In today’s fast-paced and interconnected digital environment, businesses of all types rely on the principles of search engine optimization (SEO) to gain visibility in online searches. SEO is a crucial component of digital marketing, helping a company to stand out from its competitors and to improve discovery by web searchers. Incorporating insurance SEO into the digital marketing strategy of independent agencies and brokerages can have powerful effects, driving business growth in an organic and sustainable way. Here is a more detailed look at why SEO is critical for insurance businesses in 2020.
Before delving into the benefits of search engine optimization (SEO) for insurance businesses, it can be valuable to understand what, exactly, SEO is. In layman’s terms, SEO is the process of creating and modifying webpages to appear in search results. Search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo use complex algorithms to index and rank web content. Using SEO, marketing professionals can develop web content that helps search algorithms properly index given content, then rank it accordingly. SEO utilizes both on- and off-page factors to optimize web content, including:
The goal of SEO – including digital marketing campaigns that use SEO tools and strategies – is to improve the traffic going to a given website by placing web content high in search engine results pages (SERPs). Search users are far more likely to click on results within the top 5 of any given search. Many SEO professionals seek to improve the so-called “click-through rate (CTR)”, or the idea that users will click the links found in SERPs to visit targeted websites.
It is important to note that paid links, such as those found in Google Ads, are not necessary to achieve high search rankings. In fact, by applying the tools and principles of SEO, a high organic search ranking without paid ads is entirely possible.
Perhaps you have heard the expression: “if you build it, they will come.” For insurance businesses, including MGAs, independent agents, and insurance brokerages, this expression is only true to a point. Customers won’t come if they can’t find you, and increasingly, that search begins online. Insurance SEO is comprised of two major parts: organic SEO and local SEO. Organic SEO is optimizing pages to appear in general search results, while local SEO optimizes pages for what is called “local intent”, or the idea that customers within a certain geographic area are searching for businesses local to them.
For insurance businesses, local SEO has gained a tremendous amount of importance in recent years. According to search engine giant Google, almost 50% of all online searches now have a local component; people are looking for information on the businesses and services near them. Think about the nature of the insurance industry; most agency customers tend to be those individuals or businesses local to the agency. Focusing on local SEO, then, has powerful benefits for insurance businesses, allowing them to connect with a steady stream of new local customers.
Organic SEO should not be ignored, however. By optimizing web content for both organic and local search, insurance agencies can improve their rankings across search results. Organic and local SEO work hand-in-hand, gaining valuable search visibility by helping search engines index and categorize web content.
Finally, it is a good idea for agencies and insurance businesses to leverage tools like social media in their insurance SEO campaigns. While social media activity — the likes, comments, and shares inherent in the social media environment — does not have a direct influence on search rankings, the use of SEO and social media can improve the discovery of a business’s website, potentially unlocking a new stream of customers. When new customers can easily find a given business in online searches, that business has the opportunity to grow.
Agency Tsunami is the digital marketing division of Neilson Marketing Services who has provided the insurance distribution sector with innovative SEO, digital marketing, and communication solutions for over twenty-five years. With our Agency Tsunami program, we have implemented an integrated marketing strategy that includes optimized, professional websites supported by high-quality SEO and Social Media for hundreds of insurance retailers and wholesalers. Our goal is to help your insurance business perform and generate new opportunities. Give us a call at (800) 736-9741 to learn more about how we can do that for you.