Mastering SEO for Financial Planners: A Step-by-Step Guide
June 9, 2025
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5
min read
Know Google’s standards
The truth is, SEO for financial planners is held to a higher bar by Google because it affects people’s well-being. This is what they call YMYL (Your Money, Your Life). Google expects you to show solid Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T). In other words, if your site doesn’t come across as credible, good luck getting anywhere in organic search.
To address these standards, strive for:
Detailed author bios showing your qualifications
Transparent sources and references, especially for sensitive or technical material
Secure website connections (HTTPS)
Professional design and usability
Implementing these steps helps build trust with search engines and, more importantly, potential clients.
Optimize for local search
Financial planners thrive on local clientele. After all, nobody wants a long-distance relationship for something as personal as money management. Prioritizing local SEO means ensuring you pop up prominently when folks in your neighborhood search for “financial planner near me” or “financial advisor in [city].”
Key actions might include:
Claiming and optimizing your Google Business profile
Consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) data across all platforms
Gathering genuine client reviews on Google and industry sites
Embedding location-specific keywords in your content
One study found that 98% of consumers search online for local businesses (Indigo Marketing Agency), so ignoring this step is basically telling potential clients, “I’m not too keen on meeting you.” If you want more details, check out local seo for financial advisors.
Select relevant keywords
Don’t get me wrong, simply sprinkling random phrases like “finance guru in Tulsa” won’t magically improve your rankings. Effective keyword research digs deeper into what your leads truly search for. For instance, “retirement planning in Boise” or “tax optimization strategies in Austin” can pinpoint those high-intent visitors more precisely than generic terms like “investment.”
To unearth reliable keywords:
Use tools such as Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or SEMrush
Check the “People Also Ask” box on Google (SJ Digital Solutions) to find real user questions
Identify long-tail keywords that match nuanced client needs
Once you’ve settled on them, sprinkle these terms naturally into your service pages, blog posts, and meta tags. If you want even more ideas, you may find search engine optimization tips for financial advisors helpful.
Create valuable content
The real secret to winning in search results is producing content that addresses your audience’s worries and questions. And yes, “just produce valuable content and the links will come” might sound like a pipe dream, but don’t dismiss it altogether. High-quality articles, case studies, and explainers can lead to shares and backlinks in the long run — it just takes careful planning.
Consider writing about:
Retirement pitfalls for certain professions
Detailed breakdowns of lesser-known tax benefits
Budgeting tool comparisons
Step-by-step guides on financial planning strategies
Deep dive into tangible advice, real-life examples, or personal anecdotes. Remember, clients trust an advisor who sounds like a relatable human, not a marketing drone. If you’re looking for more direction, you might also find seo tools for financial advisors useful to fine-tune your content strategy.
Strengthen your backlink profile
It’s cool and all to have stellar on-page optimization, but not that useful if no one links to your site. Backlinks remain a crucial factor in Google’s ranking algorithm. Websites in the top search positions typically have 3.8 times more backlinks than lower-ranking sites (Indigo Marketing Agency). The message is loud and clear: you need quality inbound links to look authoritative.
How do you get them?
Pitch a guest post to reputable finance blogs
Give expert commentary on aggregator sites looking for financial insights
Sponsor local community events and ask for a mention on their webpages
Network with allied professionals (like realtors or attorneys) who can vouch for your expertise
If you’re hungry for more specifics, check out backlinks for financial advisors. Again, remember that “quality” usually trumps “quantity.” A handful of links from respected industry sites beats twenty from low-authority directories.
Track your performance metrics
Without tracking, you’re guessing. And that’s a risky game in finance. Set up tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to watch your total clicks, referring domains, and overall organic traffic. Google’s Core Web Vitals also influence rankings significantly, so make sure your site loads quickly and runs smoothly (Backlinko).
Metrics to monitor:
Total clicks: Shows how many people found you via organic search
Referring domains: The number of unique sites linking to you
Organic traffic: The volume of visitors arriving from search engines
Page speed: A core factor in user experience and search rankings
Keeping an eye on these metrics helps you spot issues and quickly adapt your strategy. That familiar mix of awe and unease you feel when confronting these numbers is perfectly normal — just treat them as valuable feedback to refine your SEO plans.
Keep going and refine
Don’t let the final step fool you: SEO isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it trick. It’s an ongoing process that involves revisiting your keyword strategy, updating your content, and chasing the right backlinks. Regularly audit your site’s performance, make adjustments, and stay open to experimentation. Financial planning is a living, breathing field; your SEO approach should be, too.
