What You’ll Learn:
- How Google’s Algorithm Works
- How Ranking on Google Helps You Grow
- Action items you can apply to your agency
“Google It”
The answer to every question we, as humans, don’t have the answer to.
It’s become a part of our culture, just as the microwave changed dinner or the TV changed entertainment.
Ranking on the first page of Google is a HUGE advantage for agents, as the majority of the search traffic goes to the first 5 results.
So how can your agency rank?
Glad you asked.
How It Works
Google has an algorithm that decides which websites rank and which ones don’t. They take into account lots of factors and boil it down to the simple question of “Who is providing the most valuable information to the person who searched?”.
If you think of Google’s ranking algorithm as 100% of a pie, if you can account for 70% of what they ask for and your competition can only account for 60%, you will rank above them.
It’s that simple.
What are the ingredients in the Google Algorithm Pie?
1. On-Page SEO (about 20-25% of the pie)
This means your website and its pages are “optimized” for the keywords you want to rank for. For example, if you want to rank for “inland marine insurance” in California, you need to have a page on your website dedicated to the keyword “Inland Marine Insurance” and most likely include the word “California” in there.
An experienced web developer with knowledge of SEO should be able to optimize your site for you.
2. Link Building (25-30% of the pie)
This is the most important factor that Google looks for. This is determined by how many links, from other websites, you have leading back to your website.
Think of this as a popularity contest, with Google being the judge. If your site has 500 links leading back to it (from reputable websites) and your competition has 800, Google will most likely rank your competitor over you.
Why?
Because 300 more people (or websites) have said “their content is good enough where I am willing to lead my website visitors away from my site and to theirs”.
These links all culminate into a score called “Domain Authority” – essentially how powerful your website is and how likely it is to rank over the competition.
3. Google Reviews (10-15% of the pie)
Just like links in #2, Google loves factors that are hard to fake. Reviews are just that – a verified approval, from a real person, putting their name as a testimonial for your brand.
With reviews, Google weighs the frequency, volume, and rating (1-5 stars) to determine the impact it has on your ranking.
Google reviews hold a larger stake in who ranks on the local map – the same map that pops up when you search “ice cream near me” or “insurance agent in my town”.
4. Various technical factors (30% of the pie)
The final 30% of the pie is made up of factors like “bounce rate” “click-thru rate” and “citation signals” which carry less weight than the other factors above but are still very important.
Technical factors are the icing on the cake for any company because these are all highly controllable if you have the proper knowledge to execute them.
How Ranking On Google Helps You Grow:
This one is easy – if you are ranking in your state for keywords like “Contractors Insurance”, “Commercial Auto Insurance” and “Flood Insurance”, you will get clicks to your website over your competition.
The more clicks, the more leads you get, the more customers you close.
It’s a simple formula that takes a lot of tender love and care to perfect, but it is also very important because once you start ranking it’s very hard to get knocked off the throne.
Action Items to Check Your SEO:
1. On-Page SEO Audit:
I’d first start by looking at your website to see what product pages you have – these are pages centered around specific coverages like “Renters Insurance” or “E&O Insurance”.
If you don’t have those pages, there’s a very low chance of Google ranking you for related keywords.
If you do have those pages, it’s time to see how well they are optimized.
2. Ranking Opportunities:
If you don’t rank for the keywords and coverages your agency specializes in, then it’s time to start growing your website.
Identifying a list of coverages you would like to rank for is step one.
Creating pages with valuable content for anyone who lands there is step two.
3. Links and Domain Authority:
The most effective way to earn links to your website is to create awesome content that lives on your blog or on your website pages.
Once you have this content, you can send it out to bloggers or other companies who are in a similar space and say “Hey! I think your visitors would find this helpful.
Perhaps you may want to link to it for your visitors’ benefit.”
Additionally, leveraging your community relationships to trade and write guest posts has also been proven effective in the world of SEO.
We confidently believe that we can get any agency ranked on Google – however it is a first come first serve game. The more agents you have to climb over, the steeper the climb.
We have some amazing case studies on agents who have used our SEO programs to generate hundreds of leads. As part of our partnership with the American Agents Alliance, Jump Suit Group is offering free consultations to all Alliance members.