Insurance Marketing Strategies to gain new internet leadsDid you know that the category “Insurance” is the most competitive category on the internet? In fact, it is more competitive than the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th categories combined. This is why you not only need a great website, but you need additional marketing strategies in place to be successful online.

Would you be surprised if I told you that according to Statista.com there are 1.135 million insurance agents, brokers & service employees in the US? This number is up nearly 250,000 since 2010 alone. You’re in a competitive industry that is only going to get more competitive as more agents invest in their websites, SEO and digital marketing spaces.

So, what are some things that you can do to stand out in this space?

Create Video: Video isn’t something new or revolutionary, but you don’t see many agency websites using video. Video is a great way to meet the staff, showcase community involvement or explain coverages or create video proposals on more complex risks.

Write Funny Blogs Or Address Common Questions: Insurance can be boring. By creating a funny blog you cannot only get traffic, but you can receive backlinks from other websites. If you’re looking for traffic, writing a blog on commonly asked questions can be a gold mine. Keep a notepad at your desk and after a week of jotting down clients questions, you’ll have a pile of great blog articles. If they’re asking it, chances are other are looking them up online.

Run Paid Search Campaigns: Paid search is a great complimentary source for all of your digital marketing. Avoid running ads for things like “Auto Insurance” or “Home Insurance” as you’ll be competing with companies with national carriers who have much larger budgets. Look for niche opportunities to get the most bang for your buck.

Solicit Reviews for Google My Business: Google My Business (GMB) is equally important to having a great website. Have you ever looked at your GMB pages analytics? You’d be surprised at how much traffic, views and clicks they get. Be sure to send all of your happy customers directly to your GMB page to leave a review. I find that it is the single most impactful thing an agency owner can do for themselves online.

Participate In Your Community: Community involvement isn’t just good for others, it is good for your business. There isn’t anything self-serving about participating in your community and letting people know you did it. Share pictures of your team on social media and update your about us page showcasing your efforts to help out your community.

Complete Online Directory Listings: Creating online directory listings are a huge pain. Be smart about it and either focus on the aggregators or utilize a service like WhiteSpark or MozLocal to help you create and manage these listings.

Online marketing is tough and competitive, but by using the tools above you can stand out from the crowd. Differentiating yourself online and getting leads from the internet is all possible, but you can’t expect that your website will work for you, if you’re not doing things to work for it.

Good luck out there.