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Brokers looking to improve their search engine ranking should adhere to this digital marketing catchphrase: “share the message, own the destination”, according to digital expert Jim Stewart.
The founder and CEO of a leading Australian digital marketing company, StewArt Media, and a Google Premium Partner told The Adviser that the sites that perform best on Google are already building their reach outside of the search engine.
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He explained: “The most important thing that you can be doing is focus on building your audience through other means, not Google.
“Individual bloggers can do really, really well and beat the biggest brands out there because they focus on their users and they publish a lot of content. Their users love the content and people will look specifically for their content and Google knows that, so Google knows if you are popular.”
He suggested brokers do the “normal things like any other business” such as putting out press releases, engaging on social media or sponsoring a local team.
“Anything that gets your name out there,” he said.
“If you’re focusing on that as a business, SEO [search engine optimisation] becomes a lot easier because then all you're concerned about is fixing up the technical things that are wrong with the site.”
The technical side
Brokers should be aware of having a site with broken links or slow page load time. Google knows if a site provides its users with a poor user experience and won’t want to send its users there, Mr Stewart warned.
Other things to look out for are duplication of content and poor site navigation. A site that’s been hacked or has malware will also be ranked down by Google.
“The main thing that you can be doing for SEO is building your own business brand and then making sure that your site runs really well and that you publish content on it regularly,” the digital expert said.
“The content can be things that you're doing for your audience. It might be about what's happening with the interest rates in particular sectors or it might be specifically about people getting mortgages of a certain age group. There's a whole range of things that people can be publishing on, and if you become the go-to expert in your niche, then Google will rank you higher.”
Jim Stewart will be speaking at The Adviser Bootcamp Digital Marketing on 22, 24 and 29 August, together with social media and business growth specialists, on how brokers can create compelling content that will place them to the top of Google's search results.
The Adviser Bootcamp Digital Marketing 2017 will provide brokers with all the tips and tricks they need to know to develop a plan that can grow their sales and boost their brand.
The one-day event will also take place in the following locations:
– Brisbane - 22 August at Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre
– Sydney - 24 August at Doltone House - Jones Bay Wharf
– Melbourne - 29 August at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
It will teach brokers how to implement quick and effective low-cost strategies to attract more business, master the basics of SEO, discover what success in digital marketing looks like, and discover partners that can help formulate efficient digital marketing strategies.
The full agenda for this one-day event is available at The Adviser Bootcamp Digital Marketing 2017 website.
[Related: ‘Delivering value’ the key to a successful social media strategy]
