2024 has been a tough year for many lenders and mortgage brokers. High home prices and mortgage rates, 0.75 to 1.5% or 125 to 300 basis points above the prime rate, have made the market less appealing for real estate investors.
4.3 million mortgage loans were originated in 2023, marking a 30-year low [1]. In this challenging market, the critical difference between brokers thriving and those contemplating closing their doors is the effectiveness of their marketing strategy.
While there is no shortage of ways to generate leads, some methods have far superior customer acquisition costs (CAC). It can be tempting to focus on other KPIs like cost per click, cost per lead, etc., but a closed lead puts money in your pocket, making it the most vital metric to track.
When you look at the marketing channels with the highest conversion rates, referrals and search engine optimization (SEO) top the list. In this guide, we will discuss SEO for mortgage brokers.
We are so excited to take our innovative loan programs to the next level and connect with brokers digitally. Read on to learn how to get set up and succeed on the Visio Broker Portal. If you don't have a Broker Portal login yet, talk to your Account Executive. Keep in mind, only Approved Brokers can utilize the portal.
This guide is broken into 5 sections:
Mortgage Broker SEO is the strategic practice of enhancing your website's visibility and ranking on search engines like Google. This ensures your site appears at the top of search results for relevant queries, such as "best mortgage rates in [location]" or "minimum credit score for an investment property loan."
By optimizing your site's content, structure, and technical elements to align with search engine algorithms, you can drive more targeted traffic and generate quality leads for your mortgage business.
The timeframe for seeing increased traffic from search engines can vary significantly based on several factors.
For example, if you're starting from scratch and want to build an SEO campaign for a new mortgage broker website, it takes 6-12 months to see any meaningful progress.
On the other hand, if you have a well-established site and need to move keywords from page two to page one, SEO results can be seen in just a few months or less.
To complicate matters further, if your site has an algorithmic or manual penalty, you must allow extra time to resolve those issues before you move into a growth phase. Fortunately, SEO provides a strong ROI for mortgage brokers, so it’s worth the wait.
Investing in SEO can yield substantial returns, especially for a mortgage business, given the high value of each closed deal. Let's break down the potential ROI based on some key statistics.
As an SEO campaign matures and your site's trustworthiness and visibility grow, your ROI will further improve—one of the many benefits of a good SEO plan.
Unlike PPC ads, where the benefits cease once you stop paying, SEO provides compounding value over time.
Here's how:
SEO continues to attract visitors long after the initial investment. As your site's authority and rankings improve, you'll see sustained and potentially increasing search traffic and lead generation.
Over time, SEO tends to have lower customer acquisition costs than paid search or social media advertising. This is because the traffic generated from SEO efforts doesn’t immediately disappear when you stop spending.
SEO targets users with high intent, making the leads generated more likely to convert into clients. Since the client starts their journey with your brand, they have more trust in you than someone originating from a trigger lead or other shared lead source.
The ROI from SEO will vary based on the following factors:
Competition: The level of competition in your market can affect how quickly you see results. Highly competitive markets may take longer to rank higher, but the rewards can be substantial.
Starting Point: Your website's SEO health will influence the time it takes to see improvements. Websites with penalties or significant technical issues may require more upfront work.
SEO Budget: Your budget determines the scale and intensity of your SEO efforts. A higher budget can accelerate progress and lead to faster results.
Even though SEO takes time to show significant results, the long-term value and unmatched ROI potential make it a worthwhile investment.
Mortgage brokers can achieve sustainable growth and profitability by maintaining a consistent and strategic approach to SEO.
Building a successful SEO campaign involves several key components, each requiring careful planning and execution.
A well-crafted SEO strategy and roadmap clearly guide your SEO efforts. They help you prioritize tasks, allocate resources efficiently, and measure progress. They ensure all aspects of your SEO campaign work in harmony, ultimately driving better results.
Here are some key areas to cover in the research process.
Define what you want to achieve with your SEO efforts. Goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Examples include increasing organic traffic by 30% in six months or improving the conversion rate from organic search by 2%.
Understand your potential clients, their needs, and how they search for mortgage services. Create detailed buyer personas to guide your content and keyword strategy.
