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30/07/2025

Matt Tomkin

The Ways Your Brand Can Be Mentioned in AI Search

Finding your insurance brokers target audience

How people search for answers to their queries has changed. AI search provides succinct, conversational answers at the very top of SERPs, removing the need to click on web links at all. Naturally, businesses and marketers are panicking.

It’s already having an impact, with Google search impressions rising 49% year-on-year but click-through rates (CTR) declining by 30%. Despite these grim numbers, SEO isn’t dead, and it’s still possible to succeed by adjusting to the new reality.

In this guide, we’ll go into what AI search is and how you can get your brand mentioned within these AI overviews.

What is an AI overview?

An AI overview is what you see at practically the top of every SERP page when you enter a Google search query these days. It uses the Gemini model to understand and summarise your queries. The information is pulled from multiple web pages and cited to give you a concise answer.

You may also see it referred to as zero-click search or the Google Search Generative Experience (SGE). It’s a universal improvement on the search experience, with a new survey revealing that 83% of users prefer AIO over traditional searches.

In short, if you’re a brand, a focus is now on becoming the source of the information used by each AI overview to earn that citation and appear at the very top of the page.

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Why your brand being featured in AI search is a win

It’s easy to look at the numbers and declare SEO is a waste of time, especially with 60% of searches now resulting in zero clicks. However, savvy marketers know that this is the new normal and visibility as a citation within AI search still leads to clicks. Concentrating on getting featured will still win you clicks, even if it’s not as many as before.

Moreover, let’s not ignore the fact that most people clicking on links in the first place just wanted an answer to a question. They had no interest in buying anything. By removing these visitors from the board, the people who actually click on your site are likely to be more primed for buying.

In other words, it’s a reduction in the quantity of clicks but a potential increase in the quality of clicks.

Think about it like this. When you become the cited source for AI summaries, it’s a signal and an endorsement from Google that you are the authority on that subject. It’s a message that’s also communicated to anyone reading the page, building instant brand credibility at a crucial point in the sales pipeline.

The types of brand mentions in AI search


AI search always cites its sources, but how you’re cited is what matters. Generally, there are four possible ways of being mentioned in AI search:

Linked Mentions, Unlinked Mentions, Cited Mentions, Implied Mentions
  • Linked Mentions – A linked mention is where your brand name is mentioned alongside a clickable link to your site. This is naturally the best possible outcome because you’ve got an authentic link from Google at the top of the page.
  • Unlinked Mentions – An unlinked mention is where you’re named, but you don’t get a link. It’s still a good outcome and may encourage more visits to your site, but any searchers will have to find the link themselves.
  • Cited Mentions – A cited mention is where the AI has used your site as a source for its information. Your brand won’t be named in the answer itself, but it will appear as one of the sources in the right-hand window, alongside the other sources it’s used.
  • Implied Mentions – Sometimes, an AI model may make references to your brand that are clearly yours, but won’t mention or link to you. This is essentially when characteristics describe a product or service.


You can’t control which type of brand mention you’ll get directly. Either way, any form of brand mention has value and sets the stage for claiming one of those coveted linked mentions in the future.

How you can get featured in AI search

Getting featured in AI search means adapting to Google’s preferred overview format. Think structure and a conversational tone, while incorporating detailed information that goes beyond the conventional.

Essentially, it’s just SEO with some slight differences. High-quality content is still king. You might see some marketing firms pushing AI search services as if they’re something entirely separate, but they’re not. It’s just a revamped version of SEO services.

So, what can you start doing to get featured in AI search? Let’s target the four pillars of readying your content for AI in turn.

Building high-quality content

Content quality is still the main priority for Google. They want to see Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) principles in the content they analyse. Beyond that, include:

· Target audience intent, rather than keywords.
· Build up your topical authority by creating content around a core subject.
· Back up your claims with data and stats from external sources.

Structuring your content

 
AI models are known to favour content that embraces a specific format. It should be well-documented and easy to crawl. The easiest way to deal with this is by following how AI overviews are structured themselves, meaning:

·  Clear headings

·  Short paragraphs

·  Lists

·  Snappy answers to questions

 

Technical SEO


Technical SEO continues to matter even in the AI era. Your website should be primed for mobile, use schema markup and load quickly. Above all, your site should be crawlable and indexable. If you’ve got issues like broken links or AI blockers, you’ll need to change that before you have a hope of getting cited.

 

Brand influence

 
Finally, your brand influence matters because AI models are relying on information drawn from outside your website. What this looks like is much the same as it always did, including:

·  High-quality backlinks

·  Presence in the media

·  Engagement on community platforms

This isn’t something you can rush. It should form part of your long-term brand-building strategy. Naturally, it’s a time-consuming process, which is where Tao Digital Marketing comes in. Let our SEO experts help you dominate search in the AI era. To learn more about our SEO services, contact us today.

Contact Tao Digital to Dominate AI Search

30/07/2025

Matt Tomkin

AI and Search Engines: Do You Still Need SEO?

Finding your insurance brokers target audience

Artificial intelligence (AI) is powering search, but what does that mean for SEO?

Many commentators have already prophesied the death of SEO and the coming of ChatGPT, and the Google Search Generative Experience (SGE) lends weight to that. One study already found that just 8% of people click on traditional search links when an AI overview is present, throwing marketers into a panic.

But all is not as it seems. SEO remains the foundation of any online marketing strategy, but it has changed, meaning you’ll need to tailor your tactics accordingly.

The rise of AI search engines

Generative AI has invaded every facet of society, and search is no exception. The rise of ChatGPT, Bing Copilot and Google’s SGE, or zero-click search functionality, means that businesses face enormous challenges. It’s already impacting SEO return, with 60% of searches now resulting in zero clicks through traditional search links.

It makes sense from a user perspective. Rather than clicking through to websites to search for an answer to a query, they can read an AI overview of an active link instead. Often, this is sufficient to provide them with the answers they want. The problem is that it reduces the opportunities for businesses to sell their products and services.

Another change caused by the rise of AI search engines is that user expectations have also changed. Users are happy with the simple summaries they receive from AI. For companies, SEO is no longer simply about being first on a random list of links. It’s now also about being authoritative enough so your website is the source for the AI response.

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How AI impacts online search presence for businesses

The main trend that AI has brought to search from a business perspective is fewer clicks and less traffic. It’s a fact that fewer users are clicking on Google SERP links than before. As early as 2024, Gartner already predicted that search volumes would decline by 25% by the year 2026, and this prediction appears to be true.

UK publishers have already reported declining KPIs. In a survey of both news and non-news platforms, click-through rate (CTR) from search declined by between 10% and 25% year-on-year, even when rankings remained stable.

 With that in mind, we can see that:

  • Visibility has shifted, with AI summaries appearing even above the number one spot.
  • AI algorithms are delivering hyper-personalised search results based on behaviour, location and other preferences.
  • AI search focuses on user intent when crafting custom responses.


