Marketing Strategies for Financial Advisors in Ireland

This is a very common question. The truth is that this varies depending on the competitiveness of your key terms or words or your industry. And how well your competitors in the Leinster region or any region do their Search Engine Optimisation. Nobody can honestly guarantee you a Page 1 ranking for Dublin or Ireland. However, a good SEO might give you an indication after the first month or two. It depends on how competitive your business is in search for your financial services. As any golfer in Portmarnock or Luttrellstown or Druids Glen would tell you, it is all about playing the course in front of you on any given day.

PPC Pay Per Click Ads may give you quicker results, if you really need sales today, just pay for the leads now immediately in Google Ads or Facebook Ads or even the more expensive Linkedin Ads, depending on where your target market hangs out. In your industry this will not be cheap. Many large financial firms throw silly money at PPC, just to appear at the top of a Google results page.

Buy a fish and eat for a day or own the pond and eat what you want, when you want. A PPC paid lead is quick, but constant organic leads generate constant dependable stream of leads.
We can do PPC, and do it on occasion, where immediate results are critical, but tend to avoid it, because we take a longer term view that delivers better benefits. There are many other agencies who focus on this short term tactic, so call one of them. SEO tactics will not generate immediate results, regardless of what people tell you in a sales pitch.

Outside City Hall, Dublin

No. Google does not allow for that.  Otherwise everybody would be at it. However a good SEO specialist should have an idea if they can do it. This is still a wild guess, until the first few months have been done. We do not take on projects unless we do believe we can accomplish this. That is not a guarantee, but it is pretty close. We also back up our promises with money back guarantees, so that we do have skin in the game, as well as you.

You will see people offering to do ‘SEO’ for less money. Some will even guarantee more traffic or higher ranking for some words. Or higher CTR click-through rate. Usually, these so-called ‘SEO Experts’ just want your money and it is a numbers game for them. They are forever selling and getting more short-term SEO financial services clients. That is how they work. Theycan live with the churn. Check, in an Incognito window, for private browsing, if they even rank for the SEO services they offer themselves, such as ‘SEO Dublin’ or “SEO for Financal Advisors in Ireland” – do they rank on Page 1? Look at their Google Reviews and see if financial services firms like yours recommend people like them as an SEO company.

What you invest in is up to you. The more you invest the better the results in leads or sales, should be. If you could invest €500 and get back €1500 or invest €5000 and get back €15,000 – which do you want? However, the fact is that the first few months are a gamble, to find out if we can do what we say and deliver good SEO results. You decide where you want to start and commit to one SEO provider based in Dublin, Ireland.

The real truth is it is the local talent rather than the global SEO tools that matter most. We know the local market and we stick to it, taking on no more than two new clients a month. Have a chat with us to find out if we are a good fit for each other.

We may be able to generate more traffic, better traffic, and more enquiries, however, it is still down to you to make the sale. If we get 100 more people a month to your door, how many can you convert? If you can handle the conversion and lots more clients, then do talk to us.

100% Money Back Guarantee
If you don’t generate a 100% value or return within any 30 days, we will give you your money back. invoice cancelled. No questions asked!

We believe that we should have ‘skin in the game’, just like you. If we do not deliver, we should not get paid.

And we’re comfortable in the knowledge that together we will achieve success. We know this because this is not our first rodeo. Talk to some of our clients.

And, month by month, you will be making a cumulative return, where the new clients that are converted will work with you in to the future, adding to their LTV Lifetime Value.

We put our money where our mouth is because we know that works, 100%!

We get that, as professional service providers, you may have been oversold on ‘Marketing’ in the past. You may have tried “Experts” that did not get what you’re trying to achieve. Maybe it became a big cost with no quantifiable return. Maybe you stuck with it as a Marketing cost.

Sometimes you maybe feel you are taking a leap of faith with web design or SEO. We don’t want you to have to do that at all.

That is why we are prepared to offer you a 100% money-back guarantee as we go, month by month. Zero risk to you whatsoever.

SEO is never-ending. And if you do get more traffic and more sales, why would you stop doing it? It is a bit like going to the gym, you do not tend to do it once and get long-lasting results. Although once is better than never.

Only after a few months will we be able to tell you how long it should take to rank for a keyword or term.

