Let’s create a list of articles suited to your business.

Make a starter list. First off list all your insurance products, services and guaranties. At this stage don’t leave anything out.

Highlight your strong points. You probably won’t have the time or patience to write about all your products, so underline any areas on your list where: you are particularly good; you offer unique products or insurance cover; or where you are competitive on price.

Identify your niche. Large insurers and comparison websites will already dominate search for popular keywords. These websites are well established and hard to displace. To get around this, you need to specialise. How do your differ from competitors? Do you have niche products or offer extra insurance cover others do not?

The Venn diagram below shows the areas where you are most likely to succeed. The darker the colour, the greater your chance of success. The dark purple in the middle is your sweet spot: few competitors, high search volume and your products are great. If you don’t know where to begin, start here.

Research is boring and takes time, but it will make the writing stage easier and improve the quality of your articles. It may also highlight articles that will never succeed because there is too much competition, or no search volume.

Competitor analysis: visit your competitor websites. What have they written about? Have they done a good job or can you write better? Have they missed any important points such as explanations of insurance cover or failed to answer common questions a client may ask – this is your opportunity to get a foot in the door and stand out.

Insurance search results page (SERP) analysis. For each article on your list, Google the keywords. Which websites are on the first page? If the top results are occupied by major companies, you need to niche up – write about a more specific argument and target long tail keywords.

If you followed so far well done! You should have a list of articles covering your specialist products, a few niche arguments and lots of top Q&As.

Several types of article lend themselves well to insurance content writing:

• Simple one question – one answer pages. These are quicker to write and one page alone can attract thousands of extra monthly hits!
  So how do they work?
  Most users start by asking Google a question. For example, is fire insurance compulsory? The top answer will typically be a page that directly answers the question in a clear, comprehensive manner. It will cover all possible caveats and may quote other authoritative sources.
• Comprehensive product guides. These are in depth articles covering every possible question a consumer may have about an insurance product – what is insurance XYZ, how does it work, types of cover, etc. They are long articles, broken down into a series of questions and answers.
• Blog/ news. Insurance news, events, legislative updates and compliance articles are best suited for insurance companies with active marketing departments who publish regularly. News articles will not necessarily get many hits from Google, but are an effective way to build a following on social networks, mailing lists or push notifications.
• Infographics, statistics and trends. These are posts that offer unique industry information of interest to consumers, or more often insurance brokers and news channels. Annual reports; industry facts and figures and claim statistics can all make for popular posts thanks to their unique content.

Follow these rules to ensure your post will be useful to clients and perform well in search.

• Think like a client. If writing a product guide, think like a client. Create a list of all the important questions a client may have about your product and answer them.
• Create a logical structure. Give your article a clear hierarchy and logical structure. Use a series of headings and subheadings laid out as questions and answers so users can skim read.
• Prioritise content. Cover the most important questions first (what is pet insurance? What does it cover?, …), and go into specifics further down the page (can I add the hamster to my home insurance? My puppy chewed through my friend’s sofa, am I covered?, …).
  Here are key questions a prospect will want answers to, and should be positioned prominently:
  – What is it?
  – What does it cover?
  – What doesn’t it cover?
  – Why do you need it?
  – Is it compulsory?
  – What happens if you don’t have it?
  – How much does it cost?
  – What is the claims process?
• Include all the top questions. What questions do you get asked by customers all the time? Keep note of those questions to include in your posts. Providing answers directly online will also reduce phone and email enquiries.
• Write concise but comprehensive answers. Once you have a structured list of sections/questions write concise but comprehensive answers. Every word must earn its place in titles, subtitles and every opening paragraph. If a word is redundant remove it. To get a Google Featured Snippet, you must provide the best answer online.
• Write for your customers. Because we work with insurance products every day, it’s easy to forget that many concepts are unclear to your prospects. Explain things using everyday language without industry jargon.

• People want easy so give them it. Get straight to the point with an accurate answer.
• Write for your audience. Insurance products are not the most exciting or easy to understand. They can feel cold, boring, and corporate. Explain your products with everyday language that is accessible to users. Make sure your copy marchmallowspeaks to the visitor’s interests. Remember, people are interested in “what’s in it for me.” Insurtech start up Lemonade are good at this.
• Write for your prospects. It’s tempting to write content to appeal to search engines. But if you write valuable content for your prospects, search engines are smart enough to like it too.
• AVOID SELF-PROMOTIONAL TEXT! Your prospective client is reading your article because they want answers, so don’t spam them with over enthusiastic sales language, it will put them off. Instead aim to create an excellent customer experience – provide the perfect answer to their question knocking them over with your technical expertise and professionality. You will naturally make sales if your products are good and prices competitive.
• Write headlines using keywords. A good headline is intuitive, click-worthy and includes keywords. It should summarise what the section is about.
• Include external links. Google’s 2018 core update focused on the virtues of E-A-T (Expertise, Authority and Trust). The upshot: linking to relevant and respected websites can boost the quality of your content in Google’s eyes. The Financial Services Authority, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and EIOPA are examples of important regulatory insurance bodies. The Met Office, the Department for Transport and the Health and Safety Executive are excellent sources of studies and statistics that add weight to your content.
• Build your reputation. Write accurate and reliable content. Inaccuracies and false statements can see a negative impact on your website ranking. It definitely pays to be meticulous.

Not all articles will be a success, though with careful research some will. I have seen examples of single one-question-answer pages generating over a thousand monthly hits for years.

Here are some MASSIVE reasons why you should spend time writing great content for your insurance business:

• Once set up you get free website traffic for years to come.
• Free-up your employees. Having common questions answered online reduces phone and email enquiries, further automating your business.
• You are more competitive. If you don’t write the articles, your competitors will: and they get all the free organic search traffic. Many new Insurtech startups are doing just this.
• Reduced customer acquisition cost (CAC). Suppose your Google Analytics campaign costs 200 Euros per new customer. If you integrate a catalogue of new articles into your website, you tap into organic traffic and new customers at no extra cost, reducing your CAC and improving the cost effectiveness of your online marketing.
• Brand image. Your website looks professional, building client trust.