All of this means that the goal for businesses isn’t simply hitting the number one spot via traditional keyword-driven search, but becoming the cited source for AI overviews.

Will SEO services affect how businesses show in search results?

AI-driven search has already transformed how businesses show in Google SERPs. Instead of a long list of links where users click on the top results, the AI overview now often dominates the screen. Cited sources for these overviews now appear in a small window at the side. In some cases, sponsored links from paid search may continue appearing above the AI overview.

The biggest impact is that paid search will become even more critical in an attempt to beat the AI overview. Another issue is that there are now fewer visible spots to appear organically.

Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)


At the heart of AI-driven search are AEO and GEO. Here’s what they mean in practical terms:

  • AEO – AEO is the Q&A style format that AI overviews tend to take. It uses a conversational tone and a somewhat standardised structure. This is precisely the format firms now need to take in some aspects of content.
  • GEO – GEO is making your content discoverable by AI in the first place. It covers areas like structure, format, metadata and citations. Without a focus on GEO, Google won’t cite your content in its AI summaries.

What all this means is that content that’s been readied for the AI areas must be sufficiently detailed, backed by sources, and go beyond the basics. Do it consistently enough, and your firm will start appearing as a cited source.

However, it's important to note that whilst new terms like AEO and GEO have meaning behind them, at the very core, they are simply branches of SEO. Invest in solid, quality SEO services (don't buy into 'new' created services) and you'll see progress.

AEO and GEO

Why SEO is the crucial service to show in AI search results

Looking through the new reality of search might make you wonder whether it’s time to abandon traditional SEO entirely in the face of SGE. The answer is an unequivocal “no” because the core of the strategies that have worked before still work in the SGE era. If you’re capable of creating detailed content that matches user intent while focusing on the user experience as a priority, you’ll continue to succeed here.

 Moreover, traditional strategies still have their place in AI search results. These include:

·  Keyword optimisation

·  Strategic backlinking

·  Value-driven content

 
The issue isn’t that SEO is dead or dying. It’s that it’s changed as companies and users adapt to the AI era.

How to adapt to the AI search era

There’s no doubt that businesses must adapt to AI search. Replicating the strategies that worked before will only see you investing more to get less. Generally, we can boil down adapting to the AI search era into several key principles:

·  Understanding the New Landscape – SEO is no longer only about keywords and rankings in 2025. It’s about intent, context and credibility. AI isn’t just about what you say, but how you’re meeting the needs of the user.

·  Quality and Context – Content quality and context are the order of the day. AI is concerned about how you’re answering user questions, rather than loading blogs up with keywords.

·  E-E-A-T – The Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) model has been pushed by Google for years. Now, AI has increased its importance by making it easier to reward sites that actually meet these four key points.

·  Technical SEO Matters – Technical SEO still matters as much as it did before. The AI model has altered how content is consumed, but technical elements like mobile usability, site speed and crawlability are just as relevant as before.

·  Zero-Click Search – More searches than ever don’t result in clicks. That means companies need to reconsider how they evaluate success, such as assessing visibility and brand mentions within AI mentions. In other words, the nature of how we measure digital marketing success has changed.

 
At Tao Digital Marketing, we know that negotiating the single biggest overhaul in search in over a decade is challenging. Let our cutting-edge SEO consultants share the load.  We’ve supported countless businesses in generating the visibility and new business they deserve, and we can do the same for you. To learn more about SEO services in the AI era, reach out to us today.

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30/07/2025

Matt Tomkin

Monitoring Online Success as Insurance Brokers

Finding your insurance brokers target audience

What does success look like for your insurance brokerage? It might sound like an obvious question, but every firm will look at online success differently. The concept is relative, and it means choosing the correct metrics to track. Here’s what every brokerage must know about tracking its progress online.

Succeeding in the UK’s insurance industry as an agent or broker means overcoming your competitors in the marketing arena. Having experienced a wave of unprecedented growth, the insurance industry has a market value of £21.7 billion in revenue, but it’s still a minority of players accounting for most of it.

How to know if your brokerage is performing well online

Your business has more data at its fingertips than ever. Despite the insights all insurance brokers have, just 32% of businesses act on the data they have available. That’s important because measuring success hinges upon leveraging data from your online insurance broker marketing campaigns.

Knowing whether your brokerage performs well online means sourcing your prime key performance indicators (KPIs) and getting the latest data in relation to them. Believe it or not, it’s not just about sales or return on investment (ROI).

Crucially, metrics cannot be taken in isolation. You must track your performance over time and compare different periods to determine whether you’re moving in the right direction.

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The most important metrics to track are how well your brokerage is seen online

All metrics must ultimately lead back to sales of insurance policies as a brokerage. Yes, driving traffic to your website is important, but it’s all for nothing if it doesn’t ultimately lead to new business.

That’s where so many marketers go wrong. For example, did you know that just 41% of marketers measure the success of their online content marketing campaigns through sales? 

 So, what metrics should you be looking at to get a better picture of your online presence?

  • Web Traffic Metrics – Page views, total visits and traffic sources.
  • · Lead Generation – Leads, lead sources and lead quality.
  • · Conversion Rates – Visit-to-lead conversions, lead-to-sale conversions and channel-related conversions.
  • · Online Reviews – Google, Yelp and other review platforms.
  • · Social Media Engagement – Likes, shares, comments and mentions.

All these metrics show you where you stand online and on specific channels. Plus, you can use these figures combined with your marketing investments to determine other financial metrics, including Cost Per Lead (CPL), Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), and Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV).

Don’t lose track of the one metric that matters most for your insurance brokerage, though, and that’s profitability. 

Why your business being seen online is crucial

Most business is done online rather than in the high street, especially when it comes to sourcing new providers. According to YouGov, 81% of Brits use price comparison websites to find new life insurance providers.

Being seen online is how your business thrives because it’s the dominant channel for new business. This fact alone should demonstrate the importance of making online marketing your priority.

If you drill deeper into the benefits of online marketing for insurance brokerages, other reasons to invest in this area of your firm include:

  • Increase your visibility.
  • Grow your brand awareness.
  • Build credibility in your brand.
  • Drive sales for your brokerage.
  • Adapt to today’s insurance clients.

In the past, insurers would open up their branches in places where they could access the most potential clients. The same principle applies here. If you’re not succeeding online, there’s little chance of your brokerage attaining the long-term success it deserves.

Increase your visibilty

How to know when your business needs help with its online performance

Mastering insurance marketing is the most common pitfall that brokers in the UK market struggle with today. Sadly, many businesses die a slow death because they can’t gain traction, so what are the signs that your brokerage needs help?

Declining web traffic

Web traffic should be actively growing in an ideal world. If it isn’t, your online activity needs attention. Likewise, if your bounce rates are going up, it’s a sign that your site isn’t offering the user experience the insurance audience expects. This is especially problematic because Google will penalise your site in the rankings.

A great way to organically grow web traffic is through insurance broker local SEO.

