Local SEO For Financial Advisors: The Definitive Guide [+Examples]

Example: Local SEO For Financial Advisors Done Right

There are many ways in which investing in local SEO can pay off. 

For example, you may appear as one of the organic search results for a specific local keyword:

Alternatively, your business may be one of the three businesses featured in a more prominent place in the SERPs:

Or you may appear in other categories on Google:

Such prominent placing in the SERPs is likely to lead to more organic traffic on your site and, ultimately, more conversions.

With that said, here’s how you can boost your local SEO and get similar results.

1. Create a Robust Google My Business (GMB) Profile

Setting up your Google My Business (GMB) profile is the first step toward getting Google to identify your location. Here’s how to do it:

Set Up Your GMB Profile

Go to Google Business. Then follow these steps:

• Click “Manage Now” >
• Sign into Google if you’re not already logged in >
• Add your business name and other details, such as your business category, the area you serve, and your business address.

Make sure to enter the right information, as it’s crucial for local SEO. 

You can also add more areas or addresses if your business has multiple locations. 

Although your location matters the most for local SEO, you still want to add as many details as possible. Write a brief description of your business, select the right business category, and fill out all the other details to build a robust profile.

Get Verified

The next step is to verify your profile and your ownership of the business. 

You should be able to choose between multiple ways to get verified, such as via a phone call or a postcard.

You may also need to record a video of your business. If you don’t have a traditional storefront, doing so may not be straightforward. 

Even if you have one, though, you need to ensure that your video shows all relevant elements that help Google verify the authenticity of your business. You may be surprised what could go into this — like filming surrounding street signs or utility bills. 

We highly recommend watching this video for more information on how to get verified: 

Get Reviews On Your Financial Services

Finally, the best way to build a truly robust profile that helps your local SEO is to get reviews on your financial services from clients. 

You can incentivize past and current clients to leave a review by offering a discount on future services. However, most will be happy to do so without any incentivization. 

Just make sure to ask for reviews — preferably just after delivering your services.

2. Target Local Keywords Related To Financial Advisory Services

Local keywords are keywords that contain names of specific locations, such as “new york” or “manhattan.” 

If you want to get found for such keywords — which, if you’re investing in local SEO, you probably do — you need to find them and create content that targets them.

Find Local Keywords Relevant to Finance

First things first, you’ll need some relevant seed keywords. 

Seed keywords are phrases you’ll use as a starting point for finding more relevant and searched-for local keywords. 

Here’s a brief list of seed keywords you can consider using:

• financial advisor + [your state]
• financial advisor + [your city] 
• financial advisor + [your borough/district or nearby boroughs/districts]
• financial advisor + [nearby suburb] 

Here’s how you could use these templates in action: 

• financial advisor in new york, financial advisor new york
• financial advisor in new york city, financial advisor in nyc
• financial advisor in manhattan, financial advisor in soho
• financial advisor in hoboken

By looking up these phrases, you’ll be able to find specific keywords users search for. For example, you may find keywords like “best financial advisors in new york.” 

Additionally, you can also search for keywords that don’t explicitly contain the phrase “financial advisor,” but similar relevant phrases — such as “financial services new york,” “retirement planning hoboken,” or “wealth advisor in nyc.” 

Create Local-Specific Finance Pages

Once you’ve put together a list of keywords you want to rank for, it’s time to create content that targets them. 

Depending on the keywords you choose, you may need to create commercial or informative pages. For example: 

• If your target keyword is “financial advisor in new york,” you likely want to create a static commercial page targeting it. 
• If your target keyword is “best financial advisors nyc,” you likely want to create a blog post listing multiple options (including yourself).

Here’s an example of a commercial page we’ve created for our own services:

To successfully optimize your content, you can: 

• Read up on how to do so yourself — for example, here’s a great guide on content optimization;
• Invest in content optimization tools, like SurferSEO; 
• Hire a professional SEO content writer.

3. Build Internal Links to Local Pages

To get faster local SEO results, build links to your local pages from other pages on your site. 

Also, make sure to use relevant and descriptive anchor phrases. 

For example, an anchor phrase like “top financial advisors in NYC” is both descriptive (i.e., it describes what to expect on the page it’s linking to) and relevant (i.e., it contains the target keywords of that page). 

4. Build Local Backlinks

Internal links are important. But external links — i.e., links from other websites to yours — will get you local SEO results even faster. 

For maximum results, you want to build backlinks that are locally and contextually relevant. Here’s how to do that: 

Create Local-Specific, Link-Worthy Content

Firstly, you can try building links naturally. This means you’re not buying backlinks or building them via outreach, but rather attracting them with high-quality content. 

To specifically improve financial advisor local SEO, we suggest creating local-specific link-worthy content — such as tips on saving money for people in [area] or a property tax calculator for [area].

While you should certainly create valuable content, natural link building can be extremely slow and unpredictable.

