Business Opportunity Leads - Are You Aware of the Scammers Selling Their SEO Services?

They are out there! No matter what the business opportunity or service it is, whether it is on the internet or maybe a local brick and mortar type store. Maybe it is a major national bank, insurance company, or oil company...There are unscrupulous people out there working to part you from your hard earned money.

I think everyone and their brothers know both individually and as a whole that we have been getting lied to, cheated, and coerced by insurance, drug companies, oil companies, medical costs, and our banking industry. Oh well...one thing at a time.

What is it that SEO companies are doing unethically?

First off, there are a good number of legitimate SEO companies out there. The problem is that there are many who just want your money. They will tell you all kinds of things. They will even show you how they are able to get keywords to the top positions of the search engines results in days.

If you are new to SEO (search engine optimization), it is easy to be misled. What they do "not" tell you is that the keywords that they brag about absolutely do not produce any traffic! Is not that the whole purpose of SEO? It is so you can drive business opportunity leads to your web site.

These SEO companies will charge you 200 dollars to get top positions for search terms that will not produce. Tell them you want "home based business" or "make money online" and they will say it cannot be done. They want your money and once they have it, will discard you like the butt of a cigarette when you are done with your smoke. I did not mention that when they get your keywords in the top positions, that will be it! They will not do any more for you unless you pay them more money. It is misleading to promise high positions when they do not tell you that your positions will soon drop if you do not keep up with them.

In all reality, the things they tell you are in fact true but are misleading. That is why I refer to them as SEO scammers. Put it this way...I personally can get your keywords to the top position (quickly) in the search engines if it is not something many others are trying to get as well. In many instances, you are competing with literally millions of web sites for any particular keyword or keyword phrase. I personally can get higher level type keywords to the top (and I have) but it takes more than days or weeks. It literally takes months and a lot of hard work.

It all goes back to that old adage..."If it is easy to do, everyone would be doing it". It's not! There are few that can do SEO and achieve high rankings. There is just so much competition for your better keyword phrases.A legitimate SEO company would charge you big time bucks to go for a heavily searched keyword phrase. If you had the money, it would probably be worth it depending on the amount of business opportunity leads or sales you would achieve on a daily basis.

The best piece of advice I could give you would be to do a search in Google for SEO companies. The legitimate ones will be the first ones that come up in your search results.

Generally speaking though, if you pursue using SEO, be careful of the SEO scammers.

There is no better way to get the highest quality of business opportunity leads to your web site than SEO. These are people searching for what you have to offer!

Jim Eberle is currently working with a diverse team of like minded individuals in a co-op type atmosphere to build our business opportunity. This growing team currently consists of people from Ireland, Australia, England, Canada, and the United States. This team of network marketers are combining our efforts to obtain high positions in search engines like Google for higher level type keyword phrases.

Where as many people usually fail when trying to build a home business to supplement their incomes, we work together to ensure everyone has success. Anyone who becomes affiliated with us becomes successful as that is how "we" as a group become successful!

The goal here of course is for many people doing a little instead of several people doing a lot to ensure that success. All traffic and customers are derived from SEO. We do not call anyone unless they request it. We have a number of web sites but I can only submit two here. To learn more go to...

http://www.businessopportunitycoop.com/

http://www.homebasedbusinessteam.com/

Working Your Leads Smarter in 2008

There are various sales techniques out there and there are tons of books to prove it. Visit any book store and there are entire sections on sales. Closing the sale, cold calling, selling specific products and the list goes on. The rules have changed somewhat with the various types of leads available to sell. One rule is always consistent with selling, we have to focus on who we are selling to, and keep at it.

Most insurance agents buy online leads and approach them the same way as they would any other client. That is where we are going wrong. Insurance Agencies have worked with referrals, call in's, and networking. With all those methods, the prospect is actively at your attention at the moment of contact. Online leads change the game. The average online lead is sold four times. Some are sold to national carriers, some are sold only to individual agents, but agents must ask the questions first off to know who they are in competition with.

