The Top 10 Biggest Mistakes on Financial Advisor Websites

Raise your hand if you’ve ever researched a company and drawn conclusions about the quality of their services just from their website. We’ve all done it, and your prospective clients are doing it too.
As a financial advisor, your website serves as your first impression to potential clients. You wouldn’t walk into a meeting with your shirt unbuttoned and your hair a mess, so you shouldn’t present yourself to the digital world with a sloppy or outdated website.
Even those advisors who think their sites are top-tier and modern-looking are surprised to learn that they still contain “mistakes” from a marketing standpoint.
Here are the top 10 mistakes we’ve seen on financial advisor websites and how to avoid them.
1. Too Much Self-Focused Content
While it’s important to highlight your qualifications and expertise as an advisor, an overemphasis on your firm through excessive “we” statements can leave potential clients feeling alienated.
Clients are most interested in how you can solve their financial challenges and help them achieve their goals. Instead of centering the narrative on you, focus on using client-centric language that directly addresses their pain points. Clearly outline how your services benefit clients and what they can expect from your process.
Take a look at the example below.
Self-focused: We offer comprehensive financial planning services.
Client-centric: Are you worried about saving enough for retirement? Our 3-step financial planning process can help you build a stable future.
By balancing your content to be more client-focused, you can build trust and make your website more effective in converting prospects into clients.
2. Neglecting SEO Basics
Gone are the days when advisors can neglect or ignore SEO on their websites. SEO basics, including title tags and meta descriptions, are essential for telling search engines like Google what your pages are about. If they are missing or not correctly optimized with relevant keywords, your website’s search engine visibility will be impacted, leading to lower organic traffic from potential clients.
Be sure that each page of your website has a unique, keyword-rich title tag and meta description. This will improve your SEO rankings and enhance click-through rates by providing clear and compelling information about what users can expect to find on your site.
3. Outdated Content & Formatting Issues
Stagnant blogs and outdated content are common mistakes on financial advisor websites. We get it; maintaining consistent, relevant, and original thought leadership is a challenge, especially when you’re already so busy providing excellent service to your clients. But without it, you’re less likely to engage potential prospects, and you’ll give the impression that your firm is not active or up to date with current financial trends and insights.
Regularly posting original content positions you as a thought leader in the industry, attracting and retaining clients by offering valuable perspectives.
When you do post content, make sure to do so in a way that optimizes your website. Avoid uploading content as PDFs since this reduces accessibility and negatively affects SEO. PDFs are often not as easily indexed by search engines, making your valuable content less discoverable. Instead, post as an HTML page so that your blog is SEO-friendly.
4. Lack of Clear Call to Action
If your financial advisor website doesn’t have a clear call to action (CTA), you’re missing out on opportunities to convert prospects to clients.
CTAs are crucial because they guide prospects to take specific actions that move them through the sales funnel, such as scheduling a consultation, signing up for a newsletter, or downloading a financial planning guide. Without these prompts, users may leave your site without engaging further.
Some effective CTAs for financial advisor websites include:
- Schedule a Free Consultation
- Download Our Investment Guide
- Sign Up for Weekly Market Insights
- Get Your Free Retirement Assessment
Not only do these actions provide value to your potential clients, but they also help build relationships and establish authority in the field. Remember to make your CTA prominent and visually appealing to grab users’ attention and improve conversion rates.
5. Absence of Online Appointment Booking
If a prospective client is on your website and decides they want to work with you, they should be able to easily take the next step by booking an appointment online. Some advisors think a “Contact Us” form is just as good as online booking, but the truth is that it leaves way too much room for error and creates a barrier to engagement. Maybe you’re slow in responding to their inquiry, or they never follow up after you reach out.
You can avoid this scenario by incorporating an online scheduler into your website. This way, clients and prospects can easily view available time slots and book consultations at their convenience without the need for back-and-forth emails or phone calls. Calendly is an excellent choice for advisors looking to add this option to their site.
6. Generic or Incomplete Service Descriptions
Another common mistake on financial advisor websites is vague language, lack of detail, and failure to highlight the unique aspects of your services.
Potential clients need clear and specific information to understand how your offerings meet their particular financial needs. Include information about your ideal client and how you are uniquely suited to serve their needs.
Instead of saying, “We offer retirement planning,” more effective descriptions would be:
- We help federal employees make the right decisions about their FERS pension elections.
- We help successful start-up employees diversify their concentrated stock positions, navigate liquidity events, and retire early.
