Is your insurance agency connected? You likely have strong networks of clients and associates who support your agency. Turn your networks into web links and you’ll translate your network into higher search rankings for your insurance agency website.
The Role of the Web in Insurance Agency Marketing
Whether you’re a small, local insurance company with strong roots in your community or a larger, widely-based agency, you need to have a web presence. Your website is not only a business card for your insurance agency, it also allows you to create content that draws in new clients through inbound marketing and gives satisfied clients a way to share information about your company on social media. While there are many ways to get noticed on the web, ranking high in search engine results will help new clients find you. One of the ways to rank higher is to use links to connect your site with others.
What is a Backlink?
Even if you’re new to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), you’ve probably come across the term “backlinks.” What does this term mean? A backlink is a link from an external website that points people to your site. It might come from someone’s post recommending your services, from a roundup of insurance organizations, or from an online resource directory. Wherever it’s housed, it points to your business.
Backlinks Draw in Clients
Backlinks serve several roles. One of them is quite straightforward. If a colleague, resource directory, or review site mentions your business, people may decide to click on that link and they’ll go to your website. You can also connect these links to landing pages on your website that are designed for audiences that meet the specifications of those who visit the original site. For example, if you have a backlink from a post on a parents’ site that discusses life insurance options for parents, you can develop a landing page specifically for these parents, targeting your insurance agency marketing to get more qualified leads.
Backlinks Improve Your Search Engine Rankings
While backlinks can help move people from one site to another, they’re also a way to improve your search engine rankings. Some search engines such as Google give your search engine ranking a boost if your website has a lot of relevant inbound links. Relevant is the keyword here: if you add links to other unrelated sites in the hopes that people will click on them and come to yours, you may get a few clicks but Google will penalize your site and lower your search engine ranking because the inbound links are from unrelated sources.
The Future of Backlinks
Will inbound links continue to be important? It’s difficult to determine how Google and other search engines will rank sites in the future. The goal of search engine ranking is to connect the searcher with the most relevant results. As search engines work to hone their ways of determining the best matches for each search, inbound links will likely remain relevant for the next few years, since they are an indication of your website’s relevance.
As you plan to improve your insurance agency marketing strategies, you need a team of colleagues behind you. That’s where the American Agents Alliance comes in. We’re a national insurance association of independent insurance agents & brokers, and we’re here to support your need for networking, benefits, and information. Contact us today to learn how we can help your business grow.