If you’re ready to dive deeper, seo audit for financial advisors is a handy place to start. Ultimately, if you keep learning, adapt your tactics, and stay genuine, you’ll be well on your way to dominating both local and broader searches. Good luck out there.
Your website isn’t just a digital business card. It’s your SEO engine. And if you build it with the wrong structure? Good luck getting anywhere.
The truth is, most small business sites fail not because they lack backlinks or content. They fail because no one planned the site structure. No roadmap. No scalable strategy. Just a homepage, a few vague service pages, and a contact form. Sound familiar?
Let’s change that.
In this guide, we’ll break down how to build an SEO-friendly website structure that actually ranks, scales, and converts. Plus, you’ll see how one AI Ranking member used this strategy to generate over 1,100 location pages and 99+ organic leads, per month. All without paid ads.
Why Website Structure Matters for SEO
Website structure impacts everything from crawlability to conversions. It determines how easily search engines can crawl and index your content, how logically your pages are grouped, and how well your site flows for both users and bots. A poor structure confuses search engines and frustrates users, while a great one increases visibility, rankings, and engagement.
Google ranks pages, not websites, and those pages need to clearly answer search intent.
A well-structured website improves crawl efficiency and internal link flow.
Good structure enhances user experience and helps reduce bounce rates.
It allows you to scale content easily and build topical authority.
How to Plan Website Structure for Better SEO
Start by thinking of your website like a tree, one trunk, multiple branches.
The trunk is your homepage.
Main branches are your core categories (Services, Locations, Blog).
Sub-branches are individual service or location pages.
Every page should have a clear purpose and intent.
Use tools or a sitemap generator to sketch this out in advance.
Create scalable URL paths that reflect this structure.
Does Website Structure Affect SEO?
Yes. The structure of your website plays a foundational role in how search engines understand, prioritize, and rank your content. A smart structure not only boosts your indexation and keyword visibility, but also sets the stage for strong internal linking and better user experience.
Poor structure creates competition between your own pages.
Crawlers struggle to find or prioritize your important content.
Clean structure allows better internal linking and content flow.
Helps distribute page authority more strategically.
The Two Proven Approaches for Local Business Websites
There are two reliable ways to structure local business websites, and your choice depends on your business model.
1. The Hyper-Localized Approach
Create a structure where each location has its own page with dedicated services underneath.
Location hub ("Areas We Serve")
Subpages for each location
Individual pages for each service within that location
2. The Services-First Approach
Start with your services, then add location content as needed.
Core services page with dedicated subpages
Optional location content linked from each service page
Key rule: Create one page per service per location.
If you want a birds eye view of an example of both types of structures you can take a look at this preview of a hyper-localised and hyper efficient approach to website structure.
SEO Friendly URL Structure for a Website
Keep URLs clear, consistent, and keyword-rich. A well-planned URL structure makes it easier for search engines to understand your site architecture, match pages with specific search queries, and surface the right content to the right audience. It also improves click-through rates by making links more readable and relevant.
Use short, descriptive slugs.
Include both the service and location when needed.
Avoid parameters or meaningless numbers.
Examples:
Bad: /services
Better: /services/pool-construction
Best: /long-island/pool-construction
Pick a format and stick to it sitewide:
/location/service-name /service-name/location
What Is SEO Hierarchy Structure?
SEO hierarchy is how your pages are logically grouped, prioritized, and interlinked to show both users and search engines what matters most. It creates a blueprint for relevance, flow, and discoverability across your site.
Homepage is at the top.
Then come category pages like Services or Locations.
Under those are specific service/location pages.
Reinforce this structure with internal linking.
Example hierarchy:
Homepage
Services
Pool Construction
Spa Renovation
Locations
Long Island
Pool Construction in Long Island
Spa Maintenance in Long Island
Real Example: 1,100+ Local Pages and 99+ Leads per Month
Steven B. Marks used this strategy to generate over 1,100 service-location pages. Because he had the correct structure from the beginning, with clear, scalable URL paths and dedicated pages for every service in every city, he avoided issues like content overlap, cannibalization, or crawl confusion. This allowed him to scale quickly and effectively without triggering penalties from Google or needing to rework the foundation later on.
Used AI to build and index city-specific service pages.
Followed a repeatable, structured layout across the site.
Booked 99+ appointments in January alone without running ads.
