The 20-point financial advisor website audit
This audit takes about 45 minutes and covers the five areas that determine whether a financial advisor website generates clients: positioning clarity, conversion architecture, content quality, technical performance, and SEO foundation.
Work through it in order. Each item has a pass/fail question and a brief note on what to do if it fails.
Section 1: Positioning clarity (items 1 to 5)
1. Does the homepage headline name a specific type of person or situation?
Pass: "Financial planning for physicians in private practice" or "Retirement income planning for federal employees" or similar.
Fail: "Comprehensive financial planning for individuals and families" or "Your trusted partner in wealth management."
If this fails, the headline is not doing its job. It will not qualify visitors in the first five seconds, which means your conversion rate will be lower than it should be. Rewrite before anything else.
2. Can a visitor identify your fee structure within one scroll of the homepage?
Pass: The page explicitly states "fee-only," "fee-based," or "hourly" in the first screen or the first scroll.
Fail: The page does not address fees anywhere above the footer.
Many visitors will not proceed to a discovery call without knowing whether you charge commissions. The compensation model is one of the first trust signals a skeptical visitor looks for.
3. Does the homepage include specific credentials or affiliations relevant to your niche?
Pass: CFP designation, NAPFA membership, CFA, specific niche certifications (CLTC, CDFA) listed visibly on the homepage.
Fail: Credentials are buried on the About page or not listed on the homepage at all.
Credentials build trust with the visitor who is already qualified. They belong on the homepage, not hidden in an About section.
4. Does the About section lead with a client-focused statement rather than a personal biography?
Pass: "We work with physicians who are in the last five years before retirement and want to stop guessing about when they can stop working."
Fail: "I've been in financial planning for 22 years. I earned my CFP in 2004 and have worked at three major firms."
The About section is read by people who are considering whether to trust you with their finances. It should answer "do you understand my situation?" before it answers "who are you?"
5. Is the ideal client's minimum situation described somewhere on the site?
Pass: The site states a portfolio minimum ("we work with clients who have $750,000 or more in investable assets"), an annual income threshold, or a situation minimum ("within 5 years of retirement").
Fail: The site accepts anyone who comes in contact, or the minimum is stated only in a disclaimer the visitor would have to look for.
Without a stated minimum, unqualified leads fill your calendar. A stated minimum qualifies visitors before they book.
Section 2: Conversion architecture (items 6 to 10)
6. Is the primary CTA a direct booking link, not a contact form?
Pass: A Calendly link, Acuity link, or equivalent that sends visitors directly to a calendar.
Fail: The primary call to action is "Contact Us" linking to a form where a visitor writes a message and waits for a response.
Contact forms have a lower conversion rate than booking links for advisory sites. The form creates uncertainty: what do I write? How long until someone responds? A booking link eliminates both questions.
7. Is the primary CTA visible without scrolling on desktop and mobile?
Pass: The booking link or button is in the hero section of the homepage, above the visible screen edge on both desktop and mobile.
Fail: The first call to action appears after two or more scrolls.
Visitors who do not see a CTA quickly often leave without taking action, even if they would have been interested.
8. Is there a secondary CTA for visitors who are not ready to book?
Pass: A lead magnet download, newsletter signup, or other non-commitment offer appears on the homepage or as a sidebar/exit prompt.
Fail: The only option is booking a call. Visitors who are not ready must either book or leave.
A site without a secondary CTA loses all early-stage visitors permanently.
9. Does the site include a FAQ section above the footer?
Pass: A FAQ section with 4 to 8 questions appears on the homepage or a dedicated FAQ page, and is linked from the homepage.
Fail: There is no FAQ section, or it is in the footer in small text.
FAQs are objection handling. The most common reasons a qualified visitor does not book are questions about fees, process, minimum requirements, and what happens on the first call. If these are answered, conversion rates improve.
10. Does the Calendly intake form ask at least one qualifying question?
Pass: The Calendly intake includes questions about investable assets or a comparable qualifier.
Fail: Calendly intake asks only for name and email.
An unqualified booking process fills your calendar with non-client calls. One qualifying question (asset range, situation type) reduces this significantly and costs the visitor 20 extra seconds.
