"I Can Work With Anyone Anywhere" Might be Hurting Your AI Searchability

cathtidd
1 day ago
3 min read

Key Takeaways:

“Anyone, anywhere” makes you harder to find. Broad positioning weakens both traditional SEO and AI search because it gives algorithms too little specificity to confidently recommend you.
Anchor locally, scale virtually .Lead with a clear home base for credibility and discoverability, then explain your ability to work with clients nationwide through virtual planning.
Specificity beats size. Defining your ideal client and the states you actually serve is a stronger growth strategy than trying to market yourself to everyone in every place.

I work solely with financial advisors - many of whom can work with people throughout the United States. And even though I always encourage them to niche as much as possible when it comes to location, ideal client, what they do, and how they do it...sometimes niching can sound a bit scary. After all, no one wants to turn away a potential client.

But when it comes to "working with anyone anywhere," that message could be hurting your business rather than helping it - especially when it comes to AI searchability.

In other words, advertising yourself that way might actually make you harder to find.

The good news? There’s a smarter way to position yourself that keeps your flexibility without sacrificing discoverability.

Why “Anyone, Anywhere” Can Hurt You

AI tools (and Google) are built to surface relevant, credible, and specific answers to searchers. When your messaging is too broad, three things tend to happen:

You lose clarity — and AI needs clarity

Search engines and AI don’t just look for keywords; they look for patterns.

Compare these two versions of the same idea:

“We work with anyone in any state.”
“We primarily serve clients in Pennsylvania and also work virtually with clients across the U.S. who are a good fit for our process.”

The first tells AI almost nothing useful about who you help or where you’re rooted. The second gives it signals that it can match to real searches.

Bottom line: When you’re vague, AI struggles to confidently recommend you.

You weaken your local authority

Even in a virtual world, local presence still matters — a lot.

AI systems draw heavily from your website, your Google Business profile, reviews, and location-based content. If you present yourself as “everywhere,” you risk looking untethered — which can make you less likely to show up for searches like:

“financial advisor near me”
“retirement planner in Denver”
“fiduciary advisor in Greensboro”

Ironically, trying to sound bigger can make you feel smaller to search algorithms.

AI rewards niche expertise

AI loves specialists, not generalists. Phrases like these perform far better:

“She focuses on retirement planning for women in their 50s.”
“He works primarily with business owners in North Carolina.”
“They specialize in executives with equity compensation.”

“Anyone, anywhere” sounds inclusive, but to AI, it sounds generic.

The Smarter Strategy: Have a Home Base + a Virtual Lane

You don’t need to limit your practice; you just need to be clearer about how you describe it. A simple, powerful framework looks like this:

“We primarily serve clients in [your state/region], and we also work virtually with clients across the U.S. who are a great fit for our process.”

This does three things:

Anchors you locally (great for SEO and AI)
Keeps your national reach intact
Sounds intentional, not desperate for clients

If you truly can work anywhere, make your ideal client profile just as important as your geography. For example:

“Most of our clients are in Pennsylvania, but we work virtually nationwide with:

Executive women in their 40s and 50s
Families in the Sandwich Generation
Professionals with equity compensation
Caregivers balancing aging parents and kids.”

Now AI has something meaningful to match to real human searches. You’re no longer “anyone, anywhere. You’re “specific people, many places.”

Here's the Good News

Being able to serve clients in multiple states is a real advantage — but discoverability still depends on how clearly you describe yourself. The goal isn’t to shrink your practice; it’s to make it easier for the right people to find you.

When you anchor yourself to a home base, define your ideal client, and explain your virtual model with intention, you get the best of both worlds: local credibility and national flexibility. Instead of blending into the sea of “any advisor, anywhere,” you stand out as a recognizable, relevant expert.

In today’s AI-driven search environment, specificity is your superpower. The more clearly you can say who you help and where you’re rooted, the more likely you are to show up — not just in Google results, but in the AI answers people are increasingly relying on.

You don’t need to choose between being national and being discoverable.

You just need better language.