News Center

Welcome to ITC's Agent Resource Center, a hub of content for agents who want to learn how to manage, market and grow their agencies in today's insurance industry.

Not sure where to start?

To search for a specific topic, click the magnifying glass located at the top of every page. Then, type in your topic and hit enter.

Just browsing? Welcome!

You'll find all sorts of helpful resources in this hub.

Our Operation Agency Success series covers various topics, including marketing in short, helpful videos. 
 

Operation Agency Success

Find out how others in the insurance industry plan their day and achieve success in our This is the Way series. You may see a familiar face. 
 

This is the Way: Mick Becker, CEO of PIA National
 

In-depth eBooks and white papers are detailed, long-form content that cover our most frequently asked questions and popular topics like "How do I use Facebook for my agency?" and "How can I drive more traffic to my agency website?"
 

 
White paper library

If you have only a few minutes a day to learn, here are some good places to start...

• What does it mean to start and run an insurance agency in the 2020s? Our Modern Agency blog series will give you a good idea.
• Stop by the Sales and Rating section for insight from our sales experts. 
• The Marketing section is a cornucopia of helpful information. Start with our most popular posts: Learn how to post to Instagram, create a partner page on your website, and write an effective email. 

If you made it to the bottom of this overview, here's a secret: We put on a free insurance marketing webinar every month. Click below to learn more.  

Masters of Marketing webinar series

Whew, that's a lot of content. Trying to find something and can't? Leave a comment below.

Joe Hollier is a 14-year veteran of the insurance industry. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana. At the time, his uncle, a AAA agent at the time, introduced Joe to the insurance industry. He came into the industry kicking and screaming. He slowly realized that this was the perfect career for him. However, Joe had his doubters.

After two years of being an assistant agent, he decided he wanted to make the jump to becoming an independent agent. He set his sights on an agency that he wanted to work for. He interviewed for a position several times. After taking a personality test, the owner of this desired agency said Joe was not cut out for the job and did not see him being successful at prospecting long term. That was all the motivation he needed.

Joe transitioned from a captive agent to an independent agent in 2008 and has been evolving in his role ever since.

Although Joe specializes in property and casual insurance, he saw a need to develop his expertise in a different sector: cyber insurance. The insurance industry has always had a cybersecurity target on its back. Joe recognized the growing threat and demands for better insurance against hackers.

In the summer of 2018, Joe created the first live insurance talk show on Instagram, The Insurance Scramble. Every Saturday morning (before COVID-19), Joe hosted different insurance industry professionals to share their stories. The goal was to create raw, honest insurance conversations.

Joe currently lives in Mandeville, LA with his wife Jenae, and for kids.

This is the way Joe Hollier works.

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1. Location:

Mandeville, LA

2. Current gig:

Agent/Producer

3. One word that describes how you like to work.

Efficiently

4. Current mobile device:

LG V40 Android

5. Current computer:

Microsoft Surface

6. Project(s) you’re currently working on:

Becoming an agency owner. Establishing a commercial, niche networking group.

7. Accomplishments you’re proud of:

My book of business. My long-term customers. Getting recognized as a respected voice in the independent insurance industry.

8. What are your goals for the next 12 months?

Build a team of three. Establishing ownership. 

9. What are your biggest professional challenges?

Currently, I have not enough assistance and technology in place to work as efficiently as I would like, and/or envision myself.

10. What do you like most about your job?

Networking.

11. What technology, apps, or tools can’t you live without?

Now that I am working from home – DocuSign all day.

12. Describe your workspace.

My dining room at home is now my office and has been since mid-March.

13. How do you manage your to-do list?

Check off boxes with loud children in the background. 

14. What’s your best time-saving tip or hack?

I write down everything I want to accomplish tomorrow at the end of the workday today. I then work through that list throughout the day. I try to work smartly and not devote way too much time on any one item on my list. Staying fluid is key for me.

15. What’s the first thing you do when you get into the office?

Drink coffee. Check email and organize my day.

16. What do you listen to while working?

A balance between heavy metal and classical.

17. What are you currently reading?

Mostly industry influencer posts and statewide movement on insurance issues.

18. Coffee or tea?

Coffee and plenty of it.

19. Night owl or morning person?

Morning person.

20. What are you watching on Netflix right now?

Designated Survivor

4 Questions to Ask About Your Agency Management System

Think of your agency management system as a swiss army knife. Your insurance management system should automate processes, power collaboration, and manage your clients.  

You might already have a solution for agency management. Or, you might be shopping for an insurance management system for the first time. Regardless of your circumstances, these questions will guide you toward the right solution for your agency.

1: Does Your Insurance Agency Enable You to Work Remotely?