Section 3: Content quality (items 11 to 14)
11. Is there at least one piece of niche-specific content on the site?
Pass: An article, guide, or resource that addresses a specific problem relevant to the niche you serve.
Fail: The only content is general financial planning information or generic blog posts.
General content builds general traffic. Niche-specific content builds trust with the specific audience you want to serve, and it ranks for the specific queries that audience performs.
12. Are client testimonials or case studies present on the site?
Pass: At least one client testimonial or anonymized case study appears on the homepage or a dedicated page, with required compliance disclosures adjacent to each testimonial.
Fail: No testimonials or case studies exist anywhere on the site.
Social proof from existing clients carries more weight than anything the firm says about itself. For RIAs, the 2022 Marketing Rule allows testimonials with proper disclosures. Not having any is leaving a trust-building tool unused.
13. Are page titles and meta descriptions specific and keyword-relevant?
Pass: The homepage title tag contains your service type and location. Meta descriptions for key pages are specific and include the primary search term for that page.
Fail: The homepage title is the firm name only. Meta descriptions are auto-generated or empty.
Title tags are the first thing a search engine and a searcher read. "Smith Financial" as a homepage title will not rank for any search query. "Fee-only financial planner, Denver CO | Smith Financial Planning" is vastly more useful.
14. Does the site's copy use specific numbers and outcomes rather than vague claims?
Pass: "Our average client reduces their effective tax rate by 2 to 4 percentage points in the first year" or "We have worked with 47 Boeing engineers navigating the VIP retirement package."
Fail: "We help you achieve your financial goals" or "We provide personalized service."
Vague claims are ignored. Specific claims build credibility. Every sentence that can be made specific should be.
Section 4: Technical performance (items 15 to 17)
15. Does the site score 85 or above on Google PageSpeed (mobile)?
Pass: Mobile PageSpeed score of 85 or above at pagespeed.web.dev.
Fail: Score below 85.
This directly affects rankings and visitor behavior. Fix unoptimized images first, then audit third-party scripts.
16. Is the site secured with HTTPS?
Pass: The URL shows https:// and there is no security warning in the browser.
Fail: The site loads over HTTP, or has a mixed content warning (some elements load over HTTP while the page is HTTPS).
HTTPS is a minimum requirement for trust and is a Google ranking signal. Modern hosting commonly includes SSL certificates at no additional cost.
17. Is the site mobile-responsive and correct on small screens?
Pass: Open the site on a smartphone. The layout adapts, text is readable without zooming, and buttons are large enough to tap comfortably.
Fail: The site loads at desktop size on mobile, requires zooming, or has layout elements that break.
40% to 60% of advisory website visitors use mobile devices. A broken mobile experience eliminates them.
Section 5: SEO and analytics foundation (items 18 to 20)
18. Is Google Analytics 4 (GA4) installed and collecting data?
Pass: GA4 is installed and showing data. Verify by going to GA4 > Reports > Realtime while visiting the site.
Fail: No analytics installed, or Universal Analytics (UA) is still in place without GA4.
Without analytics, you are making every marketing decision without data.
19. Is Google Search Console connected and showing data?
Pass: GSC is connected to the same Google property as GA4, showing impressions and clicks data.
Fail: GSC is not set up, or shows "No data available."
GSC is the only tool that shows which search queries bring visitors to your site. Without it, you cannot understand your organic search performance.
20. Is there an XML sitemap submitted to Google Search Console?
Pass: An XML sitemap exists at yoursite.com/sitemap.xml and is submitted in GSC under Sitemaps.
Fail: No sitemap exists, or the sitemap has not been submitted to GSC.
A sitemap tells Google which pages exist on your site and when they were last updated. It does not guarantee ranking but it does accelerate indexing.
Scoring your audit
18 to 20 passing: Your site has a solid foundation. Focus on ongoing content, review generation, and tracking performance monthly.
12 to 17 passing: Meaningful gaps that are likely reducing leads. Prioritize the failures in Sections 1 and 2 first, then Section 4.
Below 12 passing: The site has significant structural problems. Prioritize positioning (Section 1) and conversion architecture (Section 2) above all else. Technical fixes come second.
If multiple items fail in Section 1, consider whether the site needs a positioning rewrite before additional marketing investment makes sense.
