What Questions Do Visitors Ask on IFA Websites?

Your visitors have questions. Your website probably does not answer them.

Every person who visits your website arrives with a question in their head. Sometimes it is specific: "Do you handle NHS pension transfers?" Sometimes it is broad: "Is a financial adviser worth it for someone with £50,000?"

Most IFA websites answer neither type. They present information about the firm, list services, and hope the visitor is convinced enough to fill in a contact form. The visitor's actual question goes unanswered. So they leave.

Understanding what visitors want to know is the single most useful insight you can have about your website. It tells you what content to create, what pages to improve, and where your site is failing to convert interested visitors into enquiries.

The five categories of visitor questions

After analysing common enquiry patterns across financial adviser websites, a clear taxonomy emerges. Nearly every question falls into one of five categories.

Each category reveals something different about what your website is missing.

Category 1: "Do you help with my specific situation?"

This is the most common question by a significant margin. Visitors do not ask "what services do you offer?" They ask about their specific circumstances.

Real examples:

• "Do you advise on defined benefit pension transfers?"
• "Can you help with inheritance tax if my assets are mainly property?"
• "I have ISAs with three different providers. Can you consolidate them?"
• "Do you work with people who have less than £100,000?"
• "My husband and I need advice but we have very different attitudes to risk. Is that something you handle?"

The fix is not to list every possible scenario. It is to write about the scenarios you handle most often, in enough detail that a visitor recognises their own situation.

Category 2: "How much does it cost?"

The second most common question, and the one most IFA websites refuse to answer.

Real examples:

• "What do you charge for an initial consultation?"
• "Is there a minimum investment to work with you?"
• "Do you charge a percentage or a fixed fee?"
• "Is the first meeting free?"
• "How much would it cost for a pension review?"

72% of IFA websites give no indication of typical costs. The most common approach is to say nothing at all, or to write "fees vary depending on your circumstances, please contact us to discuss."

This is understandable from the adviser's perspective. Fees genuinely do vary. But from the visitor's perspective, silence on pricing feels evasive. They assume fees are either very high or deliberately hidden, and they leave to find an adviser who is more transparent.

You do not need to publish a full fee schedule. A section that says "Most of our clients pay between 1% and 1.5% of their portfolio annually, with an initial planning fee typically between £500 and £2,000" gives visitors enough to decide whether to enquire.

Category 3: "How does the process work?"

Visitors are often nervous about contacting a financial adviser for the first time. They do not know what to expect, and that uncertainty is a barrier.

Real examples:

• "What happens at the first meeting?"
• "How long does the whole process take?"
• "Do I need to bring any documents?"
• "Will you try to sell me something?"
• "Can I do the first meeting online?"

Category 4: "Are you the right fit for me?"

This is subtler than category 1. These visitors have established that you offer the service they need. Now they want to know if you are the right person.

Real examples:

• "Do you work with clients in my age group?"
• "How long have you been advising on this area?"
• "Are you independent or restricted?"
• "Can I see any testimonials or case studies?"
• "What professional qualifications do you hold?"

Your about page and testimonials are the primary tools here. Most IFA about pages focus on credentials and regulatory status. Visitors care about these, but they care more about whether you have helped people like them. Case studies, even brief anonymised ones, are enormously effective.

Category 5: "Practical logistics"

The least common category, but these questions often determine whether someone follows through with an enquiry.

Real examples:

• "Where is your office?"
• "Do you offer video meetings?"
• "What areas do you cover?"
• "Are you taking on new clients?"
• "Can I switch to you from my current adviser?"

These questions are easy to answer and should be addressed on your website proactively. A small FAQ section covering the basics removes friction for visitors who are close to enquiring but have one practical doubt holding them back.

What your unanswered questions cost you

Every question a visitor cannot answer on your website is a decision point where they might leave. Not because they decided against you, but because they could not decide at all.

The chart above illustrates the compound effect. Each unanswered question costs you a proportion of your remaining visitors. A site that leaves three common questions unanswered retains only a third of the visitors who were initially interested.

The solution is not to cram every answer onto one page. It is to ensure your website has a way to answer questions as they arise. A comprehensive FAQ helps. Better content helps. But the most effective approach is giving visitors a way to ask their specific question and get an answer immediately.

As we explored in Why Contact Forms Are Costing IFAs Clients, visitors with questions want answers, not a form to fill in. A chat widget that draws on your website content provides those answers around the clock, for every visitor, without you lifting a finger.

Want to see what that looks like? Try the demo at chatifa.co.uk and ask the kind of questions your visitors would ask. Free trial, 25 messages, no payment details.