Ideally, we’d all be in our offices right now. But, working efficiently while working remote is now more important than ever.

Even before the pandemic, the modern agent needed to be able to service clients and sell policies faster than ever before. This is because the modern consumer has come to expect fast service from every industry, including insurance. Browser-based insurance management systems enable you to meet and exceed those consumer expectations.

Don’t let your technology hold you back from providing great client service from wherever you need to be. Because consumers do not have the patience to wait. If your agency management system does not enable your team to work remote, it’s time to consider a change.

2: Does your agency management system increase productivity and decrease taskings?

In today’s fast-paced world, success is tied to efficiency. An investment in an agency management system is an investment in your productivity.

Make a list of your current pain points with your current agency management system. Can you cut a few day-to-day tasks with the introduction of a new solution?

• Are your customer follow-ups automated?
• Are you spending too much time generating reports to gain agency insights?
• Are you missing eDOCS, eSIGN, or other document management features?
• Are you able to use your AMS from anywhere?

Searching carrier website to carrier website for a policy is not providing great service to your client.

To get to growth, you’ll need to streamline your processes. Refocus your agents on retaining clients and acquiring new ones. Your time and attention are valuable. Don’t waste it. Automate processes and trust your agency management system to work for you behind the scenes.

3: Are you fully using your agency management system?

Evaluating your agency management usage can be tricky. There are a variety of factors to consider. Is your whole team proficient with your agency management system? Were there training issues during the onboarding process? Is your current solution outdated and overcomplicated? Are you receiving dedicated support?

Look for a solution that has dedicated support to walk you through any questions you might have. Do a deep dive of the knowledge base, if one is available. Check for FAQs, process documents, training videos, and product tutorials.

4: Does your agency management system play well with others?

The modern insurance agency needs various tools to run their daily operations efficiently. There are the consumers researching insurance online. You need a quality insurance agency website for that. Consumers want quotes fast, which means an accurate comparative rater is a must. Even the best sales organizations don’t have a 100% close ratio. An agency marketing system can nurture those unsold leads as well as cross-sell. No matter the size of your agency, that’s a lot of touchpoints to manage.

Your agency management system should bring all those touchpoints together. But not all systems play well with others. Just because you’re shopping for a new insurance management system does not mean you should change the solutions that do work for you.

Does the system you’re evaluating integrate already with your other technology? If not, is there an API available so you can integrate the systems? There are also vendors that provide full-service agency solutions so that all your systems work together seamlessly. (Like ITC! Request a consultation to learn more about ITC’s solutions that power insurance agencies like yours.)

Conclusion

You wear many hats as an insurance agent. Technology can never replace the value you bring to your clients. But, it is the key to your efficiency and, ultimately, your success.

Your clients have high expectations for your agency. You should have high expectations for your agency management system.

Does your agency management system increase how much you can do for your clients every day? Are you getting the most out of it? Does it work well with your other agency solutions? These questions will help you better evaluate whether it’s time to start looking for a new agency management system.

Our Digital Marketing Expert series will show you how to become a digital marketing self-starter. Using these simple steps in this series, you can improve your digital marketing and online presence.

In my previous blog post, I showed you why you should take control of your online reputation to improve your search engine optimization (SEO). In this edition of Digital Marketing Experts, I’ll show you what a quality review looks like and how to cultivate new reviews to improve your online reputation.

The foundation of a strong online reputation is providing an excellent customer experience.

Today’s consumers are used to having their needs met when, where, and how they want. It’s not unusual anymore to have excellent customer experience. In fact, consumers now expect it. Each time you meet a consumer's needs, their expectations are set higher.

Click here for more information about the insurance consumer experience for 2020!

What does this mean for your insurance agency? It’s more important than ever for you to invest in your customer experience. Consistent positive customer experiences equate to improved customer loyalty and retention. They also lead to quality reviews. For more information about the modern insurance shopper, click here.

What Makes A Quality Review?

You don’t have control over what a happy client says in their review. However, it will be helpful for you to know which reviews are good for your online reputation, and which ones aren’t.

A quality review should be direct, timely, and professional.

Direct

First, it is good to know that not all reviews carry equal weight in the eyes of search engines like Google. People evaluating your agency only need a few key details about a client’s experience. Google is looking for the same thing. Quality reviews do not have to be lengthy. Just a few detailed sentences are plenty. 

Professional

The ideal quality review should be written with a professional tone, even if it is a negative review that offers criticism or advice. They should also be free of spelling or grammatical errors.

Timely

Timing is important to search engines. So, the sooner you contact a client and request a review, the better.