First, create a varied process for contact and stick to it. When prospects walked in your door, or called you on the phone, you knew their preferred method of communication. In today's day and age, that is not necessarily the case. Some people will prefer to do business by email, some by phone, so multiple exposures in both venue's are essential. Most agents make three phone calls maximum over the course of the first five days. After that time, the lead dies on their desktop or in some file folder.

Multiple emails over the course of thirty to sixty days are essential. Some prospects start hunting far in advance of their renewal. Some are looking because they are "thinking" of buying a product. Staying in contact both by phone and email allows the agency's and the producer's name to be repeatedly brought to the attention of the prospect. This will increase changes of the sale further down the road. Most agents think of email and phone calls as an opportunity for a sale, but it is marketing as well. Until a prospect tells you they have bought elsewhere, email them and call them to insure good customer follow up.

Second, assume the sale. Use words about how you look forward to talking with them soon and how your companies deliver A rated service by AM Best or about the services your agency offers. Your email or phone message can be the entire reason someone calls you back. If you are associated with a larger company to have name recognition, make sure to supply that information as well. Deliver a great message in your voicemail or email with positive expectations and positive words can be the key to someone returning your call!

Third, return phone calls and provide information on time. This seems like common sense, but a lot of agents just drop the ball. Good follow through is essential. Prospects need to know that their agent takes the responsibility of protecting their assets seriously. Insurance is seen as a requirement by banks and law enforcement officials, not as protection for a lifestyle.

By taking the perspective that insurance is to protect the lifestyle that the prospect is working for, agents are showing their prospects that they are valuable as well. People are unfortunately accustomed to being treated with less than superior service, by doing what you say you will do, agents can exceed expectations easily and secure the business.

Finally, create multiple marketing exposures. Agents are paying anywhere from eight to fifteen dollars per lead. These prospects have provided a lot of information and 92% of all agents never make a secondary attempt at selling after the initial renewal date has expired. If we look at the raw numbers, most leads are approximately ten dollars per lead. At 10 leads, close ratios are around 20%. Eight leads are then going dormant and never contacted again. If producers can call at renewals down the road, send post cards or market to these prospects again, the close ratios will increase dramatically. Agents fully utilizing the AgencyIQ System generally see a 35% close ratio when utilizing multiple auto responders, consistent phone calls, and secondary marketing opportunities.

Selling insurance is hard work, but stick by these five principals and watch your success grow tremendously. No business can survive without prospects and online leads are just one way of developing your business, but they are a venue that is here to stay. Mix up your marketing and your approaches, and make 2008 your best year yet!

Teresa Kitchens
VP Operations of Net-Lead, LLC, the creators of the AgencyIQ System
Teresa is one of the co-founders of the AgencyIQ System and a proud owner of her own successful insurance agency.

Demystifying Online Leads

Insurance Agents are constantly looking for new ways to open discussions with more prospects. The online lead frenzy has been taking over the marketplace for the last five years and is getting some mixed reviews. We have to realize though, as a consumer in general, every product is pitched as the saving grace for our all our problems. Online lead companies are no different in their advertising than any other company. It is our job as consumers to test their claims, see through them, and to come out the other side with a way to find the happy middle.

Lead companies will paint the picture that the leads are coming to the agent waiting with baited breath for an insurance quote that will rock their world. As insurance agents soon find out, this is not reality. Lead companies are also portraying that buying online leads cuts down on competition because the lead is only sold to a select number of agents. These are all very misleading to the actual world of how online leads work.

Online leads are submitted by the prospect requesting information online. Most of the time, the prospect will walk away from their computers and get on with their day. In their mind, it is your job to get the quotes to them. Second, leads can be sold to a variety of agents. You may be one of 8, and the only captive agent in your area, but ask the important questions of how many national insurance providers are also subscribing to that lead. These major companies have computer systems that send quotes immediately, a team of call center operators, and electronic auto responders to make contact with prospects. It is important to do your research and find out how many agents of various providers are competing in your area.

