Technical SEO for Advisor Websites: A Simple Checklist
Nearly every advisor site I open has a technical SEO problem tucked away somewhere. A sitemap nobody submitted. A canonical tag pointing at the wrong page. A page set to hidden by accident. Two H1s.
None of that comes from carelessness. "Technical SEO" sounds like developer territory, so it gets left alone. Most of what matters for an advisory firm's site can be checked by the owner in a browser and fixed without writing code. This is the list I work from.
What technical SEO means
Technical SEO is everything that affects whether a search engine can find, crawl, understand, and trust your pages. It is separate from content, which is what you say, and from off-page SEO, which is who links to you.
| Group | The question | Items on this list |
|---|---|---|
| Findable | Can Google reach the page at all? | 4 Sitemap. 5 Robots.txt. 13 Crawl errors. |
| Crawlable | Once there, can it understand the structure? | 6 URLs. 7 Titles and descriptions. 8 Headings. 10 Schema. 11 Canonicals. 12 Internal links. |
| Trustworthy | Do the signals look like a real, maintained business? | 1 HTTPS. 2 Mobile. 3 Speed. 9 Images. |
The three groups, with my sorting of the thirteen items into them. Numbers match the sections below.
The thirteen items below are numbered in the order I would check them.
1. HTTPS is on
What it is: the site loads on https:// with the lock icon.
Why it matters: Google has treated HTTPS as a ranking signal for years, and browsers label anything else "Not Secure," which costs you the prospect's trust before they read a word.
How to check: open the site in any browser and look for the lock.
On Squarespace: HTTPS is on by default for a connected custom domain. Confirm it under Settings, Developer Tools, SSL, where "Secure" should be selected and the certificate active.
2. The site is mobile-responsive
What it is: pages adjust to a phone screen without breaking, hiding text, or needing zoom.
Why it matters: Google indexes the mobile version of your site. If that version is broken, that is the version being ranked.
How to check: open every main page on your own phone. Look for buttons running off the screen, cut-off text, images that do not scale, and menus that will not open.
On Squarespace: templates are responsive out of the box. Custom CSS and image-heavy layouts are what break them. Use the phone icon in the editor on every page, service pages and homepage especially.
3. Page speed is acceptable
What it is: how quickly a page becomes usable, measured by Google's Core Web Vitals.
Why it matters: slow pages lose visitors before they finish loading, and Google favors faster ones, mostly on mobile.
How to check: run the homepage and your top service page through PageSpeed Insights. Green or yellow is fine. A Largest Contentful Paint under 2.5 seconds on mobile is the target.
On Squarespace: the platform has known limits. The fixes that work are image sizing, font count, and cutting third-party scripts, covered in the Squarespace site speed guide.
4. An XML sitemap exists and is submitted
What it is: a file, usually at /sitemap.xml, listing every page for Google to crawl.
Why it matters: it is the most dependable way to make sure Google knows your pages exist.
How to check: type your domain followed by /sitemap.xml. You should see a structured list of URLs.
On Squarespace: the sitemap is generated for you. Submit it once in Search Console under Sitemaps, and Squarespace keeps it current as you add pages.
5. Robots.txt is not blocking important pages
What it is: a small file at /robots.txt telling search engines what to crawl and what to skip.
Why it matters: an overly broad rule can block the entire site. It is one of the commonest ways an advisor site drops out of search.
A robots.txt that blocks everything
Disallow: /
A normal advisor robots.txt
Disallow: /config
Disallow: /search
Visit yoursite.com/robots.txt and compare. The paths on the right are typical examples, and yours may differ.
On Squarespace: the default file is fine. The danger is the "Hide from search engines" switch in an individual page's settings, which adds a noindex tag. That is a different mechanism with the same result, and the indexing guide covers it.
6. URLs are clean and descriptive
What it is: /services/retirement-planning is clean. /page?id=482&ref=auto is not.
Why it matters: clean URLs are easier for Google to read and easier for a prospect to trust, and they look better in snippets and shares.
How to check: look at your main pages. Short, lowercase, real words?
On Squarespace: every page has an editable URL slug in its settings. Keep slugs to three to five words with hyphens, and keep dates and random IDs out of them.
7. Title tags and meta descriptions are set on every page
What it is: the title is the clickable headline in Google's results. The meta description is the text under it.
Why it matters: together they are usually the first thing a prospect sees of your firm.
How to check: view the page source and search for <title> and <meta name="description". Both should exist and be specific to that page.
On Squarespace: set them per page under Page Settings, SEO. For what to write, see meta titles for advisor SEO and meta descriptions for advisors.
8. The heading hierarchy is correct
What it is: one H1 for the main title, H2s for major sections, H3s inside them.
Why it matters: headings tell Google what the page is about and how it is organized, and they make the page easier to skim.
How to check: one H1 at the top, close to the page title. Several H2s. H3s within the relevant H2 sections.
On Squarespace: templates get this right by default. The usual slip is a "Heading 1" block dropped partway down a page, which creates a second H1. More in the header system post.
9. Images are sized and have alt text
What it is: images saved at sensible dimensions (not 4,000 pixels wide for a 600-pixel slot), each with a short text description.
Why it matters: oversized images slow the page. Missing alt text removes a signal Google uses and makes the site less accessible.