Pick someone, one SEO company to work with, and try them for 3 or 6 months. That is the extent of your investment or gamble with them. Maybe have a review meeting after every 3 months, so that you commit to just 3 months at any given time.

Once you get it right, SEO becomes a big part of your ongoing advertising. My friend Sue Ginsburg likes to quote Henry Ford “The man who stops advertising to save money, is like the man who stops a clock to save time”.

Things change in search and the way people use search and in Google algorithms. Add to that the fact that your financial services competitors will be chasing you online, so it is important to stay fit and in good shape online.

The good news is that SEO is the lowest cost, most effective way to get enquiries, leads or sales. And done well you can stop running around looking for ways to get leads and just concentrate on managing your financial services business or growing your team. So many people get busy looking at all the shiny new tools and offers that crop up. Once you get your SEO right, stick with it, push it as hard as you need to do, to fill your pipeline.

SEO is NOT a cost, it is an investment. One that done right will give you the best return on your spend.

We get an idea of keywords from you and then we research your competitors and add them to the list. Then we can start with one or two or however many you want. But lets see what the list looks like after a month or two of grunt work by us. Only after a few months will we be able to tell you how long it should take to rank for a word or term. Some words or terms may take longer than others for your financial services. You need to outdo the competition for the key phrase, that is the target.

No. This SEO Assessment is work for a day for us and we must charge for it. Ignore the FREE online options that are generic, just to hook you. Pay for the SEO Audit or Assessment and then decide if you want to proceed with the ongoing SEO service that’s it. Commit to 3 or 6 months and try it. If you get the wrong team, just move on to a new team.

What is SEO or Search Engine Optimisation?- If you have time to learn a bit more or even how to do it yourself, read our FREE SEO Guide to optimising your website for Dublin or Donegal, Sligo, or Derry wherever you are based – find all the details in the Guide on ‘What Is SEO’.

Note: This is a big FREE DIY Guide that covers everything from initial Keyword Research, Technical SEO, Content SEO, On-Site SEO, On-Page SEO, and Off-Site SEO. Everything you need to do the optimisation yourself. Or to help you engage with the SEO Dublin Agency that you entrust to do it for you.

In no particular order here are some of the tasks we do for SEO clients, depending on what is urgent at any given time.

Technical SEO
Fix technical SEO issues
Fix any canonical or cannibalisation issues
Ensure domain variations all point to the root, as in http://www.meanit.ie and https:// www.meanit.ie  to https://meanit.ie
Clean up existing links
Clean up code
No Index paginated results
Test mobile-friendly version rendering and speed
You can address mobile-first indexing
Improve site delivery for core web vitals
Check the HREF LANG configuration
Ensure the hosting environment is adequate, secure, and fast with no IP neighbour issues
Check that the robots txt file is correct
Test and improve accessibility 301 redirects
404 error check and repair

Content SEO
Write up a content strategy
Write new, high-quality, topical content
Work on domain overall authority in your industry
Expand on topics covered in page content relative to your industry
Edit pages to respond better to end-user intent
Create content around Brand promotions elsewhere
Cull or curate old content or reduce the number of pages
Ensure all content is original or paid for
Check all images are correctly sized for the web
Check all images are correctly named with the proper naming convention
Clean out any old images from the Media library

On-Site SEO
Work on internal linking
Improve ‘Brand’ trust
Add to or improve Schema
Tweak or improve Page titles to engage in SERPs
Tweak or improve meta descriptions to convert more visitors
Add Alt tags
Optimise images
Use or improve anchor texts
Use a mini menu structure with jump links in long articles
Create and A/B Test landing pages

Off-Site SEO
Build new relevant links
Disavow unsuitable links
Work on your Google Business Profile entry
Work on the Linkedin Business Profile
Work on Facebook Business Page
Check external links to your internal pages
Resolve any current Google Search Console coverage issues
Do NAP audits for listings with your Name, Address, and Phone number
Get more reviews
Compare competitor sites and reverse engineer
Do some PPC or engage someone to manage a campaign
Constantly check, add to, improve, and edit Web 2.0 listings

Typical Plan or flow of SEO work over 6 months to a year

We would usually work in this sort of order:
1. SEO Initial Assessment
2. On-Page SEO
3. Web Core Vitals
4. Google Business Profile
5. Navigation Restructure
6. On Page SEO
7. Off Page SEO Web 2.0
8. Content Audit
9. LinkedIn
10. On Page SEO

Every financial services client is different, so we focus on what exactly each individual client needs at any given time, in order to get the results they want. Is it a Financial Advisory firm, an Accountant, Auditor, Wealth Planner, Tax Advisor etc.

