Classified ADVERTISEMENTS Work from the ground up Content is king. Without good content, your efforts in SEO are all but useless. Search engines are smart, and nothing beats quality original content when trying to reach the top of the rankings. Think of your site in terms of potential clients; what can you provide for them via the Internet? Positioning yourself as a local resource for insurance needs rather than just a repository for agency contact information will help make your content more valuable. Also, try to incorporate your targeted keywords and phrases in meaningful ways throughout your site. Don’t fall into the trap of just tossing these words in anywhere you can — a search engine will pick up on this and likely lower your ranking for fraudulent practices. Mind the “meta data.” Meta data is the invisible information provided to search engines by your Web page. So why aren’t you taking advantage of it? Meta data gives you to opportunity to tell search engines exactly what your page is about. Want to see what your Web page’s meta data contains right now? Right click your page and click “View Page Source.” Look for any tags that include the word “meta”— this is where you will find the information you need. This data falls into two categories: keywords and description. Your keywords should mimic the ones that you determined for your site earlier, while also including specific terms for the page that you are working on. For example, a page focusing on your commercial-lines offerings should include phrases like “business insurance” or “corporate car coverage.” Your description should explain exactly what it is that is found on your page (i.e., “The Smith Agency is a full-service professional insurance agency offering personal and commercial-lines policies in Albany, N.Y.”) The description
also is the short blurb that appears after a link to your site in search results — so make it valuable and accurate. If your meta data doesn’t seem up to par, ask your site’s Web master to update it with the keywords and descriptions that suit your agency best. Eye-catching titles. Often thought to be one of the heaviest contributors to being found on search engines, page titles often are overlooked. Think of page titles just as you would book titles while browsing in a store—the title needs to be interesting and compelling in order for you to decide to purchase it. The same goes for your Web site; your title needs to be descriptive, specific and enticing to your audience. Create links. Your ranking in search engine results not only is a result of your own site’s popularity, but the popularity of sites that link to you. So the next step in upping your rank is to find relevant sites that could potentially link to you. Notice the word relevant — it will do no good for an insurance agency site to have a link on a celebrity gossip site. The pages you want to be on need to be related to your site’s content—think industry associations, your local chamber of commerce, carriers you do business with, etc. And, while a simple text link will help, having a link back that is incorporated in content, directly related to your business, is the best kind of boost for your ranking. How do you get started? Make a list of all the organizations and companies with which you already have a relationship and offer reciprocal links — that is, a link from their site in exchange for a link from yours. Search engines are blind. Usually shortened to “alt tags,” alternate image text has proven to be another invaluable method of incorporating your keywords
SOUTHEAST PA PRODUCERS & AGENCIES Professional agency located in Feasterville, Bucks County, Pa. Call for confidential information and a review of our services. Contact Ray Reinard at (215) 375-8600, Ext. 119.
If you would like to place a Classified Advertisement, simply fax your ad on company letterhead to (717) 795-8347, and we will take care of the rest.
Ad Index Commonwealth Insurance Co . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Donegal Insurance Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IFC EMC Insurance Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 General Casualty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Guard Insurance Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 IA&B Series Ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IBC IA&B Partners Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Interstate Insurance Mngmnt. . . . . . . . . . . . .OBC KnightBrook Insurance Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Millers Mutual Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Mutual Benefit Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Preferred Property Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
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