Increase Traffic to Your Insurance Agency Website

We are often asked "How can I increase my website traffic?" The answer is a long one, as there are many options, and each agency's marketing needs are a little different. But there's a standard checklist of items you can do to increase online exposure to your agency.

Some of these items take just a few minutes, while others are an ongoing task that you'll need to commit to for the entire year to see real results. So pick and choose which ones make the most sense for your agency and what you're trying to accomplish.

One-Time Efforts: 15 Minutes or Less

Insurance Company Listings

Make sure all of your insurance companies that have an "agent directory" (like Safeco's Find an Agent) has your website listed there. Be sure that the listing uses your primary domain.

LinkedIn Recommendations

Ask your customers for Recommendations on LinkedIn. See this Help article on LinkedIn for instructions.

Local Directory Listings

Claim your local business listings. Google, Bing, Yelp and Yahoo are the most important ones, so if you have only a small amount of time, focus on those first, and come back and do the others later.

GetListed.org is a great site to help you see the status of each listing, and access the corresponding website to claim and/or update your listing.

One-Time Efforts: 2+ Hours

Referral Programs

Develop a referral program, if your state regulations allow for it. Brainstorm ideas and try out different formats to see what works best for your customers.

New Website Announcements

Send out a blast email or postcard to all of your existing customers announcing your new site. Tie it in with a reason to visit the site, like requesting updated contact info, an exciting referral program, and/or seasonal giveaway.

• Don't just send something out saying "check out our new website" - give your customers a reason to go there. They'll then remember it later when they need a quote, have someone to refer, or need help with a claim or policy change.
• If you have a referral program, don't forget to promote it along with this announcement as well!

Partner Website Links

Come up with a list of companies who may be willing to list your website on their own and send them a friendly request. If it's a small business whose services you value, include that in the request, or even better, a testimonial to accompany the link. What business would turn that down? Be sure that you include the link you want them to link to, and use your primary domain for the link.

Here are some ideas to help you brainstorm your list:

• Affiliate partners or association websites (Chamber of Commerce, industry affiliations like Trusted Choice, PIA, etc)
• Business partners (think of places you refer specialty business to or that refer business to you, like Financial Planners, Realtors, Credit Unions, etc)
• Service providers (think of the small businesses and companies you work with for business services like business cards and stationery, web design and hosting, signage, etc).
• Start with Banyan Theory! Let your account manager know you'd like your agency to be included on our Happy Customers page.

Long Term, Ongoing Efforts

Social Media

Keep your social media accounts up to date, especially Facebook, with relevant engaging content. This can be a daunting task for those with a full day already.

Post short and casual updates, otherwise you'll get really bogged down. Social media is just that - social. You don't sit and think for 45 minutes before you say something "social" to a client who just stopped by your office, so don't get too caught up in any formalities with your Facebook account.

Do keep it professional, polite, light and avoid any controversial topics such as politics or religion.

Looking for inspiration on what to say?

• Browse the headlines on a local (or national) news site.
• Think of an interesting insurance question asked of you recently.
• Every day of the year is "____ Day". Find out about some of the more interesting ones at daysoftheyear.com or other similar website.
• 
  If you're a Safeco agent, check out the Bricks & Clicks LinkedIn Group for timely social media ideas frequently posted by Dale, Mick and Stacie.

Reviews

Ask your existing customers to post a review on your Google Plus page or Yelp.com. Put a link in your email signature, on your website, or just ask each time you have a customer who expresses their gratitude for your service.

This will have a direct impact on where your website appears in the Google search results, as Google gives some preference to those local businesses with more positive reviews than those without.

Website Content & Blogging

Work on your content to make it more unique and fresh. For more on this effort, check out this earlier blog post.

Remember that this is not an all-encompassing list, and the efforts needed to increase traffic vary greatly from website to website.It also may not be necessary for you to complete ALL of these items, as your agency's marketing plan may not include everything here (such as social media).

If you're not yet a Banyan Theory customer, and need a professional and easy-to-navigate insurance agency website to send your customers to, contact us. Our websites are affordable, fully supported, and easier than you may think to complete (after all, we do all the work for you!). Check out what our customers have to say, and then give us a call!