Domain names are literally the addresses of the web. When someone needs to mail you something, they send it to your physical address. When someone wants to go to your website, theyaEUR(TM)ll type in your web address. The difference between a web address and a real address though is that your physical address probably isnaEUR(TM)t part of your brand, and the odds are you donaEUR(TM)t have a specific house and street number you want to use, that may very well already be taken by someone else!
Welcome to the world of domain names!
Your domain name is part of your branding. You want people to be able to remember what your website is if possible, and ideally you should own your businesses own name as a domain.
Unfortunately, that can be difficult since most dot-com domain names are already taken up. This is especially true if your business operates under a name that is fairly common overall. You might be the only Smith Agency Inc. in your area, but that doesnaEUR(TM)t mean that SmithAgency.com is going to be available (it isnaEUR(TM)t, in case you were inclined to check!) So what do you do if aEURoeyourbusinessname.comaEUR? is unavailable?
Well you have some options.
First, you can look to other extensions. Dot-net is a popular alternative, or, if you can use your countries top-level-domain, i.e. .co.uk for Britain, .ca for Canada, etc. Often times names that are unavailable as dot-com will be up for grabs in these extensions.
Secondly, you can look to add descriptive words into your domain name. For instance if your business name is Apex, and you have a program for automotive brake manufactureraEUR(TM)s, when you canaEUR(TM)t get Apex.com, you can always try ApexAutomotive.com, ApexBrakes.com, etc. As long as the domain isnaEUR(TM)t so long itaEUR(TM)s impossible to remember or totally unrelated to your business, itaEUR(TM)ll be ok. But your domain ideally should have your business name in it somewhere at the very least.
There is also another domain option that any business that operates locally should explore, even those that already have their business name as a domain. That option is domains based around local keywords. The reason these domains are worthwhile is that when a potential customer does a search in Google, the domain name is factored into the algorithm that decides which entries to show first.
So for example, if a web user goes to Google and types in aEURoeCincinnati Orthopedic SurgeonsaEUR?, then the website with the domain name CincinnatiOrthopedicSurgeon.com will get a boost in the search rankings and will likely come up prominently.
Many of these keyword rich, location specific domain names are readily available, and businesses that operate locally should always consider them for their web marketing efforts. The best way to use such domains is to register your main domain which will ideally be your business name, and then use local keyword domains to redirect to that site. For instance, a brokerage firm named Mitchell Commercial Insurance operating in Meridian, ID could register MitchellCommercial Insurance.com as their main site domain, and then also register MeridianCommercialInsurance.com and IdahoCommercialInsurance.com to use as redirect sites or clone sites.
One important question that often comes up is what to do if a companyaEUR(TM)s name.com isnaEUR(TM)t available, but is up for sale. How much is a domain worth and at what price is it worth it to buy? Well, that is a pretty tough question to answer because what it comes down to is that the answer is different for each company depending on their unique situation. For instance, a company that sells coverage for industrial equipment and does millions of dollars in business every year should not hesitate to spend thousands of dollars to have their own business name as their domain name.
However, a small mom and pop agency who is branching out on to the web likely wonaEUR(TM)t be able to spend big bucks to get their domain name, and realistically, it probably isnaEUR(TM)t even that important to them.
One thing is for absolute certain though, domain names are going, and theyaEUR(TM)re going fast. Most short dot-com domains and most dot-com domains with common words are already gone, and many of the other extensions are quickly beginning to sell out. So if you donaEUR(TM)t already have your domain name, you should probably seriously consider hitting the web and seeing whataEUR(TM)s available, because if you wait too long, you might miss out on everything good and end up having to spend some serious cash in order to secure yourself a quality domain name for your businesses web efforts.
Setting Goals for Your Website
The most important step you can take in the early development stages of getting your companyaEUR(TM)s website built and up and running online is to set clear goals for what you want the website to accomplish both now and in the future.
A website that is just thrown up without direction, assuming itaEUR(TM)s designed well, is still better than nothing, but you canaEUR(TM)t truly reap the full benefits of being on the web unless your marketing efforts have direction, and setting clear, precise, measurable goals for your site is the first step in doing so. In other words, just because you set up a website, doesnaEUR(TM)t mean that people will know you exist. (Those days are gone!)
The importance lies in the fact that not every site is going to be able to accomplish every goal, and you may need to design and build certain sections of your site differently in order for them to perform and meet the goals you set out.
So letaEUR(TM)s go over a few of the common goals that Insurance based businesses can set for their websites, the technical aspects of which will be discussed in subsequent chapters.
Your Online Business Card
The online business card site is probably the least complicated type of site that a business can put up. Simply put, the goal is to provide the vital information of a business, such as their name, location, business hours, phone number, email address, and the like.
These kinds of sites are often the starting points for companies just getting on the web because they donaEUR(TM)t take much to plan, donaEUR(TM)t take much to set up, and they do serve a very important purpose, namely giving web users somewhere to land that will provide them with more information about your business, albeit in slim amounts.
If you do decide to put up an online business card style site, remember that even though itaEUR(TM)s simple, it still has a purpose and it still needs to move the visitor into another action. You put your phone number on the site so the visitor has the option to call you, you put your email address on the site so they can email you, etc.
