Website Mistakes Insurance Agents and Financial Advisors Should Fix

For insurance agents and financial advisors, your website is a key tool to attract new leads. A well-optimized site helps you rank better in search engines. It also turns visitors into clients and boosts your online reputation.

Your website is often the first impression for potential clients of your insurance or financial advisory business. It can greatly affect your credibility.

A slow, outdated, or confusing website drives visitors to your competitors. This can cost you valuable leads and long-term trust.

By improving your site’s speed, usability, and professionalism, you attract more visitors. This also shows search engines and clients that your business is modern, trustworthy, and ready to help.

Why is an Online Presence Important?

Prospects look for businesses and experts online. Therefore, solid digital marketing is a must. Create a professional-looking website that builds trust and helps solve customer problems.

Some benefits of a great advisor or agent website:

1. Increased brand awareness and trustworthiness
2. An increase in organic traffic and potential prospects
3. Lead generation 24/7
4. Cost-effective marketing

But how do you ensure your website is optimized to the best of its ability?

Common Mistakes (and How to Fix Them for Better SEO)

The digital marketing team at Senior Market Sales^® (SMS) has audited plenty of agent and advisor websites, and we have gathered a list of common mistakes. They’re compiled here to help you audit your website and encourage prospects to use you for their financial, insurance and retirement solutions.

Mistake #1: Slow Website Speed Hurts Your SEO and Client Trust

High website load time refers to how long it takes for a website to load for a user. Ideally, your page should load in four seconds or less and should be no more than three megabytes. You can learn more about website load times, courtesy of HubSpot.

Large images can cause slower download speeds. To fix this, use an image optimizer to resize and compress images. Typically, you should use JPG file types for photos, and PNG file types if transparency is needed. If you want to test your website’s loading speed, try tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights or Pingdom’s Website Speed Test.

Improving your website's loading speed will create a better experience for users. It will also help with search engine optimization (SEO). This can lead to more conversions and a lower bounce rate. Bounce rate refers to how quickly a user leaves your website after entering it.

Mistake #2: Poor User Experience Drives Away Prospects

Does your website:

1. Have a menu that is easy for prospects to use
2. Load correctly
3. Have buttons that are accessible and the right size for easy clicking and tapping

You need to ensure your website visitors are getting a good experience when they see your site. Testing it is key. Access your site using many screen sizes, including tablets and mobile phones. If you find it hard to navigate or view information, your clients and prospects probably feel the same way.

Mistake #3: Failing to Claim Your Google Business Profile Hurts Local SEO

We highly recommend that agents and advisors claim their profile on Google Business Profile (formerly “Google My Business”). This is especially important if you have a brick and mortar location. Neglecting this step means you’ll be missing out on potential favorable search results, reviews and photos. Plus, your business may not show up in local Google Maps.

To claim your business, you will need to enter the business name and address. If your business name doesn't appear, you can add your business. Next, you will need to verify ownership of your business with a phone, email, or postcard.

When filling out your Google Business Profile, be sure to complete all fields to the best of your ability. This includes all social media links, business hours, categories that apply to your business and more.

Mistake #4: Ignoring Above-the-Fold Content Weakens Conversions

“Above-the-fold” refers to the space at the top of a webpage that a user sees before scrolling down. This is the first part of your website that a prospect or client will see and should be optimized. Also, it should apply to all website pages, not just the homepage.

Does it give clients a good first impression? Does it capture their attention? Do you clearly explain what you do and why your business is the best option? Does it guide the user to the next step with a compelling call-to-action?

Need inspiration? Here are some of examples of great “above-the-fold” content that can be applied to your own webpages.

Mistake #5: Combining Too Many Services on One Page Confuses Visitors and Search Engines

The best practice is to create a separate webpage for each product or service as opposed to having them all on one page. Search engines can understand webpages better if they contain just one product or service. Plus, humans prefer shorter, focused content.

When a single page attempts to cover five or more distinct products, such as annuities, MYGAs, FIAs, IULs and whole life, search engines struggle to determine the primary topic and keyword focus. The page becomes diluted, often ranking poorly for all those services rather than highly for one. Conversely, when you dedicate an entire page to a single topic, that page can be fully optimized with relevant headings, detailed information, and targeted keywords. Search engines can then confidently classify that page as an authoritative resource on that specific subject, leading to much higher rankings and targeted traffic.

Beyond SEO, combining too many services creates cognitive overload for your human visitors. When confronted with a massive wall of text detailing everything you do, visitors typically scan quickly, fail to find the one service they came for, and often click away in frustration. Humans prefer shorter, focused content that guides them directly to a solution for their immediate problem. By creating separate, focused pages, you allow visitors to quickly self-select the service they are interested in, explore its specific benefits, and find a clear Call to Action (CTA) relevant to that product.

Lastly, ensure visitors can easily locate this focused content, make sure these pages are clearly structured and included in your website's primary navigation menu. This architecture guides visitors through your offerings logically, improves their experience, and maximizes your site's ability to rank for precise, high-value keywords.

Mistake #6: Not Showcasing Reviews and Testimonials Reduces Credibility

Social proof is the new currency of trust. Prospects are highly skeptical of marketing claims, and they inherently value the objective opinions of existing customers over your sales pitch. Failing to prominently display reviews and testimonials is a critical oversight that directly erodes your credibility.

