America's #1 Seller of Mortgage Protection Insurance

The Agent-friendly Guide to Marketing Yourself online: The Basics

The internet is an important vein of communication few of us can afford to ignore; It’s a fast and accessible way to find helpful information relevant to your needs. Mortgage and life protection is a real need for many Americans, and the internet is one avenue they take in researching what we have to offer?

Setting up and maintaining a website can bring you into the eye line of many new customers, but in order to attract the right crowd, you should take to heart some simple ways to market your site.

That might sound fishy to a few of you; “But Emily,” You might say. “I’m an insurance agent, not a Marketing tycoon. What business do I have trying to market my website?

“Well, you’ll have more business if you do.  That’s the whole point of marketing!”

You don’t have to be a marketing expert to make your website more accessible and helpful to potential clients. To make your information simpler and more available in different ways.

Below are a few basic tricks and tips on attracting more eyeballs to your website, and ultimately to you.

ProtectYourHome.com  versus 123mpcins.net

Have you ever gotten an address that seemed impossible to remember? You get lost, have to turn around and ask for directions. Maybe you just give up and head back to familiar lands.  The internet is no different. If you choose a domain name that has a couple of random letters and numbers in it, not only will you fade into the crowd but you’ll look less credible.

Besides, do you really want to be known as  123mpcins?

Choose a name that you could easily tell someone by mouth, and that’s related to what you’re doing. Be creative! What does mortgage protection mean? What do you want to do for families? It might take some brainstorming, but if you come up with something clever, your potential clients will remember your address, and admire you for your creativity.

If you’re having real trouble finding a website domain that isn’t taken, look at taking alternate websites such as .info. I once had to do a project with a catchy website name, and took .info as a domain instead of the popular .com. It wasn’t mainstream, but it was much easier to remember…and we got the name we wanted associated with our group.  Alternate domain names also can be cheaper than the typical .com. It wasn’t as expensive to buy, either.

Make it User-Friendly

Imagine you walk into a bookstore in search of a book on yoga. You look all around for signs to tell you where the Fitness section is located, but to no avail. You are awash in a sea of paperbacks and hard covers.  You walk out.

This can happen online too if your website is a mess.

Make your site as easy to navigate. There should be a navigation bar either on the top of your website or on the side.  On the navigation bar, put clear and concise links to separate parts of your website. These links should have titles that are easy to understand and relevant to the sub-pages they send your visitor to.

For example, let’s look at NAAlife’s website. The website functions as a place where clients can get information on the insurance products NAA offers. The navigation bar clearly supports this purpose by putting the types of plans as sub-pages and links on the front page.  Brainstorm what you want to say to your clients, and what information you want easily available. What would you like to see on a website’s navigation bar?

Picture that bookstore again. You turn a corner and see books crammed into shelves and laying in piles on the floor.  Immediately you wonder why the owner has let his store become so messy. Do you really want to buy from this person?

The same stigma can be applied to your website if you don’t keep it clean and organized. Modern technology allows us to add a lot of fancy animated graphics and high-resolution pictures. Your main goal, however, is to keep your website layout simple and clean. Err on the side of simplicity creating it, or hire a professional website designer whose work is credible.

Luckily for some agents, corporations like NAA provide solid websites for all its agents - SEO taken into account, and all.

Your Most Important Asset is You

Building all the important parts to your website, you might forget the most important aspect of it: you. You’re the reason it’s being made right? Don’t squander the moment to grab the spotlight.

Just like a business card, your contact information should be the centerpiece of your site. Put your phone and address in the forefront of your visitor’s minds. NAA produces custom websites for agents that do just that. A picture can also add a personal touch to the website; remember, your clients want to be able to relate to you as a person. Adding this information will help them put a name, face, and address to their agent.

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These are just a few of the many things you can do in order to make your information accessible on the internet.  We’ll be discussing more advanced ways you can make your website pop up in searches, as well as what you can do outside the web to market yourself.  Stay tuned!