Break down your strategy into specific activities, such as keyword research, content creation, technical SEO improvements, and link building. Assign timelines and responsibilities for each task to ensure accountability and progress.
Conduct a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) to understand your current position and identify areas for improvement and growth. This can highlight your unique selling points and potential challenges in the competitive landscape. Use the following steps to guide your analysis:
Keyword research helps you understand your potential client's language when searching for mortgage services. By targeting these keywords, you can create content addressing their needs and improving your chances of ranking well in search engine results.
Analyzing the keywords your competitors are ranking for can reveal gaps in your strategy and opportunities to rank higher than them.
Effective keyword research informs your content creation, ensuring your articles, blog posts, and landing pages are optimized for the terms your audience is searching for. Regularly updating your keyword research can keep your content relevant and competitive.
These are keywords used by individuals close to making a decision and are more likely to become leads or clients. Some common types of high-intent keywords are:
Transactional Keywords: Keywords that indicate the user is ready to take action, such as "apply for a mortgage in [City]" or "best mortgage broker near me."
Commercial Investigation Keywords: Keywords used by users comparing options, such as "VA loan rates comparison" or "FHA loan vs. conventional loan."
Informational Keywords: While less high-intent, informational keywords can attract users earlier in the buying cycle and position you as a trusted resource. Examples include "how to qualify for a VA loan" or "mortgage pre-approval process."
Use free tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ubersuggest to find relevant keywords and assess their search volumes and competition levels.
Follow these steps for effective keyword research:
Once you have completed finding and sorting potential keywords, you can begin content planning.
A well-defined content strategy is vital for mortgage brokers aiming to improve their SEO and attract more clients. It ensures your website consistently provides valuable information that engages your target audience and aligns with your overall SEO goals.
Here's why a good content strategy is essential and what it should include:
Consistent, high-quality content attracts potential clients by addressing their needs and interests. Engaging content keeps visitors on your site longer, reduces bounce rates, and increases the likelihood of conversions.
Regularly publishing fresh content encourages search engines to crawl and index your pages more frequently, boosting your site's visibility and rankings. A well-planned content strategy helps ensure your content is optimized to incorporate relevant keywords, improving your chances of appearing in search results.
A content plan helps you stay organized and ensures your efforts are consistent. It allows you to plan ahead, providing a steady stream of content aligning with your SEO strategy and business goals.
Create a content calendar to schedule regular updates. This will help you maintain a consistent posting schedule and ensure a good mix of evergreen and timely content. Tools like Trello or Asana can assist with planning and tracking your content.
Define clear objectives for your content. Whether you aim to increase organic traffic, generate leads, or improve engagement, having specific goals helps you measure success and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Review your existing content to identify gaps, outdated information, and areas for improvement. You can also use analytics tools to track metrics such as organic traffic, bounce rates, and conversion rates. This will help you build on what works and update or remove what doesn't, ensuring your content remains relevant and valuable.
As mentioned above, it all starts with keyword research. Focus on high-intent keywords that align with your goals. This ensures your content is optimized to attract the right visitors.
Develop a variety of content types, including blog posts (e.g., market trends), guides (e.g., first-time homebuyer tips), FAQs (e.g., common mortgage questions), and landing pages (e.g., service-specific pages).
Encourage and respond to comments and feedback on your content. Engaging with your audience builds trust and establishes you as a responsive and knowledgeable mortgage broker.
Optimizing on-page elements (e.g., meta tags, headers, images) improves the relevance and readability of your pages, making them more attractive to search engines and users. Here's an in-depth look at the various aspects of on-page optimization.
Ensure each page on your site has a unique meta title and description. These elements should be concise and compelling and include your target keywords. Ideally, the meta title should be 50-60 characters long, while the meta description should be around 150-160.
Use headers to structure your content and make it easier for users and search engines to understand. Your primary keyword should appear in the H1 tag, while secondary keywords can be used in the H2 and H3 tags.
Include descriptive, keyword-rich file names and alt texts for all images. This helps with SEO and improves accessibility for visually impaired users.
Create clean, keyword-rich URLs, giving users and search engines an idea of the page content. Avoid using long, complex URLs with unnecessary parameters.
