Why SEO Matters for Insurance Agents — and 3 Steps to Improve Your Ranking
Why SEO Matters for Insurance Agents — and 3 Steps to Improve Your Ranking
As an insurance agent, finding and maintaining relationships with clients is at the forefront of your business. And in today’s Internet-driven world, search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial when it comes to connecting with the modern customer. In order to stand out from the competition, agents need to utilize SEO best practices on their websites. The better you optimize the content on your website, the more organic traffic you’ll get (and, from there, you’ll have the chance to attract new clients).
If this sounds like it’s out of your depth, fear not! It’s easier than you think to optimize your website for internet search engines, ensuring that customers find you in just a few clicks when they start their organic Google journey. Read on for three simple steps you can take to improve your SEO ranking and, ultimately, better your business.
It’s All About Keywords
When the average user begins their online search, they enter terms into the search engine. These are known as keywords. One of the best ways to improve your website’s SEO is to research which keywords are the most relevant to your business, and then naturally integrate these keywords throughout the content on your website.
Many different platforms can quickly analyze your website and pop out a list of the most relevant keywords, saving you the guesswork. Usually, the top keywords will be variations of obvious connections to your industry and offerings. So if you’re a Los Angeles-based construction insurance business, for instance, your top keywords will likely be different iterations of “Los Angeles construction insurance,” “LA construction insurance,” “insuring my construction business in LA,” and so on. Keywords will become more varied and specific as you expand the list.
You’ll then want to naturally incorporate these keywords into the content of your website. Do not just randomly tack on the keywords to strange places — Google will be able to tell if the content is inauthentic. Consider writing blog posts or other short-form content to utilize keywords. You should also add keywords to your headlines, subheadlines, and image descriptions, as this improves your SEO.
Links and Images Are Your Friend
Another way to improve your ranking in Google’s search results is to flesh out your website with materials like images and hyperlinks. A variety of this type of content signals to Google that you have an authoritative voice in your industry, and hyperlinking to valid external resources makes your own website more trustworthy.Additionally, you can add keywords into the metadata of your hyperlinks and images. When building out your website’s content, there are often numerous places to provide contextual information that does not show up for the site visitors.
While it may be tempting to avoid the work of adding any metadata, this isn’t good for SEO. Website builders like Squarespace usually make it very clear where you can input additional information, so always take advantage of these opportunities and input descriptive keywords!
Check Your Site’s Performance — Especially on Mobile
It’s important that your website loads quickly and looks good. This may seem like a basic tip, but it’s often overlooked! You’ll want to ensure that your website is secure. This usually means using an HTTPS URL, which indicates that website data is encrypted.
Try exploring your site through the eyes of a first-time user. Can you quickly figure out where to click, or how to go from one page to the next? Are any links broken? Do images load quickly and clearly, and do videos play properly on all browsers? These are all important aspects of maintaining a high spot in the search algorithm.
Finally, many people often forget to explore their website on a mobile phone. In actuality, the majority of users are searching the Internet via mobile. Your website should look just as good, and function just as smoothly, on a mobile device as it does on a desktop browser. Otherwise, users will quickly abandon your site, and your search ranking will drop accordingly.