We are going to answer a frequently asked question in this blog article: Why do some financial advisor websites produce a steady flow of quality leads and others do not?
In today's digital age, a website is often the first point of contact for investors who are seeking financial advisors or information. But, it is safe to say not all financial advisor websites are created equal. Some of the websites function like sales brochures delivering information. Others are designed to convert website visitors into qualified leads. The key is to know the difference.
Paladin has helped financial advisors grow their firms since 2003.
For financial advisors, having a digital presence is only half the battle—the real challenge lies in harnessing the power of digital marketing to transform more visitors into valuable leads. Some of the challenges are connected to the industry itself. Investors who visit financial advisor websites are going to be extra cautious because their financial well-being is impacted by who they contact.
So, why do certain financial advisor websites excel at generating leads while others fall by the wayside? Dive into this article to unravel the critical differences between effective digital marketing and merely having a website people can visit.
Financial advisors need a digital marketing presence.
Financial advisors should not underestimate the Importance of a digital marketing presence. When investors are seeking help or information on the Internet, either they find your website and content or they do not.
Savvy digital investors are going to visit several financial advisor websites and contact the ones they like the best - this could be based on an objective or subjective screening process. But none of that matters if they can’t find you online.
Paladin: Many advisors limit their digital marketing efforts to their websites. Unfortunately, websites do not produce their own organic traffic.
So step one is building an online presence that relies on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) to produce website visitors.
The key elements of a productive financial advisor website.
Higher-level financial advisor websites are designed to produce leads. Lower-level advisor websites are designed to deliver information in the form of: About Us, Who We Serve, and What We Do.
Lead generation websites have the following features:
- Competitive with other advisor websites
- Deliver the information investors are seeking
- The design and content is investor-friendly
- The website meets all of Google’s performance standards
- The website is mobile-friendly
- The best websites extend investor's time on site
- Content is engaging, relevant, and insightful
- The Who We Serve page targets your ideal type(s) of clients
- The best sites utilize blogs, guides, and videos to establish authority, credibility, trust
- There are clear Calls To Action (CTAs) for establishing contact
Paladin: It is a rare financial advisor who knows how to employ all ten features to produce high-quality leads.
Building trust and credibility on financial advisor websites.
Let’s call them skeptical investors. They know they need financial advice and services. They are seeking trustworthy financial experts on the Internet that they can interview. And, they are understandably cautious about who they contact. They do not want to make a mistake and hire the wrong financial advisor.
Investor caution creates a major marketing challenge for financial advisors.
Paladin: It takes specialized digital marketing knowledge to overcome the cautious nature of investors who are seeking financial advisors.
Step one in building trust and credibility is transparency. Some financial advisors disclose more information on their websites than others.
Step two is providing the information that proves you are an expert in your field: Degrees, years of experience, certifications, affiliations, and continuing education requirements. You could add case studies to your website that describe investor problems, your solutions, and the investor's results.
Step three can be adding testimonials, ratings, and client reviews to your website (subject to compliance approval). This strategy can also build credibility and trust.
Step four is less intuitive, but making visitors feel safe on your website is also important. This can include: Messaging, secure browsing, SSL certificates, and the publishing of privacy statements, Terms of Use, and Privacy Policies.
Lastly, be sure to provide a robust Resource Center that provides a variety of investor-oriented content: Blog articles, pillar pages (guides), eBooks, short videos, podcasts, and webinars. Think of this as your investor information center. Insightful information like market trends can also be valuable.
Financial advisor websites leverage advanced digital marketing strategies.
There are several digital marketing strategies that are used by financial advisors to generate more traffic for their websites. Increased website traffic creates the potential for improved lead flow if your website is designed to convert visitors into leads. For example, 100 quality website visitors per month may produce two leads, while 500 visitors per month may produce ten leads. This is the numbers game that all marketing professionals are used to.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) should be part of your foundation for building online visibility, website traffic, credibility, and trust. This can require both on-page and off-page SEO strategies. This is part of the digital marketing foundation for financial advisors when investors visit their websites and Google search their names.
In addition to building visibility using SEO, you may also want to consider Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising campaigns - also known as Search Engine Marketing (SEM). This strategy can expedite ranking on page one of Google when the keywords are extremely competitive.
Paladin: You can build (SEO) or buy (SEM) online visibility. Sometimes the best strategy is both.
If you have a robust drip list, email marketing can produce exceptional results for you. By segmenting lists, you can produce personalized emails that are based on relevant data. However, the generic content in newsletters rarely produces any meaningful results. Investors respond to information that benefits them.
You may also want to consider using social media to reach a broader audience of investors with common characteristics. LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram produce the best results. Sharing success stories, and insights, and engaging in meaningful conversations can produce more credibility and trust.
Our Conclusions
Increasing numbers of financial advisors are transitioning to digital marketing strategies to fuel the growth of their firms. The bigger firms can afford to hire their own digital marketing team of specialists. Smaller firms are outsourcing the work to digital marketing agencies.
These firms are:
- Reinforcing the significance of moving beyond a mere online presence to a more comprehensive digital marketing strategy that produces better results.
- Embracing the rapidly evolving digital marketing environment.
- Becoming more data-driven in their financial advisor marketing strategies.
- They are viewing increasing amounts of analytics and refining strategies based on the performance data of their website, SEO, and SEM endeavors.
- No longer satisfied with digital brochures, they want dynamic platforms that build relationships and convert visitors into leads.
We hope this article has helped you develop a deeper understanding of the elements and strategies necessary to transform financial advisor websites from mere digital brochures to powerful lead-generation tools.
By emphasizing the connections between trust, credibility, user experience, and advanced digital marketing techniques, this article can be a blueprint for financial advisors who want to excel in the digital age.
About Paladin
Paladin is a team of digital marketing professionals with more than 100 years of collective financial industry experience marketing our clients' services to individuals, institutions, and financial advisors. Paladin is a boutique agency that was founded in 2003 to provide game-changing digital marketing services to a limited number of firms and professionals in the financial service industry. Our services range from designing and developing custom websites to providing SEO, SEM, and Fractional CMO services. Want more information about our digital marketing services? Email your request to Paladin’s CMO: Jack@PaladinDigitalMarketing.com
