SEO For Financial Advisors: The Ultimate Guide To Search Engine Optimization for Independent Advisors

SEO

Why Is SEO Important for Financial Advisors?

Here’s what we learned after working with 120 different advisors on their SEO.

  1. Which terms are most important? Some matter more than others.
  2. How does SEO support referral generation?
  3. How do you know if you need help?

Watch this short video to learn the foundational elements of SEO for financial advisors.


 

Get Your Free SEO Audit Today

We’re happy to take a look at your site and business goals and make recommendations based on our experience working with financial advisors.

Get Your Free Audit Now


 

Additional Resources: SEO Mastery

 

 


 

SEO for Financial Advisors Guide: Table of Contents

 

Overview

 

  1. What is search engine optimization (SEO)?
  2. SEO for financial advisors, why does it matter?
  3. How is SEO different for local professional service providers?
  4. What’s the difference between on site and off site SEO?

 

Most Important Keywords for Financial Advisors

 

  1. How can you tell where you rank?
  2. Choosing the best keywords to target

 

Taking Action: Start Making Improvements to Your SEO

 

  1. How to improve your website’s on site SEO
  2. Three changes to make to your homepage today
  3. How to check if your site is mobile responsive
  4. Updating your title tags
  5. Optimizing your meta descriptions
  6. How to improve your website’s off site SEO
  7. Google Business Profile

 

Going to The Next Level

 

  1. How to learn more
  2. SEO for financial advisors, getting help
  3. Download your free DIY SEO checklist for financial advisors!
  4. Register for a free webinar to learn more!

 



SEO for Financial Advisors: Let’s Get Started!


SEO for financial advisors can seem overwhelming. It doesn’t have to be. We know that most financial advisors don’t know a lot about search engine optimization or SEO. In today’s competitive landscape, it’s more important than ever for advisory firms to complete basic foundational steps to secure their place in the eyes of Google.

 

 


 

What Is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?


Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of increasing your website’s traffic by helping people find your site online. Believe it or not, there is a lot of competition and money to be made by being the best search engine, so Google, Yahoo, and Bing invest hefty resources in trying to return the best search results for their users.

How can they tell which search results are best for a given search? They look for behavioral clues from users, like which results they click on, how long they stay on a site, and whether they continue their search or not after visiting a website.

But not all SEO is created equal. Search engines treat different types of searches differently. If you search “headaches and insomnia” you’ll be directed to a credible national medical website. If you search for “plumber,” you’ll get a local service provider. Google knows that it wouldn’t be helpful to direct you to the definition of a plumber, or the history of the plumbing industry, it knows that most people who search for “plumber” want a highly rated plumber in their area.

The same is true for financial advisors. Because Google views financial planning as a local service, it uses local search engine optimization “clues” to return the most relevant local financial advisors. These clues include:

  1. Whether your business address, hours, and phone number are listed
  2. How recently your website has been updated
  3. Whether your business is featured on Google and Apple maps


By making sure your website is optimized for local search, you can get more traffic to your website when people search for a financial advisor in your area.


 

SEO For Financial Advisors, Why Does It Matter?

 

Benefits of SEO

  1. More traffic
  2. Look better in search results (building trust instantly)
  3. Support your referral process

Challenges With SEO For Financial Advisors

  1. Most businesses rely on online reviews to bolster their credibility and FINRA prohibits reviews for advisors. Making the most of your business listings without using reviews requires a specific strategy.


Getting more traffic to your website is not the only reason it’s important to optimize your website for search engines. Optimizing your site also helps it look better in search results, by including images, maps, business hours, and your logo.

Building out your search engine results page can make it easier for your existing clients to get directions to your office or find your phone number online. It can also help referrals from existing clients to find you and establish trust.

Establishing Credibility Online And Helping Your Referral Process


As Michael Kitces, partner at Pinnacle Advisory Group, points out, “Even if they are referred by someone they trust, no one is going to give their life savings to a financial advisor without typing their name into Google.” Customers explore businesses online before they make decisions. In fact, 9 out of 10 referrals will Google you before they set up an appointment.

Even if they have already met you in person, potential clients look at your business online and form an opinion about how much they trust you. If a customer searches for your business in Google, what do they see? Are you hard to find online? Do you show up on the second or third page of search results? Do your social media profiles show up before your website? We want to make it easy for them to find you online and get a positive impression.

Getting More Organic Traffic To Your Website


The Internet has changed everything about how we live from how we select a restaurant to how we choose a CPA or financial advisor. For financial advisors, showing up within relevant search terms can be a powerful marketing tool to get more traffic and more business.

There are two main ways to get more traffic to your website via search engines:

  • Search Engine Marketing (SEM) or paid ads: Search engine marketing or pay per click (PPC) allows marketers to purchase traffic. Google sells placement within various searches at a price per click. Each time someone clicks your ad, Google charges your account.
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Think of the O in SEO as “organic.” With SEO, we are affecting the free or organic search traffic to your website. We aim to get your website to show up in those search results “organically” by being what Google considers the most relevant site to meet their search need.


