New analysis from professional advice website unbiased.co.uk highlights that search engine optimisation for IFA businesses can be a complex task. Unbiased.co.uk looked at the 100 most common variables to the search term ‘independent financial advice’ over the last 12 months*, to compile a list of relevant key words that IFAs could use to make the most of their online presence.

The list highlights that while ‘financial advisers’, ‘financial adviser’ and ‘independent financial advisor’ occupied three of the top five search terms (2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively), ‘mortgage advice’ took the actual top place of terms used by consumers looking for independent financial advice online. In addition to the top place, product and needs specific terms such as ‘pensions advice’ (5th), ‘mortgage advisors’ (8th), ‘equity release calculator’ (9th) featured in the top ten key word list.

1. mortgage advice
2. financial advisers
3. financial adviser
4. independent financial advisor
5. pensions advice
6. mortgage advisor
7. independent financial adviser
8. mortgage advisors
9. equity release calculator
10. independent financial advisors
11. pension transfer
12. pension annuity
13. equity release mortgage
14. independent financial advice
15. mortgage adviser
16. independent financial advisers
17. advice uk
18. mortgage advisers
19. find an ifa
20. independent mortgage advice

Karen Barrett, Chief Executive of unbiased.co.uk says: “Those IFAs who have embraced the online high street and have a fully-functional website are now trying to uncover new ways of reaching existing and potential customers. Search engine optimisation is something that the financial services industry in general has been embracing for several years now, spearheaded by general insurance providers and price comparison sites. Some IFAs are already using natural and paid for SEO techniques to ensure their online presence is maximized but there are still many who are lagging behind and simply don’t know where to start.”

Unbiased.co.uk’s tips on SEOing your business website:
1. Keep content fresh, by consistently adding a blog post, feature or new topic to your site
2. Make every page unique – ensuring the content isn’t duplicated across pages and that the title tags vary
3. Use a SEO friendly content management system (WordPress for instance can be used for a customised SEO friendly build)
4. Be active in the online world, for instance by using social media sites such as Twitter or LinkedIn
5. Make sure your site is index-able by search engines (so watch out for common blocks such as flash content or javascript menus)

Karen Barrett continues:
“It is important to understand that what the industry considers as the most relevant terms and phrases to use, may not match what the consumer goes out and looks for. Our analysis clearly shows that optimising your website and content for consumer friendly and also product specific search terms can be more effective than simply going for ‘independent financial advice’. The online world is fast moving and IFAs risk missing out on vital business by not understanding the consumer’s online search behaviour.”