SEO Strategies and Tips for Financial Services

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a critical tool to master if you want to drive traffic to your advisor website or social media accounts. SEO is simply a set of strategies and tools that can help you increase your visibility in online searches so your ideal clients can find you more easily. Learning SEO for financial services can help you appeal to your target niche’s needs and stand out in a competitive marketplace.

Are you looking to expand your client prospecting efforts? Try SmartAsset AMP, a holistic client prospecting and marketing automation platform.

Understanding SEO for Financial Services

SEO for financial services is the application of search engine optimization strategies specifically for an advisor-seeking audience. The goal of SEO for advisors, or any other financial professional, is to push your website to the top of search results rankings.

Why? The top spot in Google search rankings gets nearly 20 times more clicks than the results that show up in lower rankings, and snags around 40% of all search traffic. ¹ More clicks from investors who are seeking financial advice means more opportunities to convert them to clients. It also demonstrates to search engines that your content is valuable, which can help you retain your rankings.

SEO is, at its core, focused on:

• Keyword usage and relevance
• Back-end strategies, such as incorporating keywords into page tags and descriptions
• Linking, both internally and externally
• User experience

Recency is also important, though algorithm changes now appear to place more emphasis on how useful content is to the reader versus when it was published.

For advisors, SEO can be a critical tool for lead generation as part of a broader marketing strategy. You may need to be patient to see results, but when compared to other marketing outlets, SEO has the highest return on investment (ROI), according to FirstPageSage’s 2026 Marketing ROI by Channel Report. ²

Client Acquisition Simplified: For RIAs

• Ideal for RIAs looking to scale.
• Validated referrals to help build your pipeline efficiently.
• Save time + optimize your close rate with high-touch, pre-built campaigns.

CFP®, CEO

Joe Anderson

Pure Financial Advisors

We have seen a remarkable return on investment and comparatively low client acquisition costs even as we’ve multiplied our spend over the years.

Pure Financial Advisors reports $1B in new AUM from SmartAsset investor referrals.

Target New Clients This Year

I am a registered fiduciary*

Book Your Free DemoNot sure? Learn more about AMP.

SEO Strategies for Financial Services

Whether you’re exploring SEO for the first time or revamping your current approach, there are some tried-and-true strategies advisors may turn to. Keep in mind that if you don’t want to go it alone, you might consider outsourcing SEO to a marketing agency or SEO specialist.

1. Review Your Analytics

To understand what is or isn’t working in your current SEO strategy, you need to be tracking some key metrics. Ideally, you’ve set up a Google Analytics account to monitor things like:

• Page visits
• Time spent on page
• User acquisition (i.e., where visitors come from)
• Visitor demographics
• Conversions
• Bounce rate

Google Search Console is a separate tool that can show you which sites link to your site, which pages gets the most impressions, and which keywords you rank for. Together, these two free tools can give you valuable insight into the strong and weakest points of your current SEO plan.

2. Audit Your Content

A content audit is designed to help you determine the usefulness of your marketing content and the value it provides to your site’s visitors. This step is critical in developing SEO for financial services if you have a blog or article library on your site.

As you review each piece of content, as yourself:

• What search intent does this piece satisfy?
• Is the article/post helpful and does it clearly answer the reader’s question?
• Is the information up to date and still accurate?
• Would someone viewing it for the first time find it easy to read, in terms of both skimmability and the reading level it’s written for?
• Does the content include visual aids, such as images, infographics, or charts?
• Is the content authoritative and is it something other websites would link to?
• Is there any duplication between this post/article and another piece of content on your site?
• How much traffic does this article or post receive?

This step can take time, and you may choose to outsource this task if you don’t have hours to spend poring over a large body of content. But it can be well worth the effort if you’re able to learn which type of content seems to resonate most with your target audience.

3. Create New Content Strategically

Search engines prefer authoritative content that satisfies users’ intent and is reader-friendly. Developing content that ranks well is all about choosing the right keywords to target, structuring your content correctly, and demonstrating your knowledge or expertise.

