search engine marketing: how insurance agents can take advantage

Search Marketing

Nuts and Bolts

Organic

$

$FREE(ish)!

A Little Vocabulary…

Pay-Per-ClickSystem where an advertiser pays an agreed amount

for each click someone makes on a link leading to their website. Also known as Cost-per-Click, the results are dependent on reserved keywords for which the website is shown when they are entered into a query.

- http://www.anduro.com/glossary.html

Search Engine Optimization

The marketing technique of preparing a web site to enhance its chances of being ranked in the top results of a search engine once a relevant search is undertaken.

- www.clixmarketing.com/definitions.htm

KeywordThe word or words that relate to a particular

topic. Keywords or phrases are used to construct a search statement to find information.

- www.utas.edu.au/library/etutor/main/webzglos.htm

Examples of KeywordsHealth insurance quotes

Health insurance

Insurance

Denver health insurance

Can you help me find health insurance for my 90 year-old-mother who lives in a cabin outside of Bozeman?

- www.valpo.edu/library/jargon.html URLAn acronym for "Uniform Resource

Locator," this is the address of a resource on the Internet.

- www.valpo.edu/library/jargon.html

HTMLHyper Text Mark-Up Language (HTML), a subset of

Standard Generalized Mark-Up Language (SGML) for electronic publishing, the specific standard used for the World Wide Web.

- www.orafaq.com/glossary/faqglosh.htm

Link or HyperlinkThe text you find on a Web site which can be

"clicked on" with a mouse, which in turn will take you to another Web page or a different area of the same Web page.

- www.7designavenue.com/glossary.htm

SERP – Search Engine Results Page

Paid Search

What Makes PPCSo

Cool?

Bus Bench Marketing

$1250/mo +

Cumbersome?

Yellow Pages are Expensive(in more ways than one)

Active Searchers

You Only Pay for ACTION!

Ultimate Online Marketing Tool

Search [marketing] is the ultimate online marketing tool because the behavior of search is more of an indicator of purchase intent than any other online activity.

- Fredrick Marckini, CEO iProspect

Presell

Collect the Lead

Where to do PPC

Downside to the Big Two

1. Cost

2. Competition

Beware of the Clones…

It’s All About ROE

ReturnOnEffort

Two Requirements for AdWords

•Website (a good one)

•Credit Card ( w/ benefits)

Opening Your First AdWords Account…

• Takes only a few minutes• Choose your settings:

– Select your market (Geo-Targeting)– Set a budget (daily)

• Enter some Keywords– Time to get creative (verbs, locations, misspellings,

word ordering)– Don’t be shy, but keep them in order

Keyword Examples• Denver Health Insurance• Health Insurance Denver• Buy Denver Health

Insurance• Denver Health Insurance

Quote• Denver Health Insurance

Quotes

• Denver Colorado Health Insurance

• Health Insurance Quotes Denver

• Cheap Denver Health Insurance

• Denver Medical Insurance

• Denver Haelth Insurance

What are Your Keywords?

Write AdsText Based Ads

–25 Character Title–35 Character 1st Line–35 Character 2nd Line–35 Character URL

Ad Writing Tips• Read the Audience’s Hot Buttons

– Price?– Quality?– Service?– Trust?– Brand?

» from Andrew Goodman

Ad Writing Tips

• Study the Competition

• Test, test, test

Time to Place a Bid

1 “Health Insurance” Click =

$5 - $7

1 “Auto Insurance” Click =

$6 - $10

1 “Mesothelioma” Click =

$100

WOWIE!

It’s Showtime!

QUALITY SCORE

Google Rewards the Most Profitable Ads

It’s Expensive to be Google

Ad Ranking Factors

• Your Cost-Per-Click “Bid”• Click-Through-Rate (CTR)• Landing Page Relevance

Bottom LineMake sure your ads are

effective and your keywords match the content on your website.

Don’t Forget!If you aren’t collecting lead

information on your website, you are leaving business on the table. (InsureMe can help with this part)

ALSO!

Make sure your site doesn’t suck.

Your Site Should…• Build Trust• Inform• Add Value• Persuade

PPC in a Nutshell

Didn’t he say something about FREE traffic?

Search Engine Optimization

Organic

Organic

How Do Sites Get There?

Misconceptions

Ranked by traffic to a site

Misconceptions

People Create the Rankings

In Reality:

It’s All

Aboutthe

Algorithm

SEO is Like Teaching a Computer

On-Page and Off-Page Factors

On-Page Factors

Title Tag

What’s Your Title Tag?• Your company’s name• Focus on keywords (don’t overdo

it)• Make it stand out (don’t copy)• Make it intriguing• Make each page unique

On-Page Factors

Content (words on your web page)

Help the Bot Understand

Content Tips• Use your keywords naturally

throughout the text• Aim for at least 250 to 300 words

on each page• Remember that people are going to

read this stuff!

On-Page Factors

Internal Linking (for the spiders)

Pyramids are Good

• Have a hierarchy of pages• Never forget the Site Map• Standard navigation is good

(about us, contact us, privacy policy, etc.)

Internal Linking Tips

Off-Page Optimization(a.k.a the “Hard Stuff”)

It’s All About the Links

Look Ma! It’s the Intarweb!

Linking Tips:• Find on-topic links (quality over quantity)

• Get your keywords in the anchor text (the blue underlined stuff)

• One-way links better than reciprocal (but it’s better to have something than nothing)

Where do Links Come From?

Get Links From:• Friends, family, business

associates, etc.• Unsolicited Email Requests• Buy Them (Risky)• Create something link worthy!

(Link Bait)

Final SEO Tips• Register your domain for a long

time• Make sure your code is clean• If your first page is Flash, stop it• Have your own domain