Why you need a website and how to get it

Another thing to understand is that some brokers have a website, but it’s poorly done that it also puts them at a disadvantage as a clunky, outdated website has a negative reflection on a businesses brand.

For those who don’t have a website or think they have a bad one, these are the things that you need and why you need them and how to get them.

A mobile-optimised landing page

The mobile is the first screen now. It has overtaken the desktop and is the screen from which most people consume their content. So it is essential that your web page is mobile-optimised.

Data capture/lead capture form

This for me is where your ROI is measured, it’s a key source of business for me personally and allows me to capture the information of people  visiting my website. Whether they are a potential client or candidates it’s important that I know who’s looking at my site so I can follow up, and may be they won’t convert straight away but they become part of the process.

Content page (blog, podcasts/videos)

Somewhere to host your content. If you don’t create content that’s another issue that needs to be addressed but content should be at the forefront of your marketing strategy. Posting blogs, podcasts, and/or videos is the easiest way to demonstrate your experience, credibility and your expertise to potential clients. You can distribute to social platforms like facebook or linkedin from here and this is means people click through to your webpage rather than curating and sharing content from other sites and sending your potential clients there instead.

Google Analytics Tracking

If you’re spending money on marketing it’s important to track the traffic to your webpage. That way you will know what works and what doesn’t where to spend more and where to spend less. For example you can see the amount of people that have clicked through from Facebook, from an email, from Instagram, google, Direct etc. It allows you to see how people interact with your site and which pages get the most views.

Facebook Pixel

A Facebook pixel is a way to re-target visitors of you page and advertise against them.

For example sometimes if you’re shopping, and you click on a jacket, You maye see this jacket reappear in your facebook news feed. This is done with a facebook pixel that is inserted in the code of the page with the jacket and then follows you around the internet.

Links to social pages

Link out to your social pages, the idea behind having the website is to allow people to self educate. Its normal practice now to look up a group online, “to stalk them” before engaging. Clients will have a look at a website, facebook etc to get a good idea of who their dealing with.

 Optional - Online Fact find / supporting docs upload/ Calendar

If I was a broker building a website I would also include a calendar, for clients to book times to talk with me. I have in the past assisted broker to create an online fact find to send clients a link to complete online. This also included a a doc upload portal where clients could upload their supporting docs directly from their phone as an attachment ot r simply take a picture of it.

Zak Wilford is a specialist recruiter that works alongside mortgage brokers in growing their business through hiring great people. He first stepped into the mortgage industry in 2013, aggressively targeting aggregators and head-hunting their brokers and groups to join the then start-up aggregator Finsure and 1300Homeloan. After a year with Finsure, he joined recruitment agency Drake international, and a year later he stepped out on his own to fill a gap in the market – to start a recruitment agency specialising in working with finance brokers. Leveraging his network and experience, Zak now works with both commercial and residential finance brokers, sub-aggregators and other groups to help them grow through hiring great people. For more information, visit www.zakwilford.com.