Working through Agoragate, PIA says participating agents create a profile and purchase one or more niche microsites for either personal or commercial lines insurance. These sites are tied to agents' geographic location of choice and are located at the marketing website www.EnhanceInsurance.com.

Alexi Papandon, vice president, marketing and affiliate relations for PIA, explains that the search engine is not tied to sales quotes. Instead, the site works off a series of articles about insurance that are still being developed. When an individual seeks a particular word or phrase connected to insurance, an article comes up in the persons search. After clicking on the article, a link to an agent's microsite will be displayed with the article as a link to further resources.

With this type of marketing, it makes the agent local, because his or her appearance on the site is tied to the user's location.

Papandon says the marketing scheme was developed because agents said they needed access to Internet marketing, but did not want to go through the expense and effort of redesigning their websites.

“This program focuses on the strength of the independent agent and leverages those strengths,” says Papandon.

The cost for PIA members begins at $1,560 a year ($1,760 for non-members) for one microsite line of business and additional costs are based on the number of microsites an individual buys. The feature is being offered to PIA members as part of the PIA Branding program that provides marketing material for print and radio advertising.

Papandon says the association's surveys found that many agents find the cost comfortable, and some feel they will save money because it will allow them to “dump legacy advertising” that is proving increasingly ineffective.

In a statement, Jim Holm, president of Agoragate says the system does not provide quotes and there is no plan to.

“For the last 20 years I've been suggesting that agencies avoid quoting over the phone,” says Holm, a managing general agent who led the formation of the program. “They need to meet face-to-face to create a long-term client.”

Earlier this year, the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America and Trusted Choice, the IIABA's consumer branding campaign, launched CAP (Consumer Agent Portal).

CAP is aimed at competing against direct-writers and captive agent carriers with technology offerings to assist independent agents to build an online and social-media presence. The program is offered exclusively to the 22,000 member firms of the IIABA.

Donald Light, a senior analyst for the consulting firm Celent in Boston says PIA's initiative underscores the importance for independent agents to have an online presence.

“The new PIA—Agoragate program reflects the importance of internet search engines as an increasingly key element in the front-end of many insurance purchase decisions,” says Light in an e-mail. “Agents that are not search engine-savvy will be left behind.”