Lack of engagement

Feel like nobody cares about your insurance content? Low time-on-site and a lower average number of page clicks per session show that your audience isn’t responding to your content. In most cases, this is where the problem lies, but it could also mean that your insurance platform isn’t optimised for mobile devices.

Learn how to find your target audience as an insurance broker.

Lead generation struggles

Online marketing is designed to create leads that end in sales of insurance policies and other services. If it doesn’t, your online marketing efforts are going to waste.

Review your sales funnel and identify where customers could be dropping off. Pay special attention to landing pages and the percentage of people actually taking the desired action, such as scheduling an insurance consultation.

Poor return on investment

Every insurance marketing campaign should be analysed for ROI. If your ROI is frequently in the red, you can no longer pass it off as a loss leader. Although long-term customers provide more value, if you’re spending £2 to receive £1, it’s a clear sign that your investments are not paying off.

Learn more about PPC marketing for Insurance Brokers.

Toxic brand reputation

Insurance brokers cannot differentiate themselves based on the product alone. What separates one broker from another isn’t what they sell but the experience they provide to their clients. Two brokers may sell identical policies from the same insurance house, meaning they have to separate themselves in some other way.

Focus on cleaning up your online reputation. Look up reviews from your previous customers and concentrate on the adverse feedback you’re getting. It’s easy to dismiss negative reviews, but they are a roadmap to future improvements. Most Britons will look at the reviews before working with a business, so you cannot afford to ignore them.

Pay attention to trends. If you keep getting the same feedback, it’s an indication that something has to change. And no amount of online marketing mastery will make up for an insurance broker offering a poor user experience.


At Tao Digital Marketing, we know that managing all the moving parts of online marketing is complicated. Acquiring, interpreting, and acting upon the data can feel like a full-time job while running your insurance brokerage. That’s why we have supported countless insurance agents in achieving online success. 

If you’re ready to learn more about transforming your online marketing strategy and measuring success, contact Tao Digital today.

Contact Tao Digital to Transform your Online Marketing Strategy

30/07/2025

Matt Tomkin

Nailing Local SEO as an Insurance Brokerage

Finding your insurance brokers target audience

Local SEO targets your audience where they are. What makes it so effective for insurance brokers in the UK is that people searching for terms like “auto insurance near me” are already primed to buy. Snag them and there’s a high chance you can turn them from visitors into paying policyholders.

According to one figure, up to 46% of searches have local intent, meaning if you’re not targeting this type of SEO, you are missing out on a massive audience. With that in mind, local SEO isn’t the same as conventional SEO, which is why you must be aware of the ins and outs of how to target these searches specifically.

Understanding local SEO for insurance brokers

Local SEO is a microcosm of Google’s global search results, meaning you are only competing against those brokers in your area. Reduced competition and a primed audience are the perfect storm for increasing the number of policies you sell.

Rather than being a different marketing channel, it’s a specific application of SEO focusing on a geographical area. Improving your online presence in this area helps you reach your audience more effectively.

Typically, it’s also a more affordable option with a faster rate of return. After all, there’s much less competition for “life insurance in Bolton” than “life insurance in the UK”.

Contact us For Local Insurance Broker SEO

Why ranking in local search results is important for a brokerage

Ranking in local search results is as important as ranking in national results. According to the latest market stats, the UK’s insurance brokerage market is worth £21.5 billion in 2025, which means substantial competition to elbow your way through. Which is why local SEO is vital for insurance brokers.

Some of the benefits of refocusing and taking the time to concentrate on local SEO include:

  • More Visibility – Many customers start their search for insurance policies with local searches. Growing your local search presence increases the odds that your brokerage will be one of the first brands they come across.
  • Higher-Quality Leads – Targeted local SEO campaigns hit people who are already looking to make a purchase. The leads you’re bringing in usually aren’t window shoppers, thus giving you a better rate of return on your SEO efforts.
  • Serve Your Customer Needs Better – The needs of one market aren’t the same as those of another. Creating content targeted at a more local audience enhances your usefulness, allowing you to drive value to your town or county immediately.
  • Find Your Audience – One of the hallmarks of local SEO is that you’re tailoring your marketing efforts to a particular audience. Moulding your content to the locals helps establish your relationship with these prospects.
  • Faster Results – UK-wide and international marketing campaigns for insurance brokers take time to take hold, if they ever do. Since you’re fighting on a local front, you’re competing with far fewer people, making it easier to gain traction.

The point is that local SEO makes sense because a huge number of people are performing local searches. With fewer competitors to shift out of the way and fewer costs in generating results, SEO is one of the best moves any insurance broker can make.

Ways of pushing your brokerage locally online

Getting your brokerage’s brand out there doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does take time. This is where you should be focusing your efforts because it’s where your market is. According to one finding, 69% of insurance customers search online before they ever schedule a consultation.

 
So, how do you go about expanding your local search footprint?

Optimising a Google Business Profile for an insurance brokerage

Previously known as Google My Business (GMB), your Google Business Profile is your hub for everything about your business on Google. Signing up and claiming your profile is free, so that’s the first thing your business should be doing.

The key to a successful profile is accurate, updated information, including:

  • Business name
  • Address
  • Landline number
  • Mobile number
  • Business hours
  • Photos

Note that you can add photos and videos to your profile. It’s a chance to showcase your broker’s culture and introduce your audience to what your brand is all about. Additionally, ensure your location is accurate, so that you appear in the top results there. Investing in Google Map Optimisation is yet another ranking factor that can give you a big edge.

Check back every so often to ensure your information is accurate, or Google will penalise you.

Claim local listings

Google isn't the only listing platform people use in the UK, but Google does use other platforms as part of ranking for local SEO purposes. Whether it’s Yelp, Yell UK, or Bing Places for Business, the information and format of these other platforms are always the same.

Ensure you claim all of these listings and create consistency across the information on each platform.

Target local keywords

Keywords are the heart of any local SEO campaign, just like they are with a general SEO campaign. Go through the same process of researching local keywords and deciding which ones to use.

Examples of keyword options to think about include words and phrases that include:

  • Your city
  • Your county
  • Your country within the UK
  • Your region
  • Your area

Generally, any local identifiers can be used to find openings in the market. Don’t assume that “near me” keywords are the only ones that matter for local SEO.

Push for customer reviews

Positive reviews are even more critical for local SEO because it’s proven that searchers will take the time to read these reviews. A study from star rankings on Google Business correlate directly with better search rankings and click-through rates.

Encourage your customers to leave reviews on your profile, but make it easy for them. Give them a QR code, where reviews become a one-click experience. Remember, if you don’t ask, the chances are they won’t bother.

Focus on building local links

Local link building means connecting your insurance brokerage with authority websites relevant to your local area. The principle of backlinks is the same as local SEO, and it’s the legal tender of search engines.

If you’ve already run SEO campaigns, the principle is the same. High-quality backlinks relevant to your business and area will drive your rankings higher. Start by approaching local newspapers and business associations to get started.

Upload localised content

Content with a local angle is another way of dominating those local search rankings. Of course, it must still be relevant to your target market, or you won’t get engagement. Consider what your audience is interested in and relate it to insurance.

