No matter how long you’ve been in the insurance industry, you’ve probably noticed by now that technology is taking over. Digital marketing is now one of the single most important factors contributing to your success as a 21st century agent, so you can’t afford to miss out on this opportunity.
Whether you completely understand the digital realm or you have absolutely no clue how to navigate the internet, these 22 marketing ideas for your website will kick start your sales strategy.
- Embed Sales Presentations
Sales presentations are a great tool to include on your website, as they provide a way for your current and potential customers to learn about your company and products without the added pressure of speaking with a sales agent. These types of presentations should include features and benefits of your products and services, specific scenarios that your product would be helpful for, answers to frequently asked questions, and anything else you deem important. PowerPoint, Prezi, or SlideShare are all good options for this. - Create an “Everything We Sell” Page
Listing out all of your products in an easy-to-understand layout enables your customers to easily compare products. When a customer feels like they have assessed all their options, they may be more likely to commit to a purchase and feel good about their decision. - Rewrite/Optimize Meta Descriptions
To be brief, the meta description is the snippet of text that shows up in search results below your headline. In other words, it summarizes the content of a web page so that search engines (i.e. Google) know what your site is about. Meta descriptions are important because they can help your pages rank in the top search results for customer queries, making them more likely to click on your site.
If you already have some familiarity with on-page Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and want to learn about some meta description best practices, check out this article. If you need a total crash course in SEO as a whole, here is an article for beginners.
- Use Quick Quote Forms and Lead Forms
Forms are extremely important for capturing leads and customers. They need to be eye catching and easy to use, and the work it takes to fill them out has to be worth what the customer is getting in return.
Forms are a great way to learn who is visiting your site. They also allow you to gather useable information for turning prospects into leads. Users may enter their name, age, e-mail, or phone number to receive a quote or get a piece of content like an e-book or an infographic that you offer on your site.
It’s tempting to ask as many questions as possible to get all the valuable consumer information you need, but try to refrain. It won’t do you any good if people get burnt out halfway through your form and never hit submit.
If possible, try including fewer questions so that there is a better chance of a potential customer at least giving you some contact information. You have to blend what works for your company with what works for your customer.
- Test All Forms
Testing is just as important as having Make sure you, or whoever maintains your webpages, is continually testing your forms to see if there is any area for improvement. Trying out different colors, text, and field options can improve conversion rates, for example. Learn more about the 3 essential tips for testing forms.
You also want to check for any broken links and ensure your form is taking people to the right page after they press submit. Here is a list of 5 essential link checking tools.
- Optimize Page Titles
This is in the same arena as the meta description. Page titles are another part of SEO that can give you some authority in search engine rankings. It’s the first thing a user sees and tells search engines what the main topic of the page is. This article gives you some best practices for writing effective titles. - Get Mobile Friendly
According to a Hitwise study performed in 2016, more than 50% of global internet search queries were conducted on a smartphone. What does that mean for you? It means your entire website has to be responsive. Responsive simply means users can easily access your web pages from desktops as well as their phone or tablets.
Have you ever tried to enter a website from your phone and it doesn’t fit your screen, so you have to scroll over an obnoxious number of times to find what you need? Or the buttons are too small for your fingers to click on the first, second, or even 10th try? These are all factors that contribute to a high bounce rate and ultimately lead to potential customers leaving your site frustrated and likely never making a purchase from you.
Google has great software to help you find things to optimize for mobile friendliness.
- Set Up a LinkedIn Page for You and/or Your Agency
LinkedIn is quickly growing in the realm of social media platforms. It’s a fantastic way to connect with industry thought leaders as well as customers. For some more in-depth tips on creating and utilizing your LinkedIn page, check out “4 Ways Insurance Agents Can Use LinkedIn for Sales and Marketing.” - Install Visitor Tracking Analytics
If you’ve never worked with Google Analytics or other similar software, this probably sounds intimidating. There is a world of things to learn when it comes to tracking and analyzing data like this.
