Search engine optimization (SEO) has dramatically transformed the digital landscape. For financial advisors, SEO isn’t just about driving traffic to your website—it’s about positioning your brand as an authority in the field. With 28% of internet users clicking the first link that appears on the search engine results page (SERP), there’s a clear advantage to securing a top spot.

In this overview, we delve into the intricacies of SEO and demystify how it can amplify your financial advisor marketing campaigns.

 
How SEO Works

 
At its core, SEO seeks to provide searchers with the most relevant content for their queries. To do this, it operates on two primary fronts:

 
Technical SEO: This is the backbone of your website’s optimization. Technical SEO ensures that search engine spiders can smoothly crawl and index your site. Key components include:

Site accessibility, ensuring no roadblocks hinder the crawling process.

Clear navigation to aid both users and search engine bots.

Optimal loading speed, reducing bounce rates due to delayed site responses.

Ensuring all links—both internal and external—are functional.

 
On-Page SEO: This is where the content of your website comes into play. Search engines evaluate:

The relevance of your content to specific search queries.

Keyword integration and density.

The quality of both internal and external links.

The appropriateness of anchor text.

Content length and depth, as both long-form and short-form content have their unique advantages.

 
Why Consider Your SEO?

Client testimonials have long been powerful tools for businesses, providing genuine feedback and validating services. While the financial sector has been restricted in using this tactic, the times are changing.

Understanding the Historical Landscape

Historically, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) placed strict limitations on registered investment advisor (RIA) marketing methods. Born out of consumer protection concerns, these laws dating back to the 1970s forbade the use of client testimonials in advertising. The digital era, however, brought about a paradigm shift, as consumer habits evolved—95% of consumers now rely on online reviews before engaging with a service.

Acknowledging this change, in May 2021, the SEC revisited its stance, permitting financial advisors to integrate testimonials into their marketing strategies.

Unpacking the SEC’s New Guidelines

With this newfound freedom comes responsibility. The SEC outlines specific criteria for the utilization of testimonials:

Source of Testimonials: Advisors can garner testimonials directly from clients or third-party rating platforms like Google Reviews, Yelp, or Facebook. However, it’s essential to note that testimonial providers automatically gain the “promotor” status.

Disclosures and Transparency: Key guidelines include:

Publicly declaring the nature of the relationship between the financial advisor and the testimonial provider.

Openly acknowledging any paid testimonials.

Ensuring testimonial disclosures are easily accessible and employ layman’s terms.

Highlighting potential conflicts of interest.

Clearly indicating if the testimonial originates from a current or past client.

Adherence to these stipulations is non-negotiable to avoid potential penalization.

You likely didn’t think content creation would be high on your to-do list when you decided to become a financial advisor. But keeping your advisory business thriving means attracting new clients, and, in today’s digital world, that means creating custom content.

Of course, content creation can take a lot of your time, so you want to be efficient and strategic in your marketing approach. But that is easier said than done. 

According to The Kitces Report’s “How Financial Planners Actually Market Their Services” report for 2022, the average advisory firm “appears to struggle with most content-based” marketing tactics but high-growth firms “are disproportionately investing in such tactics.”

So, hitting the right notes on content creation can be beneficial, especially over the long term, when it comes to growth. But what are those benefits? And how do you choose what content you should create so you don’t waste your valuable time? Let’s dive in.

Four Questions for Crafting a Compelling Unique Marketing Position for Financial Advisors. In the vast world of financial advising, how do you stand out? It’s a question that plagues many professionals in the industry. With countless advisors offering similar services, it’s crucial for professionals to develop a unique marketing position (UMP) that sets them apart and resonates with their target audience. This article delves into discovering your differentiators and clarifying your value proposition by asking four pivotal questions.

When it comes to financial advisor marketing, the time to move from “all business” and “just the facts” has come and gone. Today, people want to feel a more personal connection to the brands they engage with, even in the financial space. Statistics and reports and risk analyses all have their place, but if you don’t tap into the power of personalization in your marketing messages, your prospective clients may end up going elsewhere. Here’s a quick breakdown of some ways you can use personalization to build relationships and boost your marketing efforts.

Where to Personalize Your Financial Advisor Marketing 

First, it’s a good idea to outline where you’d want to use personalization. This will largely be dictated by your personal marketing strategy. Are you hosting a podcast? Sending a weekly email? Posting to social media every day? These are all spaces where you (and/or the other member of your advisory team) can be front and center. 

But don’t neglect your website and third-party profiles, either. One technique that really helps put a “stamp” of personalization on your marketing can be in the team bios. If you’re a solo advisor, I highly recommend using the first person in your bio. If you’re a team, be sure to include some personal details about each team member after the obligatory roles, education, and experience details. 

Blogs are also a great way to share some personal details. Consider doing a series on topics like “How I Became a Financial Advisor” or “Money Lessons Learned from Mom.” You can post each team member separately or do a round robin style post. The possibilities are endless, but one thing is for sure—clients and prospects alike love personalized messaging woven throughout your online presence.

Ways to Personalize Your Marketing WITHOUT Being “Too Personal”

There are several ways that financial advisors can create a more personalized experience in their marketing without being “too personal.” Authenticity is great, but you don’t want to border on oversharing. The idea is to create a nice, healthy crossover from business to personal. 

One way to accomplish this is to list awards you may have won and conferences you’ve attended or detail your charity participation on social media platforms. This kind of information will let people know that you’re more than just a company that’s going to advise them on their finances and there are real humans on the other end.

Tell Stories

Regardless of what type of personalization you use, storytelling is a great way to personalize your marketing efforts even further to help build relationships and boost engagement. Since humans have been able to communicate, telling stories has been a way to pass down information and get across a particular point of view in the most engaging way possible.

And just because the financial industry may not always lend itself to a storytelling model, you can still use real-life examples, anecdotes, or case studies to add a human touch to your content so readers will have an easier time identifying and relating with what you’re trying to say.

Pro Tip: Make sure you’re using case studies and testimonials at the right stages of your sales funnel. What you say—and when and where and how you say it—are just as important as any other part of your marketing strategy.