Brokers Know Partner Guide

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BROKERS

KNOW BUILDING YOUR DIGITAL BUSINESS

PARTNER GUIDE Q1 – 2022

BY FAIRWAY WHOLESALE LENDING 1


BROKERS

KNOW Brokers Know is THE community for mortgage brokers. At Fairway Wholesale Lending, we champion our broker partners, so we built this movement to help showcase YOUR knowledge, YOUR business, and YOUR leadership.

STAY IN THE KNOW

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WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE WHY HOW


WHAT’S INSIDE? KRISH DHOKIA

CONTENT TIPS VP of Marketing at Fairway Wholesale Lending 1. Finding Your Voice 2. Create a Winning Blog 3. Save Time with Automation 4. Segment Your Content 5. Re-use Your Golden Content

KRISH DHOKIA

SEO TIPS VP of Marketing at Fairway Wholesale Lending 1. Keywords 2. Content SEO 3. Off-Page SEO 4. Local SEO 5. Search Engine Marketing

KRISH DHOKIA

WEB TIPS VP of Marketing at Fairway Wholesale Lending 1. Get a SSL for Your Site 2. Website Usability 3. Website Aesthetics 4. Website Visibility 5. Website Interaction 1


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CONTENT TIPS Why content is important for your business! Developing high-quality content for your mortgage business while running your business at the same time can be a difficult process. As a service provider in your marketplace, knowing a few content marketing tricks can go a long way to not only save hours of your time but also to grow your business with minimum effort. It is important to invest in a content marketing strategy since it can be a very timeconsuming process. Although, it’s actually one of the most effective strategies you can use to grow your business as it can bring 3 times as many leads and costs 62% less than other traditional marketing strategies. If you’re ready to make the most of your time and get better results out of your content marketing efforts, follow these five #BrokersKnow tips to get your started.

Stay Connected. Stay Informed. Join the official #BrokersKnow Facebook Group here. Follow us on social media.

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CONTENT TIP #1: Finding your voice

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WHAT? When creating content, whether it’s a blog post, an email, flyer, social media post, or video, always use your own approach. Create a unique voice for your mortgage business that makes your audience instantly recognize your content no matter where they find you. Using your own narrative and voice to tell stories is a great hack you can use to connect with your audience. You don’t have to always be funny. Empathy is much stronger than humor. Use it whenever appropriate to create more engaging content.

WHY? There are so many tricks and strategies related to getting better results from content marketing, but the important thing to remember is to never stop experimenting with new strategies. In order for you to provide valuable content to your REALTOR® audience and homebuyer audience you should test new types of deliverables, platforms and topics. This will allow you to gather data and learn about your audience. It’s the only way to create better content!

HOW? GET STARTED STEP 1: Experiment, Experiment, Experiment. On average, 5 million blog posts are written every single day. The rule is: don’t be boring. Your audience should be able to tell if you’re having fun writing about mortgage!

STEP 2: Know the rules before you bend them! It’s all well and good to personalize your writing style, but first make sure you have a good grasp on the golden rules of writing online copy. Keep compliance and fair lending in the forefront and not an afterthought. STEP 3: Find Your Unique Angle. Search for anything and you will realize that just about every topic has been written on in the past. Producing content is priority, but take some time to think through your topic and decided what your perspective is on it. Bring your own thoughts into the piece without being controversial.

When writing content, always remember, “There’s Only One You.” The world of mortgage blog writing is pretty saturated, but remember you can stand out, and make your content stand out to those that really need to read it, which are your homebuyers and real estate agents.

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CONTENT TIP #2: Creating a Winning Blog

WHAT? Of all the marketing tactics in the mortgage industry, blog writing has stood the test of time. But there’s much more to blogging than meets the eye. Statistics prove the blogging works as a means of growing your mortgage business. According to Hubspot, companies that blog 11 or more times per month get almost three times more traffic on their website and can get as much as four times more leads than those that only blog 4 to 5 times.

WHY? Whether you’re recruiting to your brokerage, selling products or services, or simply want to improve the effectiveness of your sales and marketing, blogs pay for themselves many times over. Yet, there are important nuances to understand, because not all blogs are created equally.

