have no Open Graph tags. These are quick wins that most sites have not addressed.

Bottom line: The mortgage / lending industry is behind on web optimization. Early movers who fix these issues will gain a real edge in both search rankings and AI visibility.

How to Improve Your Score

Want to beat the average? Follow these steps in order. Each one builds on the last. Start with the basics and work your way up.

Step 1: Fix your technical SEO. Add a meta title, meta description, and canonical URL to every page. Add schema markup using JSON-LD. Add Open Graph tags so your links look good when shared. These changes take less than an hour and have an immediate impact.
Step 2: Improve readability. Rewrite your main pages at an 8th grade reading level. Use short sentences. Use simple words. Break up long paragraphs. According to Google, clear and simple content performs better in search results.
Step 3: Add engagement elements. Use headings, bullet lists, bold text, and blockquotes. Add images with descriptive alt text. Make your content easy to scan. Visitors decide within seconds whether to stay or leave.
Step 4: Optimize for AI engines. Add a FAQ section to your key pages. Use direct answer formats. Define what your business does in one clear sentence at the top of your homepage. AI systems like ChatGPT and Perplexity prefer content that gives a straight answer.
Step 5: Check accessibility. Run a WCAG audit. Ensure all images have alt text. Check that color contrast meets minimum ratios. Use semantic HTML elements like headings, lists, and landmarks. According to the W3C, over one billion people worldwide live with some form of disability.

Score Distribution

The charts below show how scores are spread across all 271 sites. The histogram groups sites by score range. The grade chart shows how many sites earned each letter grade. A score of 80 or above earns an A. Below 30 is an F.

AISO Score Ranges

0-9

10-19

20-29

30-39

40-49

50-59

101

60-69

70-79

80-89

90-99

Grade Distribution

0 (0%)

3 (1%)

53 (20%)

101 (37%)

114 (42%)

Dimension Breakdown

Average scores across all 271 mortgage / lending websites for each scoring dimension.

SEO

Readability

Engagement

AEO

WCAG

Full Results

The table below lists all 271 websites ranked by their overall AISO score. Each row shows the total score, letter grade, and individual dimension scores. Use it to see how sites in the mortgage / lending space compare against each other.

Domains are partially blurred to protect privacy. Scores range from 0 to 100. Higher is better.