For example, if you’re selling private health insurance policies, articles on medical networks, claims, and the leading hospitals in the area are examples of high-quality local content.

We understand that while local SEO is straightforward enough from an abstract viewpoint, the same cannot be said for the implementation. At Tao Digital, we know that you can’t afford to be slogging through local SEO at the expense of serving your policyholders. That’s why we provide access to the UK’s leading local SEO experts who will handle everything on your behalf.

If you’re ready to become the number one insurance broker in your area, contact us for your free consultation today.

Contact us For Local Insurance Broker SEO

30/07/2025

Matt Tomkin

How to Find Your Insurance Broker’s Target Audience Online

Finding your insurance brokers target audience

The bedrock of all marketing is identifying your target audience and promoting directly to them. If you’re not capturing your target audience, any traffic you gain is from people who aren’t going to buy your insurance policy in the first place.

Insurers spend countless millions on not just finding their target audience but consistently repositioning their insurance marketing campaigns to avoid them slipping away. So, what do you need to know about finding your target audience?

Why finding your target audience online is crucial

Many marketers have no idea who their target audience is, and certainly don’t have high-quality data on them. According to one marketing survey, just 65% of marketers said they possessed high-quality data on their target markets.

Discovering who your target audience is and where they are is critical to the success of any brokerage, and here’s why:

  • Increased marketing effectiveness through targeted campaigns.
  • Knowing what makes your target audience tick.
  • Building authentic customer relationships.
  • Providing personalised experiences.
  • Improve your marketing ROI by reducing wastage.

Ultimately, the more you know about your target audience, the more it will inform your decision-making, and that only leads to a more profitable marketing department for your brokerage.

Find out about the best practices for insurance broker digital marketing.

What is the typical target audience for an insurance broker?

Your typical target audience is the one that your services target directly. The good thing about insurance is that the relationship is as straight as an arrow. Your ideal client is the one directly served by your product.

For example, if you’re a car insurance broker, your target audience is obviously someone who owns a car. If you’re selling convenience store insurance, your audience is convenience store owners.

Of course, it’s more complex than that. Someone looking for car insurance might be looking for comprehensive insurance if they have a family. In contrast, young drivers who have just passed their tests usually just look for the cheapest policy.

The challenge for insurance brokers is continuing to align their products with an audience whose needs are constantly changing, and that’s where so many brokers start falling short.

Contact Us to Starting the Hunt for Your Target Audience

How to define and segment the target audience for a brokerage online

Due to the strength of the UK market in general, insurance brokers have an enormous market to choose from nowadays.

For example, did you know that 43% of SME insurance policies are now purchased through brokers, rather than through insurers?

Taking advantage of this means defining who your target audience is and segmenting your campaigns to better speak to the individuals within that audience. Here’s a breakdown of how to do it.

Define what your target customer is like

Before you begin your insurance content marketing strategy, or any other kind of insurance marketing approach, list the characteristics of your ideal customer. These are customer personas, consisting of pre-established ideas of who your perfect customer is. Much of this will depend on the products your brokerage sells.

For example, you might be targeting policies at a specific socio-economic background or a particular part of the UK. Likewise, your policies may be tailored to those with a specific issue.

The idea at this stage is to build those personas, so that you have your perfect customer and any marketing campaign will be aimed at those who’re 100% interested in what you’ve got to offer.

Deciding on target customer values

The same market can have customers all with different needs. You can’t answer every need, so you have to consider those needs you can serve.

It might be that your brokerage specialises in affordable, low-cost policies. Alternatively, you may be someone who wants to stand out through the strength of your customer service. Likewise, other parts of your audience may prefer brokers with strong automation and tech-powered services.

So, what does the customer want that your insurance firm provides?

Talk to your customers

The quantity of spending means nothing if you aren’t pushing the right buttons. With insurance companies spending up to 10% of revenues on marketing, this is something you must get right immediately. Take the time to speak to your customers to find out what buttons you have to push to get them to buy.

You’ve got multiple sources of information here:

  • Previous customers
  • Current policyholders
  • Prospects speaking to you for the first time

Talk to them about their experiences, what they like, and what they don’t like. Yes, it’s a data-gathering exercise, but it also has the dual benefit of showing how much you care about your customers.

Establish key segmentation criteria

All marketing can be parsed down to data. The more data you have, the more accurate and reliable your insights will be. It’s an ongoing process that should be regularly reviewed and interpreted to confirm that your insurance marketing direction remains relevant.

Most insurance brokers will have several ideal customer personas. You can’t hit everyone at once, so building tailored campaigns for each persona is crucial. Let’s start with different segmentation criteria:

  • Demographics – Age, gender, income, occupation, education
  • Geographic – Location
  • Psychographics – Interests, values, personalities, attitudes, lifestyle
  • Behavioural – Previous purchases, web visits, social media channels, communication channels, purchase frequency

Countless tools exist to automate this process and draw trends from your current and previous customers.

Target, deploy, and test

The final step is to build your marketing campaigns based on the data you have. It’s an ongoing process, and you shouldn’t expect every insurance campaign to lead to a whirlwind of policy purchases.

Creating highly targeted campaigns based on your segmented audiences means implementing robust A/B testing. Over time, you’ll gradually find out which elements have the most impact, until your returns start to improve.

Build an online growth strategy with Tao Digital

Finding your target audience, segmenting it, and then creating campaigns that make an instant impact on your bottom line is a long-term process that insurance brokers spend thousands on. It’s an in-depth process that takes away from the work of serving your customers and running your business.

At Tao Digital, we support the UK’s insurance brokers in connecting with their target audience wherever they are. With the help of our marketing experts, we’ll accelerate the process and ensure that every pound spent counts. To learn more about how we can help you reach your people, contact us and let’s have a chat.

Is SEO Important for Insurance Brokers?


SEO is the cornerstone of your online marketing strategy. With so much traffic coming directly from Google, not having an SEO strategy is tantamount to not existing. However, a surprising number of UK insurers consistently fail to invest in their SEO strategies.

To put it into perspective, 69% of insurance customers searched online before scheduling a consultation. Taking the time to finetune and execute your SEO strategy amplifies your revenue and provides more opportunities to cultivate customer relationships. Let’s discuss the ins and outs of the importance of SEO for the insurance industry.

 

How does SEO for insurance agencies work?

SEO has become a byword for Google because 90% of web searches are conducted through the platform. Every time you conduct a search, you’ll see a list of websites known as Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Google relies on keywords, reputation, internal and external links, and high-quality content to determine where each brand fits into SERPs.

What insurers must understand is that Google’s goal is to present the most relevant search results for users. SEO is about proving to Google that your site is the most valuable result for that search term.

In other words, SEO isn’t a linear concept nor an exact science. Insurance firms investing in SEO must address multiple on-page and off-page SEO elements to support their rise through the rankings for high-volume keywords.

 

How does being visible on search engines help insurance agencies?