Clarity and specificity in service descriptions help attract the right A+ clients by clearly communicating the benefits and value of your services, making it easier for prospective clients to see how you can address their specific financial concerns.
7. Missing Video Content
Video content has become increasingly popular to connect with clients and prospects and convey complex financial concepts easily. For financial advisors, videos can make an otherwise bland website engaging and unique. You can use videos for educational content, client testimonials, introductions to team members, frequently asked questions, and explanations of services.
Videos humanize your firm, establish credibility, and build trust with potential clients who prefer visual and auditory learning experiences. (Check out this free webinar on how video helps financial advisors like you stand out.)
8. Dull Copywriting and Design
There’s nothing worse than a boring website. Dull copywriting and an uninspiring design can conspire against you, leaving users uninterested and unmotivated to explore further.
Here are some signs of less-than-stellar copy:
- Overly technical language
- Dense paragraphs without breaks
- Generic statements that fail to connect with the reader’s emotions or aspirations
Avoid these mistakes by incorporating storytelling to illustrate how your services can positively impact clients’ lives. Break up text with bullet points, headings, and visuals to enhance readability.
For design, use a clean layout with an appealing (and consistent) color scheme and high-quality images that reinforce your brand identity and values.
9. Mobile Optimization Oversights
Mobile optimization is crucial for financial advisor websites, as more and more people access the internet through smartphones and tablets. Responsive design allows your site to adapt seamlessly to different devices and screen sizes, which provides a consistent and user-friendly experience.
Common mobile optimization mistakes include:
- Non-responsive layouts that force users to zoom in or out to view content
- Slow load times due to large images or excessive plugins
- Inaccessible navigation menus that are difficult to use on smaller screens
These oversights can frustrate prospects and lead to higher bounce rates, impacting both user experience and search engine rankings. Financial advisors should prioritize a responsive design and avoid these common mistakes to make sure your website is accessible, engaging, and functional across all devices.
10. Neglecting Social Proof and Testimonials
Testimonials and social proof provide powerful validation of your expertise and the value you deliver to clients. Prospects are more likely to trust recommendations from those who have had positive experiences with your services.
To effectively showcase testimonials, prominently feature them on key pages like your home page, service pages, and contact page. Use specific quotes that highlight tangible benefits clients have experienced, along with their names and even pictures (with permission) to add authenticity.
Case studies and success stories are another great option to demonstrate real-world results. By leveraging social proof, financial advisors can set themselves apart from the competition and effectively convert more prospects into clients.
Are You Making These Website Mistakes?
Your website is a reflection of who you are as an advisor, and it should leave a lasting positive impression on clients and prospects. As digital marketing continues to evolve, even the most modern websites need to be updated from time to time. We encourage you to assess your own site using the examples above.
And if your financial advisor website is dull, outdated, or just in need of a few tweaks, we can help. At Indigo Marketing Agency, we specialize in turnkey websites built specifically for financial advisors. You can say goodbye to boring, generic content and hello to a fully customized online presence. Contact us to schedule your free marketing strategy session today.

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FAQs
Too much self-focused content can alienate potential clients because it doesn’t address their needs and concerns. Clients are more interested in how you can solve their financial challenges rather than reading about your firm’s accomplishments. By focusing on client-centric language and addressing their pain points, you can build trust and make your website more effective in converting prospects into clients.
Neglecting SEO basics like title tags and meta descriptions can significantly reduce your website’s search engine visibility, leading to lower organic traffic from potential clients. These elements help search engines understand the content of your pages and match them with relevant search queries. Optimizing your website for SEO improves your rankings and enhances click-through rates by providing clear and compelling information.
Clear calls to action guide prospects to take specific actions that move them through the sales funnel, such as scheduling a consultation, signing up for a newsletter, or downloading a financial planning guide. Effective CTAs help build relationships, establish authority, and improve conversion rates by making it easy for users to engage further with your services.
Mobile optimization is crucial because more people are accessing the internet through smartphones and tablets. A responsive design ensures your website adapts seamlessly to different devices and screen sizes, providing a consistent and user-friendly experience. Without mobile optimization, prospects may become frustrated and leave your site, leading to higher bounce rates and lower search engine rankings.
Social proof and testimonials provide powerful validation of your expertise and the value you deliver to clients. Featuring testimonials on key pages and using specific quotes that highlight tangible benefits can build trust and credibility. Case studies and success stories demonstrate real-world results, helping to convert more prospects into clients by showing the positive experiences of others who have used your services.