Use internal links to guide visitors to related content on your site. This not only improves the user experience but also helps search engines understand the structure of your site.
Gaining high-quality backlinks and leveraging public relations (PR) can significantly boost your site's authority and search engine rankings. Here are some strategies to consider:
Write articles for other mortgage and real estate websites. Guest blogging allows you to showcase your expertise, reach a broader audience, and earn valuable backlinks to your site.
Get listed on resource pages relevant to the mortgage industry. Resource link building involves identifying high-quality resource pages and requesting a link to your content, which provides value to their audience.
Identify and replace broken links on other websites with links to your relevant content. Use tools like Ahrefs or Broken Link Checker to find these opportunities, which will help improve your site's SEO and the user experience on other sites.
Submit your site to local business directories. Ensuring your business is listed in reputable local directories can improve your local search rankings and drive targeted traffic to your site.
Collaborate with well-known names in the mortgage broker industry. Partnerships can enhance your reputation and provide valuable linking opportunities, such as co-authoring articles or participating in joint webinars.
Reach out directly to journalists, bloggers, and influencers in the mortgage and real estate sectors to share your news and stories. Personalized pitches are more likely to result in high-quality backlinks and media coverage, further boosting your SEO efforts.
Link building, solid content strategy, and on-page optimization will all help drive sustainable growth for your mortgage brokerage.
Local SEO is another powerful addition to the SEO mix for those of you with brick-and-mortar locations.
Local SEO is crucial for mortgage brokers looking to connect with potential clients in their geographic area. It ensures your business appears prominently in local search results, making it easier for clients nearby to find and choose your services.
Local SEO enhances visibility in local searches, helping mortgage brokers build trust within their communities. It also drives targeted traffic from your specific service areas, increasing the likelihood of converting local leads into potential clients.
A local SEO strategy includes optimizing your Google My Business (GMB) profile, ensuring consistent business information across online directories, creating localized content, building local backlinks, and managing online reviews. These strategies help improve your local search rankings and attract more potential clients from your area.
Start by optimizing your GMB profile. Ensure it is complete and up-to-date with accurate contact information, business hours, and service areas. Regular updates with new photos and posts can engage your audience and keep your profile active.
Review your business information across all online directories and citation sites to ensure consistency. Inconsistent details can confuse search engines and harm your local rankings.
Tailor your content to your local audience by writing blog posts about local real estate trends, creating guides to home buying in your city, or sharing testimonials from local clients. This localized content can resonate more with your audience and improve your search rankings.
Building backlinks from local websites can also boost your local SEO. Contact local news sites, blogs, and business directories for backlinks. These links improve your local search rankings and drive targeted traffic to your site.
Encourage satisfied clients to leave positive reviews on your GMB profile and other review sites. Responding to reviews, whether they are positive or negative, shows that you value customer feedback and are engaged with your community. This interaction can enhance your reputation and attract more local clients.
Implementing a local SEO strategy can significantly increase your visibility in local searches, making it easier for potential clients in your area to find and choose your services.
While we just scratched the surface of local SEO for mortgage brokers here, we will cover this in more detail in an upcoming post.
SEO is an indispensable tool for mortgage brokers looking to thrive in today's competitive market. Start implementing these strategies today and watch your online presence and client base grow.
While SEO requires time and effort, the long-term benefits and unmatched ROI potential make it a worthwhile investment.
Following the guidelines outlined in this article, you can develop and execute an effective SEO strategy that drives more traffic, generates leads, and boosts your bottom line for your mortgage company.
Remember, SEO is not a one-time effort but an ongoing process. Investing in SEO today will position your mortgage brokerage for long-term growth and success in an increasingly digital world. Embrace the power of SEO and watch your business thrive
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Stellar SEO founder Travis Bliffen is a seasoned SEO expert with over a decade of experience. With a proven track record, Travis helps mortgage brokers enhance their online presence, generate high-quality leads, and achieve sustainable growth. If you're a mortgage broker looking for more leads in 2024, contact Travis and the Stellar SEO team to explore how tailored SEO strategies can drive your business growth. |