In the dynamic world of insurance sales, leads are the lifeblood of growth and success. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, so do the strategies for attracting and converting potential customers.
From paid advertising to organic search and social media engagement, the internet offers a plethora of opportunities for an insurance agent and agency owner to generate internet insurance leads.
But to truly harness the power of these strategies, it’s crucial to understand their nuances and how to effectively implement them. So, let’s dive in and explore the world of internet insurance lead generation, and how you can use it to build and grow a successful insurance business.
Paid Advertising: Your Fast-Track to Internet Lead Generation
Let’s kick things off with paid advertising, a powerhouse in the realm of internet lead generation. This approach encompasses various ad formats, including text ads, image ads, lead form ads and video ads. But it’s not just about creating an ad and hoping for the best. To truly harness the power of paid advertising, you need to understand the different avenues available to you.
PPC & CPM Ad Networks
Welcome to the world of ad networks, where the auction advertising model reigns supreme. Here, you’ll encounter PPC (Pay Per Click), CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions), and conversion/goal-based bidding typically referred to as CPA on ad platforms. Each of these has its own unique advantages and can be leveraged to maximize your ad campaign’s effectiveness and generate high-quality insurance leads.
For those just getting started the biggest search and social media advertising networks such as Google Ads, Microsoft Ads and Facebook Ads (now Meta Ads) are a good place to start. In addition to abundant traffic, these networks tend to lead the way with targeting and interface features. Learning the fundamentals this way should shorten the learning curve when testing other networks.
Testing different options and ad copy angles is the key to success with online advertising. Once you find something that works on a large network, see if it can be replicated on other traffic sources. There are many large and niche ad platforms to choose from, and more popping up on a regular basis.
For a current list of sources that have proven to be effective for insurance traffic check out the Advertising Platforms section of our insurance agency resource page.
Search Advertising
Search advertising is a powerful tool in your lead generation arsenal. It allows your ads to appear in search results for specific keywords or topics, capturing the attention of users actively seeking solutions. But how do you get started? Let’s break it down.
Understanding Search Advertising
Google revolutionized search advertising with the introduction of AdWords in 2000. Today, it primarily uses a keyword pay-per-click auction format, but there are more bidding options available. The key is to understand the nuances of these options and how to incorporate them effectively.
Choosing the Right Platforms
For beginners, large search and social media advertising networks such as Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and Meta Ads are a good place to start. They offer abundant traffic and lead the way with targeting and interface features. As you gain experience, you can explore other networks and test different options and advertising angles.
Creating Your Campaign
Creating a search advertising campaign can be overwhelming, but the key is to start small and simple. Begin with a highly targeted campaign for the product you know best and select a small geographic area around your business to display your ads.
Your ads should be specifically written for prospects of the selected product, and the search terms you bid on should be long-tail queries with specific buyer intent.
Even if you know everything about your product line, choosing the best keywords can be hard. Before you start creating your ad campaign, it’s important to conduct thorough keyword research. Use keyword research tools, such as Google Keyword Planner, to find relevant keywords that are popular among your target audience and discover long-tail keywords that have specific buyer intent. You’ll be surprised by what you find.
Search advertising campaigns can consist of one or many ad groups which have their own ads and targeting options. Starting with a single campaign and target ad group is a good way to get started. Once the first ad group is established consider creating multiple ad groups that are highly targeted instead of adding more keywords or options to the initial ad group.
Each ad group should focus on a specific insurance product, niche, bidding option, audience or even a single keyword if it makes sense. This allows you to tailor your ads and landing pages to the specific needs and interests of your target audience.
Optimizing Your Campaign
Once your campaign is up and running it will be time to analyze the traffic and adjust as new campaigns are rarely optimal on the first pass. This involves accessing the conversion rate of your desired outcome and making necessary adjustments of keywords, targeting, ad copy and landing pages for improvements. Adjusting budgets and bids might also be necessary. Regular check-ins to optimize your campaigns will help you achieve the best return for this advertising method.
