InsuranceMarketing

Google allows you to list your business directly in their small business directory for free.

http://www.google.com/local/add/businessCenter?hl=en-US&gl=GB

This means that if a user searches for a local business in Google, you will tend to see a map appear first with up to 10 businesses on it. Having listings in the Local Business Centre means your business could appear on the map.

Here is an example using “Insurance Thanet”

As you will see the first set of results returned use a map and have listings next to them. This is the integration of Google Local into their search results. You will also note that all of the paid advertising around this local search term is being bought by insurance aggregator websites so they see the power of local search but they can’t take real advantage of it other than by paying for advertising. If an aggregator is paying for this traffic then it is obviously worthwhile. The bottom line is you need to make sure your site appears in local listings.

You can also do a similar thing by adding your business to both Bing and Yahoo.

You can find out more details on how to do this by using the links here:

Bing (https://ssl.bing.com/listings/BusinessSearch.aspx)
Yahoo (http://listings.local.yahoo.com/csubmit/index.php)

Using some classified ads site can get you traffic directly from search engines as lots of them rank well on their own. We have clients now submitting their ads and getting page one listings in a few days.

Write 2 or 3 ads and only post one per week to the following list.

www.google.com/base
www.gumtree.com
www.adzooks.com
www.craigslist.org
www.vivastreet.co.uk

Make sure you select the right location for your ad to appear.

If you want to rank for a local search term such as “Insurance Kent” or “Mortgages Rochester” then make sure these words are in the title of the advert and within the main text of the ad too.

We tend to find that thee work we at the long terms as they are less competitive.  Going after words such as Car Insurance or Home Insurance  is not going to drive you any traffic but “Car Insurance Broker Kent” will drive you a little.  The beauty is that being a more specific search term means the likelihood of conversion can be higher.