HOW? EXISTING BLOG TIPS STEP 1: The Headline and SEO. Your blog’s headline is important. 70% of all internet searches are made up of phrases containing more than three words. Google algorithm ranks based on useful sentences and questions of searchable content. Keep in mind that blogs with 6-13 words attract the most web traffic.

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Find the right blogging platform for you

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Create an action plan

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Check your blog’s permalink structure

STEP 2: Make Sure It’s Read. Just because you wrote

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Write at least 11 blogs a month

a blog with a great headline, doesn’t mean people will read it. Your blog must engage, educate, or entertain your prospects. In mortgage, there is a common theme of getting industry experts to write the blogs, but often, the outcome is dry and boring. Whether you write it or have someone else write it, make sure that you provide value to the reader so that they feel their time reading your blog was well spent.

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Dress up your blog with relevant images and branding

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Include your logo where appropriate

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Create excitement on social with the launch of the blog

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Be prepared to measure your success

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Let your email contacts know about the launch

STEP 3: Think of Frequency. Most mortgage brokers struggle with consistency of publishing content. Remember our first point, it’s the companies that blog over 11 times per month that are seeing the best results. How do you do it? Create that content calendar to get your ideas planned out in advance! 4

LAUNCHING A NEW BLOG

10 Add your social media sharing buttons on each blog 11 Share the blog with your REALTORS® to include in their newsletters.


BROKERS

CONTENT TIP #3: Save Time with Automation

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WHAT? When it comes to content marketing and saving time, the first thing that comes to your mind is automation tools and the costs associated with it. There are plenty of tools that make it possible for even the busiest mortgage professionals to keep an active posting schedule on their social media channels and even content on your websites. But which tool is best for you? Finding the perfect automation tool to schedule in advance will help you make the most of your efforts.

WHY? Because “Time is Money.” Creating a way to set it and forget it is a great way to ensure that your blog and social media platforms do not suffer due to bandwidth issues. With planning and strategy, you will be able to push your content on time so that you can publish in alignment with the market and in some cases before your competitor’s post. The goal is to become a resource for your audience, because let’s face it, unless your audience is really captured by everything “Mortgage” then they aren’t frequently visiting your digital brand.

HOW? GET STARTED Determine how serious you are about saving time and being more intentional with content marketing. If you are serious and ready, commit to do the following:

RESOURCES Social Media Automation Tools 1 Hootsuite 2

Zapier

STEP 1: Sign up for a content scheduling

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Mention

automation tool that delivers your content to all of your platforms. Hootsuite, mentioned in the resources section is a wonderful solution.

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Social Oomph

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Cloohawk

STEP 2: Create your content calendar. It’s nice to have your blog posts and social media content decided a month or two in advance, so that you can have them ready to go in real time. For example, if you are planning on writing a blog post about Veterans Day and VA Loans in November, why wait until the day to write and post it? You could write in now and schedule it now so that it goes live later in the year!

Content Automation Tools 1 Grammarly – Free grammar software 2

Download a free Content Calendar Template

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CONTENT TIP #4: Segmenting Your Content

WHAT? Getting the right content in front of the right homebuyer is the heart of well-deployed content marketing. While you know your clients and what’s important to them, the content you develop will be more relevant and boost your digital business to the next level.

WHY? Because content marketing isn’t a one-size-fits-all initiative – at least not if you want to use it to accelerate your growth. Failing to personalize content down to specific audiences will make your brand feel generic. Your clients will quickly realize that a content piece is irrelevant to them, bounce, and seek out brands that seem to be talking just to them. Segmentation is the most important starting point for introducing personalization to your efforts. Without it, you’ll have no consistent way to ensure the right content reaches the right audience.

HOW? GET STARTED

RESOURCES

STEP 1: Create blog/content categories on your website. Encourage your blog visitors to self-select into the type of content they are seeking. For example, create categories such as Market Trends, First-Time Homebuyers, Community Events, National News, etc.

