Insurance agency blogs and websites : Niche is key
LexBlog’s done an insurance agency blog and website for an insurance agency down the hall from us here in Seattle. Rather than focusing on the name and locale of the agency in general, we focused on a niche area of insurance coverage. In this case, professional liability insurance, with a particular emphasis on the legal profession.
The result is that Eagle Harbor Insurance here on Bainbridge Island is now getting two to three inquiries a week requesting quotes for professional liability insurance from professionals, ranging from lawyers to architects, throughout the Seattle metro area. They are landing 90% of the inquiries as customers. All of this business is coming directly from the blog and website.
How? It’s not rocket science. Just do a Google search for Seattle professional liability insurance, Seattle legal malpractice insurance, Seattle attorney malpractice insurance, or other similar phrases. Eagle Harbor Insurance will always be near the top, if not number one. Other insurance agencies with much larger advertising budgets are nowhere to be seen.
Had the agency put up a website in its own name without the professional liability focus, there is no way they would have gotten this work. The niche was key. Eagle Harbor Insurance is now looking at other niche websites and eliminating other forms of advertising.
With two out of three people doing research on the Internet before selecting a service or product, why isn’t everyone doing what Eagle Harbor has done? The Internet is a bonanza for new work at fraction of the advertising cost. A search engine optimized blog or website will pay for itself many times over. Especially in the insurance business where agency commissions on one policy can continue for years.
The fact is the people doing websites and Internet marketing work for insurance agencies know little of what draws people to websites or how to achieve search engine rankings. That includes local website development companies, who arise out of general marketing or advertising agencies, yellow page companies, the insurance companies for whom the agents sell, and companies offering business services to large pools of agents.
Will LexBlog do more insurance agency blog and website work? If the opportunity arises I expect we will. We always enjoy working with good businesses throughout the country who appreciate the need for effective Internet marketing.