I’ve spent much of the last year creating my Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Package for financial advisors. Before that, I wasted $4,800 testing out professional SEO firms using my dad’s website. We spent $1,200 upfront with one firm and another $600 per month for six months with another. They both used incomprehensible technical jargon and promised big results.
Guess what? At the end of six months, there was no difference in our ranking for the keywords we had targeted. One SEO firm told us that we hadn’t put enough money towards the effort to see results and the other said they needed more time to make an impact.
I hate seeing advisors throw good money away on SEO for nothing. It’s frustrating because it’s difficult to verify the “work” that SEO firms deliver or hold them accountable for concrete results. I understand that SEO is complex and rapidly changing, but I knew there must be a better way. I set out to create a search engine optimization package that actually makes an impact with a low one-time fee.
The Basics of SEO
If you’re not familiar with search engine optimization, I find that it’s helpful to think of SEO like a credit score for your website. Google wants to make its users happy by returning the best websites for a given keyword search. By optimizing for Google (and other search engines), you are improving the chances they will deliver your website in their mix of search results.
Factors that affect your website’s SEO include how long your site has existed at your current domain, the amount of traffic to your site, the engagement of users when they arrive at your site, and verification of information like your address and phone number.
Improving your SEO is a lot like trying to improve your credit score. There are some very basic things you can do upfront, like paying your bills on time and removing any derogatory items. Once you have created the foundation with a good payment history, a low balance to credit limit, and a strong credit “mix,” there’s not a lot more you can do to improve your score. While it’s relatively easy to take your credit score from a 600 to a 700, it is much more difficult to get from a 780 to an 800.
Similarly, with Search Engine Optimization, you can make huge gains by laying a proper foundation. This includes registering your website and social media profiles with Google and other search engines, updating the SEO information within your website, and adding local citations by listing your business with the Chamber of Commerce, for example. Once you’ve done the proper work upfront, you will enjoy 90% of the benefits of SEO.
I created my SEO Package to deliver the greatest benefit in the least amount of time for a one-time fee. Beyond appearing at the top of search results for specific keywords, there are other benefits of SEO. First, your business, logo, and photos will appear to the right of the search results when someone searches for your firm. You will also come up in Google maps and other maps so that your clients and prospects can get directions to your office. Finally, you will be listed in local registries such as the Chamber of Commerce and other local business listings.
In the proof of concept for the SEO Package, we targeted the keywords “Financial Advisor Wausau, WI” for one advisor’s website. Before the work, their site came up as the 24th result for those keywords on the third page of search results. After the work, their site appears on the first page of search results as listing #10. They also appear on Google maps with a verified business listing including photos of their office and their logo. Check out the photos below for more information.
Getting Started on SEO
While most SEO firms charge high monthly fees and require at least a one year commitment, our one-time SEO Package is designed to deliver maximum impact by completing the most important SEO tasks for your business including:
- Registering Your Business With Local Search Engines
- Creating Your Google Business Listing
- Verifying Your Google Business Listing via US Mail
- Adding Photos and Business Information to Your Google Business Listing
- Adding Your Business to Google Maps
- Updating the Title and Meta Descriptions on Your Website
- Adding Google Places Badge to Your Site
- Adding Google Maps to Your Site
- Optimizing Your Website with Schema Markup
- Adding Over 30 Local Citations Based on Keywords
The results of the SEO Package depend on the size of your geographic area and the competitiveness of the keywords chosen. For cities with populations of 60,000 or less, we expect first page rankings. For larger cities with more competition for keywords, achieving a first page ranking may take an additional 3-6 months of SEO Maintenance work at a charge of $200 per month. Take a look at the results below for a real-life example of the SEO Package without ongoing maintenance.
SEO Package Results: Point Wealth Management
BEFORE SEO PACKAGE
PAGE RANKING: #3
LISTING: #24
“FINANCIAL ADVISOR WAUSAU, WI”
AFTER SEO PACKAGE
PAGE RANKING: #1
LISTING: #10
“FINANCIAL ADVISOR WAUSAU, WI”
Verified Listing on Google Maps