Expanding Your Reach
After you’ve refined your campaign and gained an understanding of the format, you can start to expand. Create new campaigns for other products, widen your location, and test new keywords and ad formats. The goal is to continuously improve and scale your efforts to maximize your return on investment.
Social Media Advertising
Social network advertising platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, provide an excellent opportunity for insurance agents and agency owners to reach their target audience. However, it’s important to understand that advertising on social media is different from search and display advertising. Here are some best practice tips for advertising on social network platforms:
Understand User Intent
Unlike search advertising, where users have a specific intent and actively search for a solution, social media users are often in a more passive mindset. They are scrolling through their feeds to stay updated, connect with friends, or find entertaining content. As a result, your ads need to be attention-grabbing and compelling enough to interrupt their browsing behavior.
Tailor Your Message to the Platform
Each social network has its own unique features and user demographics. It’s essential to customize your ad creative and messaging to align with the platform’s tone and style. For example, Facebook and Instagram tend to be more visually focused, so use eye-catching images or videos. On the other hand, LinkedIn is a professional network, so your ads should have a more business-oriented tone.
Target Your Audience Effectively
Social media platforms offer extensive targeting options, allowing you to reach specific demographics, interests, behaviors, and even custom audiences. Take advantage of these targeting capabilities to ensure your ads are shown to the right people. Consider factors such as location, age, gender, interests, and job titles, depending on your target audience.
Test and Optimize Your Ads
Social media platforms offer robust analytics and testing capabilities. Use A/B testing to experiment with different ad variations, including headlines, images, copy, and calls-to-action. Continuously monitor the performance of your ads and make data-driven optimizations to improve their effectiveness.
Leverage the Rule of 7
The Rule of 7 in advertising suggests that it takes an average of seven impressions before a potential customer takes action. Social media is well-suited for this concept, as users often need multiple exposures to your brand or message before they convert. Implement strategies such as retargeting and remarketing to reinforce your messaging and stay top-of-mind with your target audience.
Engage With Your Audience
Social media is a two-way communication channel. Encourage engagement by responding to comments, messages, and reviews promptly. Engaging with your audience shows that you value their input and can help build trust and credibility. It is possible to advertise with a minimally developed profile, but conversion rates will lag in comparison to a profile with an engaged audience.
Monitor and Measure Your ROI
Keep a close eye on your ad performance metrics, such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and cost per acquisition. Use this data to assess the effectiveness of your campaigns and make informed decisions about budget allocation and optimization strategies.
By following these best practices, insurance agents and agency owners can maximize their advertising efforts on social network platforms, effectively reaching and engaging their target audience. Remember, social media advertising is an interruption-based format, so make sure your ads are compelling, relevant, and tailored to the platform and user behavior.
Display Advertising
Display advertising follows a similar format to search advertising but with a visual twist. Instead of text-based ads, you’re dealing with visually engaging content that captures the audience’s attention with images or video.
Display advertising is a unique format as there are advertising networks that use it as a primary option, but it is also a prevalent advertising format across search and social media networks.
Networks that specialize primarily in display advertising tend to be more for large scale campaigns. While they can be used for local campaigns we’ll focus on search and social ad platforms for our local agency lead generation scope.
When it comes to display and video advertising for insurance lead generation on search and social network platforms, there are a few familiar best practices that can help you make the most of your campaigns. Here are some tips to keep in mind:
Target a Specific Product Audience
While this is a common theme, Insurance products differ and so does the prospective customer. Who are they? What motivates them to act? What will they be doing when they see the ad? Be mindful of the user intent differences across search and social platforms. This will help you create ads that resonate with each specific audience to increase the chances of engagement.
Use Multiple Visuals
Display and video ads rely heavily on visuals to capture the audience’s attention. Use multiple versions of each to test effectiveness and avoid ad fatigue. You’ll need to regularly add more versions to maintain conversion rates.
Keep it Concise
Display and video ads have limited space and time to convey your message. Keep your ad copy and video content concise and to the point. Focus on the key benefits or features of your product or service that will grab the viewer’s attention.
