Every financial advisor has a website, but more than 80% say their websites are not consistent sources for new leads. The problem may not be the website—it may be a lack of traffic to the website (in particular, the right type of traffic based on target audience and minimum asset requirements).
The key to getting the right traffic relies on the visibility of financial advisors online. Ranking for multiple keywords that investors use when they are seeking financial professionals and/or financial information is how this works, in simplified SEO terms. Prospective clients tend to seek financial advisory firms near them, a financial topic related to the time of year, or upcoming liquidity event.
The question to help complete the SEO puzzle is, how do advisors generate more virtual visibility to increase website traffic?
This article addresses the top five topics that have the most significant impact on the visibility of financial advisors on the Internet:
- Content marketing strategies
- Google’s rules for ranking financial advisor content
- Local SEO strategy for visibility
- Paid advertising campaigns
- Video usage to build financial advisor visibility, traffic, and conversions
What about content marketing strategies?
Content marketing is the most frequently used strategy for building Internet visibility for financial advisors. That is, they write content that provides valuable information to investors. For example, the content solves a financial problem for investors or guides them to possible solutions.
A simple illustration of this process is how you use the Internet when seeking services and information.
- What keywords do you enter to find what you are seeking?
- Are you speaking or typing in a question or statement to find answers?
- Which websites do you visit to find what you are looking for?
Many advisors make two major mistakes when they believe they are using content marketing to build visibility and traffic.
- They download content from libraries and publish it on their blogs. However, this type of content does not add to the advisor’s online visibility; in fact, other advisors have already published the content hundreds or thousands of times. Google calls this duplicate content.
- The focus of the advisor’s content is general financial information. Unfortunately, thousands of new financial articles are published daily, so this type of information can easily get lost on the web.
What works best is content that addresses financial issues that impact particular types of investors—for example, someone who is about to retire or a person who inherits a large sum of money. It is much easier to reach particular types of personas on the Internet.
The more impactful content your firm produces, the more visible you are online; thus, the more traffic you can receive and the more leads you can connect with.
What are Google rules for ranking financial advisor content?
You have to play by the rules, just like your competition. And Google’s strategy seems to be working, as it rewards financial advisors who produce the best content with higher visibility within its search engine.
This process is called SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
What are some of Google’s rules that impact the ranking (visibility) of a financial advisor website?
- All of the content must be original (never seen before)
- Google prefers content that is 1,000 words or longer
- Blog articles are linked to pillar pages
- Google rewards consistent sources of content
- The content has to be compelling enough that investors open and read it
Why is local SEO an essential strategy for visibility?
Google has a bias when connecting buyers to sellers—it wants to make local connections whenever possible. This is facilitated when investors enter geo-specific keywords in the search engines.
For example, an investor enters: Find a Financial Advisor in Dallas TX. This facilitates the connection that Google is producing.
Reports find that 24.7% of Google’s ranking algorithm is based on local visibility. This has given rise to services labeled “Local SEO.” This is one of the easiest, fastest ways for financial advisors to enhance their visibility in the major search engines.
It is a significant strategic error if financial advisors are not managing their local SEO presence.
Do paid advertising campaigns produce positive results?
SEO takes time to produce page one rankings for keywords used by investors. The more widespread the use of particular keywords, the more competitive it is to rank for those keywords.
On the other hand, a budget for digital marketing for financial advisors allows them to advertise on page one for important keywords by the end of the week! This process is called SEM (Search Engine Marketing) or “paid advertising campaigns.”
Budget permitting, SEM is definitely a way to buy visibility for important keywords. The best-performing strategies have included free offers in the advertisements. The most productive free offers have been eBooks and webinars that address financial concerns and problems.
Why are more financial advisors using video to create visibility, traffic, and conversions (visitors into leads)?
Perhaps it is as simple as tired investors reading page after page of digital content. Maybe it is the proclivity of investors to watch television. It can be a faster, easier way to acquire information.
Video can be a more effective way to create first impressions. This is why increasing numbers of financial advisors are using video to introduce visitors to their websites and firms. The speaker can give visitors a sense of the culture and personality of the firm.
Google likes videos, which can make it easier to achieve higher page ranks for keywords that matter. There are many reasons to use more video applications on a financial advisor website—improving online visibility should be #1.
Recap
SEO is more than a method for building online visibility and producing website traffic. The foundation creates the first impression that causes investors to visit a financial advisor website and contact the financial planning firm for interviews or information.
A solid SEO presence can help increase the chances that your ideal investors will visit your website, look at your financial services, and search your name before reaching out.
Are you ready to connect with more potential clients? Give us a call to request an evaluation of your digital marketing efforts and discuss aligning them with your goals.