Don't just hide your reviews on a single "Testimonials" page. Instead, strategically sprinkle them throughout your website where prospects need reassurance most:

1. Homepage: Feature a handful of your strongest, most recent testimonials right below your main value proposition.
2. Product/Service Pages: Use relevant quotes near a form button to provide a final push.
3. Landing Pages: Embed case study highlights or short quotes that speak directly to the promise of the specific offer.
4. About Us Page: Showcasing how others view your company culture and service quality adds a human touch.

1. Automate the Ask: Immediately after a successful quote, meeting, or significant event, automatically send an email requesting feedback or a review. Tools can integrate this into your existing workflow.
2. Make it Easy: Provide direct links to the platforms that matter most to your business (e.g., Google Business Profile, Yelp, industry-specific sites, or a simple form on your website). The fewer steps, the better.
3. Use Video and Case Studies: While text reviews are good, video testimonials are exponentially more powerful. For complex services, develop in-depth case studies that detail the problem, your solution, and the quantifiable results.

Mistake #7: Using Generic Stock Photos Makes Your Website Forgettable

Are you using common, generic stock images on your site? You know the ones: the overly-cheerful person with a headset, the anonymous handshake over a glossy table, or the group of models laughing at a laptop.

The danger of these images is visual cliché. Visitors to your site have likely seen the exact same photos, or variations of them, on dozens of other websites. It undermines your credibility and suggests that you didn't invest time, effort, or resources into showcasing your actual business, which can make your service or product feel just as generic.

Your brand is unique, and your images should be too. Using custom images and video can powerfully set you apart from the masses and build genuine trust with your audience.

Try some of these tactics to stand out:

• Professional photography shoot. Hire a local photographer to capture authentic photos of your team, your space, and your process.
• Use behind-the-scenes video: A short, custom video of your team's day-to-day life or the making of your product is far more engaging than any stock image.
• Leverage user-generated content: If applicable, feature real customer photos and testimonials. This is the ultimate form of social proof.

Mistake #8: Ignoring Website Accessibility (ADA Compliance) Risks SEO Penalties

Make sure your website is accessible to those with disabilities. Body copy should never be smaller than 16 pixels, and buttons should be at least 44 X 44 pixels. All pages should have clear contrast and utilize closed captioning on videos if possible. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) offers guidance and requirements on web accessibility that you can reference.

Ensure website buttons have enough contrast.

Mistake #9: About Page Doesn't Build Trust and Authority

The "About" page is consistently one of the most-visited destinations on any professional website. Visitors navigating here are actively trying to answer a critical question: "Why should I trust and choose you over everyone else?" If this page is a few lines of self-praise or a dry history lesson, you are missing a massive opportunity to convert interest into confidence. Effectively tell your story by building out your "About" page with engaging, trust-building content.

To truly capitalize on this high-traffic area, think of your "About" page as your digital resume. Start by clearly articulating your mission and values — what drives your business and how you serve your customers. This opening statement should act as a powerful hook, immediately aligning you with the reader's needs and emotional perspective. Then, back up those claims with hard evidence. Include a dedicated section for your credentials and social proof, such as industry awards, regulatory certifications, or glowing reviews from reputable third-party sources. Don't forget compelling statistics that quantify your success, such as "voted best in city for 5 consecutive years." This combination of heartfelt purpose and concrete achievement is what makes a convincing case.

Finally, remember that people connect with people. A key component often overlooked is humanizing your brand through your employee images and biographies. Showcasing your team members, not just the executives, with professional, friendly photos and a brief explanation of their roles, relevant expertise, and even a quick personal detail (like their favorite quote or hobby) creates an instant sense of relatability and transparency. This level of detail helps break down the digital wall and validates the expertise behind your product or service. By prioritizing this page in both content depth and site structure, ensuring it's clearly and consistently included in your main navigation menu (often simply as "About Us" or "Our Story"), you transform it from a mere formality into a powerful, trust-generating conversion tool.

You can find tips on how to write a compelling “about us” page from Printful.

Mistake #10: Complicated Contact Forms Lower Conversions

Aim to make your forms easy to understand and use. Think about what information you can gather later in a client meeting. Some best practices for a contact form include:

• Use a single column layout
• Keep the form to six fields or less
• Don’t use placeholder text in the fields
• Don’t use reset buttons
• Button text should highlight the benefit, not the commitment. For example, “Get My No-Obligation Quote” is better than “Submit.”

Single column form layouts are easy to scan and complete, especially on mobile devices.

Final Takeaway: Turn Website Fixes Into More Leads and Clients

By avoiding these common mistakes, you’ll create a superior user experience for your website traffic. That's a good thing because better user experiences make it more likely that a prospect will become a client.

This list is only scratching the surface. There is so much more you can do. For example, you can boost your sales with these top marketing tips. Or, you can dive deeper into generating more prospects using local SEO.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most common website mistakes insurance agents make?

Many agents overlook technical SEO, slow website speed, confusing navigation, and outdated designs. Failing to claim a Google Business Profile or neglecting accessibility can also hurt rankings and client trust.

How can insurance agents improve their website SEO?

Focus on optimizing each page for a single service, improving load speed, writing keyword-rich content, and earning quality backlinks. Adding reviews, metadata, and schema markup also helps your website rank higher in search results.

Why is having an optimized website important for insurance agents and financial advisors?

An optimized website attracts more organic traffic, builds credibility, and improves user experience. It helps prospects find you online, engage with your services, and ultimately convert into clients.