Your website structure is the foundation of your SEO strategy.
Start with a scalable, logical plan.
Use tools and prompts to speed up the process.
Focus on building authority around services and locations.
If you're looking for ongoing support and a community of like-minded small business owners who are trying to rank their websites number one in AI overviews, GPTsearch, and perplexity, you should consider joining our community AI Ranking. We help, support, and teach you the easiest way to rank your website in this day and age of AI overviews.
Don't get me wrong, ChatGPT is incredible at brainstorming. It can generate endless keyword ideas, cluster them, rephrase long-tails, and even help you structure content.
But here’s the problem: ChatGPT (or any AI model, really) doesn’t have built-in access to search volume, keyword difficulty, trends, or real-time competition data. Which means all those keyword suggestions it gives you? They’re educated guesses at best.
Great for ideation. Not so great for strategy.
That’s where most SEO beginners fall into the trap—assuming GPT has the data when it’s really just freeballing it.
What You Really Need for Keyword Research
To make smart SEO decisions, you need three things:
Search Volume – How many people are actually searching for the keyword?
Keyword Difficulty – How competitive is it to rank?
Search Intent & SERP Data – What’s already ranking and why?
So what’s the fix? We connect ChatGPT to a real SEO database. Specifically: DataForSEO.
Tools You’ll Need
This method uses three things:
✅ A paid ChatGPT account (so you can build custom GPTs)
✅ A free GitHub JSON schema (to add real SEO actions)
✅ A DataForSEO API account (with free credit!)
We’ll also show you how to encode your login using a Base64 encoder to safely pass your credentials.
Once connected, ChatGPT can:
Pull keyword ideas with search volume and difficulty
Check rankings and URLs in the SERP
Track keyword trends over time
No more guessing. Just pure, data-backed keyword research—inside GPT.
Step-by-Step: Turn ChatGPT into a Real-Time SEO Tool
Done! Your GPT is now securely connected to DataForSEO.
(Optional) Step 5: Improve the System Prompt
The better your system prompt, the better your results.
Want ChatGPT to act like a full-service SEO analyst? Use Prompt Cowboy to write a pro-level system prompt for your custom GPT.
Here’s a basic example:
"You are an expert keyword researcher with access to real-time SEO data via DataForSEO. Your goal is to generate keyword clusters, identify low-competition opportunities, and suggest content strategies based on user search intent. You can perform SERP analysis, calculate keyword difficulty, and recommend internal linking strategies."
How to Use Your New Keyword Research GPT
Let’s say you run a local landscaping business in Austin, Texas. You could now ask:
"Find 20 low-difficulty, high-volume keywords related to lawn care or landscaping in Austin. Prioritize local intent."
Your custom GPT will:
Search live SEO data
Filter keywords based on volume and difficulty
Return a formatted list ready for your blog, services, or FAQ pages
Want to go deeper?
Ask for a SERP comparison of 2 keywords
Run a gap analysis between your site and competitors
Cluster keywords into topic silos for future blog posts
Bonus: Validate Ideas with AI Ranking’s Free Keyword Tool
Even if you’re not ready to build your own GPT, you can use the Free SEO Keyword Research Tool to validate keyword ideas and volume.
It’s a lightweight, zero-code way to dip your toes into smarter keyword strategy.
Final Thoughts: This Changes the Game
If you’re serious about ranking with SEO but don’t want to burn cash on multiple tools, this setup is a total game-changer.
You now have:
Real-time data inside ChatGPT
Instant access to keyword metrics
A reusable, repeatable SEO workflow
The best part? It’s built your way—with your audience, your industry, and your goals in mind.
👉 Want more?
Get access to more custom GPTs with real-time access to real SEO data inside our community.
We’re building and sharing powerful GPT tools like this every week, plus walkthroughs, prompts, and automations you can copy/paste into your business.
How to Connect Claude to SEO Data: Your Complete Guide to AI-Powered SEO Analysis
Let me tell you something that's about to change how you approach SEO forever.
You know that familiar mix of excitement and frustration when you're trying to analyze your website's performance? One minute you're diving into Google Search Console, the next you're wrestling with keyword research tools, then bouncing between backlink analyzers and rank trackers. It's exhausting, expensive, and honestly... there's got to be a better way.
Well, the truth is, there finally is.
Claude, yes, that AI assistant you've probably been chatting with, can now connect directly to DataForSEO's massive database through something called the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
What does this mean for you?
