A common mistake insurance agencies make with digital marketing is focusing 99 percent of their efforts on creating a website and driving traffic to it. According to Eisenberg Holdings, companies typically spend $92 to bring a customer to their site, but only $1 to convert them.
Therefore it should be no surprise that conversion rates typically range from a mere 1 to 3 percent, according to research conducted by Steelhouse. In other words, 97 percent of the people who come to your agency’s website leave without requesting a quote.
If you invested 10 or even 25 percent of your efforts on conversion, instead of just 1 percent, you could heavily impact the leads you generate from your website.
Where to start? The answer is simple: Read on to learn five practical ways to fix your existing landing pages.
Landing Page: in the marketing world a “landing page” is typically a standalone web page that has been designed for a single focused objective. Most of the time that objective is to capture the visitor’s information through a web form. All other pages on the website are referred to as “web pages.”
- Use a compelling headlineThe legendary advertiser David Ogilvy once said, “On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy.”If your headline is weak and fails to capture your reader’s attention, then he most likely won’t read the rest of the copy on the page. And by the way, “Auto Insurance” is not a compelling headline.Know the No. 1 rule for writing effective headlines: Get the first sentence read.The headline’s job is not to sell anything or get people to request a quote. It’s simply there to grab your readers’ attention and get them to read the next line.The four U’s of headline writing dictate that your headline should convey a sense of urgency and be unique, useful, and ultra-specific. It’s rare to incorporate all four rules in a headline. However, if you can use one or two of them, then you’re likely to end up with a good headline.
- Convey your unique selling propositionAs insurance continues to become more commoditized, it’s critical you clearly communicate your unique selling proposition (USP). You must answer the question, “Why should customers do business with me above any and all other options?”Unfortunately, “because we offer great service” is not good enough today. Your customers and prospects hear that promise on almost every website they visit. Instead, you must get specific.For example, if one of your niches is offering contractors insurance, then explain why you are the expert in that area and why it makes sense to do business with you. Perhaps you have a special program in your state that solves specific problems for contractors; mention that on your landing page.Here are some questions to help you uncover your USP:
- Do you have the best solution to a specific problem?
- Are you the No. 1 insurance expert in a certain industry?
- Do you have the easiest process to accomplish something?
- Are you the cheapest option out there?
- How are you clearly different from your competitors?
- Use testimonials as social proofIt’s no secret people believe what others say about you more than what you say about yourself.More than 70 percent of Americans say they read reviews before making a purchase, according to PowerReviews.com.Reading reviews and acting on that information is tied to a phenomenon called “social proof,” where people assume the actions of others in an attempt to correct behavior for a given situation.Try weaving in social proof elements to your landing page by using one- or two-sentence testimonials from your satisfied customers. If you don’t have testimonials, then simply start asking your customers. Get their permission when using testimonials on your website and, if possible, get a photo of the customer and use his or her full name.
- Add the right imagesImages elicit strong emotions quickly, and they play an important role in the effectiveness of your landing pages. For example, people are more likely to read articles that have an inline image to the right or left of the first paragraph, according to Buffer, a software company who specializing in social media sharing tools.Using interesting images aligned to your message is a great opportunity to set yourself apart from your competitors. Here are some landing page image tips:
- Use photos of real people. Many agencies use stock photos because they want a “professional” look. However, studies show that photos of real people will engage readers more than generic stock photos.
- Make eye contact or look at the form. If you use images of people, pay attention to where they’re looking. Landing page optimization experts agree the person should either be looking right at you or at the form you want readers to complete.
- Make sure the image flows with the page. Don’t interrupt the flow of the copy or distract the visitor from taking action. Ensure the image matches the theme and style of the page.
- Minimize optionsOne of the main differences between normal Web pages and a landing page is that a landing page has just one call to action. Usually the call to action is a button to click or a form to complete to request a quote.Some landing pages even remove the top navigation menu so the visitor is left with only two choices: Request a quote or leave the page. While this is effective and appropriate under certain conditions (for example, if you’re running a pay-per-click campaign designed to generate a specific type of quote), it’s most likely not how you’ll want to design the landing pages on your website.However, even if you maintain the top navigation menu, it is important you remove all other options from the rest of the page. The more options a person is presented with, the less likely he is to choose any of the options.Minimize “decision fatigue” for your visitors and make the choice easy for them. Remember, less is more when it comes to options, buttons and links on your landing pages.
Strive for progress, not perfection
There are many ways to improve the conversion rate of your landing pages. However, it’s important to strive for progress, not perfection, when approaching this project.
Pick two things to do this month — such as improving your headlines and adding testimonials to each landing page — and see how much it impacts your leads. During the next month, add images.
Remember, you already have traffic coming to your website. Your job is to simply make improvements that will allow you to convert more leads next month than you did this month.