Agency Website or Self Branding Website

[Guest]

Why not have two domains that focus on each of those formats? One domain would be more personal branding and the other would be more agency focused. I know this is extra work as you can do both on one.

I'm noticing that website customers are coming to us wanting product/service-specific sites. For example up to about a year ago the electrician had us do a pretty generic site on his "regular" domain.

Now he comes to us and says "I want a site about my service to install home theatre and a site that is based around pulling CAT cable for small offices".. and he has a domain for each.

Same for the book biz. Publishers used to throw a bunch of books on a site, now they have a site for each title... like this site we did recently.

And in insurance we see agents coming to us with product-specific sites... like this one we finished last week.

When you can get nice sites done for such a low cost from people like John, and Josh, and me and a zillion others out there in web-world... why not have multiple sites?

Al
499WordPressDesign

 

[pcbinsurance]

I would list Frank: "principal".....not principle. I'm sure that's just an oversight.

 

[Guest]

I would list Frank: "principal".....not principle. I'm sure that's just an oversight.

Our clients write their own copy and we pop it in. We try to proof as best we can, but we obviously miss things. Good catch. I'll tell the client and he can correct it.

Al
499WordPressDesign

 

[Guest]

I'm noticing that website customers are coming to us wanting product/service-specific sites. For example up to about a year ago the electrician had us do a pretty generic site on his "regular" domain.

Now he comes to us and says "I want a site about my service to install home theatre and a site that is based around pulling CAT cable for small offices".. and he has a domain for each.

Same for the book biz. Publishers used to throw a bunch of books on a site, now they have a site for each title... like this site we did recently.

And in insurance we see agents coming to us with product-specific sites... like this one we finished last week.

When you can get nice sites done for such a low cost from people like John, and Josh, and me and a zillion others out there in web-world... why not have multiple sites?

Al
499WordPressDesign

Well the reason why not, is because having a bunch of little sites only fills a limited role in my opinion.

Lets take your plumber client for example. If he has 4 sites for individual services rather than one for all, when he starts doing SEO I'm assuming the strategy is to rank each site for a few specific keywords. Easy enough, but you now have 4 sites with a domain authority of for example 20 rather than 1 site with an DA of 40.

So what's the big deal? When ur plummer client wants to expand and reach more customers his only option is make more sites and trying to rank them over and over. When trying to build an authority site, I can rank a new page within days. Anytime I post content to my blog within a month its already PR 3 or 4 and ranks with no link building (except inner page linking) and I would hardly consider my site an authority. Even my test page that I use to try new code and test how things look is a PR 5 and I only ever put duplicate content on it so I can see layouts.

Think about it this way do you see any of the big brands like progressive marketing sites for each product they sell. No, they just rank across the board. With one site and use social media to portray their culture, communicate with clients, and showcase their employees. Its an extention of their site. If you expand you want people to call your brand, rather than have everyone ask for you by name. You can then use social media to show people the humanity of your company by showing off who you are and that you are related to your company. You don't need a personal site for that unless you really like to blog....

Authority domains may take longer but if you want a long term asset for your business its worth it.

 

[Guest]

Think about it this way do you see any of the big brands like progressive marketing sites for each product they sell.

Hmmmm.

Hover your cursor over the following and see what the URLs are.

Bud*Light—The Sure Sign Of A Good Time. Here We Go.

Maker's Mark® | Maker's Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon Handmade Whisky

Home | Diet Coke

http://www.pampers.com/

I can't think of any insurance "branded products." An argument could be made that one of the reasons that life insurance sales are down is because it is poorly "branded" by the carriers.

If I were a carrier without a huge budget like AFLAC or Progressive I'd "brand" a product and pitch it as a stand-alone "company" with its own site. Of course you have to ask yourself just how smart most insurance carrier marketing people are? I'll bet most here could answer that rather quickly! (Is Snoopy still 'relevant' to people seeking life insurance?)

I'm not a huge believer in SEO beyond what Google instructs. I think there is a lot of "snake oil" peddled by by those who claim "to know" the secrets of constantly achieving page-1 rankings.

I'm not discounting the idea of the "authority site." All I know is what my clients are doing. New book, new site. New movie, new site. New service, new site. Special offer, new site. Big event, new site.

I don't know how that scales to the insurance agent biz. I wonder if anyone here has separate sites for, say Medicare Supps, Term life, DI, etc. and if that helps their bottom line?

One thing I'm certain of when it comes to web hits, rankings, and conversions, there is no magic bullet, no "one answer" and usually no "wrong answer." Indeed...

YMMV.

Al
499WordPressDesign

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

Al...I agree that there is a lot of snake oil peddled.

OK...Warning: Self-serving content below:

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After I receive payment, and after a 90-180 day "cooling off" period, I'll pick three key phrases and get you on page 7 or better within 12-48 months. Some of my clients have told me they never heard of such a package and scream with delight.

Contact me guys and gals. I want to help.

 

[pcbinsurance]

This last post needs a "LIKE" button.