Some start with a Technical Audit or SEO Audit and request Onsite Optimisation or Offsite Optimisation, perhaps for Local Search Optimisation and ask for Content creation or guided recommendations, whilst some just ask for Keyword Analysis or Mobile Optimisation and some want detailed Reporting with full Tracking details. We have a proven system that we like to use, however we are happy to tweak it to suit each individual project.

Title Tags Optimisation
META Tags Optimisation
Back Linking
Images Optimisation
Sitemap update submissions
Broken links
301 Redirects
404 error check and repair

Web 2.0 Pages
Social Signals & Bookmarking
Google My Business edits/management
Citations
Reviews

On-page edits
Content Optimisation
Internal Link Optimisation
Alt tags
Meta Descriptions
Page Titles

How much does SEO cost in Dublin or Ireland?

SEO or Search Engine Optimisation entails a lot of different tasks and skills. So it needs a specialist or a specialist team of SEOs and developers to apply any technical or code changes, plus perhaps a graphic designer. Usually, an SEO agency will bill an hourly rate to include the use of the team members, whichever is required at any given time. An average rate is about €100, but many do charge twice that figure. A freelancer may charge less but therefore does not have the full team with all the skills required.

In the USA the average spend in 2021 on SEO services by a small company was about $500 a month, as referenced by Brian Dean at Backlinko. They surveyed 1200 small businesses or companies who identified as investing in monthly SEO services. Many invest thousands a month and most are happy with their returns. These businesses plan to invest more in 2022. Most who spend under $500 a month are generally not happy with the results. These respondents do not plan to stick with their current SEO agency or freelancer.

What are the options when getting someone to do your SEO?

Employ an SEO.
You could employ someone in-house to do your SEO and the going rate is between €30,000 for a start and about €70,000 for the more experienced SEO, so the average salary is about €50,000 in Ireland. This is about €30 per hour plus tax and benefits.
Pros – include having the person in your physical office do as instructed when instructed.
Cons – You have to find someone suitable to recruit, manage them, and look after them with benefits such as sick pay and holidays, etc.

Employ a Freelancer.
There is a plethora of ‘SEO Freelancers’ offering SEO services and they can seem like the cheap or low-cost option. The good ones are freelancing because an SEO agency will pay them between €30 and €60 an hour, whereas they can get €100+ if they work directly with the client. The better ones can code as well as do SEO. And the unicorns can do both, plus be qualified graphic designers too!
Pros – They are self-employed. You simply pay an agreed hourly rate. And there are no extra benefits. You can sack them at any time.
Cons – You still have to find one that you think is good and then gamble on them for a while to see if they are any good. And if they leave you can be left in a situation where you do not know where you stand, so you have to start all over again.

Employ an Agency
Pros – They have to find their own staff, train them and make sure they are good at their job, then manage them and provide relief staff for holidays and sickness. They have to do any recruiting and replace people who leave. They have to deliver results for you or you can just leave to go to their competitor.
Cons – It costs you more (or it can appear to cost you more).

SEO Sevices rates or costs
Some SEO services are more expensive to buy and deliver than others. You can expect to pay more for Link Building or website management, eCommerce or Enterprise SEO, creating Infographics, and videography. More that is than paying for Social Media marketing or management, keyword research or writing simple blog articles, on-page or off-page SEO, audits, and guest posting.
A good agency can be tasked with doing everything, whereas employees or Freelancers tend to focus on one or two SEO services.

Marketing Budget versus SEO Budget
If you have a budget of say 10% of overall sales and you sell €1m a year, take that €100k as the Marketing budget, then allocate say 20% to 25% to SEO services. This is about industry standards. If you are applying metrics to all your marketing spending, you should be able to determine which tactics work best. It could be as simple as asking new customers, where did they get your contact details or why did they call you.

