At the start of a new year, many independent insurance
In today's market, the internet has made it easier than ever to shop prices and compare agents. It's been estimated that 88% of people read reviews to determine the quality of a local business. At Oggvo, we refer to these searches as the 'silent step' consumers make before ever contacting a business.
This silent step has made it increasingly more important for your business to rank higher in search results so you can get discovered as the top choice in your local market. Here are five ways to stand out against your competitors and reach new customers without having to spend money on local ads.
1. Claim and optimize your profiles
Claiming your Google Business Page and your profiles on sites like Facebook and Yelp are crucial for insurance agents looking to establish a strong online presence and expand their digital footprint. These sites, along with others like WalletHub and Clearsurance, are where your potential customers are searching for info about insurance agents and often the first place they turn to when looking for reviews and recommendations.
Once your profiles are claimed, it's important to optimize them effectively including adding relevant keywords, uploading photos and videos, and regularly updating details. When optimized correctly, these popular sites will not only showcase your business, they'll also help you get discovered by search engines and rank higher in local search results. Search engines pay attention to these sites because they provide relevant info about your business, such as customer reviews, that help determine your relevance to a person's search.
2. Simplify the customer review process
The silent step of self-guided internet research means consumers are relying more on the opinions and experiences of others from customer reviews. However, customer reviews are not only valuable to build trust and confidence in your business, they're also an important signal to search engines that your business is worthy of higher ranking in local search results.
If you're struggling to get more reviews, implement a process that makes it easy to ask and remind customers for reviews and a funnel page that enables them to respond in just a few clicks. A funnel page is merely a separate web page that helps guide someone through a series of steps to achieve the goal intended, such as leaving a customer review.
An effective funnel page will increase conversions from your "ask" to an actual review and give you an opportunity to have comments sent to you directly so you can respond to feedback personally when needed.
3. Increase interactions with your online presence
Google uses many factors to determine the relevance and value of your business for its search results. One of these factors is how much people are interacting with your digital footprint. The more interaction your online profiles have, the more Google perceives you to be relevant and valuable to people searching for an insurance agent.
Interactions with your digital footprint can include organic click-rates, direct traffic, comments, and even time spent reading your content. Having interactive content makes it more likely for people to spend time on your profiles and more likely they'll start to see you as their insurance agent of choice.
Interactive content doesn't have to take a lot of time. Share customer reviews to online profiles and respond to each review. Sharing and responding to reviews is a powerful interaction because it also shows your followers and potential customers that you appreciate their feedback.
4. Tap into tools to save time
You might be asking yourself "how can I implement all of this and still run my day-to-day business?" If you're feeling overwhelmed by everything needed to stand out against your local competitors and get discovered, don't worry. Take a tip from the pros who have figured it out and use software tools to help
A wide variety of digital tools are available for insurance providers to save time while expanding their digital footprint. Leverage social media management tools such as Hootsuite or Sprout Social to manage social media accounts, and schedule posts.
5. Continuously optimize and repeat
Once these tactics are in place, there are several ways to measure progress, including the number of reviews for your business, the number of leads generated from your online presence, and your local rankings in search engines for the keywords you've optimized.
Whether the impact of your efforts happens quickly or over a period of time, it's important to continuously optimize your strategy and tactics to stay relevant as part of the silent step your potential customers are taking online to choose a quality insurance agent.
By focusing on expanding your digital footprint with optimized online profiles, customer reviews, and increased interactions, you can stand out against local competitors and attract new customers without spending money on ads. Leverage tools to help flatten the learning curve and remember that your digital footprint is not a "set it and forget it" activity. With a consistent and effective approach, your digital footprint can be the key to your business growth.
