Establishing and running a mortgage business is no walk in the park. You’ve spent hours paying attention to every detail of your clients’ loans, ensuring they enjoy a smooth transaction. You’ve developed tons of great deals and educational content to meet all of your clients’ needs. But the question is:do your clients know about your mortgage business?
Since we’re living in a digital era, spreading the word about your business is easier – especially if you invest in local SEO. Whether you’re a loan officer for commercial property owners or a mortgage broker for first home buyers in Melbourne, local SEO can put your business in front of customers.
What Is Local SEO?
Local search engine optimization (SEO), also known as local search engine marketing, is an effective way to market your mortgage business. This digital marketing approach involves the optimization of your website so that people in nearby areas can learn more about your business.
Local SEO is a strategic digital marketing move, especially for mortgage brokers like you. If you don’t optimize for search engines, your website will drop from the search engine results pages (SERPs). When that happens, you’ll miss out on many marketing opportunities. You need to drive more traffic to your website by building brand awareness – something brick and mortar-focused white hat SEO can help you with.
Why Should You Prioritize Local SEO?
Local SEO should be a central component of your marketing strategy.
Consider the following benefits:
- Optimizing your website for local search drives more traffic to your mortgage business website.
- Local citation building establishes better visibility for your business, as well as creates trust and brand awareness.
- Citation building is a cost-effective way to deliver high returns on your investment.
Local SEO Techniques for Mortgage Brokers
1. Complete Your Google My Business Profile
Any type of business should have a Google My Business profile. An optimized profile on Google’s listings displays your business’s information (complete with directions) when a potential client is searching for a mortgage broker. When someone clicks on your Google My Business profile, they’ll see your basic information, as well as reviews from other clients.
If you have a verified Google account, you can start building your profile. Your business profile must contain relevant information such as the basic NAP (name, address and phone number). Include videos and photos, if possible. Although filling out and claiming your profile is just Step One of local SEO, it’s one of the most important steps you can take.
2. Positive Reviews
Another important piece to your local SEO strategy is customer reviews, specifically how you manage both the positive and negative reviews. Responding to reviews shows that you care about feedback, which can also increase your rankings in the SERPs.
In case you receive a negative review, refrain from replying defensively. Instead, acknowledge the reviewer’s insight. Let them know that you understand their frustration. Apologize for the oversight and assure them that you’re committed to improving your services. Finally, offer them a resolution to maintain their trust.
Also, it’s OK to ask your current client for reviews. Once you’ve finished a service, send an email, requesting them to review you on Yelp and other review websites. Ask for a review once you close a loan.
3. Focus on Local Citations
Local citations are online mentions of the name, address and phone number of your business. Like online reviews, these citations can also impact your rankings on the SERPs.
Three factors determine how your citations fair on the SERPs:
- Quality of citations
- Quantity of citations
- Accuracy of citations
If your mortgage lending business receives many accurate citations posted on high-quality websites, Google will consider your site as authoritative and trustworthy. You’ll enjoy a higher ranking on local searches. On the other hand, if you don’t have enough citations or most of your citations are inaccurate, Google will not trust you, which leads to a drop in search result rankings.
To create citations, start by creating a listing or profile on citation websites like Yelp, LinkedIn or Angie’s List. Each website has a verification process.
4. Social Media
Social media marketing may seem like a completely different marketing type from local SEO. On the contrary, a thriving social media presence has an impact on your search results rankings. The more you interact with your previous clients or followers on social media, the more likely you can convert them into brand evangelists who will recommend you via online reviews or shares on social media. Even a Facebook marketplace search can help you out. Google also analyzes interaction when ranking websites.
Your mortgage clients are nearby; you just haven’t met them yet. Direct more traffic and leads to your mortgage lending business with local SEO today.