I recommend you ask for feedback within 24 hours of a client interaction. The same goes for responding to client reviews. Whether a review is positive or negative, a response is necessary. A 2018 study shows that consumers expect a response to their review within 24 hours. Don’t delay! Respond to your reviews. Consistently monitoring your reviews is a critical facet of managing your online reputation.

Keeping a continual influx of reviews is essential. Studies show that 44% of consumers view reviews older than a month irrelevant. Google feels the same way. When the Google algorithm refreshes every six months, more recent reviews help your business rank higher. If a review is older than six months, it is no longer benefiting your reputation or ranking. 

Quality Review vs. Poor Quality Review

Quality Review:

“Sarah and her staff were beyond helpful to my family and I during such a stressful time. Our home had flooded after a terrible storm, and we were panicked on what we should do. This agency was organized and reassuring when taking care of our claim. They also went the extra mile to make sure our rate was the best possible deal. I will be going back to them with all my insurance needs!”

Poor Quality Review:

“These folks rok.”

Now that you know what a quality review should look like, let’s get started on how you can get them! 

How to Get Reviews:

1: Consider the Interaction and Express Appreciation

Before reaching out to a client, first consider the quality of the interaction. If a client was indifferent or dissatisfied, you might not want to ask them to review you on Google or Yelp! With these clients, consider emailing them personally. Thank them for their business and provide them with a less public avenue to voice their concerns. That way, you can still show them they’re a valued client without getting a bad review.

You have the green light to reach out to every client you feel had a positive interaction with your agency! Just be sure that you are courteous and express appreciation for them taking the time to do this for you.

2: Ask for them! 

This may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised. Many times, you won’t get reviews unless you ask for them. There are a lot of great ways to generate reviews for your Google My Business page.

Email

Make the email friendly and personable. Reference details of the interaction and thank them for their business. You don’t want your email to sound automated or robotic. Your best bet is to send these out early in the morning.

Don’t forget to send a follow-up email if you haven't heard a response after a few business days. However, you don’t want to pester them with too many emails and calls asking for a review. Clients will be less likely to do you a favor if they feel you are bothering them too much.

Social Media

Keep your Google My Business page link in your bio on your social media accounts! This tip is about accessibility. If your review page is readily accessible, consumers will be more likely to leave a review. Create a post to your profile a few times a month and request a review from your followers.

Direct to Client Communication

Don’t hesitate to call or text your clients and ask for a review. It might feel uncomfortable at first. But, this direct contact is often more effective in soliciting a review. Again, don’t be pushy.

3: Make the process simple 

The process of leaving a review should be easy for your clients. Nothing can dissuade a client from leaving a review quicker than a complicated process. If you ask too much of someone, they will become overwhelmed and likely ignore your request.

The best way to reach out for reviews is to create a simple, streamlined process. Luckily, your Google My Business page takes care of most of this for you.  It’s as easy as the click of a button for the client to write a quality review. 

Email marketing campaigns are a great way to solicit reviews. This is a great time for your automated agency marketing system to do what it does best… send an email! Save yourself time and set up automated email campaigns so you’re continually asking for feedback.  

Unfortunately, this process will not guarantee a review from every client you ask. But, it is an important part of your regular customer service routine. If you continually solicit feedback in a simple and timely manner, you will soon cultivate a strong online reputation that will grab the attention of search engines and new clients.

Just remember, your online reputation is a continuous project for your business. Even if you have plenty of reviews, Google’s algorithm deems reviews outdated after six months. For this reason, you need to continually ask for feedback to keep relevant and help your online reputation continue to grow!

Comparative rating systems may seem ubiquitous in the 21st century as they’ve been around for more than three decades. Many independent insurance agencies rely on their efficiency every day.  

But have you ever stopped to think what it was like to sell insurance before there were raters?  

Comparative Quoting in the 1980s/1990s 

In my first insurance job, there was no computer on my desk. On my first day, I got a catalog rack and about 20 manuals to read, study, tear, and insert in plastic sheets. Everyone at the agency had a Merritt Manual to look up vehicle symbols that had the occasional update (replace pages 40-43 with this insert) along with a calculator and phone.  

When a client called in, we did everything possible to get them to come into the office with their MVR and vehicle registration. Yes, we sent people to the DMV before coming to our offices. Imagine that? 

Once you had a prospect, you had to research four areas in the manuals. Their territory by way of their ZIP code. Their car aka symbol. Their class, which included sex, marital status, etc., and was usually related to driving experience. Last was any points (tickets or accidents) on their record.  

After your research, you made several calculations with that handy calculator to determine a rate. You then calculated the payment plan by premium financing the policy. Then once the premium was agreed upon, you handwrote the application and could not use white-out.  