These national providers will have systems that send out a quote immediately that is very low and does not include factors of insurance score, credit history or much else. This is a teaser quote to get someone to call or email and give that company a fighting chance for the business. Even if the quote goes up, the prospect was drawn to their customer service portal for that all important "conversation". Make sure you know your competition. Know how they work and know what their goals are, it will help you counter their offer and get in there and be a strong resource for your prospect. Take a different approach to reaching your prospects. A personal agent can be more persistent, available, an insurance educator, a client advocate, and provide the personal service that an insurance powerhouse can't. Some people are tired of canned service and don't want to work with a national powerhouse. Remember that every prospect is different. The close ratio on the national level is 10% and they are happy with those results. They will pursue the business differently and do not deliver the personal service that an individual agent can. Remember that their 10% close ratio leaves 90% of the business still out for the rest of the industry.

Finally, realize that the sales game has changed with online leads. Agents today have to use their prowess in the areas of marketing and connecting with agents when trying to reach these prospects. There is good money in these leads and strong close ratios. But agents have to have the right tools to compete in this area of the industry. Today's technology provides us with tools like a lead management system to help provide us with the necessary equipment to be competitive. Look for automatic importing of leads (stop data entering those leads!), auto responders (remember get there fast, get there often), ability to assign the lead to various producers, ease of setting reminders for follow up and even the ability to keep your quotes and prospect documents in one place. These lead management tools are vital for keeping you consistent with keeping your follow up steady, storing all your leads in one paperless system, and keeping up with your investment. Stop just throwing that $12.00 lead in the trash after 30 days.

Get smart and look at what the powerhouses in insurance are doing. Do you have to be a powerhouse? Absolutely not! Deliver the ease of service, the quick responses, the continuous follow up, AND service and your clients will have the best of both worlds. Your referrals will soar and your business will see success like never before. Utilize these online leads with caution...remember to keep a level perspective, and sell away!

Teresa Kitchens

VP Operations of Net-Lead, LLC, the creators of the AgencyIQ System Teresa is one of the co-founders of the AgencyIQ System and a proud owner of her own insurance agency.

Check out the AgencyIQ System at http://www.agencyiq.net
View our online demo's!

Insurance Leads - Getting More by Working Smarter!

The insurance business is highly saturated as you may know. Acquiring insurance leads consistently by the day not only becomes more costly, it is more challenging in every business aspect of the industry. However, the insurance business as you already may know is one of the most profitable industries in the entire world. With insurance, everyone is covered. At least that's the motto for many!

Getting more leads, acquiring more customers, and keeping loyalty among your range of clients from your portfolio is one of the three fundamental keys to achieving success in the business. Not only are they principles followed by many successful corporations in numerous industries, such keys are what fuel national success in businesses for years.

Let us take a leading insurance company that is favored among millions of adults nationwide in the United States, Geico. For years now, Geico has recognized the power in using a smart, yet simple lead generation funnel. You most likely have seen the TV commercials.

Geico provides you a distinctive TV commercial among the hundreds of competitors they currently have in the industry. They have a wild pet that already identifies the company; they mix the commercial with informative situations and steps you should consider. Ultimately, you pick up the phone and call Geico and an insurance agent or telemarketer, as defined in the industry, builds rapport with you, a person who needs insurance.

They have a successful and proven lead generation system. Now for two years in a row they ranked #1 for the well known "Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index". The Government Employees Insurance Company known as Geico is the fourth- largest private passenger auto insurer in the United States. With more than 8 million policyholders and over 13 million vehicles, they surely know how to retain customers.

The financial keys and the teachings that such a brilliant company like Geico provides any person starting in the insurance business rely on keeping their customer's loyalty. Successful insurance companies as in every other business invest thousands of dollars, and those at the very top invest millions of dollars a month acquiring new customers. One single customer over a span of 12 months could easily mean four figures in growth income.

That is one of the main reasons shareholders in many companies should be proud of such distinctive commercials. They entertain, tell a realistic viewpoint of the real world, and most importantly, they sell.

