Don’t Chase Google’s Algorithm

In September 2012, Google stopped up-ranking Exact Match Domains (EMDs). EMDs are domain names that include keyword phrases such as commercial insurance in the domain name getcommercialinsuranceintexas.com. People would snatch these up by the hundreds in the hope of capturing the traffic. This worked for a while, but then Google caught on. Overnight, they downplayed the importance in their algorithm of EMDs. Webmasters that relied heavily on this tactic instantly lost rankings. In fact, it affected 0.6% of all U.S English search queries to a “noticeable degree.”

In the previous years, I had recommended that you not use EMDs and instead focus all of your SEO time and energy on a single domain. You could (and sometimes should) use an EMD if you are pointing a specific marketing campaign from television, radio or print to a landing page geared for capturing and keeping that exact traffic.

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Getting Photos for your Website

 The title says it all. I tried to think of something catchy for this entry, but alas, it is what it is. No matter how straightforward the title is, the subject is a bit more complex. If images are obtained improperly, you could be facing hefty legal fees.

For example, a few of our customers have gone to Google Images, searched for an image they liked, saved it to their computer, and then added it to a blog entry. A few months later, each of them received a letter from a law firm demanding thousands in fees for the unauthorized image. Unfortunately, there are little options for these users. You can fight it in court, or pay the fee. The image providers know that the latter is usually cheaper.

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Why Do-It-Yourself Marketing Doesn't Always Work

Agency owners often have to wear many hats relying on their do-it-yourself entrepreneurial spirit to accomplish the tasks required of running an agency. That spirit can help agencies in many ways, but there is one area to be cautious of doing it all yourself... marketing.

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Tips for Jump-Starting Your Website

Most of the time, success of a website is focused on Search Engine Optimization efforts. There’s plenty of tips and tricks for SEO that are constantly changing and being updated. But every once in a while, you should feel free to switch gears and just focus on having a website. Consider it your responsibility to the loyal visitor who has found your site by way of a search engine. Here’s a few tips to remember have absolutely nothing to do with SEO.

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How the Layout of Your Website Can Affect Google Rankings

I often discuss how a well-designed website will draw visitors and keep them viewing your pages. Did you know that the layout of your website could affect your Google ranking as well? That’s right, not only does Google look at the content of your website, it now looks at the website’s design, navigation and usability.

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5 Simple Steps to Effective Digital Agency Marketing

Why is online marketing so important? Because consumers rely on the Internet to research anything and everything, including insurance. Not sure you believe it? Check out what the direct writers are spending on PPC advertising. And that's only a portion of their budgets.

If the direct writers are spending that much money to market to consumers online, you know it's not only important, it's effective.

But there are certainly things to avoid.

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Search Engine Marketing for the Everyday Insurance Agent - Part 2

Previously, we discussed pay per click for the insurance industry and the basics to getting started. Now we will discuss how to improve your ad’s click through performance.

Converting Clicks into Leads

The industry average of converting clicks into leads is 4-7 percent. This means roughly one out of 20 people who click your ad will convert into a lead. For auto insurance dallas texas you would need to spend $35 to acquire the lead. Note that this is just to acquire the lead. Only if you had a perfect closing ratio would the lead only cost you $35. Should you have a 50% closing ratio that lead would cost you $70. A 25% closing ratio would cost you $140. Notice how quickly this turned into a losing proposition? So what can you do to increase the closing ratio of PPC leads?


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Search Engine Marketing for the Everyday Insurance Agent - Part 1

I speak to many agents about Internet marketing. One subject that always rises to the top is paid search marketing (SEM) or pay per click (PPC). These paid ads show up at the top and right of most search results. These are above the organic free listings targeted by Search Engine Optimization (SEO) services. 

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Masters of Marketing: Engaging Your Customers on Your Insurance Website

Our latest webinar discussed how to make your website effective at engaging your customers online.

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Generating Insurance Leads Through Your Chamber of Commerce Membership

There are perks to being a member of your local chamber of commerce. For one, research has shown that a majority of consumers prefer to work with businesses who are chamber members.

Besides the prestige of being a chamber member, many small business owners, including insurance agents, join their local chamber of commerce to network and get leads.

Want to make the most out of your membership? Here's how you can generate leads by being a member of your chamber of commerce:

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