#	Domain	Score	Grade	SEO	Read.	Eng.	AEO	WCAG
1	indianamor****************	70	B	89	72	75	26	94
2	finan*********	70	B	85	65	75	33	100
3	tidewater***************	70	B	94	62	90	33	75
4	ffcomm*********	69	C	97	64	85	30	73
5	firsto***********	69	C	94	53	85	33	86
6	vantagemo***************	68	C	84	51	75	48	94
7	boh****	67	C	89	63	90	41	47
8	mainemortg****************	67	C	83	66	83	18	89
9	mutualm***********	67	C	92	56	78	18	100
10	jvmle*********	66	C	97	50	75	33	80
11	afc*****	66	C	89	68	73	33	67
12	mainem***********	66	C	94	63	100	33	33
13	newameri**************	66	C	89	66	65	26	92
14	sammamis*************	66	C	100	44	75	45	72
15	themort************	65	C	82	68	70	18	94
16	morganf************	65	C	92	49	65	33	100
17	flamort************	65	C	97	52	78	26	77
18	ccuk*****	65	C	80	62	80	33	71
19	thetrutha****************	65	C	87	55	75	26	89
20	njfc*****	65	C	77	62	65	40	88
21	movem*******	65	C	94	49	65	33	94
22	lonestar*************	65	C	94	38	90	26	87
23	guildm***********	64	C	79	60	80	18	90
24	riverci************	64	C	84	49	83	33	75
25	fergus*********	64	C	89	37	80	36	92
26	bankofo************	64	C	92	48	80	18	91
27	vtmor*********	64	C	76	57	63	40	95
28	embrace*************	63	C	87	53	63	25	100
29	myindian*************	63	C	89	64	90	33	33
30	summit-************	63	C	89	60	85	34	43
31	valleymo*************	63	C	74	67	85	26	60
32	westernoh**************	63	C	84	66	75	26	63
33	localle***********	63	C	92	58	75	18	75
34	snbs*****	63	C	74	62	85	33	60
35	guc*****	62	C	87	54	78	33	56
36	cuso******	62	C	84	58	73	25	72
37	greaterne****************	62	C	86	54	63	26	90
38	scissorta***************	62	C	89	62	73	53	21
39	firstd*********	62	C	84	52	78	26	77
40	utahf********	62	C	89	31	80	33	92
41	american*************	61	C	91	47	60	33	84
42	reliance*************	61	C	97	46	90	38	32
43	firstwor**************	61	C	89	49	70	18	91
44	treadsto**************	61	C	94	60	75	38	30
45	michmo**********	61	C	84	66	70	18	64
46	flatheadva****************	61	C	87	47	65	18	100
47	vermont***********	61	C	77	71	75	10	74
48	associa***********	61	C	94	53	85	38	27
49	ravenm***********	60	C	92	51	65	10	93
50	locati***********	60	C	91	49	75	33	52
51	crosscoun***************	60	C	86	60	70	25	56
52	montanafa****************	60	C	79	75	50	10	90
53	stmary*********	60	C	87	41	68	18	100
54	cliffco************	60	C	84	52	85	25	52
55	locations.******************	60	C	89	57	65	33	54
56	bankne*********	60	C	84	61	85	33	29
57	fnbal********	59	D	84	53	80	18	63
58	mortgag************	59	D	81	48	80	18	76
59	bankr*******	59	D	91	49	90	41	16
60	interwes*************	59	D	84	64	90	36	9
61	illinoi***********	59	D	89	33	75	25	89
62	stan*******	59	D	82	45	85	33	50
63	massho*********	59	D	72	40	85	28	78
64	partners**************	59	D	70	52	63	26	95
65	gatec********	59	D	77	64	85	26	39
66	gvcmor*********	59	D	62	63	55	40	82
67	wisconsinm****************	59	D	70	57	80	18	71
68	capitalho**************	58	D	94	26	75	38	68
69	asbha********	58	D	84	39	80	26	68
70	bankofth**************	58	D	79	48	80	28	60
71	unite********	58	D	49	65	75	10	100
72	trb*****	58	D	76	70	73	10	58
73	vac*****	58	D	90	23	78	26	89
74	azlendi*************	57	D	72	70	80	25	24
75	nsba******	57	D	80	39	60	30	91
76	centr*********	57	D	87	43	70	33	58
77	nchf*****	57	D	54	50	68	38	84
78	vpmor*********	57	D	74	67	68	26	42
79	cbut******	57	D	66	75	58	18	65
80	citiz*********	57	D	80	52	75	18	62
81	thomps**********	57	D	74	56	73	25	58
82	femb*****	57	D	82	57	55	10	89
83	nbk*****	56	D	77	70	60	33	30
84	mas*****	56	D	79	37	63	18	100
85	salem********	56	D	77	52	80	26	41
86	pisca*********	56	D	87	51	70	26	43
87	elendi*********	56	D	89	59	58	18	56
88	dacota*********	56	D	79	51	85	18	44
89	seattlesmo****************	56	D	92	51	40	16	89
