Insurance Marketing Blog

Agencies have started asking that very question. It appears that one of the oldest paradigms in insurance marketing has been shattered. For years Agency owners have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars supporting the phone companies and their marketing allies who publish Yellow Pages and other directories.

Insurance marketing gurus have always advised agents to post a large ad in the local Yellow Pages and just wait for the phone to ring. Seems solid, right? Well that was a great strategy in the 1980’s and early 90’s. Now, it could be a costly mistake.

Many agents, still not knowing what to do month after month have paid up to $20,000 a month and have seen their returns dwindle. That is why many are turning to the internet through ReadytoQuote.com’s more effective and more affordable online marketing solutions.

Honestly, when was the last time you yourself used the Yellow Pages to buy something? You need a STRONG web presence with a persistent and consistent ongoing effort to rank high in search terms that people are using to buy insurance.

To learn more about insurance marketing, insurance search engine optimization, insurance web design, insurance website or insurance agency marketing, visit ReadytoQuote.com or call 1.800.504.8593.

If you tuck away the contact form, you are requiring the visitor to make an extra step to contact your company. The average visitor to a website will visit 2.3 pages on your site. This number can be increased if you keep a blog actively updated. However, if the homepage is the first page, the second page needs to be your contact form or else it becomes less likely that the visitor will convert to a contact.

The way to improve this is to put a short contact form on every page. Regardless of the page the visitor lands on first on your site, they have immediate access to an easy way to contact you via a short contact form. Otherwise, they may just pass your “contact us” button, read some information then leave without contacting your company.

Adding a short contact form to every page of your website is probably one of the easiest ways to improve conversion.

To learn more about insurance marketing, insurance search engine optimization, insurance web design, insurance website or insurance agency marketing, visit ReadytoQuote.com or call 1.800.504.8593.

A lot of shuffling is taking place in the Google algorithm right now. Last year, their modified algorithm named “Google Caffeine” was released for public testing. In the summer, we reviewed it and realized that they were changing for the better. In November, they announced that they would begin upgrading their data centers.

In the last couple of months, we have seen a lot of fluctuation in rankings which is a pretty good sign that the upgrade is well underway. But one of things we are also seeing is that Google is looking for a new third element, social networks.

It appears that the world’s largest search engine is paying attention to how often a website is linking with popular social networks as a way to gage popularity. Some experts even speculate that they monitor Tweets and Re-Tweets.

The clear message to take from this is that you need a social networking strategy to compete online. It’s that simple. If you are currently working with a marketing company that is not implementing a social network strategy then it’s time to change quickly to catch up with the new Google search.

We frequently talk about the benefits of having an insurance website that can work with your offline insurance marketing efforts. These benefits included building credibility by showing case examples and client testimonials things that cannot be done on a billboard.

But the most important value of a website is its ability to work as the center of your online insurance marketing strategy.

Two things have to happen to make a website successful. Number one, when someone types in your region and insurance type, your website needs to be on the first page of the search results. This is achieved with article publishing, inbound links, social networking, and blogging. With a little time investment, hard work from your SEO company, and a consistent number of new inbound links pointing to your website from other websites, your website should be easy to find by prospective clients.

So now that the insurance website is found on the search engine, it’s time to convert that visitor into a contact. Websites that are old, aesthetically unattractive, and not formatted to be user-friendly will experience a much lower conversion rate regardless of where they are ranked on the first page of search engine results.

But of course it all starts with being found in the search engines.

To learn more about insurance marketing, insurance search engine optimization, insurance web design, insurance website or insurance agency marketing, visit ReadytoQuote.com or call 1.800.504.8593.

The beginning of the year is a time when many insurance agencies and companies are planning their annual insurance marketing strategy. Getting new policies is, of course, what will determine this year’s success.

Companies or agencies of all must decide whether or not to continue old insurance marketing practices that are offering limited returns or to pursue newer marketing avenues like search engine optimization and online insurance marketing.

In comparing online media with traditional media we will start with the insurance website. The website holds a unique power in that it can be a stand-alone marketing strategy as well as a complimentary piece to your offline insurance marketing. For example, a billboard with your website address on it could prove to convert a passersby to a new client, who would have otherwise ignored your phone number.

Another example of an insurance website working as a complimentary piece of your offline marketing is with television, radio or print. Your company could publish free information pieces then advertise those pieces on your radio, television or print advertisements to encourage viewers and listeners to visit your website.

An insurance website can do what an advertisement cannot and that is build confidence with the prospective client. It is on a website that your company or agency can prove to the prospective policy holder that you have exactly what they need in a no-pressure environment.

Where drive by and print media force you to consolidate your message into a few words, your insurance website gives you the ability to expound upon your knowledge, host frequently updated blog entries, user instigated videos, and other details to encourage a user to contact your insurance company or agency.

Next week we will talk about what to expect with the second part of your insurance marketing strategy, the search engine optimization.

To learn more about insurance marketing, insurance search engine optimization, insurance web design, insurance website or insurance agency marketing, visit ReadytoQuote.com or call

To improve your insurance website’s ranking and to get the most out of your online insurance marketing investment for the upcoming year, you may need a new website design; or possibly, not just a new website but an entire new brand.