Include a Strong Call-To-Action (CTA)
A clear and compelling CTA is essential for driving action from your audience. Whether it’s “Get a Quote”, “Start Now”, or “Start Saving Today”, make sure your CTA stands out and encourages viewers to take the desired action.
Test Different Ad Formats
Experiment with different ad formats to see what works best for your audience. Display ads come in various sizes and formats, such as banners, interstitials, and pop-ups. Video ads can be in-stream or out-stream, skippable or non-skippable. Test different formats and analyze the performance to optimize your campaigns.
Utilize Targeting Options
Take advantage of the targeting options available on search and social network platforms. Use demographic targeting, interests, and behaviors to reach your desired audience. Refine your targeting based on the performance data to improve the effectiveness of your ads.
Monitor and Optimize
Regularly check the performance of your display and video ads. Track metrics such as click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, and engagement. Use this data to spot trends and make data-driven optimizations to improve your ad performance.
Note: This is a key factor! Display advertising is the least passive of formats covered in this guide.
Consider Retargeting
Retargeting is a powerful strategy that allows you to show ads to people who have previously interacted with your website or app. Implement retargeting campaigns to stay top of mind with potential customers and increase the likelihood of conversion. (More on this below)
By following these best practices, you can create effective display and video advertising campaigns on search and social network platforms. Remember to review your campaigns regularly to achieve the best results.
Retargeting
Ever wondered how to keep your brand at the forefront of potential clients’ minds? Enter retargeting advertising. This strategy allows you to target users who have previously interacted with your brand, keeping you on their radar.
Note From Bryan
I felt the need to add some emphasis here. In my experience both personally and working with agencies. Retargeting has by far the best return on investment of any advertising option.
We’ve all seen the ads for brands show up across the web after a recent visit to their website. Sure, it can feel a bit stalker-ish but you see those ads because they work.
This is done by adding a piece of code from the ad platform (or platforms) you are using to your website. The addition of this code allows you to define audiences you’d like to target with ads on their platform. These audiences can be users that clicked a certain link, visited certain pages (or didn’t) within a time span you define. It can get very granular allowing you as an advertiser to create hyper-targeted ads and offers.
These users have shown intent and interest in your business which makes them far more likely to eventually convert.
Industry regulation has made retargeting advertising options a moving target over recent years, but I highly encourage anyone reading this to make it a priority as long as it is available.
Direct Placement Advertising
Direct placement advertising offers a unique opportunity to tap into high-value traffic that’s not easily accessible to your competition. This approach involves placing ads directly on niche websites, email newsletters, and podcasts.
I’ve found most desirable content sources that choose to sell advertising or sponsorships direct have an advertising rate card available when contacted. If not, some negotiation might be required.
Direct placement advertising does not scale like ad networks do and it might require more time and effort, but the potential rewards are often worth it.
Pros & Cons of Online Paid Advertising for Insurance Lead Generation
Pros
- Best choice to scale lead generation at the lowest overall cost when factoring time.
- Easy to measure and calculate return on investment.
- An excellent way to quickly validate a new idea or marketing angle.
Cons
- There is a learning curve to DIY digital advertising.
- Initial testing of ad formats and keywords to find the best conversion options often results in a negative return on investment.
Organic Search: The Long Game of Lead Generation
Next up is organic search, or SEO (Search Engine Optimization). This strategy involves publishing content online to attract search engine traffic. The key here is to create engaging content that answers queries from your target audience, addresses objections, and directs the user to take the desired action to generate a new lead.
Content Publishing Options
When it comes to content publishing, you have two main options: your own website and third-party platforms. Having your own agency website gives you a self-owned and controlled property for your insurance agency, making it a valuable source of search traffic and lead generation. On the other hand, third-party platforms like Medium and LinkedIn can also be effective for generating leads. Properly utilizing both options can be ideal for both generating leads and increasing search engine exposure for your agency website.
