Technical SEO for Advisor Websites: A Simple Checklist
Publish date: July 13, 2026
Most advisor websites have a technical SEO problem hiding somewhere. A missing sitemap. A wrong canonical tag. A page Google cannot crawl. A header structure that confuses both readers and search engines.
The problem is not that advisors are careless. The problem is that "technical SEO" sounds like something only a developer should touch.
It isn't. The 80 percent of technical SEO that actually moves the needle for an advisor website is checkable, plain-English, and fixable without writing code.
Here is the checklist.
What "Technical SEO" Actually Means
Technical SEO covers everything that affects whether search engines can find, crawl, understand, and trust your pages. It is separate from content (what you say) and off-page SEO (who links to you).
For an advisor website, the relevant technical items break into three groups:
Findable. Can Google reach the page at all?
Crawlable. Once Google reaches it, can it understand the structure?
Trustworthy. Are the technical signals consistent with a real business?
The checklist below walks through both groups, item by item, in the order you should check them.
1. HTTPS Is On
What it is: Your site loads on https:// (with the lock icon) instead of http://.
Why it matters: Google has treated HTTPS as a ranking signal for years. Browsers also flag non-HTTPS sites as "Not Secure," which kills trust before a prospect reads a word.
How to check: Open your site in any browser. If you see the lock icon, you're set. If you see "Not Secure," that's the problem.
On Squarespace: HTTPS is on by default for any custom domain connected through Squarespace's SSL settings. Go to Settings → Developer Tools → SSL and confirm "Secure" is selected and the certificate is active.
2. The Site Is Mobile-Responsive
What it is: Your pages adjust automatically to phone-size screens without breaking layout, hiding text, or requiring zoom.
Why it matters: Google indexes the mobile version of your site, not the desktop version. If the mobile experience is broken, your rankings reflect that.
How to check: Open your site on your phone. Try every main page. Watch for buttons that fall off the screen, text that gets cut off, images that don't scale, or menus that don't open.
On Squarespace: Built-in templates are responsive by default, but custom CSS and image-heavy designs can break the mobile view. Use Squarespace's mobile preview (the phone icon in the editor) for every page, especially service pages and the homepage.
3. Page Speed Is Acceptable
What it is: How fast a page becomes useful to a visitor. Measured by Google's Core Web Vitals.
Why it matters: Slow sites lose visitors before the page finishes loading. Google rewards faster sites, especially on mobile.
How to check: Run your homepage and your top service page through Google PageSpeed Insights. You're looking for green or yellow scores, not red. A "Largest Contentful Paint" under 2.5 seconds on mobile is the target.
On Squarespace: Page speed has known constraints. The fixes that actually work are image sizing, font count, and limiting third-party scripts. This is a big enough topic that we will cover Squarespace-specific speed fixes in next week's post.
4. XML Sitemap Exists and Is Submitted
What it is: A file that lists every page on your site and tells Google what to crawl. Usually located at /sitemap.xml.
Why it matters: It is the most reliable way to make sure Google knows your pages exist.
How to check: Type your domain followed by /sitemap.xml into a browser. You should see a structured list of URLs. If you see an error, you have a problem.
On Squarespace: Sitemap is generated automatically. The URL is yoursite.com/sitemap.xml. Submit it once inside Google Search Console under Sitemaps → Add a new sitemap. After that, Squarespace updates it as you add pages.
5. Robots.txt Is Not Blocking Important Pages
What it is: A small file at /robots.txt that tells search engines which parts of the site to crawl and which to skip.
Why it matters: An aggressive robots.txt can accidentally block your entire site from being indexed. This is one of the most common ways an advisor site disappears from search.
How to check: Visit yoursite.com/robots.txt. If you see "Disallow: /" by itself, that is blocking everything. That is bad. A normal advisor robots.txt typically only blocks admin paths and lets the rest through.
On Squarespace: The default robots.txt is fine for advisors. The risk comes from accidentally setting your site or specific pages to "Hide from search engines" inside individual page settings. That setting overrides the default and adds a noindex tag, which is a different but related problem.
6. URLs Are Clean and Descriptive
What it is: A URL like /services/retirement-planning is clean. A URL like /page?id=482&ref=auto is not.
Why it matters: Clean URLs are easier for Google to understand and easier for prospects to trust. They also show up better in search snippets and on social shares.
How to check: Look at the URLs of your main pages. Are they short, lowercase, and made of real words? If yes, you're set.
On Squarespace: URL slugs are editable on every page. Settings → URL Slug. Keep them short (3 to 5 words), use hyphens, and never include dates or random IDs in service page URLs. For blog posts, the slug should match the post topic, not the date.
7. Title Tags and Meta Descriptions Are Set on Every Page
What it is: The title is what shows up as the clickable headline in Google search results. The meta description is the snippet of text below it.
Why it matters: These are often the first impression a prospect has of your firm. They also influence whether someone clicks at all.
How to check: View the source of any page (right click → View Page Source) and search for <title> and <meta name="description". Both should exist and contain something specific to that page.
On Squarespace: Edit per page under Page Settings → SEO. Each page needs its own. The homepage default usually has the firm name. Service pages and blog posts need their own. For the format and structure to use, see our posts on meta titles for advisor SEO and meta descriptions that increase CTR.
8. Heading Hierarchy Is Correct
What it is: One H1 per page, used for the main title. H2s for major sections. H3s for subsections inside those.
