4 best agency website features to generate insurance leads
How an insurance agency's website functions can be the differentiator in a visitor becoming a lead.
A website’s design and functionality should work together to achieve a specific goal. For most insurance agencies, that goal is to capture online prospects.
Design and functionality are the yin and yang of a powerful insurance agency website. Your website’s appearance works to build trust with consumers. The features and functionality increase the likelihood of visitors becoming leads. Here are four of the best lead-generating features to focus on for your website.
Feature No. 1: A mobile-friendly design
We live in a mobile-first era in which 73% of Americans own a smartphone, according to Statista. Today’s mobile devices offer many capabilities in a single gadget that we take everywhere. So, it is no surprise that the most popular device to search and browse the web is the smartphone.
In reaction to this trend, Google began rolling out a mobile-first index in early 2018. This means mobile-friendly websites perform better in Google’s mobile search results. Why? Google captures 95% of the mobile search engine market in the U.S. As of the third quarter of 2020, 64% of organic search engine visits are done via mobile devices.
Why is that important?
Google knows that when someone is looking for something non-specific, 65% of the time that search is taking place on a mobile device.
If you have a website that isn’t mobile-friendly, it will not rank highly in Google search results. If your website isn’t ranked highly, people are less likely to visit your website. That means fewer leads for your agency.
Yet, there’s another reason to make your website mobile-friendly: To meet consumer expectations.
Your prospects and customers are browsing your insurance agency website on their phones. Do you know what they see? Hint: If you find your website difficult to navigate on mobile, they do too.
To make your website mobile-friendly, you will select either a responsive or adaptive website design. Both can help achieve a smooth mobile user experience.
Feature No. 2: Forms and the online consumer rater
The simplest way to capture leads on a website is with a form. Forms are where interested prospects can enter their information in exchange for something. Like a free report or a comparison quote. It is a way for a prospect to raise their hand and say they want to hear from you.
Insurance agencies looking to capture online leads can use a variety of forms. Most websites have a newsletter subscription form or a contact form, at least. There are also quote request forms for each line of business you write.
Always test each form on your website to ensure it works. Check that forms have no typos. Use large, mobile, friendly buttons and text big enough to read. It is worthwhile to set up an automatic response or a confirmation page to show the form has been successfully submitted. Round out the experience by including when they should expect a response.
For some lines of business, there are online consumer raters. If you offer one of those lines, your agency needs to have this technology on your website. Consumers don’t want to spend their Saturday getting insurance. It is a hard truth, but they don’t.
Technology companies and direct writers have conditioned consumers to expect instant gratification. In our industry, that means getting a quote any day of the week, at any time. This used to be where big carriers and direct writers had an advantage. Not anymore.
Next-generation online consumer rating platforms offer a mobile-first, fully responsive design. Plus, they have time-saving technologies like data prefill, and they don’t feel like an online insurance form. This technology makes it easy for your clients and can drastically increase your leads.
Feature No. 3: Client services
Show your clients you deserve their business. Have claim information and service forms available and easy to find on your website.
These are not strictly lead-generation features. But offering these services on your website provides an excellent customer experience. It also signals to visitors that your agency wants to serve them when, where, and how they want.
Claim information
Let customers begin the claim process on your website. It is convenient for them and your agency. You will already have the incident information on hand for when you speak to the customer. The process will be more streamlined for both parties.
Service forms
Sometimes clients need to request changes to their policies or to request an ID card. Make this process easier by offering it on your insurance agency website.
Feature No. 4: Website content
As previously mentioned, the right website content creates trust online. But, it can also generate leads for your agency. How? Content is all about the long game. The benefits might not be immediately apparent, but they exist.
Here’s the most important rule: Create valuable content.
If you regularly produce quality content, people will come back. As long as it’s valuable to your readers, content can attract traffic to your website.
A blog achieves three goals at once.
- Search engines reward websites that publish fresh content with a higher ranking in search results.
- Valuable content attracts and connects you with people who are researching online. It is also easy to share elsewhere online — like social media — to generate interest in your agency.
- It can also position your agency as a thought leader in the industry.
Remember, do not produce content that is overly sales-y or self-serving. Avoid adding too much fluff.
The great thing about content is that it is not restricted by the medium. Great content is only limited by your imagination.
Podcasts, blogging, webinars, geo-location pages, videos, FAQs, case studies, giveaways and contents, employee profiles, slideshows, infographics, newsletters, and more. The world is your oyster.
You should really be aiming to share as much content as you can publish. But also make it easy for readers to share your content. Shares are like gold for your agency because they act as a third-party endorsement for your content. If possible, add a sharing plugin to your blog and relevant web pages.
Equally as important as the supporting content we talked about above is the actual content of your website. Your home page, local pages, and line of business pages are the meat and potatoes of your website.
Your home page is likely going to provide information to many audiences. Consumers visiting your home page may want varied policy types or may not be shopping at all. Someone looking at any of your line of business pages has shown interest in a particular policy type, and the content should reflect that. There are also current clients looking for more information about a claim, your agency hours, or looking at an FAQ.
Always keep in mind your audience when determining the content for each page. Your audience will help determine your keyword selection, call-to-action, design, and resources available on each page.
Zach Weeks is a content marketing specialist at Insurance Technologies Corporation (ITC), a provider of marketing, rating and management software and services to the insurance industry. ITC helps its customers across the U.S. grow their businesses and become more efficient through the philosophy of providing quality software and services.
A version of this article originally appeared on ITC’s blog and is republished here with consent.
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