Online referral service explains search engine technology.
DENVER (PRWEB) November 21, 2005 -- InsureMe, a leading consumer-agent link for finding insurance online, is using the Internet to gain consumer awareness—and succeeding.
The company, which pioneered online insurance shopping, uses the power of search engines like GoogleTM to attract consumers, both through paid advertising and “organic” search results.
Organic search results differ from paid advertising in that the results are sorted by the search engine and ranked based on the relevancy to the user’s keywords. Using search engines is an important move for online advertisers as an estimated 80% of Web traffic now comes from search engines.
Historically, organic search results have been preferred amongst online shoppers. According to a 2004 survey conducted by search engine marketing firm, iProspect®, just over 60 % of those surveyed found the results in the organic listings to be more relevant than paid listings on commercial searches across all search engines—leaving roughly 40% of participants who found advertised listings to be more relevant than organic results.
Experts agree that the average searcher spends less than seven seconds looking at the search results before making a click decision, putting the pressure on businesses to achieve and maintain high page rankings. As a result, many companies, like InsureMe, have turned to a method called search engine optimization (SEO) to keep their Web pages relevant to their targeted consumers.
Generally, search engines rank the relevancy of pages by determining the frequency and location of query-related keywords, the quality, and uniqueness of the content, how often that content is updated and which other Web sites provide links—“votes” in the eyes of search engines—pointing to the site. The process of managing all these characteristics is called SEO.
In combination with SEO, paid advertising on search engines, also known as pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, is growing amid businesses and their affiliates that advertise on the Web.
PPC advertising, much like billboards placed on the side of the road, are positioned in search engines by advertisers who think the consumer would be interested in their products, based on the words used in the consumer’s search.
To target consumers, advertisers actually bid on keywords and terms related to their goods and services. As a result, the ad will appear in a separate listing on the page displaying the results; most commonly at the top, to the right and at the bottom of the organic search results.
PPC advertising is neither free nor easy—advertisers have to pay the search engine each time a user clicks on the ad. Adding to the risk of PPC advertising is the fact that some consumers steer clear of sponsored ads, deeming them untrustworthy.
“As consumers, we’ve been conditioned not to trust most advertising,” says InsureMe Chief Financial Officer, Mike Sajdak. “In reality, it’s typically the reputable, financially sound businesses that can afford this type of advertising. My advice to consumers looking for strong, credible companies would be to give sponsored ads a second look.”
The end result of PPC and SEO advertising efforts ultimately leaves the consumer with more choices.
“The combination of PPC ads and SEO efforts present the consumer with multiple sites to shop and educate themselves on products like insurance,” offers InsureMe affiliate manager, Jack Boulant. “No longer is the consumer stuck on the lot with one used car salesman—PPC ads and organic listing both allow consumers to click between sites until they find just what they want.”
With Internet shopping on the rise, PPC and SEO efforts are likely to grow, giving way to increased competition between online advertisers, both for priority listing in the search results and consumer interest.
“In truth, both sponsored ads and organic search results are good for the consumer,” concludes Sajdak. “Concentrating on both of these advertising methods gives our pages greater value with the search engines, which directly impacts the value of our pages in the eyes of the consumer—and that’s tremendously important to the InsureMe company.”
About InsureMe
InsureMe, an Englewood, Colorado-based company, links agents nationwide with consumers shopping for insurance. Specializing in auto, home, life, long-term care and health insurance quotes, the InsureMe network provides thousands of agents with insurance leads every year. For more information, visit www.InsureMe.com.
InsureMe is a registered trademark of the InsureMe Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
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