Many owners and agents wonder if their insurance agency website needs updating. This blog post outlines 1) how to determine when it’s time to update your website and 2) how to decide what changes to make to the website when it’s time for an upgrade.
Start by learning about ValChoice tools. Click the button below to schedule a demo that shows how ValChoice tools can help your agency find more prospect and close more business.
How to know if it’s time to update your insurance agency website?
First, let’s agree on the goal of your website. Your website creates the first impression of your company. As more business moves online, the importance of your website increases.
First impressions happen fast. You have three seconds. Yes, within three seconds website visitors will have an impression of your business. Look at your website. If you were a first time visitor to your website, would you buy from your agency?
Fortunately, insurance websites don’t need to be complicated. Start with the following three points and you’re well on your way to having an effective website.
- Clean design
- Engaging
- Clear call to action
Need independent input on your website?
Don’t get advice of whether your website needs updating from a vendor. Unsurprisingly, vendors will think your website needs updating. Also, we find most vendors have ideas on how websites should be designed that don’t necessarily align with your customers. It’s true, people in Silicon Valley may not think the same way as customers local to your business.
Instead, you want input from people local to your business. Preferably, people that don’t know your business and will give you an honest opinion.
At ValChoice we’ve gotten independent analysis on a variety of functions by engaging marketing classes from local universities. We’ve had these marketing classes run blind studies. Participants get a $25 gift certificate for participating. The marketing class gets real world experience. We get honest, unbiased feedback.
Want to keep the decision simple?
Is engaging a university marketing class more effort than you want to invest? No problem. Just ask friends and family what they think of your insurance agency website. The input won’t be quite the same quality as the approach above, but should be good enough to let you know if a website update is necessary. Be sure to ask people who will be honest with you. The truth may be painful, but it will result in a better website.
The Scope of the Project
Keep it simple. The entire focus should be on the three points above. Here are some other points to consider:
- Text – as little as possible. Sorry to break the bad news to you, but (almost) nobody wants to read about insurance. A lot of text will immediately violate the three seconds to make a good impression and send website visitors to a different website.
- Differentiate – What makes your agency unique?
- Website management – Websites are an ongoing effort. Websites are never done. Someone needs to keep it updated. Using an industry standard Content Management System (CMS) will ensure it’s easy to maintain and easy to hire people to help.
Other Website Considerations
The insurance agency website is only part of the online strategy. Other important elements include:
- Blogging – Does my agency website need an insurance blog?
- Search Engine Optimization – 5 Steps to Maximize Insurance Agency SEO
- Social Media
- Advertising
- Email Marketing (often referred to as marketing automation)
ValChoice tools address all of these needs. Click the button below to schedule a demonstration.
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