Technical SEO audit & fixes
A thorough technical review that catches the hidden faults, slow pages and crawl problems capping your visibility, with the highest-impact fixes done first.
SEO by industry
SEO for Financial services
Search engine optimisation for financial services firms that want more of the right enquiries from Google, Maps and AI search, delivered directly by one senior specialist with 8+ years of experience.
- 8+ years hands-on SEO
- No lock-in contract
- One senior specialist, no juniors
Why financial services firms need SEO
Choosing an adviser, broker or provider is a decision people research carefully and compare. They search for the service, then for reviews, fees and credentials, often returning to the same few firms. SEO puts your firm in front of them at each step, before a comparison site or a paid ad.
How your customers really find you
Search engines treat money topics as high risk, so quality standards are higher. Google's guidelines call this “Your Money or Your Life”. Anonymous, thin or out-of-date content struggles, while clear authorship, regulatory details and accurate guidance help.
Most people do not pick the first business they think of. They search, compare two or three options, read reviews, and increasingly ask an AI assistant such as ChatGPT or Google's AI Overviews for a shortlist before they ever make contact. If your financial services firm is invisible at any of those steps, the enquiry quietly goes to a competitor who is not necessarily better, just more findable.
Why SEO beats paid ads over time
Paid ads stop the moment you stop paying, and the cost per click only rises as more financial services firms compete for the same keywords. SEO works the other way round: the pages, profile and authority you build keep bringing in enquiries month after month at no cost per click. For most financial services firms, that means a lower cost of acquiring each customer as the work compounds.
This does not mean ads have no place. They are excellent for immediate leads while SEO builds. But SEO is the asset you own, and it is what makes your marketing cheaper and more resilient over time.
Where most financial services firms go wrong
The commonest mistake I see is treating SEO as a checklist that any business can run the same way. Financial services have their own search behaviour, their own competitors, their own trust signals and often their own rules. A template approach wins a few easy keywords and then stalls. Judgement, applied to your specific market, is what separates a financial services firm that grows from one that plateaus, and that judgement is what you are actually paying a specialist for.
Want to see how your financial services firm currently shows up on Google and in AI search? It's free.
Get a free consultationHow your customers search
Your customers rarely search the way you would describe your own business. They use plain, urgent, specific language, and they use it across Google Search, Google Maps and AI assistants. A plan that only targets one of these misses most of the opportunity. Here is how financial services firms are typically found:
| What they type | What they want | Where it shows up |
|---|---|---|
| independent financial adviser Bristol | Choosing a local adviser | Maps, local pack and Search |
| how much does a mortgage broker charge | Comparing fees | Search and AI Overviews |
| pension transfer advice | Researching a major decision | Search and assistants |
| fee-only financial planner reviews | Checking reputation | Business Profile and reviews |
My approach, step by step
Every financial services firm I work with gets the same clear, four-stage method, adapted to your market. No black boxes, no jargon, and you always know what is happening and why.
1. Audit and research
I start with a full technical and content audit of your site, a review of your Google Business Profile and local presence, and genuine keyword and competitor research for financial services. This tells us exactly where you stand, what is holding you back, and which searches are realistic to win. You get an honest picture, including whether SEO is even the right priority for you right now.
2. Fix the foundations
Next I fix the technical issues that quietly cap rankings: crawl and indexing problems, slow pages, poor structure and missing or broken markup. At the same time I complete and optimise your Google Business Profile and make your business details consistent everywhere they appear. This stage often produces the quickest wins because it removes the handbrake the site has been running with.
3. Build content and authority
With the foundations solid, I build the pages and content that match how your customers search, structured so both Google and AI assistants can understand and recommend you. Alongside this I build credible authority through earned links and digital PR, deliberately and safely, never through the cheap, risky links that lead to penalties.
4. Measure, report and refine
Every month you get a clear, plain-English report on what changed, what it did for your rankings and enquiries, and what happens next, plus a strategy call with me directly. SEO is iterative: the data from each month sharpens the plan for the next, which is how results compound rather than plateau.
What SEO for financial services includes
Every plan draws from the same core work, tailored to financial services. FCA-aware service and adviser pages, clear fee and credential signals, and a content process built around your compliance sign-off.
