The challenge: Strong reputation, weak local search visibility
Fidelis came to Trustworthy Digital with clear goals: to increase their digital visibility and gain more qualified leads. The firm had built a strong reputation over decades in the St. Charles community through referrals and relationships. The challenge was that potential clients searching for their services online could not find them.
Their website had a basic structure, consisting of a homepage, an about page, and a single combined location page for both offices. There were no dedicated location pages, no service-specific landing pages, no schema markup, and no GA4 or Google Search Console in place — leaving no reliable baseline data to measure performance.
In St. Louis, Fidelis was being outranked by most local competitors in one of the more saturated markets for financial advisors in the region. While the St. Charles market was less competitive, they were still not consistently ranking in top positions for the high-intent searches that mattered most to their business.
Google Business Profile optimization moved Fidelis into the top local rankings
Fidelis had two active Google Business Profiles when we started. Neither was performing.
St. Louis rankings improved from #14.5 to #2.2
When we began in May 2025, the St. Louis GBP had an average map ranking of 14.5, placing Fidelis well outside the local pack and largely invisible for high-intent searches. We optimized categories, rewrote business descriptions with location and service-focused keywords, added professional photos, and launched a consistent weekly Google Posts cadence. We also worked closely with the Fidelis team on a review generation strategy, encouraging satisfied clients to leave feedback and managing responses to reinforce trust with prospective ones. By January 2026, the average map ranking had reached 2.2, a net improvement of nearly 13 positions into the top 3.
St. Charles visibility expanded across surrounding markets
The St. Charles profile presented a different challenge. In October 2025, we implemented a map grid expansion to extend visibility across surrounding areas. At the time of expansion, the average ranking was 8.5. By January 2026, that improved to 4.4, a gain of 4.1 positions, with top-3 rankings achieved in multiple targeted surrounding areas. Combined with the St. Louis gains, Fidelis now had strong local visibility across both markets, with optimized profiles, consistent posting, and a growing review base continuing to build local authority as the engagement progressed.
New service and location pages generated qualified leads within 90 days
Before the engagement, Fidelis had no dedicated location or service pages. We built seven new pages in total, including location pages for St. Louis and St. Charles, and service pages for financial planning, wealth management, retirement planning, and investment advising, along with a centralized service hub to support internal linking.
Within 90 days, those pages accounted for nearly 17% of all leads generated through the site. Their average conversion rate was approximately 9%, compared to the site average of 6.4%. Organic search visitors converted at 5.34%, more than double the 2.45% rate for direct traffic.
Website redesign improved site performance and engagement
The existing site ran on an outdated WordPress structure with bloated plugins, no schema, no tracking setup, and a 6-second load time. Before we started, the performance score sat at 69%. The site could not effectively support the SEO and local visibility work that needed to happen.
On January 11, 2026, we launched a fully redesigned site on a custom WordPress theme. Load time dropped to 1.7 seconds. Schema markup was built in from scratch across six schema types. GA4 and Google Search Console were configured for the first time, establishing a real measurement foundation.
Within one month of the new theme going live, user engagement increased 34%.
Post-launch scores: Performance 95, Accessibility 91, Best Practices 96, SEO 100.
Building a scalable local SEO foundation for long-term growth
Fidelis had something most firms take years to build: genuine community trust and a strong referral reputation. What they lacked was digital visibility to match. Our job was to make sure that when someone in St. Louis or St. Charles searched for a fee-only financial advisor, Fidelis showed up as the clear, credible answer.
We began by establishing a strong measurement and local SEO foundation. This included setting up GA4 and Google Search Console to track performance, alongside ongoing Google Business Profile optimization and management to improve visibility in local search.
The Google Business Profile work drove the fastest and most measurable gains. By fully optimizing both profiles, implementing a consistent review generation process, and actively managing engagement, Fidelis saw significant improvements in local rankings. In St. Louis, their average position improved from 14.5 to 2.2 in roughly eight months.
We also expanded our visibility tracking across a broader geographic area, which revealed that Fidelis was gaining traction not just within St. Charles, but in surrounding high-value areas as well — reinforcing the impact of our local SEO efforts.
From there, we addressed foundational gaps in the website. The January 2026 redesign improved site performance (reducing load time from 6 seconds to 1.7 seconds) and introduced a more strategic structure to support SEO growth.
The addition of seven new location and service pages solved a critical visibility issue. Without dedicated pages for each location and service, Fidelis had no ability to rank for the specific, high-intent queries their prospective clients were searching. These pages now account for nearly 17% of all site leads, converting at approximately 9.0%, compared to the site average of ~6.4%.
What made this work is that the goal was never simply more traffic. Fidelis needed a steady flow of qualified leads that matched their team’s capacity for personalized service. Every strategy was built around that objective. Today, organic search traffic converts at more than 2x the rate of direct traffic, demonstrating a clear improvement in lead quality.
About the Author: Lary H. Stucker
Lary brings more than 20 years of leadership experience guiding enterprise organizations and nonprofits through marketing transformation and growth. As Chief Operating Officer of Trustworthy Digital, he oversees digital strategy, automation, web and software development, and the deployment of AI agents that enhance efficiency, decision-making, and client impact.
Lary is a contributing thought-leaders on Search Engine Land on search evolution, AI-driven optimization, and accountable digital growth.
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