It means you can now ask Claude questions like "What are my top ranking keywords?" or "Show me my competitor's backlink strategy" and get real, actionable SEO data in seconds.
No more jumping between fifteen different tools. No more trying to piece together insights from scattered data sources. Just you, Claude, and every piece of SEO data you could ever need, all wrapped up in a conversation that actually makes sense.
What Exactly is DataForSEO MCP and Why Should You Care?
The Model Context Protocol is basically the bridge that connects Claude to external data sources, think of it as giving Claude superpowers to access real-time SEO information. DataForSEO, for those who haven't heard of them, is one of the most comprehensive SEO data providers on the planet. They're the folks behind the APIs that power many of the SEO tools you're already using.
But here's the thing that gets me excited: instead of learning yet another complicated SEO platform interface, you can now just... talk to your data. Want to know how your website's performing for local searches? Ask Claude. Curious about what keywords your competitors are ranking for? Claude's got you covered. Need a quick backlink analysis? You know the drill.
The beauty of this setup is that it democratizes SEO analysis. You don't need to be a data scientist or spend hours learning complex software interfaces. You just need to know how to ask good questions, and let's be honest, if you're running a small business, you probably already know what questions you want answered.
Setting Up Claude for SEO: The Step-by-Step Guide
Alright, let's get into the nitty-gritty. Setting up this connection is surprisingly straightforward, but I'll walk you through each step so you don't get stuck anywhere.
Step 1: Get Your DataForSEO API Credentials
First things first, you'll need a DataForSEO account. Head over to their website and sign up. They offer pay-as-you-go pricing, which is perfect for small businesses because you're only paying for the data you actually use. No monthly subscriptions for features you'll never touch.
Once you're signed up, grab your API login and password from your dashboard. Keep these handy, you'll need them in a minute.
Step 2: Install the Prerequisites
You'll need Node.js installed on your computer. Don't worry, it's not as technical as it sounds. Just go to nodejs.org, download the installer for your operating system, and run it. This gives Claude the ability to connect to external services.
To check if you have Node installed, open your command line (Terminal on Mac, Command Prompt on Windows) and type:
node --version
If you see a version number, you're good to go.
Step 3: Connect Claude Desktop to DataForSEO
Here's where the magic happens. You need to configure Claude Desktop to recognize the DataForSEO MCP server. Open Claude Desktop, go to Settings, then click on "Developer" and select "Edit Config."
Replace "your_username_here" and "your_password_here" with your actual DataForSEO credentials. Save the file and restart Claude Desktop.
Step 4: Test the Connection
Once Claude restarts, you should see a small icon in the bottom left of your chat input box. This indicates that MCP servers are connected and ready to go. Try asking Claude something like:
"Can you check what keywords my website ranks for?"
If everything's set up correctly, Claude will use the DataForSEO connection to fetch real data about your site's performance.
Practical SEO Tasks You Can Now Handle with Claude
Now that you're connected, let's talk about what you can actually do with this setup. The truth is, the possibilities are pretty much endless, but here are some of the most useful tasks for small business owners:
Keyword Research Made Conversational
Instead of staring at spreadsheets full of keyword data, you can now have actual conversations about your keyword strategy. Ask Claude things like:
"What are some high-volume, low-competition keywords related to my business?"
"How does my keyword performance compare to last month?"
"Show me long-tail keywords that I should be targeting"
Claude will pull real search volume data, competition metrics, and trend information, then present it in a way that actually makes sense for your business goals.
Competitor Analysis Without the Headache
Competitor research used to mean bouncing between multiple tools and trying to piece together a coherent picture. Now you can simply ask:
"What keywords is [competitor domain] ranking for that I'm not?"
"Show me the backlink profile of my main competitor"
"Which of my competitors has the strongest local SEO presence?"
Claude will gather the data and present insights that you can actually act on, not just overwhelming spreadsheets of information.
Site Health and Technical SEO Monitoring
For small business owners, technical SEO can feel like speaking a foreign language. But now you can ask Claude to explain complex issues in plain English:
"What technical SEO issues should I prioritize on my website?"
"How is my site performing in terms of page speed and user experience?"
"Are there any crawling or indexing issues I should know about?"
The best part? Claude doesn't just identify problems, it explains what they mean for your business and suggests practical solutions.
Local SEO Intelligence
If you're running a local business, this integration is particularly powerful for local SEO tasks:
"How am I ranking for local keywords in my area?"