Also, if you ever made a mistake on the effective or expiration date, you had to start over. My first client took three hours to write. Veterans could write clients in one hour, sometimes 45 minutes, if previously quoted.  

After all of this, there would be times when you “blew the rate.” What did that mean?  

You missed a factor or used an incorrect calculation somewhere, and the office underwriter would red ink the application like a high school English teacher. And you’d have to go back to the client to break the great news about the rate changing. Then it was back to shopping other carriers, research, manuals, calculators, handwriting apps. You get the picture.  

Once the application was written, photos were taken, money received, you had to bind it one of three ways: postmark, fax, or phone binding. You’d call a toll-free number and enter a driver’s license or other data points. Then, you’d get a confirmation number and had to mail it within 24-96 hours, depending on the carrier.  

Or, you faxed the application, printed a fax confirmation, and added it to the file. Then, you mailed the application to the carrier. (We used to mail dozens of envelopes daily.) Accounting had to draft a trust check and deposit the insured’s money. It would take up to 30-45 days for policies to get issued, even policies with zero uprates or problems.  

Introducing the Comparative Rater 

One day in 1991, the agency announced that when we have a four-car risk, we could use what they called a comparative rater.  

Rather than making us manually rate four cars, we could enter it in a computer. The keyboard clicked loudly, and the monitor took up an entire desk with only 13 inches being the actual screen. But it was awesome! After 15 minutes, you could print the quote on a dot matrix printer (that seemingly took another 15 minutes), and you were off to the races.  

About one year later, we all received our own computer for rating a policy. We reached the point where we had computers on every desk in the office. Yet we weren’t networked. So, when someone called in, you had to find out who they spoke with and go to that person’s computer to find the quote.  

A few years later, everyone in the office could see everyone’s quotes, and we had a network printer. Modem binding became the new fax or phone bind, and direct bill was born. Despite the modem bind, we still had to mail the application with a trust check and have it postmarked within a specific period. This was the insurance business in the late 80s and early 90s.  

Finding the Best Rate Today 

Since we manually rated, we never “knew” what company was best. For anyone to say they know what carrier is best for a client is to say you’re an actuarial genius with a photographic memory.  

You might have an idea, and you might be right six or seven times out of 10. But 100% of the time? No way. Going to every single carrier website is merely the modern version of what we did in the 80s and 90s.  

The other part to the inefficient manual process of old was manually filing computed quotes in accordion files so we could retrieve the information when needed. This is much like checking multiple carrier websites to find previous quotes today. Entering the same data several times into carrier websites is a waste of time, and it lowers close ratios.  

Modern consumers don’t have time to wait. They want their quote now.  

If we’re being honest here, if you don’t have a comparative rater for your personal lines, you’re doing your clients an injustice. Because you never know who has the best coverage for the best price for every risk you speak with. It’s impossible unless you’re a captive agent.  

A comparative rating tool does several things for you: 

Saves you time! 

You only have to enter data once for as long as the insured is with your agency. You can also re-shop quotes at any time. Endorsement, you can shop. Renewals and rewrites are a breeze when the data is in a comparative rater.  

It used to take hours if you blew the rate. Now it literally takes seconds to change coverage, reassign vehicles or swap a named insured. 

Makes your job easier and more efficient! 

Binding is a cinch. Click a link, and the carrier website opens with all quote data prefilled. Answer a few warranty questions, and you’re binding in seconds. (Remember we used to FAX or MAIL applications in for binding?!) 

You can print evidence of insurance for escrow, ID cards for auto, and fill in ACORD forms when you need to submit business to excess and surplus lines brokers or MGAs. 

Also, you can avoid double entry by bridging that policy into your agency management system. If you need to requote in the future, bridge from your management system to your rater for the most updated rating information.  

Shows your value to your client! 

Independent agents have always represented not only choice to the consumer but a good price. The accuracy in a comparative rater is second to none because most quotes are real-time, meaning the carrier provides them to the rating vendor.  

A comparative rater will display pay plans and quickly sort the quote by down payment, annual premiums, limits, deductibles. One carrier may have the best annual price, but another may have more favorable terms. Insureds love favorable terms. 

Makes it easy to remarket! 

Back when I was a young agent, if we didn’t sell the policy, we would sometimes send a postcard to the prospect. It was a manual process, and it was only the one follow up.  

Nowadays, comparative raters make it easy to remarket to that unsold prospect by automating a series of follow-ups. This marketing automation is increasing closing ratios for agencies as they’re getting in front of those prospects multiple times after providing a quote. 

Gives you insights into your agency! 

Comparative raters do more than quote a policy. You can run reports and see where your business is coming from, what carriers are being quoted, close ratios by producer, location, or carrier, and many other valuable metrics.  