Useful alt text
Headshot of advisor Jane Smith at desk
Useless alt text
Image1.jpg
To check, right-click an image, choose Inspect, and compare its real width with the displayed width. Confirm the alt attribute is there.
On Squarespace: resize before you upload, because the platform will not compress aggressively for you. Alt text goes in the "Image Alt Text" field when you click the image. The detail is in image SEO for financial advisors.
10. Schema markup is present where it helps
What it is: structured data (JSON-LD) telling search engines what kind of thing a page describes. For a single-location advisory firm the useful types are FinancialService on the homepage, FAQPage on pages with a real Q&A section, and Person on advisor bios.
Why it matters: schema makes the site easier for Google and AI answer engines to interpret.
How to check: paste a URL into Google's Rich Results Test at search.google.com/test/rich-results.
On Squarespace: JSON-LD goes into a page's header code injection or a code block. Skip SearchAction entirely, and do not put BreadcrumbList or Article schema on the homepage. FAQ markup is covered in the FAQ sections guide.
11. Canonical tags are set correctly
What it is: a tag telling Google which URL is the official version when similar content lives at more than one address.
Why it matters: without it, Google can index several versions and split the ranking signals. A wrong one steers Google away from the page you want ranked.
How to check: view source and search for <link rel="canonical". The URL should match the page you are on, unless you meant otherwise.
On Squarespace: canonicals are added automatically and are usually right. Category and tag URLs on blog posts are where extras appear. Spot-check the posts with the most impressions, and see canonical tags and duplicate pages.
12. Internal links work and make sense
What it is: links from one of your pages to another.
Why it matters: they pass authority around the site, show Google which pages matter, and give readers somewhere to go next.
How to check: click through your top five pages and follow every internal link. The usual culprit is a link typed from memory to a page whose real address is slightly different, so click them and do not assume. A crawler such as the free version of Screaming Frog will list broken ones for you.
On Squarespace: use the link tool in the content block. Links from posts to service pages tend to be the most valuable. The map is in internal linking for RIAs.
13. Crawl errors are monitored in Search Console
What it is: pages Google tried to crawl and could not, reported under Indexing, Pages, "Why pages aren't indexed."
Why it matters: an error means something is broken, missing, or misconfigured. A pattern of them means something bigger.
How to check: open the Pages report and read the reasons. Most are routine (duplicate, alternate page). "Server error" and "Blocked by robots.txt" need a look. The Search Console tutorial shows where everything is.
How to use this checklist
You are not meant to do all thirteen in one sitting. The aim is to know what is on your site and what is missing. If you have never run a technical check, I would take it in this order.
The existence checks
HTTPS, mobile, sitemap, robots.txt.
The on-page checks
Titles, descriptions, headings, and schema on your top five pages.
The structure checks
URLs, images, canonicals, and internal links on the same five pages.
Search Console
New crawl errors.
A pace for a first pass. Item 3, speed, has its own guide and can run alongside any week.
If you worked through the website audit checklist earlier, this list builds on it. Most of these items get set up once and then hold.
Frequently asked questions
What is technical SEO for a financial advisor website?
Technical SEO is everything that affects whether search engines can find, crawl, understand, and trust your pages. For an advisory firm that means HTTPS, a mobile-friendly layout, reasonable speed, a submitted sitemap, a robots.txt that blocks nothing important, clean URLs, titles and descriptions on every page, correct headings, sized images with alt text, schema, canonical tags, working internal links, and monitored crawl errors.
Do I need a developer to fix technical SEO on Squarespace?
Usually not. Squarespace handles HTTPS, the sitemap, canonical tags, and responsive layouts by default. Most of what goes wrong is a setting: a page hidden from search engines, a missing title or description, a second H1, or oversized images. All of those are fixed inside the editor. A developer helps mainly after a migration or where custom code is involved.
How do I check whether my robots.txt is blocking my site?
Visit yoursite.com/robots.txt. A line reading Disallow: / with nothing after the slash blocks the whole site. A normal advisor robots.txt blocks only admin and utility paths. On Squarespace the default file is fine, so also check individual pages for the hide from search engines setting, which adds a noindex tag and has the same effect on that page.
Which schema types should an advisor website use?
For a single-location firm, FinancialService on the homepage is the anchor, because it carries the LocalBusiness and Organization properties with it. Add FAQPage on pages that have a real, visible question-and-answer section, and Person on advisor bio pages. Skip SearchAction, and keep BreadcrumbList and Article markup off the homepage.
How often should I run a technical SEO check?
Run the full thirteen-item list once, spread over about three weeks, then check the Pages report in Search Console monthly for new crawl errors. Most items are set once and hold. Re-run the whole list after a redesign, a template change, or a platform migration, because that is when settings like noindex and canonical tags tend to break.
What to do this week
Pick three items, run the checks, write down what you find, and fix what is broken. On most advisor sites the bulk of this list is already fine, and the two or three items that are not are the ones holding the rankings back.
AdvisorSEO Max runs an SEO scorecard on a page covering titles, descriptions, headings, structure, schema, alt text, page speed, and technical signals, and has a feature called Fix This Next that ranks the findings. Its technical guardian also checks weekly for site-breaking accidents: noindex tags, robots.txt blocks, dead sitemaps, and a broken homepage. Start your 14-day free trial to run it on your site.
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