RECOMMENDED TOOLS & ARTICLES

STEP 2: Speak directly to your target audience. While we’ve covered a great deal about writing blogs, consider adding video messages on your website, within in your blog posts. Share videos of you speaking to specific audiences coupled with writing articles that key into specific points, or compile case studies that share customer success stories and testimonials.

STEP 3: Tailor your content and provide diversity. Consider incorporating multiple audiences in your writing that help your readers find the right type of information they want. For example: breaking down an article with a section dedicated to the first-time homebuyer followed by a section just for homebuyers that may be seeking to purchase their second home, give your blog post a broader reach. 6

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How to create your buyer Persona

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What is Audience Marketing?


BROKERS

CONTENT TIP #5: Re-use Your Golden Content

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WHAT? Your most popular blog posts are already proven hot topics for your audience! Why not leverage that content to reach a wider audience, grow your social media engagement and do it without spending the majority of your time on the creation process?

WHY? Because we want you to “Build your Digital Business” while saving some time and effort. Repurposing or reusing your content has the potential to: engage a new set of website visitors, spark fresh social engagement, grab the attention of customers that haven’t heard of your brand, increase search engine ranking, and boost SEO (which we’ll get into in the next section of this guide).

HOW? RESOURCES STEP 1: Expand a list. Have you posted in the past a “how-to” guide that your readers really enjoyed? Break it up into it’s own series. Example: You may have written an article that sounds something like this: “The 5 best new neighborhoods of Dallas, TX.” You could write a blog post on each one of those neighborhoods. STEP 2: Make Images. Lists posts and posts containing a lot of statistics translate well into images. You can create infographics that can be shared across social media that your audience can absorb easily. Adding images is an easy way to give your blog post a broader reach.

WAYS TO REUSE OLDER CONTENT 1

Go Social with Older Posts. Just because your social post or blog was a hit three months ago, it doesn’t mean that everyone has seen it, especially your newer audience. Plan to weave in the old with the new.

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Become a Presenter. Don’t be afraid reuse the blog content in a mini presentation that you can share with your customers and partners.

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Power Up Your Newsletter. Re-share your greatest hits of articles in your upcoming newsletters.

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Tweet Your Way To Greatness. Find the hidden gems in your most popular posts, and set up a series of tweets containing links to the original content.

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Bundle it Together. If you have an extensive archive of past blog posts, consider providing link backs to previous articles in your next article. The idea is to keep them in your environment, like a rabbit hole or Pandora’s Box of information.

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BROKERS

KNOW SEO TIPS

Why you should focus on SEO! By now you’ve probably heard a hundred times that Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a vital digital marketing tool. But do you really know how SEO works? Even if you have a basic understanding of what it entails, you may still not have a solid grasp on this multifaceted process. Know worries, help is on the way! In this section of the “Building Your Digital Business” Guide, we will be showing you how SEO is a valuable tool for brand awareness, building relationships with your clients, and positioning yourself as an authoritative and trustworthy expert in your mortgage marketplace.

MORE PRODUCTS= MORE BUSINESS Learn more about FAIRWAY WHOLESALE LENDING Products & Programs

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SEO TIP #1:

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Keywords WHAT?

Long gone are the days when keywords were the only SEO technique that mattered, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still important. Today, keywords must be well-researched, carefully chosen, and judiciously used in your content to be effective. But, what are keywords? They are words and phrases that your clients use to find online content, and that brands like yours need to use to connect with those clients that are searching for mortgage services.

WHY? Because search engines employ specific algorithms and KPIs to direct online traffic to one site or another. In order for you to be found on search engines like Google then you must have a strong organic search strategy.

