The first step in achieving success as an independent insurance agency is expanding your digital footprint. You might list your company name, logo, services, and team members to allow shoppers the best, most transparent look at your agency, but, ultimately, it may not be your profile alone that sells insurance shoppers on your agency. So, what are shoppers looking for?
Reviews, of course!
Are reviews that important?
Positive or negative, reviews are the bread and butter of any agency. In fact, 97% of shoppers use online reviews to determine whether to pursue a product or service, and 50% of shoppers contribute with a review of their own. Reviews are the ultimate reflection of your agency’s capabilities, which means great service is rewarded with a shiny five stars and, by extension, more organic traffic to your site.
“I’ve never dealt with an agency more professional and more caring about their clients and how they can help them. They are always striving to make you happy and look out for your needs and to make sure you’re taken care of. When you deal with them it’s like dealing with true family. Recommend them all the time even to people out of town.”
— Five-star review of Ingram Insurance & Real Estate
Not only do reviews allow for a clear route to your agency, but they also boost your overall SEO performance. According to a study performed by SearchEngineWatch.com in 2016, reviews represent just under 10% of all ranking factors on Google. Farming positive reviews gives your agency an automatic leg-up online by lending your agency credibility (via the site crawlers cataloging your agency website and determining your relevance for SEO placement) and boosting your ranking on SERP (search results pages). To top it all off, a positive experience generates brand recognition, meaning your shoppers might be more willing to recommend your services to friends and family.
How do I get more reviews?
While reviews are primarily up to the shopper and their experience, you should always be encouraging new customers to leave their honest review on your Advantage profile. This is made simpler by logging into your account, copying the sharing link under Ratings and including it any customer outreach efforts, like email newsletter footers. You don’t just have to stick to your Advantage profile, though—shoppers should also be encouraged to leave reviews on alternative sites, like Facebook, Google, Yelp, etc.
“Hennessey, Thames, & Leavitt is a great insurance agency made of great people. I would highly recommend them for your insurance.”
—Five-star review of Hennessey, Thames & Leavitt Insurance Agency, Inc
The purpose of reviews is to get your agency’s name and mission out there through the experience of satisfied shoppers. That means wherever a review can be left, a review should be left.
What do I do about negative reviews?
Negative reviews are inevitable in business, but there are ways to turn all that negative into a positive. The best rule of thumb is to determine where the shopper’s experience went wrong and strategize how to correct it through quality customer service. While you cannot remove reviews on Google (this is to give shoppers full transparency), you can put your best foot forward to find a solution and encourage the shopper to remove their own review.
But what if someone leaves a negative review on your Advantage profile? At TrustedChoice.com, every review must pass the internal review process before appearing on your profile. That means favorable reviews are publicly shared at the top of the list on your Advantage profile, and any negative reviews are posted lower but stored for your agency’s reference.
Read all about reviews and how they affect your Advantage profile and SEO standing, plus request a demo with a sales representative to get started with Advantage.
