common mistakes on insurance agency websites
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13 Unlucky(But Common) Mistakes on
Insurance Agency Websites
And How to Fix Them
Mistakes happen.
But they don’t have to.
Mistake #1Narrow Websites
Less really is more. But don’t go too far.
Modern Average Website Width: 1000 pixels
Narrow websites will give potential clients the impression that you don’t pay much attention to your website.
The Quick Fix
Widen Your Website to give yourself more room
Mistake #2Messy Color Schemes
Color is important.
A bad color scheme is a bad first impression.
Colors that are too similar to each other will be hard
to read.
The Quick Fix
Focus on Your Branding
Match your website colors to your logo.
Use lighter and darker shades ofone color in your logo.
Use any additional colors as“highlight” colors to make your call
to actions stand out.
Other Modern Trends:“Bright Sites”
Many websites can help you give good color scheme ideas.
Mistake #3No Contact Information
Phone numbers and address not easily found on
your website.
How do you let your clients know how to contact you?
The Quick Fix
Add your office’s physical address and phone number(s) on the
bottom of your website
Bonus:Phone number in top
right
Mistake #4Empty Website
A website is not a virtual business card.
How do you want your customers to interact
with your website?
The Quick Fix
Features & Functions
Make your website usable.
• Add Quote Forms• Let people manage their
policy• Add claims and payment
information
The more interactive the website, the more
automated your process can be.
Mistake #5Complicated and
Cluttered
Don’t go overboard on features.
Easier for your call to actions to get lost.
User un-friendly websites cause frustration.
The Quick Fix
Rely on your navigation menu
Avoid too many clicks to get where the client wants to go
Mistake #6No Lines of Business
How will your clients know what you can do for them?
If they do not see what they are looking for, a client may leave your
website.
The Quick Fix
Promote Your Biggest Lines of Business
Reserve a prominent section of your website to show off 3-5 lines of business that you offer. Avoid putting too many or it will get
crowded.
They can be lines you do the most business in already or lines you are wanting to drive more traffic towards.
Mistake #7No Quote Forms
“Want it now” mentality
Less interactive the website, less chance for a sale
The Quick Fix
Add at least 1 Quote Form
It’s all about process:• Clients fills out quote form
• Receive lead• Add client to prospect mailing list
• Contact client
Get the customer involved in the process from the start –
higher chance for a sale
Bonus:Use an online rater like Turborater or EZLynx
Mistake #8Overly Long Quote
Forms
Longer forms are good for current customers being
directed to the website by an agent.
For potential clients, longer forms can be intimidating and
have less chance of being submitted.
The Quick FixUse Shorter Forms
Shorter forms that capture just the
most basic information tend to be completed more
often.
Easier to fill out and not as intimidating.
Gives you reason to contact customer and establish a personal relationship during quoting process.
Mistake #9No Way to Pay
Online
Don’t make it hard for clients to pay their bill
online.
Adding payment links can also decrease chance of letting a
policy lapse.
The Quick Fix
Add Links to Company Payment Pages
Makes your website more necessary for your current clients and helps with retention.
Mistake #10No Claims Information
Claims are already a stressful process.
Having to track down easy to post information will hurt your relationship
with your client.
The Quick Fix
Add Your Carriers’ Claims Information
Whether it’s a phone number, a link to
another website, or adding your own claim form – post it on your website somewhere
easy to find.
Mistake #11Using Too Much Flash
Flash slideshows are large files and will cause your website to
load slower.
Flash created files will also not work on tablets or mobile phones. More websites are
moving away from Flash because of this.
Too much animation can confuse a client and hurts the eye.
The Quick Fix
Use HTML5
HTML5 works in much the same way as Flash, without slowing down your website or not working on certain devices.
This is becoming a modernindustry standard.
Mistake #12Intro/Splash Pages
Falls under the “user un-friendly” category by adding
another step between the client and the substance of
your website.
Splash pages now hurt your search engine rankings,
because they do not include text content.
The Quick Fix
Ditch the Splash Page
It’s unnecessary and can annoy your clients.
Focus that energy on making your home page
stand out.
If need be, create a landing page instead.
Mistake #13
Auto-Play Videos/Music
Fastest way to get a customer to click away from your website
Automatically playing music and video used to be popular, but now is viewed as outdated and an annoyance.
The Quick Fix
Don’t Automatically Play the Music or Video
Giving the customer the choice to watch the video by adding
a play button.
Videos are wonderful and efficient ways to capture you
clients interest.
But don’t force them into it.
Lessons to Learn
1. Make your site easy for any client to use
2. Make them useful, get your clients involved with the process
3. Keep your website design up to date with current trends
ITC is holding the first
ITC Agent Conferenceon April 15 & 16
Want to Learn Even More?
www.agentconference.org