Insurance agencies stand to gain considerably from spending time on SEO. In many cases, this is the most valuable return on your investment you can make.

Here’s a rundown of the advantages for insurers:

 

  • Increase Visibility – Reach the top spot on Google SERPs, and your insurance agency will be the first thing people see. With just 6.6% of people willing to click through to the second page of SERPs, SEO puts all eyes on you.

  • More Traffic – Additionally, more visibility results in more web traffic. One study found that websites in the number one position enjoy an average 27.6% click-through rate.

  • Boost Brand Value – There’s a reason why certain sites are trusted without question. If you Google a popular search term and see the same few websites, it’s Google’s endorsement that this is a site you can trust. Instantly, good SEO gives you a natural authority among potential customers.

  • More Conversions – Ultimately, more visibility, traffic and authority contribute to more conversions and more business for your agency – and that’s the purpose of SEO in the first place.

 

SEO is about driving more business in the online realm. However, actually doing this is a different issue entirely. Successful SEO isn’t a short-term solution like running Google or social media ads. Too many insurers start an SEO campaign and then give up because it doesn’t yield immediate results.

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How SEO gets insurance brokers seen online

Getting seen online is about understanding why Google positions one website above another. Google’s value proposition is answering queries and questions, meaning it wants searchers to click on the first result and get their answer. In this case, the searchers are looking for an insurance policy and/or information on a specific type of insurance.

Does it work? Here’s an example of how it works in practice:

UK insurer Compare the Market is the most dominant insurance provider based on Google searches. According to the stats in 2022, Compare the Market enjoyed a 28.4% share of brand searches, with Go Compare second and Admiral third. Of course, searches and clicks don’t convert to business. Plenty of websites have lots of visitors but comparatively low conversion rates. 

In another study, Compare the Market was also the leading price comparison website for life insurance and non-life insurance. The study found that it enjoyed a 43.7% market share of the former and a 49.3% share of the latter. With the brand being the dominant force in both search and market share, it demonstrates the connection between them.

Google wants your site to demonstrate value, which it sees through metrics like click-through, bounce rates and time spent on each page. Showing value also increases the chances of generating more business. As you can see, do one of these things, and the other will follow.

 

How does your insurance agency being seen online convert into clients?


SEO is not a sales button – but it might as well be.

Although SEO is about visibility and driving web traffic, it’s the top of the sales funnel for your clients. The first step is seeing your website, which results in clicking on your website and entering your digital store. Here’s what that might look like:

Step One
Graphic of a person on a laptop

Customer clicks on your website on Google.

Step Two
Graphic of a person magnifying a website

Customer lands on a sales page, begins clicking around your website, and reads your content.

Step Three
Graphic of a person with a wheelbarrow

The customer is impressed and decides they want to learn more, so they get in touch with your team.

Step Four
Graphic of a person catching their audience

You conduct an initial consultation and explain the ins and outs of your insurance products, answering any questions they have along the way.

Step Five
Graphic of a person on a mountain

Customer purchases an insurance policy.

Naturally, this is an oversimplified version of the customer’s journey from seeing your website on Google to purchasing an insurance policy. It’s vital to mention customers all have different intentions and landing points.

For example, one customer may land directly on a life insurance landing page consisting of sales copy and a full explanation of how the policy works. Another customer may land on your blog to learn about a particular insurance topic. The route may differ, but the finishing line should be the same. 

Every page should ultimately direct the customer to your desired action, whether that’s a purchase, getting in touch, or performing a price comparison.

A well-optimised website ranked high on Google should mean this doesn’t matter because you offer a “complete” experience that provides value to the customer. This is why SEO isn’t about plugging in keywords and hoping for the best. You must prove that your website provides value if you want to rank.

SEO is a long-term strategy


Google provides two options for advertising on its platform:

 

  1. Using SEO and acquiring organic traffic.
  2. Paying for Google ads.

 

Both have pros and cons, but it’s vital to understand that SEO is a long-term strategy with long-tail benefits. It can take years to rank for the most competitive keywords and dislodge the most recognisable brands. Although this sounds like a downside, it’s also beneficial if you make it to that point because it cements your position for the future.

At Tao Digital Marketing, we understand the value of SEO and how to accelerate your results whilst remaining compliant with Google’s latest algorithm changes. If your insurance agency is ready to experience the measurable long-term impact of SEO, contact us today.

 

Content Marketing Strategies for Insurance Brokers

Content marketing is the driving force that elevates your brand and wins new customers; but what is classed as content?

Content could be anything designed to drive traffic, sales, signups or calls. It’s blogs, videos and social media posts all rolled into one. With 87% of B2B marketers using content to generate leads successfully, content must form the heart of any performance-driven insurance marketing strategy.

How you deploy content is what matters. Let’s dive into how insurance brokers can leverage content marketing.

Is content marketing important for insurance brokers?

Content is vital for everybody. Whilst a shop might focus on product demos and a charity might focus on human interest stories, insurance brokers focus on education. Insurance is confusing, and most people searching for policies are looking for answers.

Your content must provide these answers to:

 

  • Elevate your SEO
  • Drive leads
  • Increase customer engagement
  • Boost sales

 

But it’s not just about information. Content is a tunnel into your brand, and that’s the challenge. According to one study, 42% of UK marketing leaders said deploying brand as a strategy was their biggest challenge.

 

How content production differs for insurance brokers

Insurance is a booming industry in the UK, illustrating the need for quality insurers and brokers to serve this market. In fact, the insurance industry grew by 9.9% in 2023 alone, but standing out means producing content that also serves this market.

 

Graphic displaying the below 5 points


We’ve identified five pillars that separate insurance brokers from other industries:

 

  1. Educational Focus – Insurance is often complex, meaning taking an educational focus is the key to engaging with this audience. Informative guides and simple videos can clear the confusion and help to win business.

  2. Trust Building – Concentrate on content that builds trust through providing testimonials, case studies and content that provides answers in an authoritative tone. Display your expertise.

  3. Personalisation – Most brokers serve different market segments. Whether that’s a young person searching for their first car insurance policy or a middle-aged couple looking to save money when they renew, brokers must tailor their content accordingly.

  4. Visual Content – Simplify information through infographics and short, snappy videos. Take complex concepts and make them so comprehensible that anyone can understand them.

  5. Emotional Appeal – Insurance isn’t the most exciting topic, so generating interest can be challenging. Overcome this issue by building real-life stories to create that connection and empathy with potential clients.

What can content marketing do for your online presence?


Content marketing doesn’t improve your online presence. It is your online presence. Without content, you only have a generic website and a brand name. Nobody will respond to a barrage of sales content.

Instead, content is there to:

  • Improve your ranking in Google SERPs
  • Segregate your brand from other brokerages
  • Enhance your authority as a broker.
  • Encourage your target audience that you are the best value broker for them
  • Promote your brand and then encourage others to tell their friends and family

 

Content will spell the difference between success and failure. It’s impossible to underpin how vital it is.