HOW? USER INTENT

RESOURCES

STEP 1: Understanding users intent and

Free Keyword Generator

formulating how you expect people to search for you is important to understand. There are three popular ways your clients will search. 1. Informational: Looking for information... Example: “What are green shoes” 2. Transactional: searching a known brand... Example: “Green Shoes Nike” 3. Navigationa: searching for specifics, but vague... Example: “green shoes for sale” In this step, decide on how people should search for you with a phrase. Begin making a list of these phrases and find ways to begin including them in your blog/content. Add it to your content marketing plan for inclusion. For example: “Mortgage Loans near Dallas” NOTE: Phrases like these are commonly referred to “Longtail Keywords”

There are a number free and paid “Keyword Generators” that will provide you the strength and popularity of a keyword. When making your keyword lists, consider selecting keywords that you truly have a chance to takeover versus concentrating on only the popular keywords that already have substantial volume, making it difficult to compete against without a large monetary investment. Visit ahrefs.com/keyword-generator to begin entering your keywords and cross referencing against Google, Bing, YouTube, and Amazon. When you enter the keyword, the generator will quickly respond back with thousands of variations of that searchable keyword or phrase and volume of that word/phrase.

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SEO TIP #2: Content SEO

WHAT? When it comes to getting found by your customers online, you must use SEO to master the search engines. There are hundreds of ranking signals that help determine search results. These include link structure, keywords and time on site to mention a few. As a mortgage professional, you will need to leverage Content SEO tactics to build your digital presence!

WHY? The question should be, why not? If you’re developing a content strategy and following along with the sections of this guide, Content, SEO, and Web, then you will want to begin leveraging these tactics otherwise you’ll find that search engines like Google will punish blog/content creators by weeding out low-quality content that doesn’t fit their algorithms.

HOW? CONTENT SEO RULES

RESOURCES

RULE 1:

SEMRush is a fantastic paid platform to create a complete SEO strategy. Compare your competitors, find the best keywords, and win the SEO battle.

Never Abuse Keywords

RULE 2: Don’t Compete for Crowded Keywords

RULE 3: Create Unique Content

RULE 4: Don’t Use Low-Quality Links

RULE 5:

Page Speed Checker is a great tool to check your website’s performance and page speed. Additionally, you can gain insights on how to improve your page speed for better SEO.

Update Your Site on a Regular Basis

https://pagespeed.web.dev

RULE 6:

Neil Patel’s Ubersuggest tool is free and a great way to jump start your keyword research. You can identify trending keywords and capitalize on opportunities in your market.

Follow Google’s On-Site Optimization Guidelines

RULE 7: Keep an Eye on Your Site Speed

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https://www.semrush.com

https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest


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SEO TIP #3:

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Off-Page SEO WHAT?

Off-page SEO, in short, covers all SEO tactics that take place outside of your own website. It is often thought to just be link building, but in reality, there are far more off-page SEO tactics that you should be using in addition to the SEO basics. Tactics such as brand building, citation building, content marketing, social media, and more all play an important part in a comprehensive SEO strategy.

WHY? Without off-page SEO, you will struggle to rank for competitive search terms. Think about off-page SEO as building your site’s authority, and without this, your site won’t outrank those that already have higher authority. And it is usually the case that content from higher authority websites ranks higher than those with lower authority. It is all about increasing your site’s authority, something that often goes alongside building your mortgage brand.

HOW? OFF-PAGE TACTICS 1

Link Building

LINK BUILDING IS A TOP TACTIC

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Brand Building

How To Do It

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Content Marketing

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Press Releases

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Social Media

Link building should be the backbone of any off-page SEO strategy, given the weight of links in Google’s algorithm.

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Forums

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Influencer Marketing

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Events

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Guests Posting

10 Podcasts 11 Reviews / Testimonials 12 Content Syndication

The #1 goal of link building should be to earn quality links from authority sites. You should always focus on quality over quantity. 1. Authority Score: Before you allow your website link to be shared on another site like a directory or a real estate website, check the authority score to see how powerful a link there would be. 2. Unique Domains: See how many and the quality of all backlinks that point back to your site. 3. Topical Relevance: You should always aim to link links from sites that topically align with your own. Examples of this could be backlinks from your local chamber of commerce, partners, community events, sponsorships, etc.

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SEO TIP #4: Local SEO

WHAT? Any mortgage broker that has a physical location or serves a specific geographic area can benefit from “Local SEO.” If you search Google for any important keywords related to your business and a map with 3 listings appear underneath it (also known as a map pack), then local SEO can help you grow your business.