Why it matters: Headings tell Google what the page is about and how it is structured. A clean H1 to H2 to H3 hierarchy also makes pages easier to skim.
How to check: View any page and look at the structure. You should see one H1 at the top (matching or close to your page title), several H2s, and H3s inside the relevant H2 sections.
On Squarespace: The default heading on most templates is correct. The risk is when an advisor manually changes the largest text style to H1 in a "Heading 1" block partway down the page, creating two H1s. Use H2 and H3 for subheadings inside posts. For more on this, see our header system that Google understands.
9. Images Are Sized and Have Alt Text
What it is: Images are saved at the right dimensions (not 4000 pixels wide for a 600-pixel slot) and every meaningful image has a short text description in its alt tag.
Why it matters: Oversized images slow down the page. Missing alt text removes a signal Google uses to understand visual content, and it makes the site less accessible.
How to check: Right-click any image and "Inspect." Check the width and height vs the displayed size. Confirm the alt attribute is present and describes what's in the image.
On Squarespace: Resize photos before uploading. The platform doesn't aggressively re-compress for you. For alt text, click the image in the editor and use the "Image Alt Text" field. Make it descriptive: "Headshot of advisor Jane Smith at desk" is useful. "Image1.jpg" is not.
10. Schema Markup Is Present Where It Helps
What it is: Structured data (JSON-LD) that tells search engines what type of content a page is. Common types for advisor sites: Organization, Article, FAQPage, BreadcrumbList.
Why it matters: Schema makes your site easier for both Google and AI answer engines to interpret. It is also a factor in whether you get rich results.
How to check: Paste any URL into Google's Rich Results Test (search.google.com/test/rich-results). It will show what schema is present and whether it is valid.
On Squarespace: Schema is added by pasting JSON-LD code into the Page Header Code Injection field for each page. The standalone FAQ block can also be marked up with FAQPage schema as covered in last week's post on FAQ sections.
SearchAction schema should be skipped for advisor sites. BreadcrumbList and Article schema do not apply to the homepage.
11. Canonical Tags Are Set Correctly
What it is: A canonical tag tells Google which version of a page is the "official" one when similar content exists at multiple URLs.
Why it matters: Without canonicals, Google can index multiple versions of the same content, which dilutes ranking signals. Wrong canonicals can point Google away from the page you actually want to rank.
How to check: View page source and search for <link rel="canonical". The URL inside should match the page you're on (or, if intentional, point to the preferred version).
On Squarespace: Canonical tags are added automatically and usually point to the canonical version of each page. The risk is when blog posts get duplicated under multiple categories or tags, creating extra URLs. Squarespace handles most of this correctly out of the box, but it's worth spot-checking your highest-traffic posts.
12. Internal Links Are Working and Logical
What it is: Links from one page on your site to another page on your site.
Why it matters: Internal links spread authority across your site, help Google understand which pages are most important, and give readers a path to more relevant content.
How to check: Click through your top 5 pages. Note where each page links to. Look for broken links (using a tool like Screaming Frog's free version) and dead-end pages that link to nothing.
On Squarespace: Use the link tool inside content blocks. Avoid linking via raw text only when a real anchor link would be clearer. Internal links from blog posts to service pages tend to be the highest-value structure for advisor sites. See our full internal linking guide for RIAs for the map that works best.
13. Crawl Errors Are Monitored in Search Console
What it is: Pages on your site that Google tried to crawl and failed. Reported in GSC under Pages → Why pages aren't indexed.
Why it matters: Crawl errors signal that something on your site is broken, missing, or misconfigured. A pattern of errors suggests a bigger issue.
How to check: Open GSC. Pages report. Look at the count under "Not indexed" and click into the reasons. Most reasons are normal (duplicate, alternate page) but "Server error" or "Blocked by robots.txt" need investigation.
For a refresher on what GSC reports to focus on first, see our tutorial on the only 5 reports advisors need.
How to Use This Checklist
The point of this list is not to do everything at once. The point is to know what is on your site and what is not.
A reasonable order for advisors who have never run a technical SEO check:
Week 1: Items 1, 2, 4, 5 (the existence checks). Confirm HTTPS, mobile, sitemap, and robots.txt are not broken.
Week 2: Items 7, 8, 10 (the on-page checks). Audit title tags, meta descriptions, headings, and schema on your top 5 pages.
Week 3: Items 6, 9, 11, 12 (the structure checks). Clean up URLs, image sizes, canonicals, and internal links on those same 5 pages.
Ongoing: Item 13. Monitor GSC monthly for new crawl errors.
If you ran our SEO audit checklist earlier this year, this technical list builds on that foundation. It zooms in on the items that require setup once and then mostly hold.
How AdvisorSEO Max Helps
AdvisorSEO Max runs an automated technical scan as part of every site audit. It flags HTTPS issues, missing sitemaps, mobile responsiveness problems, broken schema, missing title tags and meta descriptions, and orphan pages, then ranks every finding by impact through the "Fix This Next" engine.
For advisors who would rather see a prioritized list than work through a 13-item checklist manually, you can start a 14-day free trial at advisorseomax.com/start.
What to Do This Week
Pick three items from the list. Run the check. Note what you find. Fix what is broken.
Most advisor sites are 80 percent right on technical SEO. The remaining 20 percent is where rankings get stuck. Working through this list, one section at a time, closes that gap without requiring a developer or an agency.