 

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Key considerations when creating content for your insurance agency

Building content doesn’t mean putting out the same generic content everyone has already done. Instead, it must be “purpose-driven.” In essence, every piece of content must have the following in mind:

 

  • What?
  • Who?
  • Why?

 

What?

What content are you creating? As part of your content strategy, split it into different categories, such as blogs, newsletters, videos, infographics and social media posts. You can also split them into platform-specific sub-categories. This enables you to cover all the bases.

 

Who?

Who are you targeting with that content? Insurance brokers should have their ideal customer personas built before doing anything. However, the chances are you have multiple personas that you’re targeting with different products or messages.

Define who that piece of content is targeting.

 

Why?

Why are you creating this content? You can look at this from two perspectives:

 

  1. What do you want the customer to get out of it?
  2. What action do you want to happen?

 

So, if you’re writing a blog on “How to get the lowest life insurance quote?” what you want the customer to get out of it is obvious. However, the action you want to push may be to call you, use your quoting engine, or sign up for your newsletter for further tips.

What matters is that each piece of content has a dual purpose for you to measure its success against.

 

How to provide valuable insurance-focused content

Producing content that resonates is a process. Countless types of insurance-focused content exist, including:

 

  • Insurance explainers
  • Quote calculators
  • Infographics
  • eBooks
  • Client testimonials
  • Videos

 

But if content isn’t produced with a purpose, its effect will be minimal. Let’s go into the process of creating insurance content.

 

Understand your audience

Graphic of a person catching their audience

Focusing on your specific audience means knowing who your audience is and transitioning into what they need. Avoid spending too much time on what features your insurance products have and more on the questions and concerns your audience might have.

Avoid the insurance jargon trap

Graphic of a person on a laptop

Insurance is unique in that industry language is a barrier. Industry jargon creates confusion and causes people to switch off. Remember, you’re selling to ordinary people, not others in your industry.

Explain terms clearly and avoid using terms that can’t be simplified, whether written or visual.

What’s the story?

Graphic of a person updating a webpage

Insurance is a notoriously dry business. Generic content will switch off any readers/watchers immediately.

The secret to overcoming this is telling a story. Relate your content to real-life scenarios to turn the abstract into the multi-dimensional. Sharing stories provides security, peace of mind and sells all simultaneously.

Remember your SEO

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SEO is one of the primary reasons why you’re creating content, and that’s what brings in the traffic. Keyword research is essential, but where most insurers miss the boat is search intent.

Align your content with why people are searching for those particular search terms. For example, if someone is searching for “cheap home insurance quotes in Manchester”, it doesn’t just tell you to target that keyword. It tells you why it’s a keyword worth targeting. Focus your content to answer the queries within.

Humanise your brand

Graphic of a person with plants

Content marketing is a unique opportunity to turn a faceless insurance brand into a people-powered behemoth. Practice humanising your brand to make it stand out from the competition. Of course, tailor it to the platform.


For example, LinkedIn is great for building authority by reporting on industry insights. On the other hand, image-focused human interest content is the name of the game on Instagram and Facebook.

Above all, show your empathy by showing the humans behind the brand. Let them see your faces and hear your voice.

Leverage the insights

Graphic of a person with a wheelbarrow of data


Valuable content is often defined as content that works. If nobody reads a well-written blog, it may not be valuable content. Harness the power of data to tell you everything.

Countless analytics tools exist, including those built into many platforms. Focus on the data to learn about refining your strategy and what works best for your chosen audience.

At Tao Digital Marketing, we rely on data-driven insights to generate results for the UK’s insurance brokers. To learn more about how we can help you produce better content, speak to the team today.

Digital Marketing as Insurance Brokers: Best Practices

The cornerstone of any business is its ability to market itself to the right people. In the saturated UK insurance market, competing with the likes of Axa and Hastings Direct may be daunting, but add on smaller brokers and it feels impossible.


Whilst it’s a long, winding road, intelligent spending on digital marketing can propel your brand to the top. Let’s examine what digital marketing today looks like for the insurance industry.

What does digital marketing for insurance brokers look like?

Before going any further, having a brokerage that lends itself to a great customer experience is key. Driving traffic from Google and social media is meaningless if people click away instantly.

According to the UK Insurance Sentiment Index, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), UK-based insurers struggled with a lack of online service and inaccessible digital platforms. In other words, before throwing money at a market strategy, conduct market testing to ensure your platform meets the needs of your market.

With that in mind, let’s examine the various sectors of your digital marketing strategy.

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SEO

Graphic of a person on a laptop

SEO means targeting search engine rankings. Think about how many customers begin their search for insurance via Google alone. Worldwide, Google processes 8.5 billion searches daily, making this a prime traffic source.

For example, if you offer car insurance, ranking for search queries like “UK car insurance”, “car insurance UK”, and “UK car insurance quotes” would potentially bring thousands of people to your site daily.

Of course, that’s easier said than done. So, what makes up insurance broker SEO?

  • Keyword research
  • Incorporating phrases customers use, known as long-tail keywords
  • Short-tail keywords
  • On-page optimisation
  • Off-page optimisation

The difficulty is there are no quick fixes, so expect this to be a long-term marketing strategy.

 

Content Marketing

Graphic of a person with a wheelbarrow of data

Content is king.

Create interesting, informative content that engages and supports your target customers. For example, write a guide on the most common insurance scams or provide tips on getting the best deal.

Produce regular, high-quality content and this will benefit your marketing efforts across every platform.

Social Media

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Most people are on at least one social media platform. Produce introductions to your brand, show what’s happening in the office, or showcase some of your staff. Every platform has its own approach, so don’t just copy and paste posts from one to the other.


British businesses spend £3.6 billion annually on social media, so don’t discount its value. Just ensure you’re targeting the platforms where your demographic lives. For example, if you sell short-term life insurance, Facebook will likely be more fruitful than the youth-leaning TikTok.

Email Marketing

Graphic of a person in an envelope

Email, or newsletter marketing, means building your list. Gain subscribers, and you’ve got the beginnings of a personal relationship. Providing free content, such as an eBook or guide, is one of the easiest ways to get someone onto your list.

But what can insurance brokers send to their subscribers?

  • Exclusive discounts
  • Guides to aid in the insurance search
  • How to make the most of their policies
  • Saving money on insurance
  • Non-insurance-related content

Paid Ads

Graphic of a person looking at data

Brokers with bigger budgets can get a head start on their marketing efforts by investing in paid ads. Your two primary options are Google’s Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads and social media ads.

Note that paid ads are a steep learning curve and will involve some trial and error. It’s time to return to traditional marketing principles, focusing on engaging graphics, eye-catching videos and persuasive copy.

Like any other business, brokers must take the time to test out different combinations until they find something that works.

Video Marketing

Graphic of a person on Youtube

Technically, video marketing is a type of content marketing, but its potential means it deserves its very own section.

