Unique Content = Better Google Rankings

I'm often asked by my customers how they can get their website to rank higher on Google. That's a loaded question that requires a really long answer, as there's no silver bullet, and it's not easy. After all, if it were easy, we'd all be #1 on Google, right?

So let's focus on one of the big things you can do to help your website rank better. Content - unique, relevant, fresh, and lots of it.

Your website content is essentially the words on the page that your visitors read. It can be a heading in your main call to action ("Get a Quote!") or the paragraphs you have on the site about car insurance or your latest blog article.

Unique Content

Unique content is content that you can't find on any other website. It means it's not copied, borrowed or re-published from another site.

If you're a Banyan Theory customer, and are a Safeco agent, then you were offered the content provided by Safeco to use on your product pages. This is a great timesaver when building a new insurance agency website. However, since all Safeco agents are given access to this content (making it not very unique), I recommend that you work on changing the content over time to make it your own.

Writing content for every page on your website all at once (before or after launch) would be exhausting. So take it a page at a time over the 6 months. Pick a day of the week that is usually slower than the rest, where you'll have 30 minutes to spend on your website. During that time pick a page on your website and re-write the content. Add some personality to it, or an interesting fact. Add some detailed information about that insurance coverage that is specific to your state or one of the insurance companies that you represent.

Here's a simple example:

This is from the Safeco content for the Auto Insurance page.

"An auto insurance policy is a contract between you and an insurance company. You pay a premium and in exchange, the insurance company promises to pay for specific car-related financial losses during the term of the policy. We can help you determine the best coverage for your needs."

After a few minutes of re-writing the content, I have a 100% unique paragraph of content on my website that essentially contains the same information. Note how I worked in a location keyword phrase in the first sentence:

"Car insurance policies in Kansas can vary greatly in terms of coverage, but they essentially follow the same pattern. You pay a premium (that's the monthly payment for your insurance coverage), and if you're in an accident or your car is damaged (by a covered event), then the insurance company will help you pay to repair the damage or other costs associated with the accident or damage."

In few short months, you'll have every page on your website updated and be on your way to better rankings on Google! 

Already have unique content on your website? Keep writing!

• Add pages to your website directed at specific markets (surrounding suburbs, industries, trade groups, etc)
• Add pages to your website about niche products or specialized businesses (insurance for yoga studios, insurance for summer camps, etc)
• Write blog articles. Check back to our blog for ideas for your own blog.
• Keep your unique content fresh (see below)

Relevant Content

When working on your content, keep it on topic. You're selling insurance, so talking about your trip to the lake isn't going to help you rank higher on Google. Unless you tie it into something about boat and JetSki insurance (or other related insurance topic). Then it can be a very relatable blog article for your customers (and potential customers) to read.

Even more importantly, use your city and state throughout your content. If you don't ever mention a particular suburb that you'd like to market to on your website, how would Google know that you write insurance there?  

More is Not Better

Don't go overboard with using your keywords though.  A good way to test your content is to read your paragraph out loud. If it doesn't sound like something you'd say to someone in person, then you've probably over-used your keywords.  Google is smart enough to detect "over-optimization"  (and rank your site lower because of it) so be careful in getting caught in the "more is better" mentality.  

Fresh Content

Google likes to see websites that have been updated frequently and recently. So even if you started out with 100% unique content, you're work is not done.  Keep to the weekly schedule and continue spending 30 minutes a week writing new or updating content.  

This is where a blog comes in very handy.  There's only so many ways you can explain car insurance on your basic "About Car Insurance" page.  A blog can be an easier place to post timely articles (think current events, new legislation in your area, etc) or more personal topics (like your trip to the lake and how it made you start thinking about a particularly interesting boat insurance scenario).  

Do you have Banyan Theory website, but no blog?  Let us know - we can get this valuable feature added to your insurance agency website right away.  

If you already have a blog on your website, and have questions about how to get started, just give us a call!