Structured Data for Financial Services: Making Your Practice Visible to AI

The Trust Markup Challenge

Financial services is one of the most regulated industries online. Google classifies it as YMYL (Your Money or Your Life), applying heightened scrutiny to financial content. AI tools apply similar standards — they need robust trust signals before recommending a financial adviser. Structured data provides those signals in a machine-readable format that AI tools can verify and cite.

Essential Schema for Financial Advisers

Every financial services website needs: FinancialService schema on the homepage (covering service types, FCA number, areas served), Person schema for each adviser (qualifications, certifications, specialisms, FCA individual reference number), and Organization schema linking to professional bodies (Personal Finance Society, CISI, CFA Institute). These schema types work together to create a comprehensive, verifiable profile of your practice.

Service-Specific Markup

Create Service schema for each advice area: retirement planning, investment management, tax planning, protection, mortgages, and estate planning. Each should include: serviceType, description, areaServed, and any relevant regulatory information. If you offer specific products or approaches — discretionary fund management, ethical investing, defined benefit transfers — these should be marked up as distinct services. The more specific your schema, the more precisely AI tools can match you to relevant queries.

Review and Credential Schema

Implement AggregateRating schema for your VouchedFor, Unbiased, or Google reviews. Use hasCredential for professional qualifications: Chartered Financial Planner, Certified Financial Planner, CFA charter, and any specialist qualifications like the SOLLA accreditation for later life advice. AI tools cross-reference these credentials with professional body registers, so accuracy is essential — any discrepancy will undermine your authority score.

Meridian's Technical Implementation

Meridian Wealth implemented structured data across their entire website in three days. The schema covered: FinancialService on the homepage, Person markup for six advisers, Service schema for eight advice areas, and Review schema linking to their VouchedFor profile. The key learning was that schema implementation is straightforward — the real work is ensuring your website content is comprehensive enough to justify the markup. Schema should describe what's genuinely on the page, not aspirational capabilities.