Here are some rules of thumb to keep in mind as you create new content:

• Target long-tail keywords: Long-tail keywords are phrases people search for, and they may be easier to rank for compared to one- or two-word phrases. For example, ‘can a financial advisor help with taxes’ is a long-tail keyword that you could rank for if you’re creating detailed content around this topic. A keyword like ‘tax advisor’ may be harder to rank for since it’s more general and doesn’t ask a specific question.
• Answer the intent: When a prospect searches for a phrase like ‘can a financial advisor help with taxes,’ they want a direct answer. Any content you create around long-tail keywords should satisfy the searcher’s intent. Ideally, your content starts with a succinct answer in the introduction, then expands on that answer with more specific details.
• Source authoritatively: Examples and data references can add weight to your content and show readers that you’ve taken the time to research what you’re writing about. You can be your own source if you’ve developed a research study, survey, report, white paper, or case study on the topic you’re covering.

Using AI for Content Creation

Artificial intelligence (AI) can help with the content creation process, saving you time, but there are some risks to keep in mind.

AI writing tools are only as reliable as the data they’ve been fed, so if the underlying information is wrong, that will translate to inaccuracies in your content. Unless you’ve developed a proprietary AI model that’s been trained exclusively on your firm’s content, it may be difficult for any tools you’re using to replicate your brand voice. That could lead to your content feeling inauthentic.

If you plan to incorporate AI into your content creation strategy, consider how you can still maintain the human element. For example, instead of drafting content from start to finish, you might use ChatGPT or another AI tool to brainstorm ideas or develop an outline. And, of course, any content you create (AI-generated or otherwise) must be reviewed by a human compliance officer to ensure that you’re not violating any rules or regulations.

4. Build Local Search Authority

Local search is what shows up when someone searches for a term that’s location-specific. For example, a prospective client may search for ‘financial advisor near me’ or ‘financial advisor in [city/zip code]’. Those types of searches can be critical to capture if you’re hoping to gain traction in your local market.

Improving SEO for local searches begins with building out your Google Business Profile, which is free to do, and continues with creating localized content. For example, you might write content about estate planning laws in your state, or how the probate process works in your county if you’re hoping to attract those types of clients.

Asking for, and responding to, client reviews is another way to improve local SEO rankings. You might also consider getting involved in the community through participation in local events or sponsorships of local organizations.

5. Build Backlinks

Backlinks happen when another website links to yours, and they tell search engines that the content being linked to is important and/or valuable. Your site may gain backlinks naturally if you’re continuously publishing a steady stream of helpful content, but you can also build links through collaboration and networking.

For example, say you know an advisor who hosts a podcast on retirement planning topics. If you’re able to secure a guest spot for an episode or two, the advisor may include a link to your site when they post a transcript of the show on their site. That can help your search rankings and potentially send members of their audience to your site.

The most helpful backlinks come from authority sites that have high rankings in search. If you’re using Google Search Console, you can view which sites are linking to yours, and which content is being linked to most often. You can use that as a guide for creating similar, but not identical, content to encourage more links.

Outsource Your RIA Marketing

Automate your marketing with a proven system. Automated outreach, nurture campaigns and more.

Get Started

SEO vs. GEO for Financial Services

GEO, or generative engine optimization, is reshaping the way marketers approach SEO. GEO involves the use of AI to summarize and optimize content to generate succinct answers to questions that show up ahead of ranked search results. Now, why does this matter to advisors who are SEO-focused?

When done properly, writing with both SEO and GEO strategies in mind could help your site’s content appear in AI-generated search results. Inclusion in AI summaries could lead to more traffic to your site since these summaries typically include backlinks to the original information source.

Having your site included in AI summaries can also help with SEO because it sends the signal to search engines that your content is valuable. That could, in turn, help to drive your site higher in search results if you’re crafting content around keywords that potential clients search for most often.

Bottom Line

SEO for financial services may seem like a foreign language if you’re not well-versed in how search algorithms work. However, it’s worth your time to learn how SEO (and now, GEO) determines how much exposure your firm receives in search results. The strategies shared here offer a starting point for developing an SEO strategy that helps your business get noticed.

Tips for Growing Your Advisory Business

• SmartAsset AMP (Advisor Marketing Platform) is a holistic marketing service financial advisors can use for client lead generation and automated marketing. Sign up for a free demo to explore how SmartAsset AMP can help you expand your practice’s marketing operation. Get started today.
• Any marketing content you share, on your website, social media, newsletters, or elsewhere, must adhere to compliance rules and regulations. For instance, the SEC’s marketing rule clearly defines what advisors can and can’t say when advertising services, as well as the practices you must follow when sharing testimonials or reviews. Being aware of these rules can help you avoid potential compliance violations as you promote your firm.

Photo credit: ©iStock.com/Shutthiphong Chandaeng, ©iStock.com/Liubomyr Vorona