Bottom Line
If you really do understand SEO Search Engine Optimisation, you could employ someone to do the work you give them through a comprehensive SEO Plan. If you do not want to employ someone, you could try some SEO freelancers and hope to get a good one, even if it is short-lived.
However, if you want to have a team of SEO specialists do the work and get the results you want, then hire an agency. Give them 6 months to get some results, to show a good return on your investment. What is the average LTV Life Time Value of a new client for you?  If the first Agency does not work out find another one until you get it right.

Then build a mutually beneficial long-term relationship, so that you can work and grow together. Any good SEO Dublin Agency will not want short-term clients, so they will run you through as much of a filter as you apply to select them for yourself. The good ones are already busy.

The real truth is it is the local talent rather than the tools that matter most.

Not every website needs SEO Search Engine Optimisation.

Some people have a website more as a Digital Business card.

When you meet someone you are likely to google them. This is where SEO comes in, as you want to turn up when someone does that search. And you want to look professional. However, this could be as simple as having a one-page website or a basic site such as Wix or Weebly. Add some relevant text and some images, along with your contact details and that are you done.

Will this simple one-page site work without SEO?

Yes and no.

This one-page or simple website may work if you are going to send people to it, use it on your business card or advertising, etc. For example something like www  johnsmithaccountant.com

However, it will probably not rank in Google for anything, but the domain name itself. In a search for “john smith accountant” this site may turn up. It is unlikely to turn up in a search for an accountant or any specific accounting service. Depending on the competition and the number of competitors in the geographic location of the business.

If John Smith Accountant is based in a city, let’s say Dublin or maybe Birmingham, he may get found for “john smith accountant”, but he will not rank for John smith or for accountant or for any accountant services.

Generally, you can rank one page for one term or key phrase. So if you have five services, you will want at least one page for each one, to be able to optimse for these services in your target area.

Is this enough for you?
Maybe this is enough. You can direct people straight to your website. Or you could do Ads such as Google Ads or Facebook or Linkedin Ads, to bring people to this website. Effectively you pay to play.

Bottom Line
If you are happy to bring people to the website by paying for advertising, then you do not need SEO.

If you are paying for ads to get visitors, it will work, but it may become very expensive after a while. Once you stop paying, you stop displaying too.

Investing in SEO is a longer term tactic. And it is one that over time reduces your requirement to spend so much on Ads as a tactic.

Initially you could do both, advertise in the short term whilst doing SEO for the long term.

Remember that SEO is a tactic, but it is not the only way to promote your business. So all the usual ways such as social media marketing, signage, livery, adverts in newspapers, magazine also can work. TV, Radio, Van wraps, uniforms and loads of other standard marketing channels.

Our aim is generally to find out who you serve, what is the problem you solve, then communicate that mesage to the target audience. Then it just a case of determining who is responsible for Marketing, Sales, Delivery and Support, so that we can help the process move smoothly.

14 Questions to ask or things to check before making any investment in SEO Dublin services:

SEO is not a scam, far from it. However, many people offering SEO services do it poorly. Before you entrust your online reputation or your marketing budget, you do want to apply a few checks. Here is some guidance you can apply before making a decision.

1. Is it an Irish company – Check with www.cro.ie for free. You do want a local agency and one that will not outsource the work.

2. Are their developers and designers based in Ireland? You do want a team rather than just an individual. They need to work on content creation, on-page SEO, off-page SEO, technical SEO, such as page speed and so many more aspects of search engine optimisation.

3. Are they responsive when you make an initial contact with them or ask any questions?

4. Any tardiness now is probably indicative of how they work.

5. Do they ask enough questions to understand your business, the problem you solve, the services you offer and the target market you want to attract?

6. Do they find out about your current state and discuss your targets for the coming year or more?

7. Do they look at your competitors with you?

8. Do they clearly explain what they can do for you?

9. Do they give you any insights or ideas, make you think or drill down in to your own figures.

10. Are they clear about their fees? And what you get for these fees? Do they offer any guarantees or refunds?

11. Are they clear about their own process? Do they even have clear processes? Do they report back to you each month to show progress and plans? How often will they have a meeting with you to review their work and discuss what you want them to focus on going forward.

12. Have they got a Portfolio of current happy clients in Financial Services, reviews and case studies, preferably in your own specific financial service sector?