WHY? After analyzing the behavior of users during trillions of searches, Google figured out that people seeking certain types of businesses need results from their immediate area. That’s why Google’s local search algorithm includes a proximity factor, which is a fancy way of saying that Google takes your location into account when you search for a local keyword. As a mortgage professional serving your market, you can appear within both the main organic search results and local map pack at the same time. Are you ready?

HOW? GOOGLE MY BUSINESS

SET UP YOUR LISTING

Setting up a Google My Business page is super easy, especially if you like filling out a number of fill-in-the-blanks, which we know we are excellent at in the mortgage business.

STEP 1:

By taking this major step in Local SEO for your business, you will create a digital beacon on your company for people that are searching for your services locally.

STEP 2:

According to research by Search Engine Land, local searches lead 50% of mobile visitors to visit businesses within one day.

Create a Google My Business Listing http://www.google.com/business Follow the steps. Verify your Google My Business Listing There are several ways to verify the listing; postcard, phone, email, or instant verification.

STEP 3: Optimize your listing for your Mortgage Business Once the listing is verified, finish setting up the rest of your profile. The more complete it is, the more searchable you become.

PRO TIP! Request reviews, add videos, add photos and a cover photo.

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SEO TIP #5: Search Engine Marketing

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WHAT? While you’ve heard of SEO, have you heard of SEM (Search Engine Marketing)? This is the strategy that aims to increase online visibility of a website in the search engine results page. Let’s be honest, we have all searched Google at some point to see if you show up on the first page. SEM intersects with SEO (Search Engine Optimization), as it includes strategies like rewriting the content of a website and its architecture to achieve higher rankings. However, Search Engine Marketing generally refers to Paid Search or Pay-Per-Click (PPC).

WHY? While you should exhaust all possible organic content and SEO tactics mentioned previously in this “Building your Digital Business” guide, the next step in your marketing journey should be to take a step into paid ads. You may have seen them appear at the top page of Google results.

HOW? BUILD YOUR SEM STRATEGY The steps to building your SEM strategy are straightforward: 1. Conduct keyword research 2. Select those keywords that are related to your mortgage business and have the right intent 3. Open Google Ads and set up a campaign 4. Select the keywords that are most relevant

GOOGLE ADS 1. Get laser focused on your audience 2. Use the right keyword matches 3. Stand out from the crowd 4. Create sensible budgets 5. Keep optimizing the Google Ads

5. Create an ad that will be displayed

6. Use landing pages and lead capture forms

6. Choose a bidding strategy and pay for each click you get

7. Optimize for conversions

PRO TIP! 1. Ensure that your disclaimers are included in all ads

RESOURCES

2. Be sure that all your ads meet all compliance/legal/Fair Lending requirements

Set up your Google Ads account

3. Keep a record of each ad for audit purposes

Google Ad Agencies suggested by “Influencer MarketingHub”

4. Generate the ad to drive to your website or lead form.

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BROKERS

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WEB TIPS Why you should focus on web initiatives! Your business is important to you, and you’d like it to be important to your clients too. At the center of “Building Your Digital Business” is your website and it is important to focus on updating it regularly. You want to be sure that you always put your best foot forward when seeking new homebuyers and keeping your website up to date is crucial. We will be covering several tips on how to accomplish having a website that evolves to meet the need of your audience, keeping your visitors engaged and ensuring that your site includes the necessary website security.

Want Access to the Most Revolutionary Marketing Platform in the Industry? Become a Partner Today!

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BROKERS

WEB TIP #1: Get an SSL Security Certificate

KNOW

WHAT? STOP. “THIS WEBSITE MAY BE UNSAFE AND MAY BE HARMFUL TO YOUR COMPUTER.” “Your Connection is Not Private.” “This site’s security certificate is not trusted!” We’ve all seen a similar pop-up window at some point when clicking on a link. Imagine deploying any or all the tactics mentioned in this guide to build your digital business and creating a wave of new prospective homebuyer visitors to your website, only to be greeted by a message like this? What thoughts must cross their minds? Imagine if you are a first-time homebuyer and you’ve decided to take a leap and check out a mortgage broker’s website to begin the process of the largest transaction of your life. Would you feel comfortable moving forward if the website had a message like this? Your customers are a click away from thousands of other mortgage websites and to prevent them from leaving and going elsewhere, let’s give them a safe and secure experience.