Branding is crucial for any business and the insurance industry is no different. Multiple case studies show that utilizing a branding effort will convert better across all advertising medias because a strong brand gives the target client base an image to remember. By building a professional website and strong brand, you set your insurance business above the competition and help your image stand out to your target client base.

When a person or company is in need of coverage, they are bombarded with websites, billboards and logos of other insurance agencies and companies. If you want your agency or company to really stand out, a generic logo and template website will not achieve this goal.

Branding your agency/company will increase the success of your online insurance marketing strategy; whether it’s search engine optimization and online marketing, billboard advertising, television or print media. People remember imagery more clearly than words.

Lay down the foundation for a successful 2010 by improving your website, improving your brand, and improving your search engine ranking.

To learn more about insurance marketing, insurance search engine optimization, insurance web design, insurance website or insurance agency marketing, visit ReadytoQuote.com or call 1.800.504.8593.

All marketing literature from print to mass media to the web must be properly branded to your insurance market. This is very basic. However, many insurance agencies and even companies try to cut costs with their online insurance marketing efforts by using templates for their website.

The problem with template designs is that they are oftentimes designed around generic ideas. For example, if a designer is trying to sell their cookie cutter template to as many insurance websites as possible, they are going to make it suitable for common ideas.

However, the template website design will not come with a means to communicate with your target clientele. By using a generic design, you’re marketing your agency or company as being – well, generic.

The branding of your insurance agency is a multifaceted effort that must show congruence from business card, to billboard, to letterhead; and even to your website. The only way to truly communicate with your target market and really reap the benefits of your online marketing investment is to have a custom design developed exclusively for your insurance agency or company around your practice area(s), and exclusively for your target audience.

To learn more about insurance marketing, insurance search engine optimization, insurance web design, insurance website or insurance agency marketing, visit ReadytoQuote.com or call 1.800.504.8593.

At the center of online insurance marketing is search engine optimization. While some less scrupulous search engine optimization companies may give promises of overnight success, the rise to the top requires a little time investment.

Websites that rank highly in Google and other search engines do so because of their clear design, navigation, sometimes age, and the quality of their website.

Search engines want to deliver the highest quality results to their search audience. Google claimed market share from competing search engines like Yahoo and Altavista by writing an algorithm that assessed a quality score to every website and ranked them accordingly. The result, a search engine that displayed top quality search results.

Of course by doing so, they raised the standards of website development and search engine optimization and made it a little harder to get to the top.

In most moderately competitive markets, rankings move up in a “two steps forward, one step back” motion that ultimately stabilizes in a preferred ranking on the first page.

To learn more about insurance marketing, insurance search engine optimization, insurance web design, insurance website or insurance agency marketing, visit ReadytoQuote.com or call 1.800.504.8593.

Everyday, we talk to insurance agencies and companies from all across the country. It is through this daily interaction that we learn about the concerns of insurance professionals in their pursuit of online insurance marketing strategies that work.

A major concern with many agencies and companies is whether or not they can compete, since they are coming into the online market much later than competitors that may have established a web presence well over a decade ago.

While it will not happen overnight, your insurance website can compete in the search engines.

When ranking a website, Google looks at two primary elements: your website and the number of quality links coming into your website. The advantage that other insurance agencies and companies have - that started many years ago - is simply their inbound link population.

As your insurance website exists, serves visitors and is referenced in third party articles or in the news, you start acquiring a number of inbound links (other websites linking to your website) which improves your credibility with Google.

If you do not previously have a website at all, you will have to get a little more aggressive. A new insurance website needs to (forgive the ancient motivational rhetoric) hit the ground running. From the time it goes live, you need a media machine putting content out on the web, news articles into online newswires, and a team of specialists distributing content through a series of social networks.

To learn more about insurance marketing, insurance search engine optimization, insurance web design, insurance website or insurance agency marketing, visit ReadytoQuote.com or call 1.800.504.8593.

If your insurance website is getting traffic but converting to fewer policies, one simple fix could be a quick upgrade.

Oftentimes, insurance agencies and companies that have been around a while, have traffic going into their website. If the domain name (www.yourlawfirmname.com) has a few years behind it, that greatly helps the search engine optimization process. Google looks at websites that are more established, have stood the test of time, and offer valuable content. So an aged domain name is a big plus for the search engine marketing side.

While Google likes seeing insurance websites that have been around the web for a significant length of time, that does not necessarily mean they want your design to be old. In fact, if your design is more than a few years old, it’s time for a new one.

The standards for web design have changed significantly over the years. Back in the early nineties, websites frequently used frames (a website structure that uses 2-3 webpages and displays them as one). Now if you use frames, chances are Google has tucked you away deep into their search pages.

With website designs constantly evolving, your insurance website should not be left behind. Most people put a lot of emphasis on the professionalism of websites when deciding to work with an insurance agent, make a purchase, or engage in any other transaction. Your website is an extension of your agency or company and represents the quality and professionalism of the service you provide to your policy holders.

So to bump up conversion and get more out of your insurance marketing dollars, a new website design could be a simple fix.

To learn more about insurance marketing, insurance search engine optimization, insurance web design, insurance website or insurance agency marketing, visit ReadytoQuote.com or call 1.800.504.8593.