5 tips Independent Financial Advisors Will ignore at their peril!
Many Independent Financial Advisors struggle to make their presence online known. There are a couple of reasons for this, comparison websites dominate the top advertising slots on Google & Bing Searches both paid & organic. Although Highly Regulated many IFA’s don’t always have the skills needed to marketing their business online to the people they need to find.
These 5 Tips for Financial Advisors will help change the situation! Number 2 is a game changer! (Really!)
#1 Audit your online presence
Google your business! Just go and type your full company name into Google do the same with Bing.
- Does your company listing appear?
- Are all of your contact details correct?
- Is your Google My Business Listing claimed and correct? (claim it if it’s not!)
- This will help with your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO, need to find out What is SEO? Read this post when you have finished!)
- Is your website set up correctly on Google & Bing? (Here’s is how to check)
#2 Use Google Ads to find customers!
Keep reading you need to take advantage today!
Google recently announced a change in their advertising policy, for Financial services businesses in the UK (About Google Financial Services Verification)
This is the game changer!
“In order to show financial services ads of any kind in the UK – including showing ads to UK users who appear to be seeking financial services – advertisers need to be verified by Google”
What does this announcement from Google mean for IFA’s
This means Independent Financial Advisors (IFA’s) now have a chance to advertise without competing with directories or comparison sites. It will be toe to toe with other regulated Financial Advisors. To confirm you’re a regulated business you just need to register here.
Don’t have a Google Ads account?
Book an appointment here & we will get you set up. It’s FREE, You don’t have to spend any money!
When you are ready we can manage your campaigns for you. Prices start at £300+VAT per month plus your ad spend or 20% of ad spend (whichever is higher)
Get a voucher from your Google My Business Page
When you claim your listing there is usually a voucher offer, sometimes you have to match the spending but DO NOT just start a campaign if you don’t know what you are doing! A lovely account manager from Google will call you when you have nearly exhausted your budget (including the voucher amount) & highlight all of the problems with your campaign & then urge you to invest more to continue the now fixed campaign!
Aren’t Google Ads expensive?
It depends on the keywords you want to target & where your want to target. Different terms have different prices, the larger the area you target the more of those searches you will be bidding for.
Building a campaign that not only performs but that does not burn through your budget is what you need!
Getting your ads quality score as high as possible will also help reduce your costs, this often requires work on the landing page of your website.
You are also able to build lookalike audiences from your website visitors, this will help you to target similar people with future campaigns.
#3 Start writing good content!
Pick engaging topics that will support your core content. Comment on relevant announcements from the government or changes in the law. If you have a particular market that you target, write about sector-specific topics or issues.
- Use bullet points to get information across clearly!
- Write engaging content or employ someone to produce content for you!
- 5 Easy Steps to write a Blog Post might help you out!
- A picture paints a thousand words make sure you have some in your website content!
- Include a call to action!
#4 Network more!
Online networking events allow you to cover more of the country without travelling!
There are lots of Business Networking Groups that don’t charge an annual fee that you can attend. Of course, real-world networking events are also great but do take up a lot of time & energy and post-pandemic a lot of people have noticed how easy it is to work without commuting!
#5 Take online bookings!
Use a tool like Calendly to schedule meetings, quickly with potential clients. You can use Calendly for free with slightly limited capabilities.(We use it to schedule our SEO Audits see how we did it on this page!) If you are a sole trader you can embed your personal calendar directly into pages on your website, If you are a group practice you can set up a group account and allocate the most appropriate partner to deal with the appointment. (You can’t book on the day & if you link your calendar you can block out times when you are not available). You get an appointment booking tool that you can use on your website & on social media. It means you can add a Call To Action (CTA) to all of your posts & pages!
Bonus Tip!
Use Facebook advertising, it is easy to target specific demographics with Facebook. You can also make a lookalike audience on Facebook. The costs are lower than Google advertising & the profile of Facebook users is in the right area for people interested in investments & savings.
Don’t know how to advertise on Facebook?
Don’t worry we do! Campaigns start from £300+VAT per month plus your ad spend or 20% of ad spend (whichever is higher). Alternatively, you could take an online course with our training company Praevians Training & Consultancy Facebook Advertising – Getting Started.
Conclusion
Finacial advisors can now use Google ads to target customers without having competition from comparison or lead generation websites. Rather than paying these companies for leads independent financial advisors can now invest in their own advertising!
