10 Website Mistakes Insurance Agents and Financial Advisors Should Avoid

Your website is often a potential client’s first impression of your business. If something on your site looks off, it could prompt them to leave in a hurry and seek out your competition instead. This missed opportunity to show your value, expertise and strengths, could cost you dearly in the long run.

Why is an Online Presence Important?

Today, many prospects look for businesses and experts online. Therefore, solid digital marketing is a must. Put your best foot forward with a professional-looking site that instills trust and encompasses ways to help solve consumer problems.

Some benefits of a great advisor or agent website:

• Increased brand awareness and trustworthiness
• An increase in potential prospects
• Lead generation 24/7
• Cost-effective marketing

But how do you ensure your website is optimized to the best of its ability?

10 Common Mistakes on Agent and Advisor Websites, and their Remedies

The digital marketing team at Senior Market Sales^® (SMS) has audited plenty of agent and advisor websites, and we have gathered a list of common mistakes. They’re compiled here to help you audit your website and encourage prospects to use you for their financial, insurance and retirement solutions.

#1. High website load time

High website load time refers to how long it takes for a website to load for a user. Ideally, your page should load in four seconds or less and use no more than three megabytes of storage. You can learn more about website load times, courtesy of HubSpot.

Large images can cause slower download speeds. To remedy this, use an image optimizer to resize and compress images. Typically, you should use JPG file types for photos, and PNG file types if transparency is needed. If you want to test your website’s loading speed, try online tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights or Pingdom’s Website Speed Test.

Improving your website’s loading speed will result in a better user experience for potential prospects, better search engine optimization (SEO), an increase in conversions and a reduced bounce rate. Bounce rate refers to how quickly a user leaves your website after entering it.

#2. Bad user experience

Does your website:

• Have a menu that is easy for prospects to use
• Load correctly
• Have buttons that are accessible and the right size for easy clicking and tapping

You need to ensure your website visitors are getting a good experience when they see your site. Testing it is key. Access your site using various devices including tablets and mobile phones. If you have a difficult time navigating or viewing information, your clients and prospects are likely having the same experience.

#3. Off the grid

We highly recommend that agents and advisors claim their profile on Google Business Profile (formerly “Google My Business”). This is especially important if you have a brick and mortar location. Neglecting this step means you’ll be missing out on potential favorable search results, reviews and photos. Plus, your business may not show up in local Google Maps.

When filling out your Google Business Profile, be sure to complete all fields to the best of your ability. This includes all social media links, business hours, categories that apply to your business and more.

#4. Not utilizing the “above the fold” area

Regarding the “above the fold” section, does it give clients a good first impression? Does it capture their attention? Do you clearly explain what you do and why your business is the best option? Does it guide the user to the next step with a compelling call-to-action?

Need inspiration? Here are some of examples of great “above the fold” content that can be applied to your own webpages.

#5. Less is not more

Best practice is to create a separate webpage for each product or service as opposed to having them all on one page. Search engines can understand webpages better if they contain just one product or service. Plus, humans prefer shorter, focused content.

Be sure to separate each of your products and services to their own page. Then, include your pages in the navigation menu so that visitors can easily locate them.

#6. Being too humble

Prospects value reviews. So, if you have online reviews, share them on your website. Sprinkle them throughout your content to build credibility and trust. Build a review process, and make sure it’s consistent. You can even work it into your digital marketing efforts and ask your current clients for reviews.

#7. Looking like everyone else

#8. Not being ADA compliant

Make sure your website is accessible to those with disabilities. Body copy should never be smaller than 16 pixels, and buttons should be at least 44 X 44 pixels. Regarding color, have clear contrast on pages and utilize closed captioning on videos if possible. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) offers guidance and requirements on web accessibility that you can reference.

Ensure website buttons have enough contrast.

#9. Not enough about you

“About“ pages receive a lot of website traffic. Effectively tell your story by building out your “about” page with credentials, awards, stats, employee images, reviews and verbiage. Make sure this page is also included in your website’s navigation menu.

You can find tips on how to write a compelling “about us” page from Printful.

#10. Busy contact forms

Aim to make your forms easy to understand and use. Think about what information you can gather later in a client meeting. Some best practices for a contact form include:

• Use a single column
• Keep the form to six fields or less
• Don’t use placeholder text in the fields
• Don’t use reset buttons
• Button text should focus on the benefit, not commitment — for example, “Get My No-Obligation Quote” trumps “Submit” every time

Single column form layouts are easy to scan and complete, especially on mobile devices.

Website Optimization in Conclusion

By avoiding these common mistakes, you’ll create a superior user experience for those visiting your website. And that’s a good thing because superior user experiences increase the chance that a prospect will become a client.

This top-10 list is only scratching the surface. There is so much more you can do. For example, you can boost your sales with these top marketing tips. Or, you can dive deeper into generating more prospects using local SEO.