WHY? Your websites needs an SSL certificate to keep user data secure, verify ownership of the website, prevent attackers from creating a fake version of your site, and to convey trust to users. HTTPS is the secure form of HTTP, which means that HTTPS websites have their traffic encrypted by SSL. Most web browsers will tag HTTP sites – those with SSL certificates – as “NOT SECURE.” This sends a clear signal to users that the site may not be trustworthy – incentivizing you to migrate as soon as possible to HTTPS.

HOW? GETTING AN SSL CERTIFICATE 1. Verify your website’s information through ICANN Lookup. https://lookup.icann.org 2. Go to your hosting company or domain registrations service and inquire about adding an SSL Certificate 3. The cost and options are basic and are typically segmented by “Domain Validation – DV” Certificate and organizational or extended options which will range between $50 to $200 based on your need. If you are only running one website, then you only need the Domain Validation DV. 4. The most common and easy to plug in service is located at GoDaddy: https://www.godaddy.com/ web-security/ssl-certificate

Don’t let your customers leave your website experience due not having an SSL Certificate in place.

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BROKERS

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WEB TIP #2: Website Usability

WHAT? Great usability will never be noticed by your customers, but bad usability instantly stands out. Your website must be easily navigable, intuitive, accessible, and mobile-friendly.

WHY? Visitors to your website should know where they are on the website and be able to find where they want to go with little thought. They should be able to access any page they need to without having to view the whole site. The journey should be anticipated and not an afterthought. Fulfill their needs with as little effort as possible from them.

HOW? WEB USABILITY TIPS You should always be innovating and updating your website and the customer experience. We all know that technology changes constantly, so you should be planning to make subtle changes each year to improve your customer’s journey. Factors to consider: 1. Architecture: Play with your website and layout. 2. Navigation: Does the menu make it easy to drive your customers to applications, blogs, products/programs, and the ability to contact you? 3. Performance: Be in tune with how long visitors stay on your site and what the are looking at while there. Sign up for Google Analytics. 4. Design: Does your website look like it belongs on the web? Or does it feel static and old? Revisit your design and your brand and make sure it compliments you and your marketplace.

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73% of website visitors prefer a website that is mobile friendly and that is simple to use. – Google Survey 2021


BROKERS

WEB TIP #3:

KNOW

Website Aesthetics WHAT?

Today, having a visually impressive website across all devices is crucial. However, you must maintain your brand image.

WHY? Your website must reflect who you are as a business, and visually connect with your audience. This visual appeal of your website not only contributes to your brand awareness but also increases credibility.

HOW? WEBSTE AESTHETIC CHECKLIST 1. Are your logo and overall design modern? If your website hasn’t evolved in 3-5 years, it’s safe to assume that your site needs a fresh look or updated logo design. 2. Do you need new photography and graphics? Much like your design, your photos could be a tad dated, irrelevant, plain-looking or distracting from your newer content. ***How many mortgage companies have the exact same stock photo on their site as you? Research shows consumers are less likely to trust your brand if stock photos dominate your web pages. 3. Can you implement valuable infographics? If you have mounds of insightful data, don’t let it go to waste! Why not strategically piece together some infographics to place throughout your website? Or you can save them for a blog post or social media post. Infographics not only attract visitors, but they also serve as a great bait for inbound links that raise your domain authority score. 4. Is video incorporated into your website? Video might not be your cup of tea, but it certainly brings in visitors, facilitates link building, and increases time spent on your web pages. It can’t hurt to consider your options. One resource that you may be able to leverage to create short explainer videos is Fiverr. 5. What is the tone of the language on your website? The language on your site should reflect your company culture and it should also echo your target