Why not use SEM and pay for clicks? It can get expensive in a hurry! If for example, if you are a financial advisor in San Diego and you want people who searched for the term “Financial Advisor San Diego” to click through to your site, that would cost you between $15 and $20 per click. Ten clicks using PPC could cost $150 or more!

San Diego

But with SEO, we can invest less than $1,000 to get you to show up in top search results month after month for free. Then, you will see traffic coming to your site for “free” based on those search terms. Additionally, users who search the terms might place more trust in businesses that show up organically than businesses that paid to be there.
Save $100 on Your SEO Package Now

 

 


 

How Is SEO Different For Local Professional Service Providers?


The most effective way for financial advisors to use SEO is to build out your local online presence so that you show up higher in search results and look good when people search for your business (either directly or through keywords that you’ve targeted).

At Indigo Marketing Agency, we’ve worked with hundreds of top financial advisors to optimize their websites and took two years creating and refining our SEO process. For our search engine optimization strategy, we combine the knowledge that we’ve developed building marketing programs specifically for financial advisors and combine it with SEO best practices.

Financial advisors have a unique position when it comes to SEO because many financial advisors have not completed even the most basic SEO work. There’s not a lot of SEO competition from most local advisors!

But there are challenges too. Part of SEO work leverages “Local SEO” best practices, but financial advisors are not exactly like a local coffee shop. For example, reviews are highly relevant for coffee shops but against the rules for financial advisors. What is a well meaning financial advisor to do?


 

How Can You Tell Where You Rank?


Before we get in to exactly what you can do to improve your SEO, it’s a good idea to take a look at where you are starting and how your business appears on Google today. Make a note of your starting point so you can track your progress over time. If you need help figuring out where you rank, get your free SEO Audit Report for your site now!

Search For Your Business Name


First, go to Google.com and enter the name of your business to see if you come up. If you aren’t searching from the location of your office, enter your business city name too, for example, “pilot wealth management troy, michigan.”

If you’re website is not coming up as the top search result for your business name, that means your SEO needs some serious work. If you do not have a Google Business Profile Page on the right sidebar with your information, that’s a good clue that you have not laid the SEO foundation for your firm yet. This is what an incomplete business listing looks like.

SEO for Financial Advisors Search Results

 

 

Search For Relevant Keywords


Next, you’ll want to see how you rank for relevant keywords. Enter a few keywords and your city name to see where your firm ranks, for example “financial advisor in paradise, ca.” Check the Google Places listings to see if your business shows, then scroll through the organic listings below the Google Places to see where you rank. Make a note of the page number you show up on and your overall rank for a given keyword.

Seo for financial advisors local results

Search For Your Business On Maps


Finally, open up your map application on your smartphone and search for your business name. Make sure that your office shows up on maps with the correct address, website, and phone number to make it easy for your clients to call you and get directions to your office.

Pilot Wealth

If you’re disappointed in the results of your search, don’t worry, it’s easy to make big changes in your SEO rankings with a few important actions. Read on to find out how.
Get Your Free SEO Audit Report

 

 


 

The Best Keywords For Financial Advisors


Before you get started making any changes to your website or registering your business online, you’ll want to consider the keywords you’d like to target in the future so that you can be consistent with your efforts.

Keyword traffic depends on simple supply and demand, so targeting high volume keywords will mean that you have more competition, whereas it may be easier to rank higher for lower volume search terms, though you’ll have less traffic to capture.

Examples of Keywords for Financial Advisors:

You could also target services as a keyword:

 

Financial Advisor Or Financial Planner?


Many advisors aren’t sure if they should use the term “financial advisor” or “financial planner” in their keywords. I recommend using the term “financial advisor” because it gets much more search volume. Here are the daily national search volumes for relevant keywords for professions:

  • Financial Advisor: 60,500
  • Financial Planning: 12,100
  • Financial Planner: 9,900
  • Wealth Management: 9,900
  • Investment Management: 2,900

And here are the search volumes for relevant keywords for services:

  • Retirement Planning: 18,100
  • Estate Planning: 14,800
  • Long-Term Care: 8100
  • College Funding: 480


Make a list of up to three keywords (one profession and two services) you’d like to target and be consistent in your efforts for the most impact. Be sure to only choose one profession keyword to target or you risk diluting your efforts.


 

What’s The Difference Between On-Site and Off-Site SEO?


There are two main types of SEO, on-site SEO and off-site SEO. The first refers to work we do on your website, like making changes to your home page and the content on your website to help people find you. Google relies on the information within your website to determine what your website is about and whether it will return you as a relevant search result.

OffsiteandOnsiteSEO

Off-site SEO refers to work we do away from your website to help your search results, including listing your business with search engines. Search engines give hierarchical importance to the home page and headings on your website. They also look for important information like your title tags and meta descriptions to assess you site’s content.



Join Us for SEO for Financial Advisors (Webinar)

 
 

 


 

How To Improve Your Website’s On-Site SEO


To make an impact on your website’s on-site SEO, you will need to make some changes to the most important areas of your home page and update your tags and descriptions. You may need to enlist the help of your web designer to complete the process.

