To compensate for decreaseddeposits and fees in recent years, a growing number of institutionshave turned to the Internet as a new avenue for revenue.

By partnering with lead-generation websites, many credit unionshave increased member acquisition and loan origination.

For example, the $438 million Generations Federal Credit Unionrecently partnered with Los Angeles-based ConsumerTrack, whichoperates GOBankingRates and other lead-generating websites.

The $438 million San Antonio credit union was searching forsolutions to create stronger credit card penetration, said WendyBryant-Beswick, Generations' chief marketing officer.

“ConsumerTrack has provided opportunities to further our productpromotions and gain more brand visibility,” she said.

Founded in 2004, ConsumerTrack connects credit unions toconsumers through websites, strategic online advertising, searchengine optimization, search engine management, display marketing,email marketing, contextual media buying and other initiatives,said Jeff Bartlett, the company's co-founder.

He said his company has about 100 financial institution clients,including about 50 credit unions and that ConsumerTrack's teamcreates content that highlights the credit union community andspecific institutions.

The content, which is posted on GOBankingRates and marketed toother websites and publications, includes articles such as “10 ofthe Best Credit Unions Anyone Can Join” and infographics on topicssuch as “What's the Difference Between Banks and CreditUnions?”

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GOBankingRates uses city category hubs to promote financialinstitutions in specific locations and credit unions can claimtheir own spotlight page by partnering with ConsumerTrack. Anexample of a city category hub is show above. (Click onthe picture at top to enlarge.)

The company plans to announce several partnerships later thisyear designed to facilitate member acquisition, online promotionand public relations services, Bartlett said. He said ConsumerTrackservices are typically annual subscriptions with fees starting at$5,000 yearly.

By partnering with ConsumerTrack, the $644 million Great LakesCredit Union in Chicago has enhanced its online exposure and theclick-through rate to its website, said John Skul, assistant vicepresident of marketing there.

“We had good luck with other online referral sites so we decidedto seek out additional resources to increase our online presence,”Skul explained.

Tracking results and ROI is one of the biggest challenges ofonline marketing, according to industry experts.

Many credit unions struggle with tracking online leads, butConsumerTrack is working with existing technology partners to helpits clients and prospects improve tracking and attribution,Bartlett said.

“We do have a couple that have the systems in place to track,but their results are proprietary,” he added.

As a ConsumerTrack client, the $362 million Air Force FederalCredit Union in San Antonio has experienced a good return oninvestment, said Danny Sanchez, its vice president ofmarketing.

“GOBankingRates has been a great resource in getting the storyof Air Force FCU out in the community,” Sanchez added. “They do athorough and effective job of researching the content anddistributing it to key channels.”

Air Force FCU was recently rated the topmilitary financial institution by GOBankingRates. “Thepositive feedback and recognition we received from members, newssources and the community has been invaluable,” Sanchez added.

Other lead generators utilize vast networks of affiliated sitesto promote credit union products and services.

Santa Barbara, Calif.-based lead generator MoveCU.com recentlyfeatured the $3 billion Lake Michigan Credit Union in Grand Rapids,Mich., in an article titled “Best Rewards Credit Cards.”

MoveCU, which debuted at the 2013 Marketing Association ofCredit Unions conference in Las Vegas, partners with other lead-generatingwebsites such as CreditJeeves.com and RentTrack.com.

“Credit.com is an ideal channel for credit unions to reach ahuge, targeted audience of potential new members who are activelysearching for financing and banking services,” said Kevin Dawson,co-founder of MoveCU.

Through the new partnership, MoveCU is currently advertising autoloans on Credit.com, and will soon include credit card andhome loan offerings, he said.

“During our beta testing with Credit.com, we experienced aconversion rate of more than 35%, meaning one out of every threeclicks turned into a funded loan,” Dawson said. “Our overall goalis to get to 100,000 clicks a month this year through that onepartnership alone.”

In addition, he said, MoveCU.com recently inked a similar dealwith Experian and plans to launch an affiliate program thissummer.

“People are excited to hear about the partnerships and we'regetting great response from innovative credit unions.”