There are a few misconceptions about what it takes to generate non-paid mortgage leads online. One of the most common mistakes is to think that leads will pour in soon after setting up a website or sending out a few Facebook posts.
The truth is that mortgage lead funnel requires work in key areas, some of which need continuous, sustained effort. The problem is that many mortgage professionals give up on online lead generation too soon.
So how, then, can you tell if your mortgage marketing efforts are on track to creating mortgage leads?
Find out the indicators and see where you can improve your marketing to bring in mortgage leads even faster.
Mortgage Website Ranking
Appearing on the first page of a search query, optimally above the fold, is a sign that your site is credible and visible to your loan prospects. However, don’t be discouraged if your site doesn’t rank for “mortgage.” We’ll tell you honestly right now — ranking for the term “mortgage” is not going to happen. It is simply way too competitive.
Instead, you want to focus on ranking for specific mortgage products in a specific location (e.g. a niche). See this quick start guide to local SEO for mortgage websites.
If your mortgage site isn’t on the first 1-2 pages of the search query for loan products in specific locations, then that’s a sign that your SEO marketing efforts need improvement.
How to Improve Your Ranking:
- Make sure your mortgage site is mobile responsive
- Include the relevant local keywords to your content
- Use a blog to continuously add fresh, relevant, user-friendly content to your site
- Share these blog posts on social media, to bring clicks in from Social Media, Google pays attention to that.
- Add your location or target market location to your site
Website Traffic Growth
The key indicator here is “growth.” To assess whether your marketing efforts are working, you’ll want to see whether there’s an increase in traffic. For the most accurate numbers, use an analytics platform like Google Analytics. It’s as simple as opening a free account with Google and inserting your unique code on your site (you can do this quickly on our mortgage website templates — no coding necessary!)
How to Fuel Your Website Traffic Growth:
- Use the SEO tactics like those outlined here
- Create long-form articles or blog posts with keywords
- Share your content on social media, consumer-facing mortgage info sites, and forums.
- Collaborate with influencers in your industry like realtors to share your content on their website with a link back to your mortgage website.
Increase in Social Media Engagement
This indicator is pretty straightforward. If you see an increase in followers, likes, shares, comments, direct messages, then it’s a sign that your mortgage marketing is working.
Have slow growth in any of those areas? Then it’s time to change your mortgage marketing tactics on social media.
How to Improve Social Media Engagement:
- Focus more on quality, not quantity. Facebook and Instagram algorithms penalize you if you have frequent postings with little engagement.
- Provide useful information. Don’t just promote your business
- Invite followers to share their opinions or feedback
- Use hashtags and geotags to help people find you
- Tag people whenever possible! It encourages sharing and makes your content seem more personable.
Increase in Lead Capture Conversion Rate
Similar to seeing growth in traffic, noticing an increase in filled-out lead capture forms is an indication that your marketing tactics are paying off. If the growth is slow or nonexistent then its a sign that improvement is needed.
Of all the indicators we mentioned, an increase in lead capture form submissions is the most important. You can have 1,000 visitors a day, but if no one shows interest in your mortgage services by filling out the lead capture form, then the marketing effort is a fail.
Your lead capture form is essential to turning a prospect into a client. Make sure you do it right!
How to Improve Lead Capture Form Conversions:
- Have a lead capture form on your homepage
- Include links throughout your site that invite the visitor to fill out the form
- Offer something valuable in return such as an eBook, knowledge about “how much they qualify for”, or opportunity to apply for a home loan immediately
- Assure the visitor that their information is safe
How did well did you do you on your mortgage marketing self-assessment? Did you find areas to improve? Enjoy this article? Please let us know in the comment below and download our free guide with more ideas for improving your site and generate more mortgage leads online.