90	firstco***********	55	D	64	47	70	23	77
91	dbf.ge*********	55	D	69	45	65	10	100
92	newf******	55	D	89	52	80	18	33
93	griffin***********	55	D	87	52	75	38	14
94	blackdiam***************	55	D	76	52	80	26	38
95	cornhu*********	55	D	64	55	80	10	67
96	infiniti**************	55	D	86	53	70	18	46
97	midor********	55	D	65	49	75	18	76
98	mortgage*************	55	D	79	70	65	10	43
99	bancf*********	55	D	74	48	80	18	56
100	palmettosta******************	55	D	68	61	68	10	67
101	fmlo*******	55	D	94	61	75	18	15
102	cu1****	54	D	84	50	80	35	14
103	ofi.******	54	D	82	21	80	17	85
104	bankmi***********	54	D	75	52	80	18	42
105	bankfir***********	54	D	70	46	60	18	89
106	nj.***	54	D	57	61	60	10	91
107	townand***********	54	D	77	56	80	10	41
108	cuofo*******	54	D	62	47	75	18	72
109	okc*****	54	D	67	69	65	33	22
110	bankof*********	54	D	79	52	50	18	80
111	myutahm***********	54	D	90	25	50	30	89
112	citycree*************	54	D	84	25	70	63	32
113	capita***********	54	D	74	58	73	18	43
114	azmt******	53	D	79	44	60	10	83
115	frontran**************	53	D	84	0	90	33	75
116	hawaiis***********	53	D	69	61	75	10	46
117	centra*********	53	D	77	43	68	18	61
118	labor.m***********	53	D	60	29	78	17	100
119	mslen********	53	D	74	66	65	10	42
120	walle********	53	D	87	36	78	10	58
121	maines**********	52	D	86	49	68	26	22
122	community****************	52	D	57	44	75	10	82
123	hcr.******	52	D	72	35	65	18	82
124	premium************	52	D	84	45	80	18	27
125	oreg******	52	D	59	72	51	10	69
126	selectmo**************	52	D	86	51	70	18	30
127	banko*********	52	D	67	64	73	18	26
128	dfi.u*******	52	D	67	31	73	18	82
129	vawhole***********	52	D	84	65	60	10	30
130	mmpv*****	52	D	76	54	68	18	42
131	firstwashi*****************	52	D	59	59	68	18	55
132	wyomingc*************	52	D	52	61	50	18	82
133	assuranc*************	51	D	94	0	93	40	36
134	stock*******	51	D	64	55	50	10	80
135	themor***********	51	D	69	68	60	18	30
136	myerscap**************	51	D	72	37	80	26	39
137	banki*******	51	D	67	37	80	18	56
138	westsh***********	51	D	64	50	73	10	59
139	pinnb*******	51	D	72	54	55	25	46
140	castlecoo**************	51	D	79	34	75	18	57
141	tsah*****	51	D	67	39	56	25	78
142	aceland************	51	D	69	52	60	10	71
143	firstno***********	51	D	72	38	80	36	28
144	ahf****	50	D	65	50	43	10	92
145	mortgagebr*****************	50	D	54	66	68	10	46
146	comtg********	50	D	81	53	65	26	17
147	itasc*********	50	D	82	50	70	18	25
148	nw.****	50	D	74	48	73	18	31
149	midmo********	50	D	82	26	75	33	38
150	banki*********	50	D	67	35	60	10	92
151	gonewhamp****************	50	D	72	42	75	18	40
152	cun*****	50	D	69	57	60	10	50
153	freedom************	50	D	79	52	50	10	64
154	sdhou********	50	D	84	17	80	18	64
155	sml.t********	50	D	84	19	58	10	100
156	dfr.ve*********	50	D	65	30	80	25	56
157	commerceb**************	50	D	74	50	68	25	28
158	myalabama****************	49	F	54	56	75	10	50
159	barrett*************	49	F	82	31	65	26	43
160	fidel*********	49	F	89	17	78	40	19
161	porta********	49	F	52	34	70	10	93
162	hawaiimor**************	49	F	74	63	60	10	29
163	fhb****	49	F	77	35	73	33	26
164	banki********	49	F	77	44	75	10	40
165	kyinmo**********	49	F	69	46	58	18	55
166	refined***********	49	F	89	29	83	33	4
167	1stb******	49	F	57	49	63	18	60
168	ne.****	49	F	52	48	65	10	75
169	cmgf*****	49	F	67	43	65	10	64
170	firstcommu****************	49	F	74	33	55	26	67
171	savi.ha*************	49	F	79	38	73	10	45
172	wimo******	49	F	74	50	75	18	21
173	popu*******	49	F	77	30	80	25	36
174	bankofc***********	48	F	77	49	55	10	47
175	ruof*****	48	F	72	53	60	18	29
176	firstka************	48	F	66	57	65	10	38
177	fnbm******	48	F	64	27	75	18	64
178	homeisp*************	48	F	69	32	68	10	69
179	nmmortga**************	48	F	57	58	73	18	23