As a young agent, I would have loved the efficiency and speed a comparative rater would have brought to my sales process. Don’t take this technology for granted. You may save money going directly to a carrier to get the rate. But, being able to spend more time with your clients or sell more policies because of the time saved makes the return on your comparative rater investment good for your agency.  

Looking for a comparative rating tool? TurboRater enables you to do everything listed above and more! Plus, no long-term commitments are required. Request your quick, hassle-free demo today! 

Insurance has always had a cybersecurity target on its back. The personally identifiable information (PII) in your comparative rater and agency management system is worth more than you think.

Our clients have entrusted us with their personal data. In this edition of Masters of Marketing, we will cover cybersecurity regulations, how to spot scams, and protect your data.

Join Website Designer Ashley Kilby on Thursday, August 20, at 12:00 p.m. CT for Cyber Security: Tips for a Secure Insurance Agency Website. Use this link to register to attend. We'll see you there! 

Using proper search engine optimization (SEO) techniques can help improve your search engine ranking, resulting in more traffic to your insurance agency website. The importance of establishing yourself online is nothing new and continues to grow every year.

However, this importance has never been so evident than in 2020. With the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more businesses are operating online, emphasizing the need for a strong online presence.

It doesn’t matter if you are just starting the website optimization process or enhancing your SEO efforts. It’s crucial to your digital marketing success to avoid these common SEO mistakes.

1. Optimizing for Search Engines 

The average person is searching the internet in common language. Google understands this and has made significant strides in understanding a user’s intent when using natural language.

Conversions happen when you satisfy the needs of your customer and not the search engines. Think of website optimization like you’re having a conversation with your target audience. Write content as if you were having a chat with a client in your office.

Optimizing your content is all about providing purpose-driven content. Your clients will thank you for it.

2. Choosing the Wrong Keyword

Long gone are the days of stuffing keywords onto a page and hoping for the best. Not only does keyword stuffing not work, it, in Google’s own words, “results in a negative user experience, and can harm your site's ranking.”

However, a keyword research tool like Uber Suggest is still important for two different reasons.

1. Sometimes it can be difficult for a business owner to identify keywords a consumer might use versus what is more commonly used in the industry. Car vs. auto. Boat vs. watercraft vs. PWC, and so on.
2. Equally important to your SEO content efforts is identifying long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are longer and more specific keywords. Instead of using the keyword car insurance, think about cheap car insurance. An even longer option would be cheapest full coverage car insurance. In general, the longer the keyword is, the less competition there is for it.

3. Misunderstanding or Not Satisfying Search Intent

Consider what a user might be looking for with their Google search. It is essential to drive traffic to your website. But, there are other equally important factors to maximize your return on investment (ROI) in SEO. You do not just want to show up in the internet searches and hope for clicks.

Your content and navigation should indicate what you want visitors to do on your website. To maximize ROI, design it accordingly. If someone lands on a blog post, you want to answer their question.

Before writing new website content or freshening up existing material, focus on this first. But, you also want to identify opportunities to lead them to another page for more information. Or, better yet, into your sales funnel through a call to action.

4. Setting Unspecific Goals

Setting your SEO goals is step one. Defining clear goals can be a massive help in the long run.

Do you prefer quote forms or your car insurance rater being filled out more than anything?

Are you more interested in having a potential client call and establish a long-lasting relationship?

Or maybe you are more concerned about brand recognition at the moment. Having these SEO goals defined clearly will help your business and conversions.

5. Not Optimizing for Conversions

Let’s say you have worked your way through the first four steps. You are getting more traffic, but you have seen little to no gains in quote forms being filled out. What is the problem?

It could be many things. Here are a few questions to ask yourself.

1. What pages are being visited?
2. What pages are people leaving?
3. Are potential clients leaving from a quote form page without filling it out?
4. Maybe a lot of traffic is coming to a page that satisfies user intent, but doesn’t have a quote form.

Identifying and answering these questions can help you convert more traffic. Plus, you'll get a better ROI from the already acquired traffic.

6. Ignoring Website Analytics

Setting up and reviewing your website analytics is critical. You need to know how much traffic you’re getting to your insurance agency website. You also need to know where it is coming from, and why.

Signing up for and implementing a Google Analytics and Google Search Console account is simple, free and mandatory for SEO success. I also highly suggest finding the time to do the free Google Analytics Academy courses.

There are loads of different ways to view and interpret the analytics and conversion rates, but here are a few highlights.

