Financial Firms
Your referral already said yes. Your search result has to close it.
Most wealth advisors and CPAs grow by referral, but the referral isn't the last step. Before they call, the prospect searches your name. What they find decides whether the meeting happens.
Ask any financial advisor or CPA where their best clients come from and you'll hear the same answer: referrals. A happy client mentions you at a dinner in Loudonville, and a colleague passes your name along at work.
Here's what happens next, every time. The person who got the referral searches your name before they call.
What they find in the next thirty seconds decides whether the referral turns into a meeting. A thin website, a stock photo of a handshake, a Google profile with two reviews from 2019, and no clear explanation of who you serve or how you charge all lose the meeting. And you never find out it happened.
The referral is the lead. Your search result is the close.
The trust page prospects are actually looking for
People choosing an advisor or accountant aren't shopping for the best rates. They're checking whether you're safe, whether you're like them, and whether you're worth the awkward first conversation. Build one page that answers all three:
- Who you serve, specifically. "State employees deciding on pension and deferred comp options." "Business owners in the Capital Region planning an exit." "Retirees managing required minimum distributions." Specific beats impressive.
- How you're paid, in plain words. Fee-only, flat fee, a percentage of assets, or hourly. Prospects hate guessing, and being upfront earns trust right away.
- What the first meeting looks like. How long it is, what to bring, what it costs (ideally nothing), and what happens after.
- Credentials explained, with what a CFP or a CPA actually means for the client. Link to the FINRA BrokerCheck or SEC adviser search entry if that applies to you.
- Real faces. Professional photos of the team, the office and the conference room. People are about to hand you their life savings. Let them see who they'll sit across from.
Albany is a special market for this
The Capital Region is full of people facing big money decisions: state and municipal employees choosing pension options, long-time employees of the region's large manufacturers and hospitals planning retirement, and family businesses changing hands. Each group searches with its own questions. A page and a few articles built for each group will out-rank a generic "wealth management" page every time.
Reviews and compliance can coexist
Since the SEC's marketing rule took effect, many registered advisers can use testimonials and endorsements with the right disclosures. CPAs can generally ask for reviews. Check with your compliance team before you start. Then make asking routine, especially after a good outcome like a clean tax season or a retirement plan that's working.
The CPA calendar is a gift
For accounting firms, tax season sets the year. Three moves that work:
- Publish the deadline calendar for New York businesses and individuals, and update it every year. People bookmark it and share it.
- Use the October extension deadline to reach the people who filed extensions and are now panicking.
- Run an off-season advisory push in summer: entity structure, quarterly estimates, succession planning. These are the clients who pay well all year.
The aha: search your own name in a private browser window today. That's your real first impression, and right now it's working for or against every referral you get.
We build trust pages, review systems and local search for advisors and CPAs, with your compliance requirements built in. See how we work with financial firms, or book a call.