SEO has become anything but simple over the years. The good news for insurance agents, however, is that you can easily rank high in SEO without spending time optimizing and regularly adding content to your website.
You’re probably familiar with the concept of search engine optimization (SEO)—the likelihood that your agency will be discovered online by prospects searching for relevant products and services.
Why care about SEO? Because you want to increase the amount of inbound leads you receive every day. It’s that simple.
But unfortunately, SEO has become anything but simple over the years. The Internet is so cluttered with competing businesses that it often seems impossible to break through the noise and get noticed. This is particularly true for small insurance agencies that lack the time, resources or knowledge to take on the direct carriers for the coveted first page of search results.
The good news for insurance agents, however, is that you can easily rank high in SEO without spending time optimizing and regularly adding content to your website. That’s because search engines like Google have now implemented changes within their algorithms which give preference to local agencies over national carriers for relevant insurance-related searches.
A common SEO misconception is that it’s all about directing people to your website. The truth is, people are introduced to businesses every day without ever visiting their website at all. Instead, these Internet users are directed to the search engine’s official listings, which serve as a directory like an online phonebook.
Try it out yourself: Google “home insurance” and see what pops up. Underneath the paid AdWords, you’ll see a list of three recommended insurance agencies. These are the official local business listings, which are separate from agency websites.
As an agency, your SEO strategy should focus on increasing the likelihood that this business listing (in contrast to your website) will rank higher for people searching for insurance in your local community.
Here are a few simple methods to improve your visibility in these local search results:
NAP consistency: Keep your agency’s Name, Address and Phone number consistent across the Internet. [See sidebar for additional details.]
Online reviews: Actively collect more positive reviews to impact both rankings and prominence.
Business category: Always choose the more local category when listing your agency. For example, “insurance agency” instead of “insurance company.”
Carl Maerz is the co-founder of Rocket Referrals and a contributor to the free online educational platform Launch Academy.
Take Your NAP Ensuring NAP consistency is the easiest and most important method for improving local SEO. Companies called data aggregators compile data from public records and various other locations across the Internet, then feed this information directly to search engines. Try contacting these companies directly or leveraging paid data facilitators like Moz Local or Yext to streamline the process. —C.M. |