180	bankoft************	48	F	76	28	70	10	62
181	wvfc*****	48	F	59	51	63	10	57
182	dchf*****	48	F	74	30	73	18	48
183	adfa.a***********	47	F	74	41	60	18	43
184	dca.ge*********	47	F	74	8	58	18	100
185	rmni*******	47	F	77	14	75	10	71
186	federalhi**************	47	F	79	0	70	53	47
187	drewmo**********	47	F	74	54	75	10	11
188	opportu************	47	F	69	29	50	18	80
189	frostmo*************	47	F	64	43	50	10	73
190	fnmb******	47	F	47	44	63	38	40
191	brave*******	47	F	49	54	58	10	69
192	ohioh*******	47	F	67	30	78	18	47
193	hometow***********	47	F	50	31	65	10	92
194	rihou********	47	F	74	31	75	10	50
195	rwmlo*******	47	F	84	32	63	25	31
196	csm-******	47	F	77	42	68	33	9
197	biba******	46	F	67	44	60	10	53
198	ahf*****	46	F	72	41	65	18	31
199	branches.g****************	46	F	67	41	43	25	55
200	nehml********	46	F	64	60	58	23	13
201	pikecre***********	46	F	54	46	70	33	22
202	ucb*****	46	F	72	29	78	34	16
203	local.sup***************	46	F	72	57	35	16	47
204	idahoh**********	46	F	74	39	60	10	50
205	idahotru**************	46	F	81	42	43	0	68
206	mortgage*************	46	F	45	54	43	18	75
207	firstne***********	46	F	67	45	65	18	32
208	evergree**************	46	F	69	46	75	10	24
209	housi********	46	F	80	0	65	18	87
210	planetho*************	46	F	54	59	60	10	43
211	firstb*********	45	F	62	18	80	28	44
212	homeloans.*****************	45	F	82	0	58	18	86
213	mortg*********	45	F	61	59	60	0	38
214	welcom***********	45	F	79	34	60	18	37
215	fnbs*****	45	F	69	38	65	0	59
216	mjwmor*********	44	F	59	49	60	17	27
217	nolale*********	44	F	49	56	60	10	44
218	flanagan*************	44	F	44	51	58	18	50
219	ricred***********	44	F	52	56	45	18	46
220	bankofb************	44	F	59	46	58	10	46
221	myls*****	43	F	74	42	63	10	23
222	sprucem***********	43	F	57	49	55	18	29
223	wvhd*****	43	F	74	36	75	10	17
224	northeas**************	42	F	74	24	65	18	33
225	idahofir**************	42	F	45	60	35	26	36
226	maineh**********	42	F	42	44	55	18	56
227	mvs*****	42	F	52	30	50	10	82
228	mortgageeq****************	42	F	77	0	50	10	100
229	mortgag************	42	F	61	48	35	10	60
230	schmidt************	42	F	79	43	55	10	15
231	washt********	42	F	68	32	75	10	22
232	dc.urb**********	42	F	50	45	50	18	46
233	eagle********	41	F	61	30	75	10	30
234	kissyourla*****************	41	F	69	46	50	10	22
235	in.***	41	F	60	0	65	18	80
236	nhhf*****	41	F	56	21	73	20	41
237	indigom***********	41	F	71	27	75	10	19
238	nccob*******	41	F	55	12	61	10	85
239	bankfi**********	40	F	57	30	75	10	29
240	ohf*****	40	F	74	0	63	26	47
241	vermontmor****************	40	F	69	28	55	10	44
242	peoples***********	40	F	56	46	58	10	24
243	allcal***********	39	F	54	43	48	0	50
244	ibm*****	39	F	59	28	60	10	40
245	dfi.******	39	F	52	0	75	10	75
246	flof*****	38	F	55	1	58	20	72
247	victory************	38	F	74	27	55	10	24
248	mhp****	38	F	47	25	61	18	42
249	meridia***********	38	F	79	4	75	10	25
250	njlen********	38	F	35	55	33	10	55
251	ndhous**********	38	F	54	0	56	18	83
252	schous**********	38	F	55	0	55	10	92
253	crownmort***************	37	F	74	25	50	18	14
254	icc*****	37	F	74	8	70	10	31
255	ncco*****	37	F	40	46	23	8	75
256	thd*****	37	F	69	0	65	18	42
257	highla*********	36	F	66	31	50	0	33
258	mississip**************	36	F	52	30	55	0	44
259	firstba************	32	F	52	0	60	10	50
260	lowe*****	31	F	59	0	50	10	50
261	arve******	30	F	20	61	25	0	40
262	mld.******	30	F	42	0	50	10	62
263	fhmt*****	29	F	64	0	50	10	28
264	mmbb*****	28	F	37	0	68	18	23
265	ndbf.n***********	27	F	52	0	58	10	21
266	homelendin******************	25	F	61	2	35	10	20
267	loand********	24	F	35	30	0	0	60
268	fair*******	22	F	51	0	40	8	15
269	rd.u*******	22	F	15	44	10	15	20
270	apps.*******	21	F	47	0	55	0	3
271	mn.***	20	F	15	27	20	15	20