Update Your Home Page To Include Your Keywords


It may sounds obvious, but most advisors do not capture their keywords on their homepage. Google gives preferential treatment to the content at the top of your homepage, so you’ll want to make sure it’s accurate and includes your keywords.

Make sure you include the following: NAME OF YOUR CITY + KEYWORDS

Here are some examples:

  • Fee-Only Financial Advisor in San Diego, California
  • Retirement Planning in Roswell, Georgia
  • Financial Planning for Business Owners in Newark, New Jersey

 

Check To Make Sure Your Website Is Mobile Responsive


Google will penalize your site if it is not mobile responsive, so it’s critical that you double check your site. Go to responsivedesignchecker.com to find out now.

Updating Your Title Tags


After your homepage, your title tags are the most important place to put your keywords. They’re the words that show up at the top of your browser and in search results.

Update your title tags via your website editor or ask your website developer to include your keywords in your title tags. To get step-by-step directions for updating your site, register for this free SEO webinar now.

Each page of your site should have a different title tag that includes your targeted keywords and the main services you offer.

Here are some examples of good title tags:

Homepage: Independent Financial Advisor Serving Teachers in South Texas

Retirement Planning Page: Retirement Planning for Teachers in South Texas

Optimizing Your Meta Descriptions

The last step of on-site SEO is to optimize your meta descriptions, the short description that displays below your title tags within search results. This area is what searchers use to decide whether they’re going to click on your site, so it’s critically important.

Meta Description

Perfect meta descriptions should be:

  • Less than 320 characters
  • Unique for each page
  • Include a Description of the Page
  • Feature Your keywords
  • Include a Call to action!


Update your homepage and at least your top 5 most visited pages. Here is an example of a great meta description:

As an independent financial advisor in Austin, Texas, I specialist in retirement planning. Sign up now for your free retirement readiness review!

 

 


 

How To Improve Your Website’s Off-Site SEO


If you’ve completed the steps to improve your website’s on-site SEO, that’s half the battle. The next step has to do with the local search ecosystem and your local listings.

What Google Business Profile Means For Your SEO

Watch this short video to find out why Google Business Profile is the most underrated tool that financial advisors have for SEO.

What Google Business Profile Means for Your SEO

 



By claiming your Google Business Profile Page, you’ll appear on the right hand side of search results for your firm, along with your logo, photos, business hours, phone number, and more. In their never ending quest to own as much of the Internet as possible, Google incentivizes businesses to register with Google Business Profile by giving preferential SEO treatment to firms who have claimed their page.

SEO for Financial Advisors Google Business Profile Listing

Your Google Maps Listing


Your Google Maps listing is verified via U.S. Mail through your Google Business Profile Page. Once verified, it will display your firm on a map via a Google search and also when someone searches for you using the Google Map app on their phone. In addition to giving your site SEO “credit,” this can make it easy for clients and prospects to get directions to your office.

Get Your Free SEO Audit Report

How To Learn More


Most advisors stick their head in the sand when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), so I applaud you for reading this far. If you’d like to learn more about how to harness the power of SEO, join me for a free webinar today.

In this 30-minute video presentation, we’ll review:

  • What is SEO and why does it matter for advisors?
  • Demystifying how SEO really works
  • How can you tell if your website needs help?
  • 11 steps you can do today to get more traffic
  • Your guide to do it yourself for free!
  • Your free SEO Audit Report


Space is limited, so join us now to qualify for the free offer to save $100 on your SEO or download your checklist to do your own SEO for free!
Join Us for SEO for Financial Advisors (Webinar)

 

SEO For Financial Advisors: Where to get help?


If you’re looking for help with your website’s SEO, we have a package designed to take care of the most important SEO work for a one-time fee of $975. You can save $100 if you act now by clicking this link.
Save $100 on Your SEO Package Now

What’s Included In Our SEO Package?


We’ve identified the most important updates to make both on-site and off-site to help you rank for specific local keywords. By making the most impactful changes to your site, we are able to deliver maximum impact for a single one-time fee, instead of charging high monthly fees like many SEO companies.

Our 10-step process for SEO for financial advisors includes:

  1. Google Business Profile Listing optimization
  2. Optimizing photos with geolocation to include with GBP and Bing
  3. Connecting Google Search Console and submit sitemaps to check for errors and facilitate crawling
  4. Conducting research on relevant keywords
  5. Website title optimization and meta-description optimization
  6. Optimizing homepage copy to leverage SEO best practices for target keywords
  7. Optimizing copy for two selected services keywords
  8. Integrating Google Maps into your site
  9. Adding local citations
  10. Adding Schema Markup to optimize your site for local searches

 

What To Expect


The work included in our SEO Package takes about 30 days to complete. We’ll watch the results happen in real time when the work is complete, we’ll deliver a report showcasing the work that’s been done and your updated online presence.

As Google indexes the citations we’ve built for your site, you’ll begin to see an increase in organic search traffic to your website. We expect to see at least a 20% increase in local search traffic within 45 days. Most of our clients receive new leads from their website within 2-3 months as a result of the SEO Package. The increased website traffic will increase over time into the future, without any additional costs. Get started and save $100 now!