1. Visit the Audience>Overview section, and you can quickly see the total amount of traffic (users), new users, and how many pages a user visited on average. 
2. Visit the Acquisition > Overview tab, and you can get a better picture of where those visitors came from. For example, organic search results, social media, etc.
3. Visit the Behavior > Overview tab, and you will see what pages are getting the most traffic. You can take that a step further and click on one of the pages. Once done so you can see more specific behavior information for that page.
4. Once you get comfortable inside Google Analytics, you can dig further into conversion optimization. An excellent place to start is to go to Behavior > Site and Content > Exit pages. This is where you will see the last page a user saw before exiting your website. Looking at this is where most of what we have talked about can come together.
5. What is the purpose of that page and what do you think the intent of the user was that found it? If it is an informational blog post, maybe it is not intended to immediately convert. However, if it is a main line of business page with links to quote forms you probably wanted that user to take the next step. (Keep in mind if you see an exit page similar to /confirmation.aspx?type=C or /confirmation.aspx that means a potential customer filled out one of the built-in Insurance Website Builder quote forms.)

While Google Analytics shows information on all website visitors, Google Search Console is only concerned with organic website traffic. Merely visiting the Performance tab on the left console is a great start. Four key pieces of information will be at the top.

1. Total Clicks: The total amount of people that clicked on a page of your website from an organic search result.
2. Total Impressions: The total amount of time any page of your website showed up in any organic search query. This can be on page 1 or 100. They are all counted as an impression.
3. Average CTR: The average click-through rate is the rate at which people clicked on your website versus the number of times it appeared.
4. Average Position: The average position overall of all your website impressions. Keep in mind watching the movement of this can be more important than the actual number since it does account for all impressions.

These four organic search data points should always be reviewed. However, there is much more information available. You can see organic analytics and website performance broken down by page or search query.

Conclusion

Now that you know the most common SEO mistakes to avoid in 2020, you can make positive gains moving forward. Take this information and make and a good SEO plan, and then implement it. But more than just a plan, you will also have a good start on how to track your SEO progress. ITC is always here to help with all of your digital marketing needs! For a free digital marketing consultation, click here today!

In today’s digital world, the core of your marketing strategy lies in your insurance agency website. More specifically, your website content.

Consumers will go to your website to learn more about your agency and your products. It is how they interact with your agency in this digital world. A balance of written, visual, and interactive content is important because it encourages maximum client interaction and lead generation.

Writing can be hard. I know many people struggle with trying to decide how much content is enough.

Your website must be informative, but it also cannot overwhelm consumers. When writing content for your website, it’s vital to balance both the quantity and scope of information.

Why Content Balance is Important

Word Count

For optimal SEO results, most website pages should contain between 600 and 900 words. (Learn more about SEO.) Depending on the purpose of a given web page, you may write anywhere from 200 to 2,500 words. Some pages will have to be shorter, while others will have to be longer.

Too much content can overwhelm your audience and makes your messaging oversaturated. Too little content gives no reason for Google or anyone else to visit your page frequently.

Policy Information

Insurance is a myriad of terms, conditions, coverage options, exceptions, and exclusions. It’s a complicated product. Through your content, you want to help your clients understand their policy but contact you to find the right coverage. Some facts and figures you may want to include. Others, however, you might prefer to save for a phone call or face-to-face conversation.

Content Simplification & Organization

Cramming a website with text can easily overwhelm someone. Too much information reduces a reader’s ability to scan for what they need. They might simply look elsewhere if they can’t understand or sort through your website content.

Insurance website design trends are going towards minimalist visuals and simplified content. If you apply these trends correctly, then your website is easier to navigate and use.

Minimalistic website design is effective because it applies the practice of quality over quantity. Yet, achieving quality content isn’t so easy. Your website still needs content that resonates with your audience and ranks on search engines. The most important factor in a minimalistic design is that, again, your website is a useful resource for your clients.

Get strategic with your website organization. Create enough content to answer essential questions without overwhelming your clients with too much information.

How to Create Purpose-Driven Content

Step 1: Know Your End Goal

When you set out to write content, you need to know where you want to end up. When writing without a road map, you can get lost or sidetracked on issues that are not central to the purpose of the page.

For example, when writing about motor vehicle insurance, you might feel that it’s necessary to discuss coverage for every vehicle type. From standard cars to RVs, commercial vehicles and motorcycles. However, the latter three types have different insurance needs than the average car. If you spend a lot of time talking about a non-essential coverage, you take the attention away from more relevant information.

Create an outline of what you think you need to accomplish with each page. Do not deviate from it. Think from the perspective of your audience. Would they expect to find the information included on that specific page? If not, it shouldn’t be there.

Step 2: Know Your Target Audience

Most agencies have a goal of selling certain policies to certain people. You might offer only certain lines of coverage, some of which might be specialty policies. Or, you might want to target certain policies to certain customers. The better your knowledge of your customer base, the better you can design your content.

