Masters of Marketing presentation discussing the basics of Search Engine Optimization, part of a weekly webinar from Insurance Technologies Corporation, www.GetITC.com.

1. Masters of Marketing
Basics of Search Engine Optimization

2. What is Search Engine Optimization?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing a website
so that search engines can find and rank that website for a particular set
of keyword phrases.
This process is comprised of two main components:
• On-site optimization
• Off-site optimization

3. Why Search Engine Optimization?
72% of customers search for insurance online, and 38.8 million quotes
were submitted online in 2009.
95% search engine traffic comes from the first page of results.
32% of users click through on the second page of results.
7% of users click through on page three.
57% of Internet users search the web every day.
46% of daily searches are for info on products or services.
20% of monthly Google searches are for local businesses.
70% of the links search users click on are organic –not paid.

4. On-site Optimization
This is development of your own website:
• Meta tags (title, description, keyword* tags)
• Homepage elements (H1 header tags, bolded keywords, keyword
density)
• Website structure (robots.txt file, XML sitemap, customized URLs)
• Fresh Content

5. How to Choose Keywords
 Ideally 3 – 4 words in a phrase
 Must not be too broad or too specific
 Includes the word insurance
 Includes a geo-target
 Consider your competition

6. Off-site Optimization
• This involves a link-building strategy where a large number of links from
high quality websites links back to the agent’s website.
• Also known as inbound links, inlinks or backlinks.
• Get them from business listings, social networking sites and blogs.
Warning
• Be wary of paid links, directories, link farms. Google will ban your
website if you participate in these.

7. Search Engines
 What are the three main search engines?
5% Market Share
14%
Google
15% Bing
66% Yahoo
Other
Source: ComScore, February 2012

8. How to Rank Highly
• Pay attention to both components of SEO, on-site and off-site
optimization.
• Be wary of SEO companies promising the #1 position in
Google, because they might be using Black Hat techniques.

9. How to Rank Highly (cont.)
1. Research and decided on keywords.
2. Add those keywords to your website.
3. Build backlinks.
4. Content is King.
5. Consistency is Key.
6. Set realistic expectations.
•

10. Tools to Help with SEO
Google Analytics
Google Webmaster Tools
Google Adwords
Google Toolbar
Bing Webmaster Tools
SEOBook Toolbar
•

11. Benchmarking
Track your website leads and SEO campaign.
Test keywords.
•

12. In Conclusion
SEO takes time and effort, but with consistency and reasonable
expectations, a high rate of return can be achieved.
Get more SEO tips at our blog http://iwbseotips.blogspot.com
Thank You
Darmini Kara dkara@getitc.com www.GetITC.com