Working with insurance agents over the years I have found one commonality… they fear technology. Of course, not all do, most of you reading this online article probably don’t… but in my experience I find fear of technology generally to be true. Some agents I work with still refuse to use email.
What they’re missing out on is an abundance of fresh, precision targeted leads that can only be found on the web.
I’m not talking about banner ads or pop-ups ads or email spam, which are so broad that they are rarely effective. I’m talking about keyword advertising. While there are many places to purchase keyword advertising Google’s AdWords system is by far the best. So what is keyword advertising? When you type in a search phrase, annuity leads for example, on Google you will be presented with one page displaying two types of similar results.
Organic:
In the center you’ll find organic results, organic being that the sites did not have to pay to be listed. They’re simply relevant to the search phrase.
Paid:
On the right hand column and directly above the middle results you will see other relevant results in boxes. Those are paid results. Companies pay by the click and bid against one another to be listed there.
The magic of keyword advertising is that you can target your ads directly to what people are searching for. If somebody types in annuities they are looking for annuity information. If they type in annuity agent Spokane, Washington for example, it’s obvious they are looking for a representative in the Spokane area to discuss annuities with. If somebody types in targeted phrases such as these the chances of converting the search to a lead are far, far greater than if somebody is perusing a general website and happens to see a banner ad for annuities. Make sense? In other words, people are looking for you.
Google charges by the click. Depending on your website, landing page and offer you can acquire reasonably priced leads. One offer I ran on Google averaged out to about $7.50 per lead. I converted roughly one in twenty-five to a sale. I made huge returns on my investment and the people wanted to see me. I did not have to sell anything… they were already in the market to purchase an annuity and I simply walked into their line of vision. Easy.
Now here is where the fear part comes in. How do you use Google AdWords? I’m not going to lie; it can be complex, especially if you’re inexperienced with internet advertising. I do not have enough space here to explain all the ins and outs. There can be a lot to it and the last thing I recommend is learning the hard way. You can lose a lot of money fast. To make it easier for you I read several e-books on the subject of setting up, running and maximizing AdWords campaigns and the very best, most comprehensive book is AdWords Miracle. This book is not targeted to the insurance industry… it’s actually targeted toward affiliate marketers, but it is entirely useful and the same tips and tactics apply to our industry. In your mind simply substitute affiliate marketing with annuity marketing and presto, it’s 100% relevant.
The book is on the spendier side but with this you truly get what you pay more. You will save the money you spend on AdWords Miracle in the first week of running AdWords. The book even covers landing pages and how to build in triggers to get higher conversion rates, which makes it truly invaluable. I heartily recommend Google’s AdWords system for laser-targeted lead generation and AdWords Miracle as a map to get you there.
