Overview
AP Wealth is a Georgia-based financial advisory firm serving high-net-worth families, individuals, and especially retirees navigating transitions into and out of Augusta. Their clients are often facing major financial decisions – relocating, retiring, or restructuring portfolios – and they rely on AP Wealth for calm, seasoned guidance.
In mid-2024, AP Wealth partnered with Advisor Rankings to expand its online visibility and attract more right-fit clients. What followed was a strategic SEO campaign that positioned them as a top local authority – even in the face of Google’s evolving search experience.
The Challenge
AP Wealth had a strong foundation: an experienced team, a great reputation, and a clear focus on serving retirees and near-retirees. But their online presence didn’t reflect that expertise.
Before our engagement, they were:
- Ranking inconsistently in local search results
- Missing opportunities to attract out-of-state retirees relocating to Augusta
- Seeing minimal traction from organic search, with visibility under 300 monthly impressions in Google Search Console
They needed a strategy that would:
- Position them as Augusta’s go-to firm for relocating retirees
- Compete in local map rankings
- Adapt to the emerging influence of AI-powered search
The Strategy
Localized SEO with a Retiree Focus: We developed a content strategy tailored to a strategic niche: retirees and near-retirees considering a move to Augusta. Our approach included:
- Publishing two high-quality articles per month (29+ total to date)
- Refreshing older content for performance and accuracy
- Crafting geo-intent pages around Augusta relocation and retirement planning
- Supporting visibility with targeted on-page optimization, schema, and conversion UX work
Tracking AI Visibility: We also monitored AP Wealth’s presence in AI-generated answers using Scrunch. While we created topics in-house, Scrunch helped us:
- Tailor prompts around their ideal audience
- Benchmark content appearance in AI platforms (including ChatGPT and Google’s SGE)
- Monitor sentiment, citations, and competitor activity
Technical + Local SEO Enhancements:
- Resolved technical issues affecting indexation and mobile usability
- Strengthened internal linking and site architecture
- Built local authority via review acquisition (+23 new Google reviews)
- Improved local map pack visibility across “Wealth Management” and “Financial Advisor” grid searches
The Results
1. $15M in Qualified Leads from Organic Search
In November 2025 alone, five high-net-worth prospects booked consultations directly through AP Wealth’s website:
- Two with $5M in investable assets each
- Three more totaling another $5M
All five leads originated from organic search. One explicitly mentioned discovering AP Wealth through ChatGPT, a sign of evolving search behavior.
"Brent and his team have done a great job for us. We have noticeably improved our website traffic and have gained some terrific new clients who found us through web searches. I love that Brent's firm is solely focused on the investment advisory industry"
2. Massive Visibility Growth in Google Search Console
- Pre-campaign (late 2024): ~200 monthly impressions
- Peak in late 2025: 4,000+ monthly impressions
- Growth: 1,900%+ increase in visibility
Their Google Search Console chart shows a steady, exponential climb in impressions across the year, despite the September 2025 Google reporting update.
3. Recovery After AI Disruption
After peaking in early 2025, AP Wealth experienced a traffic dip due to AI integration in search results. However, they rebounded strongly:
- Organic traffic jumped from 267 to a peak of 2,182 visitors (~717% increase)
- December 2024 traffic was 307; by December 2025, they were at 1,125
- This represents a 3.7x traffic lift year over year
4. Dominating Local Map Pack Rankings
Our local SEO strategy showed measurable gains:
- July 2024: Ranking in the 3-5 range across central Augusta
- December 2025: #1 ranking across nearly the entire grid for “Wealth Management Augusta”
- Significant ranking improvements for “Financial Advisor Augusta” as well
How to Read Local Search Grids
Each grid represents a snapshot of how well AP Wealth ranks in Google’s local map pack for a specific search term (like “Wealth Management Augusta”) across various points in and around the city. (If you look closely, you can see the city map under the grid. Their office location is in the center of the grid and is outlined with a purple circle).
Each circle represents a different GPS location where a search was simulated.
The number inside the circle shows where AP Wealth ranks locally at that spot (1 = top of the local pack).
Green = Top 3 visibility, the sweet spot for local SEO.
Yellow to red = Lower rankings or no visibility, areas of opportunity.
Grid comparisons (from July 2024 to December 2025) show dramatic improvement in both ranking position and geographic spread.
"Wealth Management" (07/24)
"Wealth Management" (12/25)
"Wealth Management Augusta" (07/24)
"Wealth Management Augusta" (12/25)
- 5. Increased Google Business Profile Activity (YoY: Nov 2024 vs. Nov 2025)
- +71.4% more calls
- +33.3% more website clicks
- +23.7% more interactions overall
6. AI Visibility Advantage (via Scrunch)
- 71% of AP Wealth mentions ranked in the top tier of AI-generated results
- 100% positive sentiment in AI citations
- Strong brand presence compared to local competitors
What This Means
Search is changing. Optimization needs to change with it.
By targeting a specific niche (relocating retirees), optimizing for both traditional and AI-driven discovery, and reinforcing their local authority, AP Wealth turned organic search into a consistent pipeline of high-quality leads.
What’s Next
While AP Wealth now dominates for “Wealth Management Augusta,” there’s still room to grow in more competitive, higher-volume terms like “financial advisor” and “financial advisor Augusta.” These keywords are often targeted by large directories and national firms, making them tougher to win – but also more rewarding. Continued content creation, AI visibility tracking, and local optimization will focus on building authority in this next tier of search intent.
"Financial Advisor" (12/25)
"Financial Advisor Augusta" (12/25)
Learn More About How We Partner With Advisors
If you’re ready to:
- Rank higher in your local market
- Get discovered by better-fit prospects
- Future-proof your online visibility for AI and beyond
We help financial advisors show up in the moments that matter.
Brent is the Principal and founder of Advisor Rankings - a specialized SEO and AI search optimization agency dedicated to helping independent financial advisors strengthen authority, boost traffic, and attract high-quality leads online. He holds an MBA in Financial Planning, giving him a strong foundation in the technical side of the profession. With more than a decade of experience specializing in SEO for advisors, Brent bridges financial knowledge with digital marketing expertise. He has presented at NAPFA, FinCon, and XYPN, and appeared on several industry podcasts, including the Financial Advisor Success Podcast with Michael Kitces.