Katie Cress Digital Marketing Consultant, Sales & Client Strategist
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If you have questions about your marketing, call us for a FREE strategy session where we’ll go over:

Joshua Yanson

Web Developer
Negros Occidental, Philippines

Joshua spends his days developing client websites, implementing automations, and troubleshooting website issues. He enjoys the challenge of working with websites while simultaneously learning new tips and tricks to optimize them for maximum efficiency.

Originally from Pulupandan, Negros Occidental, Philippines, Joshua holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, and in his free time enjoys playing computer games and watching anime and movies.

Indgio Team Member Dan Corcoran

Dan Corcoran

Account Manager
Madison, Wisconsin

Dan Corcoran enjoys being on the front lines of financial advisor marketing, working directly with advisors to help them build a strong marketing plan to get their firm’s message out. Working remotely can be a challenge as talking to others, brainstorming, and sharing experiences recharges him; he maximizes touchpoints to connect with others to make every day at Indigo rewarding.

Dan holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He enjoys drone photography and videography (he owns his own drone business, Forward Focus Photography), sports broadcasting (he was a hockey broadcaster for four years prior to COVID), spending time with family, camping/hiking, running, swimming, and road biking.

Originally from Sun Prairie, WI, Dan has three siblings, and prior to joining Indigo’s team, he worked for an RIA in Madison for two years.

Hugo Fernandez CEO of Indigo Marketing

Hugo Fernandez

CEO
Whispering Pines, North Carolina

Leading the Indigo team with heart, Hugo Fernandez is passionate about helping our financial advisors attract a flood of their A+ clients with sustainable marketing campaigns. He enjoys running companies that are wildly successful and wearing a black t-shirt every day of his life. When his two favorite things come together, you have an average day at Indigo.

Hugo Fernandez is also CEO of Indigo’s partner company, Just Digital, and author of The Client Acquisition Blueprint. He has personally helped hundreds of entrepreneurs grow their business through his proven blueprint for creating an EPIC marketing strategy and online presence.

Kelli McLeod Director of Client Services

Kelli McLeod

Director of Client Services
Colorado Springs, Colorado

Kelli McLeod plays an integral role at Indigo while overseeing the Account Services Team, providing customer service, getting financial advisors onboarded and in serving as their primary point of contact during that process. Her team looks to her for her leadership and decision-making abilities For Kelli, the most rewarding part of this role is working with clients one-on-one to ensure they’re happy and that their needs are met.

Kelli has a bachelor’s degree in communications and public relations from Pacific Lutheran University. More recently, she’s done extensive work in the corporate housing and property management industries.

Kelli currently lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with her husband, Ian, who is an officer in the U.S. Army, and their two sons, Zachary and Cameron. When she’s not working, you can find her running or hiking, attending group fitness classes, and cooking. Kelli’s also an avid book club enthusiast, so be sure to reach out to her if you’re looking for a new read.

Sara Dressler

Director of Operations

DuPont, Washington

Sara Dressler manages all systems and operating processes while overseeing several departments. Sara is responsible for supervising many activities within Indigo and identifying areas of improvement to better meet company goals. She functions as the bridge connecting management to every department.

Sara has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a minor in communications from Pacific Lutheran University. She leverages this degree, along with her years of experience as a virtual assistant, to keep our company running like a well-oiled machine. Sara is happiest when spending time with her family. Her three young boys and life as a military spouse keep her busy, but she wouldn’t trade it for the world. She lives an active lifestyle and loves working out, getting outside, and watching sports with her family (whether it’s on TV, at her kids’ games, or in the backyard).

Indigo Marketing Team Member Elizabeth Reider Director of Marketing

Elizabeth Reider

Director of Marketing
Clearwater, Florida

Elizabeth Reider is a woman of many talents. She spent 10 years as a Chief Marketing Officer for a top-level independent financial advisor, and since her entry into financial services, she has networked and become friends with many advisors. Elizabeth admires their empathy, knowledge, and passion for their work, and has seen how independent advisors are more than professionals providing investment and planning advice; they are trusted confidants, life coaches, and guides. Over time, they become a part of their clients’ extended family—and she loves coming alongside that. (Check out this video to hear directly from Elizabeth about why she loves working with financial advisors.)

As Director of Marketing, Elizabeth helps get the word out about how partnering with Indigo can take an advisor’s marketing to the next level and beyond to grow their business and increase their productivity.

Elizabeth earned her bachelor’s degree in management information systems from the University of South Florida Muma College of Business. She also holds a life, health, and variable annuity license, which gives her a special understanding of the many products and services advisors offer. Originally from Clearwater, FL, Elizabeth loves to travel and has visited 12 countries, including extended visits to eSwatini, Africa, to visit family and assist with humanitarian relief programs. She has seen firsthand how independent financial advisors are providing advice to their clients that outpours into the lives of their own families, staff, community, and sometimes across the globe. When she’s not working, Elizabeth enjoys attending orchestral and theater productions with her husband, David, and taking their son, Julian, to art museums, as well as family evenings in the backyard playing baseball with her son and shih-tzu poodle, Wrigley. She is also an active participant in overseas humanitarian work—using her skills to make a difference in the lives of others.

