According to the 2010 Big I Agency Universe study, almost 40 percent of independent agencies are effectively marketing their businesses on the Internet. A pivotal part of that effort involves launching and maintaining an attractive website.

But even though today's technology allows even the most basic of mom-and-pop shops to have a cutting-edge webpage, we still hear about business sites that are nothing more than “animated brochures”—with boring graphics, outdated content and, worst of all, no personality.

In no special order, here are seven of the best agency websites. We'll be sharing more examples in the coming weeks.

Seely & Durland Insurance, Warwick, NY

www.seely-durland.com

The website, updated at the beginning of this year, is currently in its fifth rendition, said Stu Durland, vice president and co-owner. Regular blogs, a quarterly newsletter and regular tweaks keep content fresh. The agency is currently working on new landing pages for several target market campaigns. But the webpage's most important element is the interactive clicks (auto rating for five carriers, wedding and event insurance via Travelers and more) that create value for the client. And the website is only part of an overall social media campaign to build engagement. “Our goal is to increase hits to our website. It's been a slow process, but with the changes we've made with this revamp, I believe it's a very viable tool for clients and prospects,” Durland said. “The client needs interaction and change to have them return.”

R&R Insurance, Waukesha, WI

www.myknowledgebroker.com

The agency's new website, launched in February, was designed to be more user friendly, a resource for customers that showcases the personality of R&R's sales force and provides testimonials, said Stephanie Katzfey, creative marketing specialist. The site's blog, My Knowledge Center, is updated almost daily, and visitors can register for the agency's free live quarterly seminars on subjects such as workers' comp and cyberliability, through the website as well. R&R measures the website's success through page hits and has seen significant growth in interest on both personal and commercial lines information. “It's not the hard sell, we're real people here and we share with our customers,” Katzfey said.

McClain Insurance Services, Everett, WA

www.autohomeboat.com

Although the site was launched in February 2010, links to the agency's daily Twitter feeds and Facebook postings help keep this website fresh, said President Claudia McClain. The agency also regularly freshens the site with banner headlines and breaking news updates, such as when McClain was featured in a Progressive commercial. The number of sales gleaned from website leads has increased dramatically over time. In July alone, 12 of the agency's 69 policies came exclusively from the website, and in the last 6 weeks, they've gotten several leads from Ireland and Scotland. “We're in a high-tech area of country, and these folks expect that you put forward a clean and usable web presence or they'll go to the next person on the list,” McClain said.

The Murray Group, Albany, NY

www.murraygrp.com

The Murray Group's Ryan Hanley is bullish about social media marketing for agents and has developed a powerful presence in the blogosphere on the subject of insurance. His agency has had a webpage since 2002, and its most recent version was launched in January of this year. He firmly believes in the importance of daily updates, whether it's blog posts or videos packaged through YouTube. Recently Hanley challenged himself to produce “100 videos in 100 days,” answering 100 insurance questions asked by customers or people he knows through social media. Each video took him an average of 15 minutes to produce, post and upload on YouTube. During those 100 days, the agency made $4,975 in revenue directly from the campaign, he said. This year alone, 23 percent of his revenues have come from the website.

Paradiso Financial & Insurance Services, Stafford Springs, CT

www.paradisoinsurance.com

Another proponent of video, agency owner Chris Paradiso has built his website around his personal lines agency's identity of “we care.” The agency is heavily involved in community services activities, including a local food pantry and women's shelter. The website's landing page is revamped every 60 to 90 days, and blogs are updated daily. Branding emphasizes military/veterans (the POW-MIA logo is prominently featured on the landing page), and videos, whether insurance educational or focusing on events like Mothers' Day or veterans, involve the agency's staffers and are characterized by a homemade, highly personal feel. Paradiso believes this is what sets the agency apart: “We're not selling on 'great service' or insurance as a commodity. In fact, we don't sell anything on the website.”

Byrnes Agency Inc., Dayville, CT

www.byrnesagency.com

Realizing the importance of social media marketing and a strong webpage presence, the agency “started from scratch” and updated the entire website and social media content last year, said President Jay Byrnes. The agency contracts with Neilson Marketing Services to update the site based on an hourly arrangement. Byrnes provides the geographic region and business segment, and Neilson fills in content based on the agency's requirements. Byrnes believes the most important element of the page is search engine optimization: “If people can't find you, your page is almost useless. Our challenge is to get and stay on page one.” And it seems to be working: Based on Google analytics, the agency's traffic count and online quoting activity are up every month.

The Thompson Group, Parker City, IN

www.thethompsongroup.net

Self-described “insurance ninja” Anson Thompson is a creative marketer who is big on producing videos and fresh content for the agency's almost 2-year-old website. Over the next 30 days, Thompson plans a “major overhaul,” with new color and logo, based on the need to incorporate a satellite office in Indianapolis. The agency can shoot a video in about 10 minutes, and Thompson repurposes blog posts by linking them to Twitter and Facebook. He considers the webpage “a revenue and retention tool, point of difference” and lead generator, “one tool in a rather large tool box.”

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