SEO for small, independent insurance agencies -- is it possible?

[copyjack]

I work with a lot of small, independent insurance agencies and have found through keyword research that most people search for insurance by state (e.g. pennsylvania auto insurance) or simple by product (e.g. auto insurance). Only if an agency is located in a densely populated city like San Francisco do I see people searching for insurance by city. As you can probably guess, these keywords are extremely competitive. Big companies like Geico and Progressive tend to take over page one for these searches.

So, if I'm trying to optimize a website for an insurance agency in Quakertown, PA, for example, a small town with very few monthly searches (zero according to Google's keyword tool), how should I focus my on-page SEO efforts? Should I focus on "state + insurance," "city + insurance," or a combination of both? Or am I approaching this all wrong?

Thank you in advance for your help. I'm feeling really stumped and would appreciate any fresh perspective.

[MattAntonino]

I think everyone else has been talking about it a bit but I think you're on the right track with Local.  You can't win "auto insurance" in Quakertown but you can absolutely be the A) Local listing if you increase your citations.  Try Whitespark, see what's out there?

Bob J... is C) for quakertown PA auto insurance with a DA 10, PA 23.  Not exactly impossible to beat. Organic results, yes you'll struggle because the big agencies have it setup right - unless you're working for one of their partners, you'll find it rough going.

Looking at your keywords in Adwords Tool, the only one with even "Medium" competiion is "insurance company" - by adding company the search gets SO large that even big competitors don't monopolize it.  If you're ranking locally, adding "company" to at least some searches may help you as well.

Your best bet otherwise may be long tail keywords.   Don't forget county searches.  Bucks County insurance, etc.  Auto, car, vehicle, home, house, homebuyers, renters, whatever - just do an Ubersuggest search and see what you're not using for important keywords, as well.

But I agree, it's going to be probably 95% local, 5% everything else.

[copyjack]

Thanks, EGOL. This is an approach I have been using, so I'm relieved to have it verified by another professional. I've been focusing on claiming listings, keeping them consistent, and linking back to the website. Hopefully, this will benefit my clients in the long run.

[edwardrj]

Exactly -- take advantage of all the tools at your disposal. In this case, local results will be displayed more often than not. In a nutshell, you need to be setting up Google+ Local pages for the businesses you are working with rather than clinging onto the hope of competing with the big dogs for organic search position.

https://plus.google.com/local

[EGOL]

You want to get listed in the local results.

When I search for "auto insurance" and change my location to quakertown pa I see the map with push pins showing me offices for....

Aaron Landis,  Bob Wimer, R&R, Reise, Jime Wiley

I would put my work into getting on the map.

[anthonydnelson]

I'm not experienced in the insurance industry, but I think your suspicions are correct in that you will have problems competing with the big players in the industry.

One question for you: Does a search for something like 'Quakertown PA auto insurance' bring up local results (map) or just standard results?

I would put my focus on the city level. Try to build links and local citations. Also, focus on what sets you apart from the big agencies. Perhaps there are people searching for 'locally owned insurance companies in Quakertown.'