Indigo Marketing Team Member Katie Cress

Katie Cress

Digital Marketing Consultant, Sales & Client Strategist
Cincinnati, Ohio

It’s Katie Cress’s mission to help financial advisors reach their ideal prospects through custom digital marketing. On any given day, you can find Katie meeting with new financial advisors to learn more about their marketing goals, who they love working with, and why they’re passionate about helping others. Her favorite part of her job is meeting new advisors every day and continuing to learn how each firm and individual advisor is different, and using her marketing and small business background to help them craft a game plan that empowers them to grow their business and enhance their services. Often described by loved ones as a “helper” and “caretaker,” Katie is passionate about advocating for her advisors’ needs and supporting her coworkers to help them succeed.

Katie holds an MBA from Xavier University and a BA in Economics from Ohio University. A Midwest girl for life, she lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband, Brandon (who’s also a marketing guru), and their three kids, Charli, Lucy, and Teddy. She and her husband also own Clean Eatz Cafe, where they use their collective marketing prowess and love of food to create a welcoming space for employees and hungry customers alike. Katie is passionate about and for small business owners, being raised by her father who was an entrepreneur, being one herself with her husband, and working with them every day at Indigo. She loves the spirit, creativity, and drive of entrepreneurs. When Katie’s not working or helping run the family business, she enjoys working out with her husband at Orange Theory, loving on her three kids, and cooking delicious food.

Indigo Marketing Team Member Lori Koepke

Lori Koepke

Account Manager
Boise, Idaho

Lori Koepke plays a major role as a liaison between Indigo Marketing Agency and its wonderful clients. She works directly with our advisor clients on their marketing strategies, marketing calendars, article creation, editing processes, compliance approvals, deployment of their content, and more. Lori enjoys helping strategize and be a support to her clients, and loves the camaraderie among the Indigo team members.

Before joining the Indigo team, Lori was a schoolteacher for 10 years. She has a Master of Education and Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Concordia University in Portland, OR. She was born and raised in Vancouver, B.C., and lived in Vancouver, WA, for 25 years before moving to Boise, Idaho, where she currently resides with her husband, Jeremy, and four wonderful kids, Sophie, Tanner, Jonas, and Violet. In her free time, you can find Lori reading, watching football, and driving her kids to all their activities.

Watch this video to hear why Lori loves working with Indigo.

Indigo Marketing Team Member Heidi Wilson

Heidi Wilson

Account Manager

Alexandria, Virginia

Heidi Wilson thrives on helping advisors create an online voice and streamline their marketing efforts. With her mother being a retired financial advisor and her brother-in-law currently a CFP® professional, she’s passionate about taking the marketing pressure off of advisors so they are able to focus on their clients. She loves when advisors tell her something we did for them helped; it can be as simple as taking something off their very busy plate or helping them land a new client with one of the articles we wrote. With broad-based consumer and B2B marketing experience, Heidi is constantly thinking outside the box and brings a fresh perspective to the Indigo team.

Heidi holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Florida State University and hails from Tampa, Florida. Her husband, Chris, is in the U.S. Army, and as they are constantly moving, they take every opportunity to explore the new areas where they’re living. Some of their favorite places they’ve called home include Hawaii and New Orleans. Heidi is thankful for the opportunity to work remotely with Indigo, which allows her to take her job with her, no matter where the Army moves her family next.

Watch this video to hear why Heidi loves working with Indigo.

Indigo Marketing Team Member Jillian Segrue

Jillian Segrue

Account Manager
Columbus, Georgia

Jillian Segrue acts as a liaison between clients and the Indigo team, using her 12 years of customer service experience in fields such as healthcare, financial services, and risk management to help hone their message and deploy it effectively and efficiently. Jillian enjoys building unique relationships with each of her clients as she uniquely helps them reach their ideal target audience.

Jillian has a bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration and a minor in business administration from SUNY Brockport. Originally from Rochester, NY, she currently lives in Columbus, GA, with her husband, Tim (an Army captain), daughter, Macie, son, Henry, and two cats. As a military spouse, Jillian appreciates the flexibility Indigo provides—allowing her to juggle motherhood and excelling in her career—and its unmatched positive, supportive, and uplifting company culture. In her free time, Jillian loves to read, shop, and go running outdoors (just not in the Georgia heat!).

Indigo Marketing Team Member Amanda Laskey

Amanda Laskey

Account Manager
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Amanda Laskey works with clients one-on-one to develop and implement marketing strategies that help spread the word about who they are and how they help. In her role, Amanda strives to deliver outstanding customer service to our clients. She is tech-savvy, an independent problem-solver, extremely organized, an excellent communicator, and thrives on helping others. She appreciates the ability to work remotely in a collaborative team environment while supporting her family.

