Google Places

 Be found on Google Places – Why every insurance agency should be listed!

Visibility is just one of the keys to success for your online insurance agency presence.

Today, the best way to be found is by taking control of your online image. Insurance agents may hear a lot about SEO or search engine optimization, but have yet to think about local SEO efforts. Local is the way to go, especially for insurance. If you ignore the local part of your online campaign, you are missing a huge way to reach potential clients. Sites like Google Places can really make a difference in not only how you are found online, but also how you are viewed by clients and the community in general.

Local search is getting more and more love from major search engines…

Google Places is a great place to start when building your local online reputation. There are other sites like Places, such as Bing Local (an MSN site), and Yahoo Local. InfoUSA isInsurance agency and local search a great place to get started as well. These list places for locals to find out more. They contain business information, hours of operation, all types of contact information, photos, and customer reviews. More and more users are going to such places to find out more about local businesses. Take control and see what is said about you on these sites.

The how and where for Google Places…

For Google Places, you must have a Google account. When you log on to the site, you will see a prompt to sign in. If you do not have an account, you can sign up for one right then and there. Once you are signed up or signed in, you can go find your business and claim it, or you can add it if it is not there already. Once you do this, there are a few things you can do to verify you are the owner. Once that is done, you can then start adding information and you can also have more control over your online insurance marketing image.

And all insurance agents must…

As an insurance agent, it is important to jazz up your profile with a local phone number as well as a toll free number, if you have one. Add images and as much contact and other information as you can. This might include links to your website or blog, and also hours of operation and more details about location. One important part of this is asking for reviews. You do not want to ‘buy’ reviews. Ask customers for reviews and see what comes naturally. A full list of nothing but positive reviews that seem too good to be true are off-putting to a smart consumer. Keep it authentic and you never have to worry about backlash. You are honest and you run your business honestly, so keep the same mentality in your online endeavors.

Also, this maybe for another article, but one last thought…make sure you have a Google+ account too! In fact while setting up your Google account it will ask you about this. It’s fast and easy and will pay off in your quest to befound by new clients, locally, and online!

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