audience. Advising you to “keep it professional” is a bit vague. It’s more important to know your brand and understand how your linguistic choices influence a visitor’s perception. And remember, there’s a fine line between bold or quirky and tacky and off-putting. 6. Are you lacking white space? You might say, this “Building your Digital Guide” is lacking white space because of the sheer amount of information jam packed in here. When talking about your website, sometimes less is more. Don’t crowd images and call-to-actions with more images and calls-to-action! Break your blog post pages up with bulleted lists, headlines, block quotes, and indentations to increase readability. Create focal points on your landing pages using white space. Let your stylish font choices stand out against an empty backdrop. Trust us, white space is an underutilized element. • Websites with dark color schemes experience a 2% growth rate in traffic, as opposed to only 1.3% for sites with lighter color schemes* • 70% of people read bulleted lists (like this one…), while only 55% read without lists ** • 48% of people cited a website’s design as the number one factor in deciding the credibility of a business *** Source: * Instant Shift ** Ironpaper *** Nielsen Norman Group

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BROKERS

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WEB TIP #4: Website Visibility

WHAT? Having a website for your mortgage business is an absolute must, especially in a world where everything’s going digital. But getting your website noticed on Google is another matter, and not always easy.

WHY? As you may or may not be aware, Google is the biggest game in town when it comes to getting your website noticed. Here’s how to increase your website’s visibility in Google’s all-important search rankings.

HOW? WEB VISIBILITY TIPS 1. Target keywords with your website (Reference page 11 of this Guide) 2. Make it easy for Google to crawl your pages Google crawls websites and as you add new pages to your site, you make it easier for Google to index those new pages and your website begins strengthening through their algorithm. 3. Build more website pages Starting a blog on your site will help you not only create new content, but be recognized by Google. (Revisit the content section of this guide for tips on blog writing) 4. Add your website to online directories. Do you want to get noticed off Google? Common places your website link should appear are Google MyBusiness, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, BBB.org, NMLSConsumerAccess.org, Yelp, Manta, Local.com, LocalGuides, etc.

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5. Get verified by Google (See page 14 to learn about setting up your Google MyBusiness Page) 6. Use compelling titles Adding keywords to the titles of your website pages will help both Google and searches identify them. To get noticed, create compelling titles – that is, aim to stand out (but don’t overpromise or overdo it!) 7. Write quality content Your website is an extension of your business. If you’ve decided to create a static website, one that you just launch and plan to let it just do it’s thing, then you might be missing a huge opportunity to harness the power that a website can afford you. Having a dedicated place for a blog with quality and consistent content will set you apart in your market place.


WEB TIP #5: Website Interaction

BROKERS

KNOW

WHAT? Do you like people who are warm and friendly or cold and hostile? When “Building your Digital Business” your website is an extension of you. It isn’t sufficient enough to place content on your website and wait for it’s magic. Providing your clients a web experience without some interactivity is like opening the door to a store filled with inventory but without any salespeople to interact with.

WHY? When you create an interactive website, you are forming a connection with your audience. It propels two-way communication on a medium where you can’t directly interact with a user. Studies show that people are more likely to convert on, return to or recommend websites that are interactive.

HOW? INTERACTIVE IDEAS Explore adding these to your website to keep your visitors engaged! 1

Social Media Applications

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Simple Interactive Tools

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Interactive Page Elements

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Forms and Feedback

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Chat Widgets

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User-generated Content

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Google Maps

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Newsletters

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Voting/Polls

10 Search Function 11 Ratings 12 Accolades 13 Slideshows

Are you looking at that list and wondering how to add these to your website? Look no further, we can help you! Fairway Wholesale Lending is extending VIP Consultations with approved partners very soon. Join the #BrokersKnow Facebook group for ongoing updates on consultations that will discuss your questions so that we can meet you on your marketing journey and assist you in “Building Your Digital Business!”

14 Testimonials

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WEB TIP #5: Notes

Copyright©2022 Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation. NMLS#2289. 4750 S. Biltmore Lane, Madison, WI 53718, 1-866-912-4800. Distribution to general public is prohibited. All rights reserved. Equal Housing Opportunity.

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You are well on your way to becoming a digital mortgage superstar! REGISTER for the next seminar and join the conversation on the #brokersknow Facebook page.

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You are well on your way to becoming a digital mortgage superstar!

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