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average AISO score for mortgage / lending websites?

The average AISO score for mortgage / lending websites is 51 out of 100. This is based on a scan of 271 sites in the real estate industry. The score combines five dimensions: SEO (73), readability (43), engagement (67), AEO (20), and WCAG accessibility (56).

How do mortgage / lending websites perform on accessibility?

The average WCAG score is 56 out of 100. Many mortgage / lending websites still lack basic accessibility features like alt text on images, proper heading structure, and sufficient color contrast. Improving accessibility helps you reach more users and reduces legal risk.

Are mortgage / lending websites ready for AI search engines?

Not yet. The average AEO score is 20 out of 100. AI engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overview need structured data, FAQ sections, and direct answer formats to cite a website. Currently, 41% of mortgage / lending sites have no schema markup at all.

What is the biggest weakness for mortgage / lending websites?

The weakest dimension is AEO, with an average score of just 20. This represents the area where mortgage / lending websites have the most room to grow. Focusing improvement efforts here will have the largest impact on overall scores.

How can I check my own website's score?

You can run a free audit on any website using AISO Studio. Enter your URL and get a full breakdown of your SEO, readability, engagement, AEO, and WCAG scores in under a minute. No signup required.

Methodology

We score each website across five areas. The AISO Score is a weighted mix of all five. It shows how well a site works for both people and AI systems. Here is what each area measures.

SEO checks meta tags, schema markup, headings, and other signals search engines use to crawl and index pages.
Readability looks at sentence length, word complexity, and plain language. Higher scores mean easier reading.
Engagement counts headings, lists, bold text, images, and other elements that make content easy to scan.
AEO checks if AI engines can find and cite the content. It looks for FAQ sections, direct answers, and structured data.
WCAG tests for color contrast, alt text, ARIA labels, and proper HTML. It follows the W3C accessibility guidelines.

SEO (Technical Search Optimization)

Checks meta titles, descriptions, canonical URLs, schema markup, Open Graph tags, heading structure, and other signals that help search engines crawl and index a page.

Readability

Measures the Flesch Reading Ease score, average sentence length, and word complexity. Higher scores mean the content is easier for the public to read and understand.

Engagement

Looks at content formatting: headings, lists, bold text, blockquotes, images, and other elements that make content easy to scan and read.

AEO (AI Engine Optimization)

Checks how well content is set up for AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overview. Looks for direct answer formats, FAQ sections, and clear definitions.

WCAG (Accessibility)

Tests for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines compliance: color contrast, alt text, ARIA labels, semantic HTML, and keyboard navigation support.

How Does YOUR Mortgage / Lending Website Score?

The average mortgage / lending website scores 51/100. Run a free audit to see where you stand and get actionable recommendations to improve your search visibility, AI readiness, and accessibility today.

Get Your Free Audit