Local SEO & Google Business Profile
A complete, accurate profile, consistent citations and the review signals that win the map pack, where nearby customers make their choice.
On-page SEO & content
Clear, useful pages and content mapped to the searches that bring you customers, written for people and optimised for search without ever reading like spam.
Off-page SEO & authority
Steady, safe authority-building for your financial services firm: earned links and relevant mentions that Google trusts, with none of the risky shortcuts.
AI search visibility
Content and structured data so ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and other assistants can understand and recommend you. Included from the Growth plan.
Reporting & a monthly call
Every month you get a straightforward report on what changed and what it produced, plus a call with me to plan the next steps.
Local SEO for financial services firms in depth
For most financial services firms, local search is where the money is. When someone searches with local intent, or simply searches on a phone, Google shows a map with three businesses, the local pack, above the normal results. Winning a place there is often worth more than any single keyword ranking.
Your Google Business Profile
Your profile is frequently the first and sometimes the only thing a potential customer sees. I make sure the categories, services, service areas, opening hours, attributes, photos and posts are complete and accurate, because Google rewards complete, active profiles and customers trust them more. Small gaps here cost real enquiries.
Reviews and reputation
Reviews influence both your map ranking and whether a customer chooses you over the business next to you. I set up a simple, compliant routine for asking satisfied customers for reviews and replying to every one, which steadily builds the volume and freshness of reviews that both Google and AI tools look for.
Local citations and consistency
Your name, address and phone number need to be identical everywhere they appear online. Inconsistent details confuse Google and erode trust. I audit your existing citations, fix the ones that contradict each other, and build the listings that matter for your sector and area.
Location and service-area pages
If you serve several areas, each one deserves a genuinely useful page, not thin, copied text with the place name swapped. I build location pages with real local detail that help customers and rank sustainably, so you appear across your whole service area rather than just your home town.
Ready to win more financial services customers from search? Book a free consultation with me directly.
Get a free consultationAI search and ChatGPT for financial services firms
Your customers increasingly ask AI assistants for recommendations instead of scrolling through Google. Google's own guidance confirms there is no secret setting for AI Overviews and that normal SEO fundamentals still apply, so the same work that wins Google rankings also helps AI tools understand and recommend you. What changes is the standard: AI systems quote specific, accurate passages, so clarity and structure matter even more. This is included from the Growth plan.
Asked in ChatGPT
“What should I look for in an independent financial adviser near me?”
An AI assistant answering that question typically breaks it into several smaller checks. Each one needs a clear answer on your site and profile, which is exactly what AI search optimisation puts in place:
| What the AI needs to establish | What I put in place |
|---|---|
| Which advisers are nearby? | A local profile and consistent listings |
| Are they authorised and independent? | FCA details and how the firm is paid |
| What qualifications do they have? | Named adviser profiles with credentials |
| What will it cost and what do clients say? | Transparent fees and genuine reviews |
No one can honestly guarantee a place in an AI answer, and anyone who does is overselling. What I can do is make sure the evidence these systems look for, clear content, consistent facts, genuine reviews and clean structure, is all present. That is what gives your business the best chance of being recommended.
Rules that apply to financial services marketing
Web and social content can count as a financial promotion if it invites someone to take up a product or service. I work within your compliance process; your compliance team has the final say.
- The FCA expects financial promotions to be fair, clear and not misleading, including web content
- Risk warnings and firm details should appear where the rules require them
- Avoid performance claims and guarantees unless they meet the rules and are approved
- Testimonials and reviews need care; check how your compliance team wants them used
Mistakes to avoid when choosing SEO for your financial services firm
Plenty of agencies will promise financial services the world. Here is how to tell a genuine SEO partner from one to avoid, and the standards I work to.
Red flags in an SEO provider
- Guaranteed rankings. No one controls Google, so no one can honestly guarantee a position. It is the clearest sign to walk away.
- Large numbers of cheap links. Bought links in bulk can trigger penalties that are expensive to recover from, and are a poor use of a sensible budget.
- Long lock-in contracts. Good work retains clients without tying them in. A 12-month minimum is protecting the agency, not you.
- Reports full of vanity metrics. Impressions and keyword counts look impressive but mean little. You should see calls, enquiries and revenue from search.
What good SEO looks like instead
- Honest expectations, including a clear view of how long results realistically take for your market.