It completely depends on other people finding your content and voluntarily linking to you. 

Alternatively, to get faster and more predictable results, you can: 

• Share your content with other sites via outreach,
• Find existing content that could benefit from links to yours, and ask for niche edits, and/or
• Buy backlinks to your content.

Get Featured On Local Websites

Another way to improve your financial advisor local SEO is to get featured on local websites. For example, this can include local business directories and local newspapers.

Some directories only ask you to submit your listing. Others will charge you for it. 

Here are some that list financial advisors in different locations across the US:

• SmartAsset — The Top Financial Advisors in the U.S.
• Morgan Stanley’s Financial Advisors
• Expertise.com — Best Financial Advisors & Helpful Resources

Local publications, on the other hand, may require you to have relationships with editors or reporters. Contact us if you need help getting featured.

Host Local Events + Get Coverage

Hosting local events, such as workshops or charity functions, can help you get free PR and backlinks to your site. 

If you decide to host one, make sure to write about it on your website and notify any relevant media outlets. Ask them to help you promote it and, if possible, include a link to your site for more information.  

5. Add Contact Information To Your Website

This one seems obvious, but some financial advisors forget it. 

Add contact information, including your business address, to your website — or, more specifically, add it to your footer and contact page.

Make sure that this information is consistent across the web, including your social media accounts, GMB profile, business directories, and other places where you’ve added it.

This is crucial for local SEO for financial advisors.

6. Implement Local Business Schema Markup

Schema markup helps search engines better identify and read crucial information on your website. In terms of local SEO, the most crucial information includes your: 

• Business name
• Business address
• GPS coordinates (longitude and latitude of your location) 
• The areas you serve
• A description of your business

Marking up this and other business data with schema can help your business occupy more space and become more prominent in the SERPs. 

For example, it can help you appear in the coveted Google Local Pack (also known as 3 Pack), which features three businesses related to the user’s search query:

You may need a developer to help you implement schema markup. You can also try implementing it yourself using Schema.org.

7. Leverage Social Media

Your social media presence and activity may also help search engines better understand your location and increase your visibility. 

Join Closed, Local Groups

The first tip is to join local groups on platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn. These groups should preferably be linked to financial services or other aspects of your business. 

You can share your content there, interact with users from your area, and find great content ideas. 

There are also many local groups primarily designed for exchanging and promoting local services. As an example, consider New York City: Help Wanted, Job Listings, Services Offered.

Interact With Other Local Businesses

Additionally, you can also try establishing relationships or even collaborating with other businesses in your area. 

Ideally, you would partner with businesses that offer complimentary services to yours. 

Lawyers, insurers, and tax advisors may all make for great business partners.

You can host giveaways or workshops together, cross-promote each other on social media, or engage in other activities that can increase your local visibility.

Add Your Location To Your Social Media

Finally, don’t forget to add your business address and/or areas you serve to your social media. 

Again, make sure that this information matches information on other websites.

8. Add Local Images

Posting local images and implementing local image SEO can also be of great help. 

Firstly, other local websites may share your images and link to your site as the source. 

Secondly, the right image SEO will further help search engines better understand your location.

Add Local-Specific Alt Text

Image SEO starts with descriptive alt text. 

Alt text, or alternative text, is the text that describes non-textual elements on your website, such as your images. It is displayed to users when non-textual elements fail to load, but also helps users with visual or cognitive disabilities better understand your content.

Because of that, your alt text should always be descriptive, accurate, and factual. 

But, if you’re trying to improve your local SEO, it should also contain local-specific keywords. 

Here are a few examples of local-specific alt text that financial advisors may use: 

• The storefront of a financial services business in [city]
• A headshot of our founder with [landmark] in the background 

Of course, make sure that the alt text you use actually corresponds to what’s on the image.

Use Local-Specific Image File Names

Everything we’ve said about alt text applies to image file names. They should be descriptive and, if possible, contain local-specific keywords.

Note that separate keywords should be separated with hyphens. 

For example, “Financial-Advisory-Firm-in-NYC” is the correct way to name your file.

Bonus Local SEO Tips for Financial Services 

• Track your performance with GSC, GA4, and similar tools. These will help you understand the impact of your local SEO efforts. 
• Consider working with local influencers who can further promote your business. If they have a website, you can also benefit from backlinks to your site.
• Work with a link building agency that can help you land local-specific backlinks. Backlinks are one of the most important ranking factors. Proactively building them, especially on high-authority sites, is extremely important. However, you may not be able to do so yourself if you lack experience or connections.

Get Help Building Local-Specific Backlinks 

Our agency will help you land high-quality backlinks in local websites and publications, or you don’t pay us. We also offer a lifetime guarantee on all our links, ensuring they don’t get taken down if you stop working with us. 

Contact us today for more information, or order backlinks directly from our site.