Amanda holds a Bachelor of Arts in Education and a Master of Arts in Inclusive Education from Seton Hill University and has over 10 years of experience in secondary classroom teaching and over 3 years as an Executive Assistant. A proud Army spouse, Amanda resides in Pittsburgh, PA, with her husband, Brandon, their two sons, Jackson and Harrison, and their sheepadoodle, Waylon, and goldendoodle, Cash. Outside of work, Amanda enjoys spending time with her family, relaxing at the beach, traveling to new places, dessert, and all things Disney.

Indigo Marketing Team Member Beverly Anderson

Beverly Anderson

Account Manager
Portland, Oregon

Beverly Anderson is the go-to contact point for advisors to create a targeted and cohesive marketing strategy that is unique to their specific goals. She loves seeing her clients experience positive results from their marketing efforts, and as a world traveler, she appreciates the ability to work remotely and connect with clients from any country.

Beverly holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Oregon State University. In addition to traveling, she enjoys making music as a singer/songwriter and anything outdoors (she’s an avid snowboarder and rock climber). She and her partner have a rescue pup, Toro, a former street dog in Cabo, Mexico, before they adopted him. Beverly has three older sisters, with whom she is very close, and they all, along with her mother, live in the Portland area. Although she spent the first half of her childhood in Fountain Hills, Arizona, Beverly considers Portland to be home.

Watch this video to hear why Beverly loves working with Indigo.

Indigo Marketing Team Member Kasey Yhap

Kasey Yhap

Account Manager
Ellicott City, MD

Kasey Yhap’s commitment to her clients is the driving force behind her work. Her diverse educational background (a bachelor’s and master’s degree in vocal performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Music and a master’s degree in communications from Syracuse University) has equipped her with the unique skill set required for success. Kasey’s strong communication skills and creative mindset, combined with her passion for helping her clients, make her a valuable asset to the team.

In her free time, Kasey stays active and maintains a healthy lifestyle through yoga, CrossFit, and spending time outdoors. These hobbies complement her professional life by allowing her to recharge and bring new ideas to her work at Indigo.

Indigo Marketing Team Member Lisa Gaines

Lisa Gaines

Content Deployment Manager
Fort Hood, Texas

Lisa Gaines spends her work days uploading blog posts to our clients’ websites and LinkedIn profiles, drafting emails, and making adjustments to content as advisors request. Lisa has learned a lot as a long-time member of the Indigo family and has enjoyed seeing the processes evolve to become more streamlined and efficient over time. And she loves working with the amazing Indigo team! 

Lisa is a proud alum of Texas A&M University, where she received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance. As a military child, Lisa feels as though she grew up everywhere; however, she claims central Texas as home where most of her family is originally from. She currently lives in Fort Hood, Texas, with her husband, Korey (an active-duty Army officer), and two kids, Madelyne and Jameson. As a military family, Lisa moves quite a bit—often to areas where the job market is small. She loves that Indigo provides her with a steady job she can take with her wherever she goes. When she’s not working, Lisa enjoys dabbling in interior design, binging a good Netflix series, and spending time with friends and family.

Read more about why Lisa loves working with Indigo.

Indigo Marketing Team Member Anne Wheeler

Anne Wheeler

Marketing Assistant
Cincinnati, Ohio

Anne Wheeler is responsible for a variety of administrative tasks as well as updating social media pages for clients. Anne enjoys the creative side of her position and the ability to collaborate with the team to help advisors get started with Indigo.

Anne holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Tennessee. Outside of work, she enjoys walking, baking, spending time with her husband, Rick (a structural engineer), and two sons, Thomas and Turner. Anne loves being a full-time mom, and appreciates that Indigo gives her the opportunity to work part-time while still caring for her boys.

Melanie Valdez

Account Manager
Vancouver, Washington

With her marketing expertise, Melanie Valdez leaves no stone unturned when helping clients hone their marketing strategy. She loves interacting with clients and brainstorming new ideas to enhance their marketing results. No two days are ever the same, and that’s the way Melanie likes it!

Melanie holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Western Washington University as well as an MBA from Western Governors University. When she’s not rocking her role at Indigo, she enjoys cooking (trying out new recipes every week), painting, and discovering new restaurants with friends. She and her husband, Dat, love to travel and go on walks with their dog, Brutus, a pomeranian-chihuahua whose personality is definitely not proportionate to his small size!

Indigo Marketing Team Member Jennifer Farrior

Jennifer Farrior

Lead Writer & Proofreader
Louisville, Kentucky

Jennifer Farrior is Indigo’s go-to for all things proofreading and editing. Her attention to detail is unmatched, and she takes pride in making sure every article is clean and concise before it heads out to our financial advisors. She says, “Even a single typo can affect an advisor’s credibility, and we strive for perfection when it comes to how they’re presented online.” As Lead Writer, Jennifer trains and manages the team of writers, and also writes and collaborates with team members to create Indigo’s blog posts and promotional material.

Jennifer holds a bachelor’s degree in English from UCLA. In addition to her role at Indigo, she runs her own copy editing and proofreading business, She Proofreads LLC. Jennifer hails from San Diego, California, but now lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with her three kids, Joshua, Julia, and Joel, and goldendoodle, Dexter. She loves working at Indigo because it provides her with the income, flexibility, and the community she needs as a stay-at-home mom. Outside of work, you can find her spending time with her kids, friends, boyfriend, or working on a puzzle while watching Netflix.