13. How well do they rank themselves in Google? When you do a search for SEO Dublin – are they on Page 1?

14. Is your own gut feeling good about them? This is critical, as you do not want to engage with a team that you do not trust from the start.

At the end of the day this is your call to make, trust yourself. You can give them 3 to 6 months to prove themselves and check the monthly figures to ensure that they are going the right direction. Going with the wrong option can damage your existing valuable reputation or credibility with Google. If someone offers a low monthly fee, there is probably a good reason, as in, it is not going to add any value for you.

Warning: Understand enough about SEO to make an informed decision. Otherwise you could hire an agency that destroys your online credibility and cost you hugely. Hopefully these questions will help you make that informed decision.

How well did your web developers optimise your website? Do not take their word for it, run this FREE Google test, to find out for yourself.

You want to rank on page 1 of Google for your main keywords or key phrases. If the web design agency is doing a good job, you will be on Page 1, ideally number 1 on page 1 for the key terms or key words. How well are you ranking for your target keywords? Do not take their word for it, do this simple FREE search in Google and find out for yourself at any given time.

On your computer, open Google Chrome. At the top right corner, see the three dots, click and then choose New incognito window. A new window appears. enter your target keyword or term to see how well your website really ranks in search engine results pages. Note: You can also use a keyboard shortcut to open an Incognito window: Windows, Linux, or Chrome OS: Press Ctrl + Shift + n. Mac: Press ⌘ + Shift + n.

How does Chrome Incognito window keep your browsing private. It simply ignores your previous Google searches or which websites you visited. Google always delivers results it thinks you want to see, based on your previous browsing history. Now, in Incognito Search, when you search you can see what other people see, without being polluted by your own previous personal browsing history.

How well does your business rank in Google – do this simple FREE test and find out. Action item: Enter your target search term such as ‘seo dublin’ and see where you rank. In your case perhaps Financial Advisors in Rathgar or Accountants in Clontarf.

Note: Google link to explain Incognito Search is HERE. It is worth understanding.

We do indeed send a monthly report to you, usually within the first week of the following month. This reporting is a big part of what we do, as it measures performance. And it keeps us accountable to you.

Data compilation
In the report, we include loads of data, but we also translate it for you. For example, Google Analytics or GA4 will generate tonnes of data, but it is hard to wade through it. Or find what you want to find. We dig through it and let you have the highlight, as in the changes month on month. Traffic as in users, which pages they visit and leave from. Which countries or cities the visitors are from? The number of pages they visit etc. Which financial services are of interest to them.

SEO Summary
In the report, even if you do not read all the details in the first data report, you will see at a glance what is happening, because we will point it out to you in a short set of highlights.

We like to do the monthly report so that you know we are doing the work. And because it helps us keep focused on what we are trying to do for you This reporting is a way for us to stay in touch with you on a regular basis. Some clients like to have the monthly report in order to be able to show other people in the company what is being done by us for you. Again it keeps everyone accountable.

The report will also warn you if something looks off with traffic numbers or behaviour. Think of it as a weathervane of your data.

Personally we will look to find out how much positive difference our SEO work is making. Are we reducing bounce rate or attracting more visitors or getting more enquiries. Maybe we are looking to optimise a specific page or service and see a rise in traffic or time spent on that page. We also report on how your target keywords or phrases are doing. And where you rank in Google search for these terms.

Lastly we will indicate what we plan to work on next month. And then add in what content we are looking for from you.

Identify your ideal clients
With you, we will work out who is your ideal client. Maybe it is who you expect maybe you will be surprised.

Make the connection
We can help you make a connection, become a friend or ‘go to’ source of information

Engage your ideal clients
We will work on a plan to engage these ideal clients on your behalf, wherever they hang out. Or we will work out how to bring them to you.

Deliver Value
With you we will deliver value to your potential clients, to show them how much you value the relationship and how you can deliver value to them.

Relationship Management
Let us use web based technology to support your ongoing relationship with these clients, for a long term engagement.

We want to do for you what we want to do for ourselves. We want to build ‘relationships’, rather than simply get ‘sales’. We want to work together rather than deliver a ‘thing’ or a ‘service’ for a ‘price’. We want to envisage the tree together, before we agree where or how to plant the seed. Hmm, that one is a bit deep, but you know what we mean.