But remember, it is not just about churning out bland content in volume. Publishing helpful and comprehensive content that is able to satisfy a user search query is paramount for search engine exposure. This means finding the sweet spot between using the right keywords and creating engaging, informative content.
In addition to helpful content, each page should be optimized to convert to satisfy our goal of generating new leads. This means including clear calls to action within your content, guiding your readers towards the next steps you want them to take. Whether it’s filling out a request for quote form, making a call, or downloading a resource, make sure it is clear, compelling, and easy for them to do so.
Striking the right balance will ensure that your content not only attracts the right audience but also drives them into your sales funnel.
Optimizing Beyond Content
SEO isn’t just about content. It also involves your website’s structure, internal linking, page speed, mobile optimization, incoming links and many other factors. Additionally, a Google Business profile, social profiles, NAP citations and local reviews can supply trust signals that boost your search engine performance to a local audience.
The topic of SEO is deep and wide with thousands of ranking factors to consider. The good news for insurance agencies is that most of the relevant search terms will be limited to competition in the local market. Focusing on getting the most important ranking factors right should get the job done. Below are some of the top factors to consider beyond content for high ranking search results.
- Google Business Profile: This is a major local ranking factor for Google Search. Be sure to complete every field, provide as much information as possible and take advantage of every listing feature offered. Google wants to highlight the best local profiles. Thoroughly completing every field provides the search engine with more trust points and shows a business is serious about the platform.
- Incoming Links: Links from topical websites are votes of trust and authority for search engines. Specifically links that have relation to the insurance industry or the agency location. A good link profile is something that would naturally be expected from a top local business over time. Incoming links assign trust to the page linked and that trust is passed among other links on the page in a diluted fashion. Ensure navigation and in-content links are optimized for this. Most incoming links will be to the home page for a local agency website. When given the opportunity add links directly to important topical pages as well.
- Citations: Citations are online accounts of a business name, address and phone number (NAP) that search engines use to assign confidence in the details of a business. They are yet another important trust point. The number of local citations a business has online is important, but just as important is the consistency of the NAP fields. Inconsistent name, business or phone number details cast doubt on the accuracy of the information and equate to a negative ranking factor. If you find outdated information for your agency online, do whatever you can to get it updated.
- Reviews: Reviews are yet another data point that both users and search engines factor when assigning trust. Reviews have so much influence on users that they are often abused with fake and overly incentivized reviews. Agency owners should always make it easy for clients to leave a review after a positive interaction. Regularly watching review platforms and responding to new review feedback over time is the best way to excel in search engines and build an excellent reputation in the market.
- Website Structure: A well-organized website structure makes it easier for search engines to crawl and index your content. Use a logical hierarchy of pages and ensure that each important page is easily accessible from the main navigation menu.
- Website Speed: Page speed is a crucial ranking factor for search engines and can significantly affect user experience. Optimize your website’s load time by compressing images, minifying CSS and JavaScript files, and enabling browser caching. Consider using a content delivery network (CDN) to deliver your website’s content faster to users in different geographical locations. Regularly check and optimize your website’s speed to ensure a smooth browsing experience.
Resources: PageSpeed Tool, Agency Web Hosting
While these factors are far from comprehensive, they do carry a lot of weight with search algorithms. If you are in a competitive market or are having trouble outranking competitors, digging into additional factors might make sense.
Here are some recommended resources for more search engine optimization insights: Google’s Guide, Local Ranking Factors, Backlinko Search Ranking Factors.
Pros & Cons of Organic Search & SEO strategies for Insurance Lead Generation
Pros
- Excellent source of high-intent consumer traffic.
- Potential to earn a large percentage of search engine traffic relative to the market.
- High value for the effort if done correctly.
Cons
- Managing a website or content platform comes with a learning curve.
- Ongoing time costs for updates and new content for top results.
- Risk of losing traffic due to search engine changes or algorithm updates.
Social Platforms: The Power of Engagement
Social media platforms offer a unique opportunity for lead generation. But it is not just about posting content and waiting for leads to roll in. It requires a strategic approach, building an audience with a mixture of content that is engaging and topical to the desired audience. Most traffic generated from social channels will be interruption-based and near the top of the funnel, so consistent engagement is key.