Indigo Marketing Team Member Sarah Robichaud

Sarah Robichaud

Social Media Manager
Rochester Hills, Michigan

Sarah Robichaud uses her love of spreadsheets to create engaging content calendars for our clients’ social media pages. Sarah holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Salisbury University and a master’s degree in marriage and family counseling from Liberty University. In addition to her role at Indigo, Sarah volunteers as a virtual administrator for Army Wife Network, a nonprofit organization that aims to empower and educate military spouses through blogs, podcasts, and various other resources.

Born and raised in Maryland, Sarah currently lives in Rochester Hills, Michigan, with her husband, Andrew, two children, Emily and Logan, and two fur babies, Penny and Chewbacca. As a military spouse and mother, Sarah loves working for Indigo because of the flexibility it affords her, allowing her to continue to build her career while frequently relocating around the globe and working on her own schedule to accommodate a busy lifestyle. Sarah also loves Indigo’s supportive team atmosphere. Outside of work and volunteering, you can find Sarah enjoying time outdoors with her family, typically running, camping, or traveling. An avid traveler, she’s visited 16 countries and is always planning her family’s next great adventure.

Peter Wardenaar

Peter Wardenaar

SEO Specialist & IT Lead
Cali, Colombia

As a natural problem-solver, Peter Wardenaar uses his skills to help financial advisors find new ways to grow their site traffic and attract more clients they love. Peter enjoys the dynamic nature of his role; the challenges are never the same as every situation is unique and requires a different approach. But don’t let Peter’s technical prowess fool you—he also has quite the creative side! Before joining the Indigo team, he worked as a first-grade teacher and university English professor in Cali, Colombia.

Peter has bachelor’s degrees in education and in music from Portland Bible College and a master’s degree in music production and technology from Berklee College of Music. In his spare time, he loves writing and recording music, graphic design, engaging with people, and studying leadership and theology. Peter is also one of the most well-traveled people you’ll ever meet! He was born and raised in the Netherlands but lived in the Pacific Northwest for over 12 years. Today, he resides in Cali, Colombia, with his wife, Gloria Isabel, and their three kids, Emanuel, Paloma, and Violet.

Indigo Marketing Team Member Kourtney Kearney

Kourtney Kearney

Tech Support
Antelope, California

Kourtney Kearney is a data-driven woman with a knack for coding. On any typical day, you can find her building web pages, troubleshooting bugs in code, and setting up automations to make life easier for our clients. Thanks to her technical background, Kourtney has a vast understanding of the inner workings of websites and the data associated with them. She’s always on the lookout for new technology that will help us improve our workflows so we can focus on what we do best—helping financial advisors grow their business. Kourtney enjoys the variation of tasks and loves the challenge of taking an existing website and making it better without completely rebuilding it.

Kourtney is originally from Newark, CA (Bay Area), but currently resides in Antelope, a suburb of Sacramento, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Curatorial Studies. Outside of work, Kourtney spends her free time reading, playing volleyball, baking with her two sons, and hanging out with family.

Indigo Marketing Agency Adrian Bachini

Adrian Bachini

Web Developer & Tech Support
Manila, Philippines

Adrian Bachini works on tasks requiring technical knowledge and other various administrative tasks. A software developer by day, prior to joining Indigo, Adrian had very little knowledge on how nontechnical positions operate. His position at Indigo allows him to both learn and experience a variety of platforms and gain more knowledge about how to maximize marketing initiatives.

Adrian holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science with a specialization in software technology from De La Salle University Manila. Adrian considers himself somewhat of a workaholic, with a full-time day job in addition to working with Indigo. When he’s not working, he enjoys watching documentaries, action movies, and anime, and also loves cycling on muddy downhill trails or cross-country rides, playing video games, and simply resting when he can. He is also a licensed commercial pilot and flies in his free time; he obviously also enjoys traveling. Adrian lives with his family and more than a few pets (11 dogs, 6 cats, a few birds, and fish)—he has more pets than humans in his home!

Claire Akin

Claire Akin

Founder
San Diego, California
Claire Akin founded Indigo Marketing Agency with the mission to help financial advisors leverage marketing to grow their businesses. As a former Investment Advisor Representative and proud daughter of an independent advisor, she’s seen first-hand the value advisors bring to their clients and community. Claire transferred ownership of Indigo Marketing Agency to Hugo Fernandez in 2022 to spend more time with her family.
Indigo Marketing Team Member Adriana

Adriana Escalante

Website Project Manager
San Antonio, Texas

Adriana Escalante thrives on creating an online representation that looks and feels true to our financial advisor clients as she builds their websites to best represent them and their businesses. Her experience working on travel and tourism websites motivates her to make sure every site she works on is exciting and engaging to web visitors. A graduate of University of Texas in Austin, Adriana double-majored in International Relations and a Liberal Arts program called Plan II. She also received a certification for front-end development from a coding academy in Austin, which has equipped her to serve as a great liaison between developers and clients.