- The person who sold it does the work, so nothing is lost in translation to a junior or an offshore team.
- Monthly reporting you can actually understand, tied to enquiries rather than jargon.
- No lock-in, because the work should keep you, not the contract.
Timeline and what to expect
SEO compounds rather than switching on. These are typical ranges for financial services firms, not promises, and the exact timeline depends on your competitors, your starting point and how quickly fixes can be made.
- 01
Stage 1 (weeks 1-2)
I audit your site, research the searches that matter for financial services, and agree what to fix first.
- 02
Stage 2 (weeks 3-6)
The technical foundations and your profile are put right, often the source of the quickest early wins.
- 03
Stage 3 (months 2-3)
Content, reviews and local signals start to lift your rankings.
- 04
Stage 4 (months 4-12)
Competitive financial services searches and AI-search visibility build and compound, reviewed every month.
Simple pricing that grows with you
Three plans, billed monthly, with no lock-in contract, starting at £350 a month. AI search optimisation is built into the Leader plan.
Local
Get found locally
£350/mo
- Full technical SEO audit
- Google Business Profile optimisation
- On-page SEO for your core pages
- Local citations and directory listings
- Monthly performance report
Growth
Rank and grow
£650/mo
- Everything in Local
- Full technical SEO implementation
- Content strategy and 2 articles a month
- Off-page SEO and authority building
- Monthly strategy call with me
Leader
Dominate search and AI
£1,200/mo
- Everything in Growth
- Up to 4 articles a month
- Advanced off-page SEO and digital PR
- AI search optimisation (ChatGPT, AI Overviews, GEO)
- Priority support and reporting
Also need social media, paid ads or PPC alongside your SEO? I offer custom pricing for combined services, just ask.
Get a custom quoteSee where your financial services firm stands on Google and in AI search, for free.
Get a free consultationSEO for financial services: your questions answered
How much does SEO for financial services cost?
My plans run from £350 to £1,200 a month. Local covers the essentials for a single location, Growth adds full technical work, content and off-page SEO, and Leader adds advanced content and AI search optimisation. Billing is monthly with no lock-in contract, and social media or paid ads are quoted separately. In the free consultation I will recommend the right plan for your financial services firm rather than upsell you.
How long does SEO take to work for financial services?
Early movement usually appears within about three months, especially for local searches. Stronger, more competitive rankings typically build over six to twelve months. The exact timeline depends on how strong your competitors are, the state of your site when we start, and how quickly fixes can be implemented. Anyone promising top rankings in weeks is not being honest.
Do you work with financial services directly, or hand it to a junior?
You work with me directly, every month, with 8+ years of hands-on experience. There is no account manager relaying messages to a junior team, and no offshore outsourcing. The person who assesses your site is the person who does the work.
Will my business show up in AI search and ChatGPT?
That is exactly what the AI search optimisation targets, and it is included from the Growth plan. No one can guarantee a citation in an AI answer, because that cannot be bought or forced. What I do is make sure your content, structured data, business facts and reviews are all clear and consistent, which is what gives you the best chance of being recommended by ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and similar tools.
Do I need a website, or is a Google Business Profile enough?
A well-optimised Google Business Profile can win calls on its own, and for some financial services firms it is the single biggest lever. But a website with proper service and location pages helps you rank for far more searches, build trust, and show up in AI answers. Most financial services firms get the best results from both working together.
Is there a lock-in contract?
No. Every plan is billed monthly and you can cancel any time. I would rather keep you because the work is delivering results than because you are tied into a term. It also keeps me honest.
What do you need from me to get started?
Access to your website, Google Business Profile and analytics, plus a short conversation about your services, your best customers and your goals. I handle the technical and strategic work from there, and ask for your approval before making any significant change.
What makes SEO for financial services different from generic SEO?
FCA-aware service and adviser pages, clear fee and credential signals, and a content process built around your compliance sign-off.
SEO for other industries
Your next step
Get a free SEO consultation for your financial services firm
No obligation, just a clear view of where you stand on Google and in AI search, and the fastest way to improve it. I reply personally, usually within one business day.
- Reply within one business day, from me directly
- No lock-in contract, cancel any time
- A clear view of where you stand on Google and in AI search
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