However, the great thing about it is that you can choose how in depth you want to go and you can learn the basics pretty quickly. It’s well worth the effort to learn who is coming to your site and how often so that you can better market to your potential clients.
This article from MOZ is the beginner’s crash course in Google Analytics. There are also some great training courses offered directly by Google that will help you get started.
- Make Custom Landing Pages
Your landing pages can make or break your business. These are the pages on your website that enable you to capture information via your forms. Well laid out and written landing pages will push customers deeper into your site and lead them to making a purchase online or prompt them to call or come into your office. For some great examples, check out this HubSpot article. - Add Social Like and Sharing Options on Webpages
It’s no secret that social media is king when it comes to sharing information. Why not give people the option to tell everyone they know about your great company and products? Every website management platform is different, but yours should give you the option to include social sharing buttons—and it’ll only take you a couple minutes to add them!
For some more great tips on social media check out “How to Make Social Media Work for Your Company.”
- Publish Producer Pages
If you have multiple people working in your office, or even if it’s just you, create a page for each producer on your website. This page should include a photo, contact information, and a little about the agent. This gives the producer something to share on social media or through e-mail, and allows the customers to get to know them. - Stay Up to Date with Internet Marketing Trends
Digital marketing is an ever-changing realm of trends and information. You can’t make a few changes here and there and be done—not if you want to be successful, anyway. If you want to stand any chance of beating out your competitors, you have to stay ahead of the curve. And that means constantly learning and trying new things on your website.
The mass amount of information available on the internet can be overwhelming, so start with these “5 Blogs You Need to Follow if You Want to be Awesome at Digital Marketing.”
- Add Google Review Options
Not only are Google reviews a great way to hold you and your business accountable, but they also help with SEO and click-through rates. Here’s a fantastic article that delves into the impact of adding reviews. - Put Address in Footer
Putting your address in the footer is important because it sends a message to Google that lets them know exactly where you are located. This helps with local SEO search results. The footer appears on every page—and so should your contact information. - Create Carrier Pages
Your clients will thank you for this one. Including links to your carriers’ websites will not only save you servicing time, but will help your customers get problems fixed faster. - Create Individual Pages for Every Product
As important as it is to have an “Everything We Sell” page, it’s just as pertinent to have a page dedicated to each individual product. This page should include in-depth information that answers most, if not all, of your customers’ questions. Here’s an example of our Atlas product page.
- Make a “Refer a Friend” Page and Promote It
Referrals are a great way to keep your funnel filled. If you’re doing your job right, you should have many happy customers that would be willing to tell their friends and family about you.
So create a page that you can share via e-mail, social media, or in person that makes it easy for your clients to give you all the information you need.
- Include an FAQ Page
FAQ pages are great resources for your customers. Combine the knowledge you have of your business and industry with some research to create a helpful place your clients can go for answers to many of their inquiries. By anticipating their needs, you can set yourself up as a trusted source, making them more likely to do business with you. - Submit Your Site to Popular Directories
Millions of people consult online directories to find insurance agents, so it’s vital that you’re listed on at least a few. Some good ones to get started with are Google Places, Yellow Pages, Local, White pages, Manta, and SuperPages. - Put Documentation Requests Online
This one is going to save you a TON of time. This is one of the few areas that you should capitalize on making the customer do something themselves. Why waste time on the phone when a webpage could more than handle gathering the information needed? Most people would prefer to do these types of things online anyway, and it frees you up to have more time to nurture leads and sell insurance. - Invest in CMS
CMS stands for content management software and there are a lot of different options out there. Your website has to do more than just look good. It has to show up in search results and be extremely user friendly. You won’t survive in this digital age without a great website. Insurance Splash has great CMS software you can use.
If you want to try to tackle it yourself, HubSpot is a very user friendly software.
This list is by no means comprehensive, but it will definitely get you started in the right direction. Feel free to take a look around our website and gather some inspiration.
*If you think you may be interested in selling our products, you can get more information on contracting with us here.*
