There is no denying that a digital strategy is imperative for modern businesses to survive: according to the online marketing firm imFORZA, 93% of all online experiences, including shopping and purchasing decisions, begin with a search engine, and 75% of those users never look beyond the first page of results.
As a result, brokers have no choice but to think about their positioning in the online marketplace if they hope to remain viable months and years down the line.
To help these insurance professionals boost their rankings within Google, a researcher with the Centre for Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO) has developed a white paper designed to provide evidence-based strategies that take both the industry and Canadian market into consideration.
“It would be unfortunate to spend a lot of time and money working on developing a nice website and then not have it found by anyone,” said CSIO communications specialist and author of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tips for Brokers Grant Patten.
Neglecting SEO entirely can result in websites remaining completely overlooked, no matter how well-designed or useful they may be.
“You can’t just invest in the actual development of the website, you also need to invest time and energy into thinking about SEO strategy and how you’re going to market it and get it out there,” Patten said.
While some brokerages choose to engage in paid SEO or “pay-per-click” practices, research actually indicates that 80% of web users click on search results that appear organically. This is encouraging for brokers, as organic SEO is free and easy to master.
“It really comes down to content creation, and you can choose what content to focus on: a blog, news feed, infographic, white paper or video,” said Patten. “All of these should link back to your website, which is probably the best way to improve your SEO over the long run.”
While brokers may be tempted to conquer every medium, Patten insists that quality trumps quantity, and championing just one content distribution channel makes for an excellent SEO strategy.
“You don’t have to do it all, but if brokers just focus on one element, such as a blog, and they keep it updated and well-maintained, that would be enough to improve their organic SEO,” he said.
Once developed, an SEO best practice involves developing relationships with authoritative sources such as industry associations and reputable news outlets that will then link to this content. These unofficial endorsements by reputable websites will then boost Google’s perception of the brokerage’s website, which will cause it to appear higher in search results.
Finally, Patten recommends that mobile strategy remain a priority as well. In April, Google adjusted their algorithms to favor sites that were “mobile friendly,” or intentionally designed to look appealing on smartphones and tablets.
“You do need some kind of mobile optimization, not just for your website, but also articles, videos, and emails as well,” he said. “Everything you’re doing online should be mobile optimized.”
For a more detailed examination of recommended SEO strategies for Canadian insurance professionals, including case studies of brokerages that excel in this space, download the CSIO white paper at
http://www.csio.com/search-engine-optimization.