So whatever you do, do not leave out any piece of contact information whatsoever. Since the site itself doesnaEUR(TM)t perform any real sales function, you have to be absolutely sure that the visitor is alerted to every single option they have in getting hold of you so that hopefully, they will eventually contact you for a quote. Here is a list of things that you should have on your business card style site;
aEURc Your company name and company logo.
aEURc Your company address (whether that be the address of your office, your retail outlet[s], etc. Anywhere you want potential clients to be able to go should be included.)
aEURc All telephone numbers applicable to clients. If you do business locally only this might just be your local number. If you do business on a larger scale, consider getting a toll free number.
aEURc At least one email address, but preferably more. Ideally you should have an email for information, an email for specific coverage or program inquiries, one for billing, one for tech. support [if applicable]. You can forward them all to the same catch-all address if you want, but people like to see aEURoedepartmentsaEUR?, even if they donaEUR(TM)t really exist.
aEURc Business hours for all locations listed.
aEURc A map! This is an important one. DonaEUR(TM)t make clients go off-site to find directions to the address you list on your site. Include a map so they can see exactly where you are. You can install an interactive map powered by Google on your site for free.
aEURc A call to action! Now the visitor knows who you are, where you are, when youaEUR(TM)re open, how to call you, and how to email you. Now ask them to. Use a strong call to action to get them to use that information and pick up the phone or jump in the car.
One word of warning about business card style sites though; they leave a lot on the table. Yes, youaEUR(TM)re on the web, and itaEUR(TM)s definitely a good start. ItaEUR(TM)s good youaEUR(TM)re providing that information to prospective customers, but there is so much more you could be doing.
What if that customer leaves your site and never comes back? What if they need to get coverage immediately? What if they need information on your services but itaEUR(TM)s after business hours (especially if you are National or Global)? There is so much more you could be doing with your site, so think bigger!
Informational Style
Regardless of whether or not your company sells tangible products or intangible services, you can benefit greatly from having a more in depth, information filled site explaining in detail exactly what it is that you do or services you provide. As opposed to a simple business card site, this site will generally contain quite a few more pages, and quite a bit more information.
It will still have all of the important information that a business card style site will have, but the goal of this type of site is to give your site visitor all the information they need on your products or services. Information sites are perfect for agencies or brokerage companies that offer specific coverage products or services that require a degree of research on the part of the buyer. For instance, a business selling specialized coverages or programs will definitely want to have a solid amount of information listed on their web site so that potential buyers can research their products easily.
Put yourself into the mind of the person doing the search. What would you search for if you needed the same information? This is not the place to aEURoesellaEUR?. Here is your chance to educate and inform, literally answer their question! You need to include all of the necessary information that you think your customers are looking for, but you donaEUR(TM)t want to over-crowd your site with unnecessary information. Too much information could overwhelm people and actually end up forcing them off of your site!
Remember, if people are looking for more information, then theyaEUR(TM)ll be happy itaEUR(TM)s there, but if they donaEUR(TM)t want information, then theyaEUR(TM)ll be annoyed if they have to sift through a ton of text to find what they are looking for.
For instance, when someone visits a local brokeraEUR(TM)s site, if they have to dig through a long history of firm and a detailed description of the Management in order to find the contact phone number, theyaEUR(TM)ll probably be heading for another brokerage site pretty quickly.
One very effective way to do a information site is to provide both short length descriptions and full descriptions of your products or services. Keep your home page clean and clutter free, and link to seeded inner pages with the descriptions of your products or services. On your main product page, for each product provide short descriptions and a link to read more which then takes the visitor to a detailed page dedicated to that particular product with a full description.
Landing Pages/Sales Pages
Landing pages are pages specifically designed for visitors to aEURoelandaEUR? on from a certain offer. That offer could be an ad on the internet that they click on, or a call to action in one of your print materials that gets them to type in a URL. The key with a landing page is that it is very, very specific.
It isnaEUR(TM)t a general page with a lot of information on different things. ItaEUR(TM)s a single page devoted to a single offer, and ideally with a clear action you want the reader to take. For instance, if you have the aEURoepenaEUR? for a specifically targeted coverage, you could give it its own landing page specifically for that coverage. You can then run a targeted marketing campaign on that coverage/program and direct users to that landing page instead of your main site.
That being said, landing pages arenaEUR(TM)t generally stand alone sites on their own. They can be, but they work much better as supplements to your main page. The reason for this is that because landing pages are so specific, unless your business sells only one single product, program or service, a landing page just wonaEUR(TM)t be good enough to serve your entire business.
They are so incredibly effective though for promoting targeted coverageaEUR(TM)s or programs that itaEUR(TM)s almost frightening. The reason theyaEUR(TM)re so effective is that youaEUR(TM)re focusing the reader. YouaEUR(TM)re containing them to exactly the offer you want them to see without distracting them in any way.
Next time we will delve into Search Engine Optimization
John McGovern is currently the Managing Partner of AOA Market Solutions and Founder of an Internet & Marketing firm based in Central NJ. Having extensive experience in identifying; designing and implementing risk management solutions for businesses, he now focuses his attention assisting businesses to strategically manage their business in an online environment. Highly regarded for consistently creating business solutions for brokerage firms in the industry, he also helps those companies develop strategic business development & marketing plans to grow specialty niches into their firm. Mr. McGovern can be reached at 732-523-1456 and at johnmcgovern@agentsofamerica.org
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