Why are videos so effective? One study found that videos are 1200% more successful than other types of content, making it the standout for engagement and action. In terms of a brokerage, this could resemble:

  • Reflecting your agency’s services
  • Showcasing staff as the “fun” side of your brand
  • Client testimonials
  • How your customers have claimed on their policies
  • Connecting your agency to what’s happening in the world

Video marketing isn’t a silver bullet, but through deploying innovative storytelling and interesting content, you can connect on a deeper level with current and future customers.

Best practices for digital marketing in the insurance sector

Digital marketing in the insurance sector can be trickier because when most people think “excitement”, they don’t think “insurance.” But that doesn’t mean you’re doomed. It’s all about thinking outside the box to build those authentic connections and become a standout brand.

 

If you’re just getting started, here’s a list of insurance digital marketing best practices:

 

  1. Be active on social media. Don’t just publish salesy posts, but become active in the circles where your customers are, demonstrating that you’re helpful and engaged. 
  2. Give your customers what they want. Examine your competitors, and if you happen upon something that’s generated a buzz, adopt it yourself. 
  3. Invest in building up your online reviews. Reviews are currency in digital marketing circles. 
  4. Start a referral program. Reward your customers for supporting you and bringing others to you. There’s a reason why businesses in all sectors launch these programs. 
  5. Concentrate on local SEO. Not only does local SEO drive immense amounts of traffic, but it also offers less competition. Start with your own city and then branch out to other major cities in your keywords, such as London, Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds. 
  6. Let your content drive your brand forward. Content differentiates you from every other broker on your site, social media, and other platforms. 
  7. Improve your digital experience. Is your website providing the best experience? What are the pain points customers are having? 
  8. Test, test, and test again. Digital marketing is an ongoing process in an industry that never stands still. Even when you succeed, you can’t afford to let up.

 

Which digital marketing strategies work well for insurance brokers?

 

No one digital marketing strategy works for every insurance broker. It’s all about finding what works for you. However, regardless of the angle you’re planning to take in your digital marketing strategy, three areas are the primary focus:

 

  • SEO
  • Content marketing
  • Social media

 

Why these three areas? Because it doesn’t matter who you are as an insurance broker. These three digital marketing focuses are always relevant. Generally, the best way to avoid an expensive, time-consuming trial-and-error process is to work with a marketing expert.


At Tao Digital Marketing, our marketing professionals have worked with countless insurance brokers looking to rise head and shoulders above the rest. To learn how our team can support yours in pinpointing tactics that work for your agency, contact us today.

 

What’s a Good CTR for Google Search Console?

How many people see your website and then click on it? Knowing this number is essential for determining whether people are interested in your business’s presentation.

Although more relevant to paid advertising, it’s still a ranking factor in organic traffic. This is why paying close attention to it on Google Search Console is vital. Let’s discuss what CTR is and what a good CTR looks like.

 

What is Click Through Rate (CTR)?

CTR is a marketing term that denotes the number of people who see a link divided by the number of people who click on it. Within an organic search context, it’s how many people see your website vs. how many people click on it.

Google monitors CTR closely because if you’re lower than average, it’s a sign that you’re not worth a higher ranking. Ultimately, CTRs tell Google whether their results serve a user’s search query.

Unfortunately, it’s one of the most demanding metrics to improve. However, succeeding in improving it can also be one of the most impactful. Within an SEO context, you’ll be surprised at what counts as “good.” According to one study, a 3% CTR is considered a decent performance.

Of course, your CTR will depend on various factors, including search volume, industry and where you appear in SERPs.

 

What is Google Search Console?

Google Search Console lets you track your website’s performance from an organic traffic point of view. Extract reports directly from the Console to gain a complete view of the consumer’s journey from performing a search to clicking on your website.

However, note that this isn’t the same data if you also run Google Ads. The Console only tracks your organic traffic, not paid.

 

Screenshot from Google Search Console showing a 3.9% Click Through Rate

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What is considered a good Click Through Rate? 

Everyone wants a good CTR to have a baseline against which to rank their website. Unfortunately, there’s no firm answer because it largely depends on where you rank.


According to a report from Smart Insights Digital Marketing, here’s what an average CTR looks like based on rank in 2024:

 

  • Position One – 39.8%
  • Position Two – 18.7%
  • Position Three – 10.2%

 

In other words, you must reach the top three search positions to acquire a double-digit CTR.

Positions nine and ten gain CTRs of under 2%, so if you have a CTR of anywhere from 2% to 30%, you technically have a good CTR. In short, due to the nature of search in 2024, reaching the first page of Google SERPs is no longer good enough.

 

 

Can you increase Click Through Rate?

CTR is among the most difficult metrics to improve. However, we know that the higher you rank, the higher your CTR. This is why brands shouldn’t get too hung up on CTR alone and instead concentrate on their overall SEO strategy.

But how do consumers decide to click a link in the first place?

 

Google – Google is the most trusted search engine on the planet, controlling 91% of the search market. Users intrinsically click the first link because they trust Google to provide them with the most relevant result.

 

Brand Recognition – Users are likelier to click on a link if they’ve heard of the brand before.

 

Reading – Titles and meta descriptions matter. Searchers may be implicitly encouraged to click on a site because the description is most relevant to their query.

 

 

These three factors all go back to implementing SEO best practices and rising up the rankings. If you can gradually build a sustainable SEO strategy that yields results, you’ll also see your CTR rise.

What is expected to change in CTR due to Google’s algorithm?

 

The March 2024 core update is Google’s most recent update, following its Helpful Content Update last year. It’s considered the most impactful change to the search landscape in years.

However, it’s also transformed what SEO means for brands. Adjusting accordingly is vital if you want more visitors to your website.

Let’s begin with the biggest threat to CTRs: Google’s pivot towards incorporating AI into its search experience.

 

AI has changed the world like never before, and Google has already entered its fray with the Search Generative Experience (SGE). The basic premise is that Google is integrating generative AI into its search engines to provide overviews of search queries.

What this means for businesses is that searchers can get straight answers to their questions without clicking on links at all. In other words, it removes an opportunity for brands to sell and could eventually see the death of traditional search.

But it’s not the only thing that could impact CTRs. We also must examine how Google ranks websites, as where you rank in SERPs is the most important factor in your CTR.

 

Google Ranking ‘Leak’

In May 2024, Google experienced one of the most profound leaks in its history, providing more insight into how Google Search (potentially) works than ever before. This leak has offered a lifeline for businesses looking to negotiate the new SEO landscape and increase their CTR rates.

In particular, the role of click data has put to bed something that Google had always denied – that user data from Chrome had no bearing on its rankings.

The leak revealed the potential that Google relies heavily on click data and user behaviour through the Chrome browser to rank sites. Unfortunately, this heavier-than-expected reliance could open the way for artificial CTR strategies, such as clickbait and browser manipulation.

What could this mean for the SEO community in the future? It could mean nothing, or it could mean Google scrambles to unveil new updates to prevent its algorithm from being exploited in light of the leak.