Consider an agency that exclusively sells car insurance. The agency might offer standard/preferred, non-standard, SR-22, and commercial auto policies. They may have a page for each type of coverage with content to explain it to their clients.

For products that are most important to you, devote more time and space to that content. For example, if you write a lot of SR-22 policies, then write more on this page. Then you will be providing those researching this policy type with a comprehensive guide and a place to find a solution.

Step 3: Be Wary of Technicalities

It never hurts to give detail on your product pages. However, by trying to give all the information about a product on one page, you could create confusion.  

Different car insurance policies, for example, include many types of coverage. There are also different ways that insurers pay settlements and exclude certain costs. It’s not necessary to provide every exception to every rule on a general information page.

You can use this page to talk about common policy options and common exclusions. But, don’t include specific policy details unless they exist in a significant portion of your policy options.

Step 4: Have a Site Map & Design Sub-Pages

You can find countless topics to talk about for any insurance product. So, you might consider creating both primary landing pages and sub-pages to separate pertinent pieces of information.

For example, one page with information about standard car insurance, gap insurance, SR-22 insurance, and payment settlements may feel overwhelming. Instead, discuss only the general terms of a given policy on one page. Then, build sub-pages that provide extra details on specific topics.

By designing a site map, you can decide which pages to create along with where to build and link sub-pages.

An auto insurance landing page might provide general information. But, sub-pages can discuss the finer details of deductibles, discounts, supplementary insurance, etc.

Determining the Content Essential to Your Website

You may not be sure what essential information to include on your insurance agency website. There are SEO techniques you can use to help you decide.

For example, through a review of your website traffic, you can see which pages perform best. A deeper dive into search engine data can also help you determine common keywords consumers are using. You can use these keywords to decide what information to include on a page and what to discard.

Here are some free resources to learn more about SEO techniques for your website:

• Can SEO Translate to Your Bottom Line (Watch)
• Design Your Website to Build Trust and Generate Leads
• Top SEO Ranking Factors for Insurance Websites

Many agencies today structure their pages as a series of frequently asked questions. Each page corresponds to common keyword data in their market. Pages with this structure often prove better at attracting traffic. Why? Because they answer the questions people are asking.

Conclusion

Having a website that is out of balance can actually do more harm than good. Finding the middle ground between too much content and too little content is essential. These steps can help you determine what content is essential to your website and what it could do without.

Alexander Dopazo was born and raised in Miami, Florida, where he still lives with his wife, Michelle, and their two children, Megan and Ryan. Like many great American success journeys, Alex’s story starts with family.

Alex’s parents immigrated to the United States from Cuba. His father has been an independent business owner since he was 21 years old. His father found his way to insurance from the advice of a good friend and opened his own insurance agency in 1997.

“A few months after that he needed some help, so he did what any good Cuban parent does for free labor, he asked me to work with him.  I fell in love with the industry right away and we’ve been working together since 1998.”

During his early days in the industry, when Alex was getting his Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation, he remembers discovering a love for technology. He believes that the word technology is interchangeable with the word efficiency.

One of his CIC courses was agency management taught by Steve Anderson. Steve always looked at insurance through a technology lens. Alex began to look at the industry the same way. He found that with technology his agency could work faster, smarter, cleaner, and save more money. If he can do that with technology, he can spend time on what matters most - the people.

The insurance industry provided opportunity for Alex and his family. He loves that regardless of where a person is from, where they live, what they like, and how they do things, they can be successful with desire and a license.

Alex loves telling anyone who will listen, “Opportunity is the real American dream, and our industry is ripe with it.”

This is the way that Alex Dopazo of Dopazo & Associates works.

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1. Location:

Dopazo & Associates Inc, 8725 NW 18^th Ter, Ste 300, Miami, FL 33172

2. Current gig:

It depends on the time of day that you call me.  Sometimes I’m the IT guy, sometimes I’m the janitor, and every so often I actually get to talk some insurance.

3. One word that describes how you like to work.

Quiet.

4. Current mobile device:

I rock a surface for the office, iPhone for the phone.

5. Current computer:

Surface.

6. Project(s) you’re currently working on:

Increasing the video content on our website.

7. Accomplishments you’re proud of:

I served on the Latin American Association of Insurance agents' board for 8 years and was the president of that great organization in 2013-2014.  I also served as a member and chair for the Big I Diversity Council and am proud to have been a part of the fantastic work they are doing in spreading the word about the opportunity in our industry regardless of their background.

