A white paper released by The Digital FA gives a step-by-step guide on what financial advisors can do with their website to attract new clients.
Consider the following:
- 78% of internet users perform online research before buying a product or service. (Source: Interconnected World Shopping & Personal Finance, 2012). Clearly, you need to ensure that you have the right approach that ensures optimum results.
- When your clients type your name on Google (or any search engine) what do you think they find?
Every website on the internet has a goal of reaching number one on the long list of search results. Very few websites actually reach that goal, though, because there is only one top spot per keyword phrase.
Here are few steps which will help you increase traffic on your website:
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
SEO refers to the process of augmenting your website to rank higher on search engines like Google or Bing. There are two types of SEOs – Off-page and On-page.
Off-page SEO
Off-page SEO refers to optimization strategies outside of your website’s design. Essentially, the biggest factor in off-page SEO is getting other quality websites to link back to your site. Search engines call this “authority”.
Search engines favor websites with more inbound links and give them a higher ranking. The more inbound links you have, the more important your site must be, thus, the higher you’ll rank. Because link building is mostly out of your control, it isn’t an easy feat. But when it’s done right it’s worth the work and creates very lucrative results.
How do you begin increasing the number of websites that link back to your site?
- Create high-quality content
- Begin guest-blogging
- Submit your website to online directories
On-page SEO
On page SEO consists of strategically placing your most important keywords within the content elements of your pages. On-page elements include Headlines, sub-headlines, body content, image tags and links.
Essentially, this is the first rule of creating an easy-to-use website – create an atmosphere where users do not have to think about how to get from one page of your website to another.
First-time visitors to your website ask the following questions to determine whether they will continue reading or move on:
- Is it credible?
- Is it trustworthy?
- Is this a professional company?
- Is this company stable?
- Am I even in the right place?
Colors
Choose colors based on your audience and to draw attention to certain features on the page. Don’t try to make everything stand out! The result will be the complete opposite. Try not to blend more than 3 “loud” colors on a page. A best practice is to select 2-4 colors from your marketing materials and stick with them.
Easy to read: Concentrate on a font that is easy for your viewers to read. Take into consideration who your audience actually is. Place words in areas where the eye naturally looks.
Size matters: Let’s be honest, most readers beyond the age of 40 will appreciate a larger font. Save your viewers the time it will take to find their readings glasses and use a typeface of between 14-16 points.
Consistency is key
When it comes to design, it is of the utmost important that each and every page of your website follows the same design rules. Here are a few guidelines to get you started:
- Heading, subheadings and body text should be formatted in the same way
- Alignments on each page are the same
- Navigation bars are located in the same place on each page (preferably at the top of the page)
- Make sure fonts are all consistent
- Match an appropriate color scheme throughout the website
Make sure your site goes mobile
These days it is essential to be mobile. You need your website to be easy to read on a handheld device, with the most important information front and center.
When it comes to providing excellent web content, here are a few rules to follow:
- Offer unique content
- Write for humans
- Provide value
- Keep content fresh
- Know your audience
- Include evidence when needed
- Know your subject well
Blog
Advisors who blog regularly generate 67% more leads. (Source: Hubpost, State of Inbound Marketing Lead Generation Report, 2010)
Here are few suggestions on what you should be doing in order to gain followers and build audience engagement.
Educate Your Readers
Believe it or not, your blog is not really about you. It’s about your audience. Teach them something they don’t know. Position yourself as an expert in your field and offer your insight and knowledge.
One great way for financial advisors to come up with fantastic, original content is to answer questions. Chances are, if you get regular emails from your clients (or prospects) asking about retirement, there are probably thousands of other people who are looking for the same answers.
Ask for a response
At the end of your posts, ask your readers how you did. What did they like about it? What parts did they hate? Ask them what they’d like to see next.
As a result, oftentimes readers will answer your call for questions in the comments section of your blog. Consider writing well-crafted responses to the questions you get asked all the time and turning into a blog post or even a series of articles.
You get fresh blog content, while your audience gets valuable information. The more you are able to do this, the more likely it is that your readers will begin to see you as an expert in the subject and will begin to refer friends and family to you.
Converting web visitors to clients
Effective calls to action (CTA)
Calls to Action are exactly what the name implies: These little buttons direct your audience towards taking the next logical step. What is it you'd like your audience to do next?
Some popular CTAs we find on financial advisor websites are "Schedule a Meeting," or "Subscribe to My Newsletter," but when it comes down to it, you can ask your visitors to do anything.
The bottom line is that you want to make it really, really easy for your web visitors to do whatever it is you want them to do.
What they look like
Great calls to action are eye-grabbing, attractive buttons that web users should want to click.
Where they should be located
As best-practice tips suggest, calls to action buttons work best placed on the top of your home page in addition to the left or right sidebars.
Landing Pages
When a web user clicks your call to action button they will be directed to a landing page. Landing pages are made up of three primary items: an enticing graphic, a short explanation and, most importantly, a form.
Landing pages are critical to converting web visitors into leads because they allow you to glean new information about the person, allowing you to pitch to them more effectively.
Conclusion
A financial advisor has a tough job. It’s harder than ever before to find new prospects and leads, but we know that they are online. While a website is a great start, it takes more than just having an online presence to convince prospects to take action.
Your website must effectively draw in traffic, be appealing to the eye and user-friendly in order to keep web visitors and finally, convert web visitors to qualified prospects.
Download the white paper here : www.thedigitalfa.com/financial-advisor-white-papers
Note: Prepared based on the white paper “The Financial Advisors Ultimate Guide to Maximizing your websites’ potential”
TheDigitalFA is a portal dedicated exclusively to the social media, technology and marketing needs of Financial Advisors.
