Imagine you have a lovely house.
It’s a shade of robin’s egg blue that makes the sky jealous. It’s well-kept, set on a hill, and has a rock-solid foundation that can withstand time.
There’s even beautiful landscaping with flowers descending over rock gardens and a handful of trees flowering in hues throughout the color spectrum.
It’s a picture-perfect house. One that anyone would love to call home.
But there’s one major flaw: it’s entirely off the grid. There’s not even an address. No one can find it but you.
That’s sort of how it can be for financial professionals that don’t actively engage in a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy in a digital-first environment.
You can have the best business fundamentals, the know-how to deliver financial plans that exceed expectations, and a great office and staff. But if no one can find you—especially online—it can lead to a stagnant business that underperforms year after year. That’s why SEO can be such a critical cog in financial planning businesses everywhere.
Why SEO for Financial Professionals?
To capture and convert prospects who are actively searching for local financial professionals to work with online, you must be at the top of page one on Google to consistently bring in new business. Think of the first page of Google as the online “Main Street” where the vast majority of users and online traffic flow. Anything after that, even page two, can feel like the back end of town where people rarely go. It’s one of the reasons SEO and local SEO are so important for financial professionals today.
Not to mention, almost 90% of people conduct online research on a business or service before they decide to engage with them. Investing in an SEO strategy will get your website to rank higher in search engine results, opening the floodgates for you to be found by more people eagerly looking for your services.
It’s why every financial planning business today—regardless of size—has an opportunity to drive more traffic to their website with the help of SEO. Let’s look at some of the primary reasons why SEO for financial professionals can pay big dividends.
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Local SEO Gets You Found by People Near You
There’s a good chance most of your competition doesn’t have a local SEO or general SEO strategy in place. But to be found online, you must be at the top of Google’s search results for the keywords relevant to your business. To start with local SEO, you’ll need three things:
- A Google My Business listing with updated information, photos of your business, client testimonials, and relevant keywords such as “Financial planning firm in Atlanta, GA.”
- Business directory listings with your business name, address, and phone number in local and online directories.
- On-page SEO implementation (especially on your “Contact Us” page) that includes the town your business is in and similar relevant keywords to your Google My Business listing.
New Client Acquisitions for Less
Think of what it costs for you to gain a new client. You’ll have to add up all your marketing expenses, the hard work, and the time involved. Sticking to traditional marketing like direct mailers, seminars, and cold calls can take up an awful lot of resources.
With an SEO strategy in place, financial professionals like you can make your website your number one sales generator—often with less time and monetary investments. Because, unlike those traditional marketing strategies, SEO is an inbound marketing strategy that brings people directly to you who are looking for a business like yours.
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Increased Traffic = Increased Authority
In an online world that craves information and learning, you’ll likely see more visitors coming to your website if you can embrace an SEO strategy. Those visitors will want to learn before they decide even to schedule a meeting with you—this is how SEO and digital marketing have altered the traditional sales process.
When users find your website and resources online—think free guides on retirement planning, financial strategy eBooks, or product comparisons—you’ll have a golden opportunity to build trust and credibility with potential clients who are early in their discovery phase. And the more they learn from you and your business, the more authority you’ll have compared to your competition. That’s a recipe for an impressive client conversion rate.
Long-Lasting Results
Having an SEO strategy isn’t a quick fix plan. It’s a long-term play that’ll bring you lasting benefits. It’ll have an impact on your business that you’ll continue to notice year after year.
If you start a new SEO campaign, it’s important to note that you’ll ideally begin seeing results in three to six months. For some, this can seem long, but when done correctly, an SEO strategy will keep your website in the best search positions, and the results you get can last for years.
For small financial firms looking to add revenue and growth, SEO can be one of the most critical marketing efforts you can invest in. Having search visibility is a great asset for financial professionals interested in closing more business. In the end, SEO can grow your business by increasing your visibility online.
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