Your website is the most important tool in your business arsenal to help you attract and retain customers. That’s why—whether you are starting your own business or are a broker with a long-standing enterprise—taking a fresh look at the five must-have features for your website is key, especially in light of Google’s recent tweaks that affect driving traffic to your website (known as search engine optimization or SEO).

First let’s consider the top goals for any site and then look at the five features your site must have to contribute to the success of your business.    

Know your goals

Clarity on what you want your site to accomplish for you will point you to your must-have features.

You will want one that:

• Identifies plans you offer, where you offer them and which carriers you work with
• Establishes your business professionalism, bona fide credentials and presence
• Attracts new customers
• Retains current customers
• Drives sales
• Answers basic customer questions with easy navigation, access to quick quotes, a FAQ page and a search function
• Automates access to forms
• Increases accessibility to you via a contact page and social media links
• Maintains customer confidentiality

Your site acts as your business partner and surrogate—and first impressions matter. You’ll want to be sure that it has a welcoming yet professional look and feel, is user friendly, and includes a menu bar and search option on each page that offers ease of navigation.

5 Must-have Features

1. Rotating, captioned photos that call attention quickly to your top healthcare plans. Draw in potential customers with a welcoming homepage that showcases your favorite insurance packages. Include information below the photos on key reasons to select a plan today, and why they should purchase a plan from you. Top off the homepage with testimonials and a scroll of your carriers.
2. Two landing pages: one for click-throughs where potential clients can gain more information on each of your plans, and one for lead generation where customers leave their contact info and questions, allowing you to follow up with a phone call and visit to close the deal.
3. Quick and easy-to-read charts for plan shopping and comparisons. Add a button on every page in a prominent location to request a free or instant quote. Add click-through links to pages for segmented customer populations such as vision only plans, dental only plans, Medicare supplement packages, or pediatric only insurance. Add automated access to forms and a provider search function.
4. A blog that offers educational information about health insurance to drive new customers searching for coverage to your site. SEO—the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of the traffic your site earns through organic results in search engines—rules change quickly. Visit this website to keep current with what works in the world of SEO. One top blog page to review if you are new at it is Hubspot.
5. A Contact Us page with multiple ways your customers can reach you. Include a form for questions or comments. Make it easy for customers to connect with you via Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as well.

Finally, it is wise to visit a number of healthcare-related sites to see what works best and make notes of those styles and features. Keep in mind that ease of use goes not only for customers, but also for you. You will need to update your site to stay current with changes in carriers or plans.

Remember: your website is your best ally in attracting and retaining customers.