What SEC and FINRA Actually Require for Your Website SEO (And What They Don't)

Before optimizing anything, you need to understand what regulators consider advertising. The answer is broader than most advisors expect—and it directly affects your SEO strategy.

SEC Marketing Rule 206(4)-1 defines 'advertisement' as any direct or indirect communication to more than one person that offers or promotes investment advisory services. Your website's service pages, blog posts, and even educational content typically qualify if they're designed to attract clients.

FINRA Rule 2210 categorizes communications as retail (to 25+ retail investors), correspondence (fewer recipients), or institutional. Most website content falls under retail communications, which face the strictest requirements for approval and recordkeeping.

The practical impact: that blog post you're optimizing for 'best retirement planning strategies' isn't just content—it's advertising that requires compliance review before publication. This doesn't mean you can't do SEO. It means your SEO workflow needs a compliance checkpoint.

Note: This is educational content about regulatory frameworks, not legal advice. Verify current requirements with your compliance officer or legal counsel, as rules and interpretations evolve.

Understanding which rules apply to which content helps you avoid over-compliance (which slows marketing) and under-compliance (which creates risk).

• SEC Marketing Rule 206(4)-1 (as of November 2022): Governs RIA advertising including testimonials, endorsements, and performance advertising. Requires disclosures for testimonials, prohibits misleading statements, mandates fair and balanced presentation of performance.
• FINRA Rule 2210: Applies to broker-dealers and their associated persons. Requires retail communications to be approved by a principal before use, maintained for three years, and filed with FINRA in some cases.
• State Securities Board Rules: Vary by state. Some states have additional filing requirements or specific prohibitions. Multi-state RIAs should verify requirements in each state where they solicit clients.
• CFP Board Standards: CFP certificants face additional advertising requirements around proper use of marks and accurate representation of services.

For dual-registrants (RIA + broker-dealer), both SEC and FINRA rules may apply to the same content. When rules conflict, typically the stricter requirement governs. Always confirm with your compliance team which regulations apply to your specific registration structure.

The SEC's updated Marketing Rule changed the testimonial landscape significantly. Before November 2022, RIAs couldn't use client testimonials at all. Now you can—with specific requirements that affect how you handle reviews for local SEO.

What the rule requires for testimonials:

• Disclosure of whether the person is a current client
• Disclosure of whether compensation was provided (directly or indirectly)
• A statement that testimonials may not be representative of all client experiences
• Clear and prominent placement of disclosures

How this affects Google Business Profile and review solicitation:

Client reviews on Google technically qualify as testimonials if they discuss your advisory services. While enforcement has been limited, the safest approach treats review solicitation as subject to Marketing Rule requirements. This means you shouldn't offer incentives for reviews, and you may need to monitor and respond to reviews carefully.

Third-party ratings and rankings (like Barron's Top Advisors) require disclosure of the criteria used and whether you paid any fees associated with the rating. If you're optimizing for 'best financial planner in [city],' be careful not to imply third-party endorsement you don't have.

Compliance guidance varies. Some firms prohibit soliciting Google reviews entirely; others permit it with specific disclosures. Work with your compliance team to establish clear policies.

Performance advertising is where SEO and compliance collide most directly. Advisors naturally want to highlight results, and prospects search for evidence of outcomes. But the rules around performance presentation are specific and unforgiving.

What the SEC Marketing Rule requires for performance advertising:

• Net-of-fee performance (gross performance allowed only if net is shown with equal prominence)
• Specific time periods (no cherry-picking favorable periods)
• Relevant benchmarks when comparing performance
• No implication that past performance predicts future results

For SEO content, this creates practical constraints:

A case study page optimized for 'retirement planning results' can't simply state 'Our clients averaged 8% returns.' You'd need to specify the time period, present returns net of fees, compare to a relevant benchmark, and include appropriate disclaimers.

Many advisors avoid performance claims in SEO content entirely, focusing instead on process, credentials, and client experience. This is often the safer path—but if your compliance team approves specific performance claims with proper disclosures, they can differentiate your content from competitors who play it safer.

Hypothetical and projected performance face even stricter requirements. Unless your compliance team has approved specific frameworks, avoid calculators or projections in SEO content.

The firms that successfully scale SEO while staying compliant don't treat compliance as an afterthought. They build review into their content workflow from the start.

Pre-publication compliance checklist:

1. Classification: Is this content 'advertising' under applicable rules? (Usually yes for prospect-facing content)
2. Claims audit: Does any statement require disclosure, substantiation, or specific formatting?
3. Testimonial review: Do any quotes or references to client experiences meet testimonial definitions?
4. Performance check: Are any results, returns, or outcomes mentioned—even implicitly?
5. Principal approval: For FINRA-registered representatives, has a principal reviewed and approved?
6. Recordkeeping: Is the content archived with approval documentation?

For ongoing SEO content production:

Create approved templates for common content types (service pages, blog posts, FAQ content) that include pre-vetted disclosure language. This speeds compliance review for new content while ensuring consistency.

Build a 48-72 hour compliance review window into your editorial calendar. Rushing content to publication without review creates unnecessary risk. SEO results compound over months—a few days of review time won't affect outcomes.

Understanding common compliance failures helps you avoid them. These scenarios reflect patterns we've observed in the industry—not specific enforcement actions.

Scenario 1: The unreviewed blog post
An advisor publishes SEO content mentioning 'our clients typically see their retirement savings grow 6-8% annually.' This performance claim lacked time period specification, net-of-fee disclosure, and compliance review. Even if factually accurate, the presentation violates Marketing Rule requirements.

Scenario 2: The incentivized review campaign
A firm offers a $25 gift card for Google reviews to boost local SEO. This creates compensation for testimonials, triggering disclosure requirements that aren't met in the Google review format—and potentially violating platform terms of service.

Scenario 3: The keyword-stuffed credentials
Optimizing for 'best fiduciary financial planner' when you're not always acting in fiduciary capacity, or claiming credentials you don't hold, creates fair and balanced violations under FINRA rules.

Scenario 4: The borrowed case study
Using another advisor's case study or composite results without clear attribution and disclosure. This misleads prospects about your specific track record.

The common thread: these violations often happen because SEO tactics were implemented without compliance context. The solution isn't avoiding SEO—it's integrating compliance from the start.