Have I sold out by putting Google ads on my website?
It had always been my intention when I started my website and blog that it was meant to market MY business. Over the course of several years as my website has proved less than fruitful for driving prospects to my insurance business, while building a collection of blog posts that get a decent number of page views, I finally decided to add third party advertising to my site. The question I was faced with was if by adding Google ads I was selling out and abandoning my core business?
Does using Google Ads mean I failed?
I knew when I started my website that it would be available for anyone to view even though I can only conduct insurance business in California. After all, it’s called the World Wide Web. I reasoned that if I target pages and blog posts to the local area most of my traffic would come from people that could use my services. Lesson number one: good content will be viewed world wide.
It’s so fun to pump up the competition
It was a combination of events that finally led me to deploy outside advertising. My fear had always been that I would have little control over the types of ads that would be shown. Because so much of my blogging revolves around health insurance I knew there would be ads that were in direct competition for my services as a health insurance agent. The thought of seeing a competitor’s ad right next to my blog post, indirectly heralding my services, was unsettling.
No guaranteed sales
Most of us focus so intently on our core business that we fail to step back and look at the bigger picture until we get a wake up call. Recently I received a phone call from a past client about his friend that could use my assistance. Hooray! A referral. When I inquired about the former client’s insurance situation he confessed he purchased a Medicare plan from the first solicitation he received in the mail. Ouch! What went wrong? How did I miss that easy sale? Lesson two: consumers take the path of least resistance.
Competing with the companies I represent
I can attest that an independent insurance agent can not compete against the large insurance companies and general agencies when it comes to Internet advertising. The insurance industry is highly competitive and the very companies I represent spend enormous amounts of money to advertise their products to the same people I am targeting. I’ve tried Facebook and Google ads with very little success. I just don’t have the marketing budget of the big boys. When these large companies are bidding $5, $10 and $20 per click to get top internet search engine placement, how is a lowly small business supposed to compete?
Return on marketing investment needs to be high in low margin sales
From my experience, the marketing tools that work best for independent insurance agents are “dialing and smiling”, “walking and talking”, and direct mail advertising. Most insurance is a commodity to the consumer; they buy the cheapest plan advertised. There are some insurance products that are sold through relationships cultivated by networking. Those types of insurance tend to be high premium products where the consumer really wants a thorough review and analysis by the agent.
Times and revenue are changing
Health insurance is virtually becoming a commodity and the imposition of the Affordable Care Act’s Medical Loss Ratio has led insurance companies to slash commissions. In short, health insurance, unlike life or long term care insurance, just doesn’t generate the revenue of past years. Today, commodity insurance is all about volume with little emphasis on service.
What’s your conversion rate?
Consequently, that’s why I turned to the low cost marketing method of blogging to drive people in the neighborhood for insurance to my website. I enjoy writing, especially when it is of the nature of comparative analysis. I figured writing informative blog posts comparing different insurance plans, industry changes and new products would drive potential clients to my website. Those posts may have been viewed by prospects, but few have been converted into clients.
My website sucks for sales, great for blog views
Okay, maybe my website sucks when it comes to employing the necessary tricks to convert viewers into clients. I really dislike “pop ups” and flashing text meant to drive viewers into the purchase zone of a website. My bias, while obviously not good for business, is to create a website that is easy to navigate, read and provides the information the viewer wants. I just don’t want to turn my website into another insurance zone trap offering low rates just to get people to request a quote or a call. Lesson three: know your audience and the purpose of your website.
Are there no answers on the WWW?
In addition, I have been bitten by the blogging bug. I can truthfully say that a big motivator for me is to provide good information and links about issues that effect people. So often in life we have questions about an event or issue and nothing on the World Wide Web gives us any answers. Much of the reporting is fluff to meet a deadline. Actually researching the issue on a corporate or government website is met with frustrating dead ends.
My target market is not reading my blogs
It’s fun to create a blog post that gives people information, answers and resources about the questions they have. When I looked at some of my most viewed blog posts I realized that less 15% of the viewers were actually from California where I can sell insurance.
Hiker’s Rash, who knew it was big in England
If the views on my Hikers Rash blog post are any indication, I need to expand to England where 15% of the views are coming from. While I can’t feed my family on comments and compliments, having people tell me they appreciate knowing that other people, including myself, suffer from this quirky rash. I helped someone get answers even if I didn’t make a sale.
I get more views for my Hiker’s Rash blog post from England than California.
I even miss my target market when I blog
Another blog post aimed directly at my target market of Medicare eligible individuals receives 90% of views from people outside California. The CVS sanctioned by Medicare blog post offers answers to why so many people have been having problems with this particular Part D Prescription drug plan. For weeks it was my most viewed blog. Perhaps if I could sell Medicare Advantage plans in other states this might help me. But with only 1o.8% of the views coming from California, it’s better content for Google Ads targeted toward companies that actually sell Medicare Advantage plans in other states.
11% of the views on the Medicare Part D blog came from my target market of California.
Lesson four: don’t let pride blind you from seeing the big picture. It’s too early to tell if Google Ads will generate any meaningful revenue on my website. It might actually scare some folks away from calling me if they perceive my website as just another advertising sink. But what do I have to lose? Only 10% of my viewers are coming from California where I actually sell insurance.
Blog fodder and lessons learned
If nothing else, this has given me something to blog about and perhaps provided some valuable information to someone looking at starting a small business website. I enjoy representing health insurance to individuals, families and small businesses. Perhaps its time to acknowledge that my blogs have value not just for California, but across the U.S. Maybe it’s time to let a little advertising pay some of the marketing bills. Lesson five: change is good.