"What local directories should I be listed in?"
"Show me local competitors who are outranking me and why"
The Economics of AI-Powered SEO
Let me break down why this matters from a cost perspective, because I know that's probably on your mind.
Traditional SEO setups often require multiple tool subscriptions. You might be paying for Ahrefs ($99/month), SEMrush ($119/month), Screaming Frog ($185/year), and maybe a local SEO tool on top of that. Before you know it, you're spending $300+ per month just on SEO tools.
With the Claude + DataForSEO setup, you're looking at:
Claude subscription (if you don't already have one)
DataForSEO API usage (pay-as-you-go, typically $20-50/ ever 3 month for small businesses)
That's it. One interface, one conversation, access to the same data that powers those expensive enterprise tools.
Don't get me wrong, dedicated SEO platforms have their place, especially for large agencies managing hundreds of clients. But for small business owners who just want to understand and improve their SEO performance? This approach is both more affordable and more intuitive.
Advanced Capabilities That'll Blow Your Mind
Once you get comfortable with basic queries, you can start exploring some of the more advanced capabilities that make this integration truly powerful.
Automated Reporting and Analysis
You can ask Claude to generate comprehensive SEO reports by combining data from multiple sources:
"Create a monthly SEO performance report for my website, including keyword rankings, backlink growth, and competitor comparison."
Claude will pull all the relevant data, analyze trends, and present everything in a format that's actually useful for making business decisions.
Predictive SEO Insights
By analyzing historical data patterns, Claude can help you identify opportunities and potential issues before they become problems:
"Based on my current keyword trends, what should I focus on for the next quarter?"
Content Strategy Development
Perhaps most importantly for small business owners, you can use this setup to inform your content strategy:
"What topics should I be writing about based on keyword opportunities in my industry?"
Claude can analyze search trends, competition levels, and your current content gaps to suggest specific topics that could drive traffic to your site.
Integration with Your Existing SEO Workflow
The beauty of this approach is that it doesn't replace your existing tools, it makes them more powerful. You can still use Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and other free tools for day-to-day monitoring. But when you need deeper insights or want to understand the bigger picture, Claude becomes your research assistant.
Think of it as having a conversation with an SEO expert who has access to enterprise-level data. You can explore ideas, test hypotheses, and get explanations that help you understand not just what's happening, but why it's happening and what you should do about it.
This integration also works beautifully alongside the strategies for turning Claude into your personal SEO assistant that we've discussed before. Now, instead of just getting general SEO advice, you're getting advice based on real data about your specific situation.
Troubleshooting Common Setup Issues
Even with straightforward instructions, sometimes things don't work perfectly on the first try. Here are the most common issues and their solutions:
Connection Failed: If Claude can't connect to DataForSEO, double-check your API credentials and make sure you've saved the configuration file properly. Also verify that your DataForSEO account has sufficient credits.
Slow Responses: If queries are taking a long time, it might be due to API rate limits. DataForSEO has built-in rate limiting to ensure fair usage. Just wait a moment and try again.
Missing Data: If Claude says it can't find information about your website, make sure you're using the correct domain format (usually without "www" or "https://").
The Future of SEO is Conversational
What we're seeing here is just the beginning of a fundamental shift in how we interact with data. The days of logging into multiple dashboards, exporting CSV files, and manually creating reports are numbered.
The truth is, most small business owners don't need to become SEO experts, they just need to understand their performance and know what actions to take. This conversational approach to SEO data makes that possible in a way that traditional tools never could.
Instead of spending hours learning how to navigate complex interfaces, you can spend that time actually improving your website and growing your business. Instead of paying for multiple tool subscriptions, you can access the same underlying data through a single, intuitive interface.
Ready to Transform Your SEO Workflow?
Setting up Claude with DataForSEO access literally takes about 10 minutes, but it can save you hours every week and potentially hundreds of dollars every month in tool subscriptions. More importantly, it gives you the insights you need to make informed decisions about your SEO strategy without requiring a PhD in digital marketing.
The integration we've walked through today represents a major leap forward in making professional-grade SEO analysis accessible to everyone. You no longer need to choose between expensive enterprise tools and flying blind, there's finally a middle ground that gives you the data you need in a format you can actually use.
If you're ready to try this out, go ahead and set up the connection using the steps above. And if you prefer video instructions or want to see this integration in action, I've put together a detailed tutorial that walks through the entire process step-by-step.