After living in Austin, TX, for most of her adult life, Adriana now resides in San Antonio, TX (a city with a ton of history and many things to do), with her partner, Russell, and their dog, Abbey. She also has a brother and sister with whom she’s very close and tries to see a few times a year. Most of Adriana’s hobbies revolve around nature. She grew up spending lots of time on a sailboat or at a beach, and her family has a small cabin in Creede, CO, where she spends half the year hiking, camping, skiing, or snowshoeing (depending on the season). When she’s in Texas, she tries to get out most weekends to kayak. A Texas Master Naturalist, Adriana loves learning about all the plants, birds, and animals in her home state. She also dabbles in making stained-glass suncatchers!

Kaitlin Thornal

Marketing Assistant
Fort Moore, Georgia

Kaitlin Thornal helps clients onboard as they begin their marketing journey with Indigo, and she loves meeting new people and learning new things. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication/Public Relations, International Studies, and a minor in French from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as a Master of Arts in Communication and Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University.

Kaitlin was born at Fort Lewis, Washington, but she moved around a lot growing up, spending the most time in North Carolina. She now resides in Fort Moore, Georgia, with her husband, Mason, and their four children, Caroline, Mason, Jack, and Bo. Kaitlin’s favorite place to live has been Europe (Italy, Ireland, and Belgium) and she would go back in a heartbeat! In her spare time, she enjoys long-distance running, reading, and spending time in the mountains of western North Carolina.

Samantha Triglia

Marketing Assistant
Queens, New York

In her integral role, Samantha Triglia schedules social media posts, deploys email campaigns, and updates Google Business Profile pages for clients’ new blog posts. She also assists with lead generation/tracking and other administrative tasks. Helping out wherever she’s needed, Samantha appreciates the opportunities she has to learn and grow in her position. She says, “I love being a part of the team, especially when content deployment involves many moving parts and collaboration to get done and ready to go.”

A former teacher for 14 years, Samantha holds a Bachelor of Arts in Childhood Education from St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York. She also holds a Master of Arts in Middle School Earth Science Education from CUNY Brooklyn College and a Master of Science in Educational Administration and Leadership from the University of Scranton. (Yes, TWO master’s degrees!) While in college, Samantha was the assistant to the Chief Compliance Officer of a brokerage firm on Madison Avenue in New York City for high-net-worth individuals and families, so she’s quite familiar with the types of clients Indigo serves.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Samantha currently lives in Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York (the place the Ramones song is about!), with her husband, Matt (a Navy veteran and currently a New York City Firefighter), and their three sons, Matthew, Thomas, and James. Outside of work, Samantha enjoys spending time with her family riding bikes on their neighborhood boardwalk and going to the beach. They love to travel, including yearly family trips to Hershey, Pennsylvania, and Universal Studios in Florida (they’re big Harry Potter fans!). Samantha also stays active exercising and playing on a women’s softball team and a co-ed beach volleyball team with her husband.

Amanda Bicknese

Marketing Assistant
Colorado Springs, Colorado

Amanda wears a few hats at Indigo, bringing value to the team by creating custom social media posts for advisors, assisting with the onboarding process of new team members, and tackling behind-the-scenes team tasks. She loves to collaborate with our amazing clients and supportive team members.

Born and raised in Fort Myers, Florida, Amanda holds a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from the University of Central Florida and a master’s degree in education from North Carolina State University. She worked as an educator for about a decade before pivoting to a career in writing and marketing. A Space Force military spouse (former army), Amanda and her husband, Michael, are currently located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with their two children, Mikayla and William, and two fur babies (a cat and a dog). When she’s not reading or writing fiction in her spare time, Amanda enjoys hanging out with family, hiking, trying new foods, and traveling.

Adam Spera

Account Manager
Astoria, New York

A marketer at heart, Adam finds satisfaction when consulting, strategizing, and implementing strategies to improve his clients’ business. He specializes in organic and paid social campaigns, as well as email and SEO optimization.

Adam holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Central Florida and a Juris Doctor degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Raised in Boca Raton, Florida, by his mom (an event planner) and dad (a private boat charter captain), Adam currently lives in Astoria, New York, with his wife, Olivia, who works in pet care. When he’s not cooking up killer marketing strategies, he enjoys role-playing games, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and reading non-fiction and philosophy books.

Hugo Fernandez CEO of Indigo Marketing

Hugo Fernandez

CEO
Los Angeles, California

Hugo Fernandez acquired ownership of Indigo Marketing Agency from founder Claire Akin in 2022. Leading the Indigo team with heart, Hugo is passionate about helping our financial advisors attract a flood of their A+ clients with sustainable marketing campaigns. He enjoys running companies that are wildly successful and wearing a black t-shirt every day of his life. When his two favorite things come together, you have an average day at Indigo.

Hugo Fernandez is also CEO of Indigo’s partner company, Just Digital, and author of The Client Acquisition Blueprint. He has personally helped hundreds of entrepreneurs grow their businesses through his proven blueprint for creating an EPIC marketing strategy and online presence.

To get in touch with Hugo, email him or connect with him on LinkedIn.