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More than half of mortgage broking websites face becoming outdated after Google announced it will be changing the way it ranks sites.
Google has announced that from April 21, mobile-friendliness will become a signal that contributes to where a site appears on its search engine rankings
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“As more people use mobile devices to access the internet, our algorithms have to adapt to these usage patterns,” Google announced in a recent blog post.
The Adviser tested 100 mortgage broking websites (chosen at random) and found that 59 per cent were not mobile-friendly.
Finsure managing director John Kolenda said the rapid onset of mobile marketing and its ever-increasing importance in modern financial advertising has caught many brokers by surprise.
“Websites that were developed as recently as three years ago may not be mobile-friendly, as it wasn’t seen as a necessary extra cost at the time,” Mr Kolenda said.
“Clearly, this latest announcement from Google will shift all future developments towards more responsive, mobile-friendly websites.”
Mr Kolenda said brokers who have not already developed a mobile-friendly site should be concerned if they are not yet planning to do so.
“Web developers are aware that this is a problem for many businesses with a tight budget, and are able to create affordable mobile sites without having to redesign an entire existing website,” Mr Kolenda said.
“For many brokers, this will not only help improve their SEO rankings, but allow them to better engage with mobile customers.”
Mr Kolenda said brokers need to make sure that all of their online activity achieves one thing – engaging their desired customers.
“SEO is certainly an important part of this by ensuring key local terms are used in website content, but this is only one part of a marketing strategy,” he said.
“Brokers should also be looking towards social media as a way of engaging directly with local residents.
“Concurrently, brokers and brokerages can take their online marketing strategy even further by advertising on local websites. Not only will this help direct traffic to their website, but their brand will be recognised around the community and stick within residents’ minds.”
[Related: Broker invests thousands in client-focused app]
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