 

  • It’s important to note that the latest Google ‘leak’ was incredibly insightful, but is in no way an exact indicator of Google’s behaviours. Our advice? Take everything you see from Google with a pinch of salt, and work for your audience first, always.

 

How should businesses prepare for a changed SEO landscape?

 

We know very little about what could happen regarding the overall SEO landscape. However, what is clear is that SGE is causing huge fluctuations within rankings. This level of volatility hasn’t been seen in over a decade, making it challenging for businesses to adjust.

It’s why countless stories of businesses seeing their traffic wiped out overnight have appeared online. Although many have already declared the death of traditional SEO, this is far from the case.

SGE is designed to provide a mere overview, not to eliminate the need to click on websites completely. Much like the race to acquire Featured Snippets, brands seeking to improve their CTRs may alter their content accordingly to be that AI-generated overview.

In the meantime, the best defence against Google’s volatility is to team up with an agency to manage it. At Tao Digital Marketing, we steer our clients through the turbulence to enable them to rank higher and increase their CTRs. To learn more about how we can do the same for you, contact the team now.

 

How to Do an SaaS SEO Audit

Is your content struggling to perform? Is your Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) brand finding it challenging to attract new customers through organic traffic?

Google’s March 2024 core update changed the game again, forcing UK businesses to redefine their SEO strategies. If you’re unsure what to do, it starts with a comprehensive site audit.

So, how do you conduct an audit that yields results?

What is a SaaS SEO audit?

SEO audits uncover the issues that prevent your business from featuring higher for your target keywords. Google has always kept its cards on the table regarding exactly how its algorithm works, meaning SEO has always been primarily a game of trial and error.


What we know is that Google uses over 200 factors in its algorithm to rank websites. The problem is you can’t assume that one aspect or another is holding your band down. This is why SEO audits are so crucial. They give you a clear understanding of where to focus your efforts to:

 

  • Rank higher than before.
  • Prevent unexplained ranking drops.
  • Being outranked by your competitors.

 

Remember, 68% of online experiences begin with a search engine, so audits should be a regular facet of your marketing strategy.

 

Do SEO audits need to be conducted differently for different types of websites?

 

Most of the top SEO factors people discuss apply to every website. Whether it’s keywords, mobile responsiveness or optimised content, they apply to everyone, but different types of websites must think about specific factors applying to them.

For example, an eCommerce website must optimise its product pages, including images, descriptions and schema markup. Blog-based websites are more focused on building authority, such as through backlinks, and keeping their most important posts evergreen with constant updates.

As a SaaS business, you’re a service-based business with a service-based website. In this case, your SEO audit would focus more on keyword optimisation, long-tail keywords, case studies and portfolios.

Overall, although there are differences, SEO audits follow a similar mantra for all businesses.

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Why is an SEO audit important for a SaaS site?

SEO audits matter for any business for the same reason you take your car to the garage for an MOT every year. Audits analyse performance and ensure the long-term viability of your business’s SEO strategy.

Remember, you’re constantly swimming against the tide. Google alters its algorithms constantly, meaning what worked five years ago may not work now. Plus, your site is constantly being compared against your competitors. If Google deems their site more helpful for a searcher, they’ll rank it above yours.

Regular audits check that your SEO strategy is current and still has the same impact as before. Likewise, if your SEO tactics aren’t working, an audit tells you what you need to work on to improve.

How to perform an SEO audit for SaaS

 

SEO audits can be as basic or as in-depth as you want them to be. Technically, there are four types of SEO audits you can perform:

 

Graphic showing four types of SEO audits

 

  1. Technical Audit – Focusing on the technical aspects of your site, such as page loading times, mobile friendliness and duplicate pages. 
  2. On-Page SEO Audit – Ensuring every page is optimised for ranking higher. Examples of on-page elements include titles, meta descriptions, images and schema markup. 
  3. Off-Page SEO Audit – Checking the factors influencing your ranking away from your website, such as backlinks and social media activity. 
  4. Content Audit – Reviewing the content on your website, including blogs, sales pages, images and more. 

 

We’ll introduce you to some main elements within each audit type to provide the baseline information needed to analyse your SaaS site.

Technical SEO audit

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  • Scan your site using tools like Ahrefs and Moz to ensure Google can crawl and index it.
  • Audit your site’s architecture to ensure all your pages link together logically and hierarchically.
  • Eliminate duplicate pages to prevent indexing issues. One option is to delete said pages outright or use 301 redirects.
  • Fix internal linking issues to distribute link equity across your website. Again, tools are available to identify issues like orphaned pages or broken links.

On-page SEO audit

Graphic of a woman adding an image to a site
  • Optimise your title tags to avoid duplicates, and ensure they’re optimised using your target keywords.
  • Go through your meta descriptions to check for duplicates, poorly written ones, missing ones or those that are too long. Remember, these are important for Google and anyone who decides whether to click on your site.
  • Include relevant images alongside alt tags to provide context to Google’s crawlers.
  • Add schema markup to help Google understand your page. Proper schema markup code within your page could win you a featured snippet. They win approximately 35.1% of all traffic, so they’re worth pursuing.

Off-page SEO audit

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  • Use tools like Ahrefs to get an inventory of the quality and authority of your backlinks. They can even highlight backlink profiles from your closest competitors.
  • Use social media management tools to track your engagement. While not a direct factor, Google does notice the extra engagement.

Register for Google My Business/Google Business Profile to claim your local search profile. Although this might not be as relevant to SaaS businesses, it’s still a way to generate extra traffic from local searches.

Content SEO audit

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  • Rework poor-performing content.
  • Update outdated content.
  • Improve existing pages and relaunch them.

Which tools are best for SaaS SEO audits?

 

SEO audits can be done manually, but with so many tools to power in-depth audits, you can make your audits faster and more impactful. Here are our top picks:

 

Ahrefs – Ahrefs is one of the most popular SEO audit tools, and it’s what we use internally at Tao. It offers site audits, backlink analysis, keyword research and competitor activity insights. In short, it does just about everything.

 

SEMrush – SEMrush offers the same all-in-one package for SEO auditing as Ahrefs, including competitor analysis and an array of content optimisation tools. It also tracks keyword performance, which is always beneficial for high-growth SaaS firms.

 

Moz Pro – Moz Pro includes rank tracking, link analysis and on-page SEO optimisation within a single intuitive interface.

 

Screaming Frog – Screaming Frog offers free and premium site auditing options. This tool crawls your website and pinpoints issues like duplicate content and broken links. Even better, it integrates with Google Analytics.

 

Google Search Console – Gain insights directly from Google itself. The Google Search Console supports your auditing efforts with index coverage, mobile usability reports and URL inspections.

 

There’s no single best tool for auditing your website. It depends on your goals and what you want to achieve through your audits. However, what matters the most is the insights you gain and how you use them within your SEO strategy.

 

And that’s where an SEO agency comes in.

 

At Tao Digital Marketing, we support SaaS businesses that are serious about their SEO to achieve the high-impact results they expect from their online marketing efforts. If you’re ready to get started, contact the team today.