How Insurance Agents Can Use Their Website as a Digital Marketing Tool

A strong digital presence is key to standing ahead of your competitors in today’s business world. With potential customers increasingly turning to online resources to find an insurance agent, being prepared to meet them where they are can help keep you in the running with new prospects. Your digital marketing approach should include a strong social media presence, an informative website and a multichannel approach to client engagement. We know finding this balance is often easier said than done, particularly for insurance professionals. In fact, 53% of agents find it difficult to leverage digital marketing and social media to grow their book of business.¹ In this article, learn ways to use your website to its full advantage as a digital marketing tool.

Ensure You Have a Mobile Friendly Website

Your business website is often the first point of contact between your agency and new customers, so it is important that it is updated, easy to navigate, and mobile-friendly. In the U.S., 94% of people with smartphones search for local information on their phones and mobile queries that contain “insurance near me” have grown by over 100%.² A Google study³ indicated that 74% of visitors are more likely to return to mobile-friendly websites, and 61% are likely to leave if a site is not. Further, 67% are more likely to buy at a mobile friendly website. This shows that if you want to win business, your site needs to be optimized for mobile.

When your site is not optimized for mobile, it can almost be impossible for a customer to navigate. The text can be small, and it can be difficult for a user to zoom in to tap on menu options. If you’re not sure if your site is hitting the mark, consider testing using a free tool.

Using a responsive web design creates the best user experience, this allows the website to resize itself according to the device being used.

Other benefits of responsive design include:

• Boosts the SEO value of a website, search engines like Google prefer indexing and ranking websites that are mobile-friendly.
• Reduces the possibility of the common mistakes that affect mobile sites, including failed files and redirects.
• Provides accessibility for people with diverse abilities so that you can reach a broad array of customers and meet regulatory and legal requirements in this space.

Optimize Website for SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of making your website more discoverable in search engines by understanding what people are searching for online, the keywords they’re using and the type of information they hope to find. With more than 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine, utilizing SEO best practices is a crucial part of your digital marketing plan.

Use this simplified SEO checklist to help keep you on track and learn more with this guide on how to give your agency a boost in search engines.

SEO checklist

1. Before launch: Optimize your site for search engines

• Add a site title
• Add your location
• Add SEO and site descriptions
• Create a custom 404 page
• Review your content

2. At launch: Keep track of search data

• Verify your site with Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools
• Have Google index your site
• Connect to Google Analytics

3. After launch: Maintain search-engine-friendly content

• Use your site’s analytics tools
• Make updates strategically
• Redirect changed or broken links

View these additional SEO tips for insurance agents.

Add a Clear and Strong Call to Action

When a potential customer is viewing your website, a call to action (CTA) is imperative to make next steps for your audience easy. A clear and simple CTA is essential to conversions and can improve the effectiveness of your website. Adding a “Request a Quote” button in multiple places on your site can help a customer become more engaged as they think about getting a quote and preparing to buy.

Another type of suggested CTA is a “Subscribe” button. Encouraging website visitors to join your email list or follow your agency blog are great ways to step up your digital marketing efforts and keep customers engaged even after they leave your site. When using the “Subscribe” CTA, be sure to set up a subscription notification auto-response through your site so customers who subscribe know that you received their request and that the subscription service is active.

After you choose engaging text for your CTA buttons and have them placed in logical positions, make sure that they stand out by making them a contrasting color from the rest of the elements on the page. To make users click, CTA buttons need to attract their attention. Making them a contrasting color is one of the easiest and most effective ways to accomplish this and maximize on conversions5.

Nationwide works with our top partner agencies to offer Nationwide Express so that your customers can quote directly from your website. Ask your territory or sales manager for more information.

Add an About Page on Your Website

Another important aspect of your website is your About page. By including a few personal touches, including your story and photos, this page gives potential customers – and employees key information about your company and is the first introduction to your brand. This page should function as a way to tell customers why they should buy from you, without them even having to ask. Consider including:

• Your mission and story. Humanize your business by sharing why you joined the industry, how long you’ve been in the business and how you stand out from competitors.
• Your staff. Beyond photos and job titles, share how your sales and support team upholds your mission and meets client needs.
• Ways you’re involved in the community. This differentiates your brand and promotes your values.
• Contact information. Not just your phone and email but include links to your social media pages. You can also follow the best practice of embedding these feeds into your page layout. This allows customers to easily view your social media updates directly from your website without having to log into their own social media pages first.

Add Testimonials and Reviews

With 93% of consumers say online reviews have an impact on their purchase decision, adding client testimonials and reviews to your website is one of the best ways you can establish your credibility as an agent. There are a number of ways you can collect reviews for your business—including signing up for a customer engagement software like Listen360, encouraging customers to post Google reviews, or collecting testimonials directly through email. Since Google reviews are often the first reviews customers see after searching for your agency, it can be impactful to request that customers provide a review through a short URL that is unique to your business.

Here are a few Google Reviews Best Practices⁴:

• Remind your customers to leave reviews. Let them know that it’s quick and easy to leave business reviews on mobile devices or desktop computers.
• Reply to reviews to build your customers’ trust. Your customers will notice that your business values their input, and possibly leave more reviews in the future. You can also create and share a link that customers can click to leave a review.
• Verify your business. Verify your business so your information is eligible to appear on Maps, Search, and other Google services. Only verified businesses can respond to reviews. Learn how to verify your business.

Using Paid Media to Market Your Website

With so much content and changing search and social algorithms, paid promotion can help your efforts.

• Paid social. These campaigns usually work as a pay-per-click (PPC) or cost-per-impression (CPM) basis to increase your content’s chances of getting in front of your target audience while they use the social media platform. Each platform works differently so it’s important to consider where your audience is and the type of content you’ll be able to produce.⁵
• Paid search. Purchasing ads or sponsored listings on relevant search engine results pages (SERPs). Creating a campaign in a system like Google ads lets you choose a campaign type, create the ad copy, landing page URL, and calls to action, select target keywords and audience segments, and establish a budget, goals, and bid strategy for each campaign.

It’s an increasingly digital world and, now more than ever, the future of your business relies on a world-class, industry-leading website that meets clients where they are. You’re the best of the best – make sure your website communicates that with quality content, an accessible user experience and by being easy to find. Continue to visit Agency Forward for more digital marketing insights.