Social Networks
Different social media networks cater to different audiences, so it is important to choose the right platforms for selling insurance products. Top contenders include Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Nextdoor, YouTube and Instagram. Each of these platforms offers unique opportunities for engaging with potential leads and driving traffic to your business.
Here are 5 best practices insurance agencies can follow to engage their local audience, organically grow traffic, and generate leads on social media:
- Define Your Target Audience: Understanding your target audience is essential for creating engaging content that resonates with them. Identify their demographics, interests, and pain points to tailor your social media strategy accordingly.
- Consistent Branding: Keep a consistent brand image across all social media platforms. Use your agency’s logo, colors, and tone of voice to create a cohesive brand presence. This will help build trust and recognition among your audience.
- Engage with Relevant Content: Share valuable and relevant content that addresses your audience’s needs and interests. This can include insurance tips, industry news, community events, and educational resources. Encourage comments, likes, and shares to foster engagement and expand your reach.
- Leverage Local Connections: Connect with local businesses, organizations, and influencers to expand your network and reach a wider audience. Collaborate on co-branded content, sponsor local events, or take part in community initiatives. This will help establish your agency as a trusted resource within your community.
- Utilize Local Hashtags and Geotagging: Use the power of local hashtags and geotagging to reach a targeted local audience. Research popular local hashtags relevant to your area and industry and include them in your posts. Geotag your posts to let people know where your business is located and increase visibility among local prospects.
Remember, social media is not just about self-promotion. It’s about building relationships, providing value, and engaging with your audience. By following these best practices, you can successfully grow your local audience and generate new insurance leads on social media platforms.
Pros & Cons of Leveraging Social Media for Insurance Lead Generation
Pros
- Excellent medium to build rapport with desired audience and generate consistent traffic.
- Good option to diversify incoming traffic from organic and paid search.
Cons
- Requires consistent engagement and time to deliver results.
- Lack of control. Content and profiles on 3rd party platforms are subject to structure and rule changes. Exposure can be diminished or go away completely at any time so do not rely on it too heavily.
Email Marketing: Nurturing Your Leads
Email marketing is a powerful tool for nurturing leads and converting them into customers. It allows you to keep regular contact with your leads, provide them with valuable information, and guide them through the buying process.
Building Your Email List
The first step in email marketing is building your email list. This can be done through various methods, including lead magnets, insurance quote forms on your website, and social media promotions.
Crafting Effective Emails
When crafting your emails, it is important to provide value to your subscribers. This could be in the form of informative content, exclusive offers, or personalized recommendations. Your emails should include compelling subject lines to increase open rates, and clear calls-to-action to guide your subscribers towards the desired action.
Segmenting Your List
Segmenting your email list allows you to send targeted emails to specific groups of subscribers. This can significantly improve your email marketing effectiveness, as your emails will be more relevant and personalized to each subscriber’s needs and interests.
Automating Your Email Marketing
Email marketing automation allows you to send the right message to the right person at the right time. This can significantly improve your email marketing effectiveness and save you a significant amount of time.
Find email marketing resources and platforms on our agent resource page.
Pros & Cons of Email Marketing for Insurance Lead Generation
Pros
- Excellent tool to nurture prospects down the sales funnel
- Offers a non-intrusive opportunity to ask current clients for referrals
Cons
- Consistent messaging is necessary to keep an audience engaged.
- Email automation often requires a significant upfront time investment and can be challenging to migrate.
That completes the Insurance Leads Guide primer to generating insurance leads online. In conclusion, internet insurance lead generation is a multifaceted approach that involves paid advertising, organic search/SEO, social media engagement and email marketing.
By understanding the nuances of each strategy, you can harness their power to generate more leads and grow your insurance business.
- Back to the Insurance Lead Generation Hub Page
- Check out our 42 Ways To Generate More Insurance Leads Post
- Want Already Generated Leads? See the Insurance Lead Vendors Page
