by Advisor I/O
One billion. There are over one billion websites in the world right now.
The internet is a vast, complex experience. One where you can be found easily, and repeatedly, but also one that if you don’t have your ducks in a row, you can exist only within your own echo chamber.
Over the last year, we’ve audited over 50+ financial advisor websites. This ranges from advisors who are part of billion-dollar shops, to advisors who launched their new RIA within the last two months. Those who have built custom websites, to those who’ve used out-of-the-box platforms.
What’s the biggest thing we’ve learned?
That too few advisors are taking advantage of the ways your website can act as a second business development arm. And too many advisors are ignoring baseline optimizations that can make a huge difference to getting your practice seen.
But it’s not on the advisor to understand what does and doesn’t need to be optimized on a website. In fact, it’s the marketing industry’s fault. The industry has sold the advisor a bill of goods.
Whether advisors don’t have the ability to make their own updates, or they haven’t been properly set up on Google, time and time again we’ve seen that marketing agencies have built and deployed less-than-functional websites for financial advisors.
This is why auditing your website is the second thing we do for Advisor I/O members. Because in 2021, having a site that educates, nurtures, and converts prospects is table stakes. And your business development shouldn’t be hindered by your digital properties.
These digital properties should be a competitive advantage.
By structure, we mean navigation and page structure. Your website structure is important for two primary reasons:
So, when auditing your website structure, ask yourself three primary questions.
Take Chancellor's website shown below. Here’s where they win:
This is a biggie. Why? So many sites are missing the low hanging fruit SEO can provide. No I’m not talking about ranking for “retirement income” because good luck. I’m talking about ranking for location-oriented keywords and ranking for terms and phrases that may be longer-tail, meaning they have less volume, and more specificity.
Forms. Google. Pixels: The three headed monster for proper marketing piping.
Passive points of conversion = guides, webinar replays, newsletters.
Active points of conversion = schedule an assessment, review, or book a meeting.
Both are needed for your website. For example, you’ll see on Advisor I/O’s website, we have four possible points of conversion:
None of our conversion points are “in your face.” They allow the visitor to make their own selection within the context of their visit. They allow the user to navigate their own path, without us forcing them down a lead page or landing page.
Jump to Google and Google two things:
What came up? More specifically, if/how were you represented on these two search queries. If you're misrepresented on channels (i.e. Yelp), take ownership over these channels. With the changes to the SEC advertising rule, you’re going to be able to leverage Google Reviews more in your marketing (check with your own compliance please) and if you don’t have your ducks in a row on your pages, you’ll lose on Google-led traffic to your site.
Bottom line is that optimizing your website can feel overwhelming and look like a tremendous task but getting your website in order now can greatly improve your digital programs in the short and long term. Need help getting things optimized? We’re here – shoot us a note at info@advisorio.co