NU Online News Service, June 12, 2:12 p.m.EDT

Independent insurance agents have another tool in their arsenalto improve search-engine optimization thanks to a recentpartnership between a new Internet marketing firm and the NationalAssociation of Professional Insurance Agents.

PIA says it has partnered with the Internet marketing firmAgoragate in an effort to increase agents' online visibility;positioning them to be the “Local Insurance Hero” in theircommunities when people search for insurance.

Leonard C. Brevik, PIA national executive vice president andchief executive officer says one of the aims of this partnership isto “help agents reach profitable and desirable customers” bydeveloping relationships for the long term in their localcommunities and avoid buyers who are just looking for the bestprice.

Working through Agoragate, PIA says participating agents createa profile and purchase one or more niche microsites for eitherpersonal or commercial lines insurance. These sites are tied toagents' geographic location of choice and are located at themarketing website www.EnhanceInsurance.com.

Alexi Papandon, vice president, marketing and affiliaterelations for PIA, explains that the search engine is not tied tosales quotes. Instead, the site works off a series of articlesabout insurance that are still being developed. When an individualseeks a particular word or phrase connected to insurance, anarticle comes up in the persons search. After clicking on thearticle, a link to an agent's microsite will be displayed with thearticle as a link to further resources.

With this type of marketing, it makes the agent local, becausehis or her appearance on the site is tied to the user'slocation.

Papandon says the marketing scheme was developed because agentssaid they needed access to Internet marketing, but did not want togo through the expense and effort of redesigning theirwebsites.

“This program focuses on the strength of the independent agentand leverages those strengths,” says Papandon.

The cost for PIA members begins at $1,560 a year ($1,760 fornon-members) for one microsite line of business and additionalcosts are based on the number of microsites an individual buys. Thefeature is being offered to PIA members as part of the PIA Brandingprogram that provides marketing material for print and radioadvertising.

Papandon says the association's surveys found that many agentsfind the cost comfortable, and some feel they will save moneybecause it will allow them to “dump legacy advertising” that isproving increasingly ineffective.

In a statement, Jim Holm, president of Agoragate says the systemdoes not provide quotes and there is no plan to.

“For the last 20 years I've been suggesting that agencies avoidquoting over the phone,” says Holm, a managing general agent wholed the formation of the program. “They need to meet face-to-faceto create a long-term client.”

Earlier this year, the Independent Insurance Agents &Brokers of America and Trusted Choice, the IIABA's consumerbranding campaign, launched CAP (Consumer Agent Portal).

CAP is aimed at competing against direct-writers and captiveagent carriers with technology offerings to assist independentagents to build an online and social-media presence. The program isoffered exclusively to the 22,000 member firms of the IIABA.

Donald Light, a senior analyst for the consulting firm Celent inBoston says PIA's initiative underscores the importance forindependent agents to have an online presence.

“The new PIA—Agoragate program reflects the importance ofinternet search engines as an increasingly key element in thefront-end of many insurance purchase decisions,” says Light in ane-mail. “Agents that are not search engine-savvy will be leftbehind.”