8. What are your goals for the next 12 months?

More digital sales. Trying to branch out of products that have a geographic requirement (e.g., CGL for a store) and lean into products that are needed regardless (e.g., Professional Liability, Cyber, Privacy, Directors & Officers)

9. What are your biggest professional challenges?

I don’t like to sell. I think that is why I tend to take the position of educator or advocate.  Selling a product isn’t my goal; helping small businesses thrive is.

10. What do you like most about your job?

Independence. The industry allows me the freedom not just to work on my own but to choose how and who I work with. Also, when I work. I’m blessed to spend more time with my kids than my parents were able to, and the insurance industry gives me that opportunity.

11. What technology, apps, or tools can’t you live without?

My surface. It’s my portal to everything anywhere, and if it breaks, gets lost, stolen, or whatever it only takes me 2 hours after purchasing one to be back up and running as if it was never lost.

12. Describe your workspace.

My office is a hodgepodge of video equipment, memories, and a standing desk with three monitors.

13. What’s your best time-saving tip or hack?

Turn off email.

14. What’s the first thing you do when you get into the office?

Coffee.

15. What do you listen to while working?

Everyone else working.

16. What are you currently reading?

They Ask, You Answer by Marcus Sheridan

17. Coffee or tea?

Coffee by day and tea by night.

18. Night owl or morning person?

I only have two modes: on or off. It doesn’t really matter what time of day it is.

19. What are you watching on Netflix right now?

Warrior Nun

20. What does a typical day look like for you?

Up at 5:30 a.m., spend some quiet time in God’s word, get ready, get the kids up and ready, head to the office, head back home, spend time with the family, get some sleep and start up all over again.

21. Who are your business idols, and why?

My dad, because he doesn’t see the obstacle, just the goal. 

22. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

SWSWSWWN.  Some will, some won’t, so what, who’s next.  (don’t let the haters or detractors guide you, just move on)

23. If you could switch jobs with someone, who would it be?

Blessed that I don’t think I’d want to switch with anyone.

24. Who would you like to see in a future This is the Way post?

Joe Hollier

Whether your agency has been around for 10 years or 10 weeks, you need an insurance agency website.

However, consumers now visit web pages on various devices. Your website is going to appear differently on a smartphone or an iPad than it would on a desktop computer. That’s why your website needs a responsive design.

This blog will walk you through what a responsive website is and why you need one.

What Is A Responsive Website?

A responsive website means the site responds or resizes based on the device a person is using. Think about all the various devices that consumers use to browse the internet. Each device has specific requirements that enable your web page to display correctly.

Here are some elements of a responsive website:

• Images optimized for different devices and connection speeds.
• Navigation that changes to account for how people hold a mobile device.
• Touch-friendly links and buttons.
• Elements, like video or data tables that resize properly rather than hiding them.
• Fonts that resize dynamically to work better at different screen resolutions.
• Alternate versions of graphics.

A responsive website allows you to maintain your site's visual and functional elements. So, it provides a seamless experience for your clients and prospects, no matter the device.

Here is an example of what this looks like in action.

Notice that for each device, the buttons stack differently. You can also see that the background image changes and the menu organization changes.

A non-responsive website would primarily display one or two things. A zoomed-out version would make your website nearly impossible for a mobile visitor to view or do anything. That takes us to our next point.

Why Do You Need A Responsive Website?

Your website is the most crucial piece of your marketing. It is the digital storefront for your brand. You’d be doing your agency a considerable disservice if your website is not designed to respond to mobile devices.

Your website typically has about 15 seconds to catch a person’s attention. Website visitors expect the page to be attractive, clear, and easy to navigate. That rule is the same for every device.

A few significant factors are associated with a responsive website that can have a real impact on your site's effectiveness.

The Consumer

A Hubspot study showed how important a multi-device responsive website is to consumers.

• Eighty-seven percent of users in the U.S. use more than one device when going online.
• Mobile web traffic has consistently accounted for about half of all global web traffic since the beginning of 2017.
• Fifty-nine percent of shoppers say that being able to shop on mobile is important when deciding which brand or retailer to buy from.

A responsive website is no longer extra. Consumers demand this functionality, and so it has become an essential part of business.

Google

Since most users now access Google search with a mobile device, Google uses mobile-first indexing. This means Google predominantly uses the mobile version of the content for indexing and ranking. Put simply: Google now ranks the mobile version of your website over the desktop version.

A lot has changed with Google ranking factors over the last few years. Consumer patience wanes as technology improves. Google will always display the sleek, content-filled, fast, mobile-friendly website over the clunky, hard-to-navigate, desktop site. If Google chooses the former over the latter, so will the consumer.

As you can see, having a website for your insurance agency is just the beginning. Switching to a mobile-responsive website can have a direct effect on your bottom line. If you haven’t already, now is the time to invest in a mobile-friendly website.