
Imagine your life as it is now—except the year is 1984. SEO for financial services won’t exist for another few decades. Reagen just won his second term and “Karma Chameleon” is number 1 on the charts. You’re an established financial advisor with enough money in your pocket to buy one advertisement of your choice.
Do you choose:
- Newspaper ad
- Radio spot
- Billboard
- Phonebook ad
(Remember…there IS a right answer!)
A smart financial advisor would invest in the phonebook ad every time.
In the pre-internet days, a tiny 2-inch-by-2-inch square of advertising in the phonebook would outperform every single other advertising idea combined…but it’s the why that’s important.
The phonebook ad is specifically positioned as a solution for the people searching for it. Nobody opens a phonebook without a reason.
The radio listeners and billboard viewers might notice the ad, but they aren’t asking for it. And even then, do they even need it?
The phonebook readers, on the other hand, are already motivated buyers weighing potential solutions.
So when someone cracks open that 10-pound book and flips to F for “financial advisor,” they see your smiling face, professional services, and contact info.
And this is exactly why SEO is so important: it’s the phonebook ad of the 21st century.
It connects you with the active searchers.
The hot leads.
With the right SEO strategy, you’ll have the biggest, brightest phonebook ad on the page and have instant access to the people who have already convinced themselves they need your service.
And here’s how to do it:
Keyword Research for Financial Advisors
SEO for financial advisors relies on identifying keywords and key phrases that potential clients are using to search for financial advice and services. These niche-focused strategies would be commonly searched phrases like “retirement financial planning in [Your City]” or “best financial advisor for [profession].”
To master SEO as a financial advisor, integrate your keywords naturally into the content of your website, including the home page, service pages, “about us” page, and blog. This is what’s called “on-page SEO” and helps search engines understand what your website is about and match it to the searchers hungry for your service.
Though what Google sees as the “best” rate of keyword insertion is 1-2% of the total content, the primary focus should be on creating content that reads naturally to the audience. If the text feels forced or over-optimized, it can deter readers and negatively impact your search engine rank, making it much harder to achieve quality SEO for financial advisors.
To research your own keywords, try Google’s own Keyword Planner.
Website Optimization for Financial Advisors
“Now, wait a minute,” you might be saying, “I visit search results all the time and they never seem to have these keywords at all. How are these pages ranking?”
There’s more to the equation of SEO for financial advisors than sprinkling the right words all over your public-facing content. There’s lots of text Google references to rank your page that’s not readily readable on the site but still makes a difference in your page rank:
- The URL of the page itself: When creating a new page, whether for a service, a blog post, or even your About Us, be sure to use custom URLs that align with the SEO purpose. For example, if one of your target demographics is lawyers, a good custom address would be something like [your website].com/financial-advising-for-lawyers.
- Meta data: Every page on your site has a title tag, a meta description tag, and more. These are short pieces of text which Google relies on to index and understand your site, and they also contribute to your SEO value. Meta data can be optimized in different ways depending on how your site is built. The most popular structures are tools like WordPress and Wix, which can both be successful foundations when it comes to SEO for financial advisors.
- Mobile optimization: In 2016, more people started browsing the internet on phones than computers, and every year the difference widens. Google places value on those sites that look clean and organized on both desktop and phone screens.
Content Marketing Strategies for Financial Advisors
SEO is all about impressing Google’s algorithms; it’s about impressing readers too.
Creating content that’s clicky, engaging, useful, and valuable means more readers are staying for longer, which in turn boosts SEO.
And while they’re visiting, ensure your site logically and psychologically is a leads-generating machine.
Consider the specific questions people are coming to your page to get answered. This is a great reason in itself to have a blog, as Google also favors sites that are regularly updated with fresh content.
SEO for Financial Advisors: Key Takeaways
As the digital landscape continues to evolve, embracing SEO is not just beneficial, it’s essential for financial advisors aiming to thrive in a competitive market.
By focusing on identifying relevant keywords, optimizing website infrastructure, and creating valuable content, financial advisors can significantly enhance their online visibility and attract the right kinds of clients because of it.
I know, I know…
It’s not as straightforward and easy as buying a square of space in a phonebook, but that makes it a strength, not a weakness. Fewer than 1% of financial advisors even understand the basics of search engine optimization, so even with a rough understanding, it’s easy to pull ahead. And with even a rudimentary understanding of the above, you have an unfair head start.
How to Get Your Own SEO Engine Started: Next Steps
If you’re interested in cutting to the front of the line of SEO and getting an unfair advantage, we’re here to help.
Indigo Marketing Agency specializes in helping financial advisors execute on-brand, high-ROI SEO strategies founded on what’s working in the market right now.
Our specialized SEO services are built to make your business the phonebook of the 21st century, creating a digital magnet that attracts, educates, and persuades your target audience.
Here’s what you get:
- Optimized website title tags, meta descriptions, and website home copy to incorporate selected keywords
- Schema markup optimization to target local searches and make you the go-to advisor in your area
- A hand-crafted Google Business Profile that’s optimized to appear higher in search rankings. We’ll also add your logo and photos to personalize your page.
- Full integration between Google Search Console, Google Maps, and your website
- In-depth competitive research to find the most effective keywords to target
- We’ll do the hard work for you by recording your sitemap and submitting it to Google on your behalf.
- Available as either a one-time setup or ongoing SEO-building service (no contracts!)
Or if You’re Ready to Get Our Help Today
Let us get to work creating, managing, and optimizing all the above as we construct a data-driven strategy to put your services within one search of your local audience.
Click here for a free strategy session and let’s get started!