Now according to Berkshire Hathaway, Geico is surely rated A++ for financial stability. Surely, a great working company if you want to learn the ropes.

But what happens if you are already planning to own your own insurance agency? What needs to happen if you need a lead generation system in place to acquire smart and intelligent business that produces results? The key will be to search for the best Internet marketing lead generation system on the Internet, a system that teaches you a step by step process on how to build your own profitable list. Finally, make sure the insurance leads you acquire are fresh and workable according to your needs.

Would you like to learn lead generating techniques and how to handle those leads? Learn how using software programs, joining groups or associations, and how the Internet can be effective at generating leads. Go to http://www.LeadsAndListBuilding.com

Your Website - Free Insurance Leads, Free Insurance Clients

Imagine using your insurance website to generate free insurance leads, and free insurance clients. With a few minor changes you will have clients finding your internet site and providing you with insurance leads for free. The magic is making the few changes explain here. Why pay, when you can get the internet to send traffic to your website to start receiving free insurance leads from interested people?

Where are you when no one in the world, outside your close circles, knows that you exist? Certainly lost in the internet twilight zone! The internet is the wizard to magically create miracles and more buying visitors. Therefore you search around for a company that builds websites. Next, you hire a somewhat costly website design firm to create your website to appear on the internet. With their amazing artistic talents your firm's website looks like a true gem.

AFTER 6 MONTHS YOUR INTERNET INSURANCE WEBSITE IS COLLECTING DUST.

Your website is only being visited by associates and clients, locating it by your company name. After a year you still do not have many new visitors The website designers only do what you tell them. That is to make a beautiful looking website, and get it posted on the internet. They were not paid to, or lacked the knowledge of making behind the scenes code changes. This pile of the many missing pieces keeping you from becoming a competing force against other websites appearing on the internet. In turn keeping you from getting free insurance leads.

YOU MAY HAVE RECEIVED SEO - SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION EMAILS

These are suppose to be honest search engine firms. But if they solicited you, automatically you should know making quick money is their incentive. Making your insurance website so that visitors search out your site to buy your product is a lesser priority. The most common scam used is to get your insurance website listed with 1,300 to 3,000 search engines, search directories, meta crawlers, and directory portals.

For a special price today of $287.00 the scam artists are going to get you automatically submit all these directories. When Google controls 60% of traffic, and Yahoo, MSN, and Ask 30%, it means you just got ripped off. It takes them 10 minutes to use a well known program to instantly submit your website to the other directories. To get listed on hundreds of search engines and directories with millions of sites does NOT mean traffic. Please beware of the operators that charge a few hundred to $1,000 to get you a top ten listing on Google.

Here are the 5 Easy to Implement SEARCH OPTIMIZATION MUSTS - FREE

The first two are so simple, yet highly effective techniques that rarely even a SEO PRO uses

CORRECT MISTAKE #1 - THE WEBSITE URL DOMAIN NAME

Let's say your firm is named, "Jones and Smith Insurance". Your major product sales come from selling Long Term Care Insurance. How in the universe (internet) do expect someone to come to your site interested in purchasing Long Term Care Insurance? Your site domain name is probably jonessmithinsurance.com, and the title of your insurance website is Jones and Smith Insurance. When it comes to a description of your site, likely none was written.

Unless your ego is so bloated, you have to make a decision. Do want your insurance website collecting mold with no visitors? Or would you finally enjoy FREE insurance leads from visitors seeing your insurance website listing and then visiting your website to inquire about buying, TO CORRECT #1. Your top insurance key words MUST be right into your new domain name. Pay $10 to $25 and get a new domain name that sparks up flames. Using long-term-care-insurance.com gives Google and Yahoo key words to evaluate and list your site above those with domain names using too common keywords. Other example would be word examples like illinois-professional-financial-plans, or chicago-annuity-investment-advisors, or national-individual-major-medical.

CORRECT MISTAKE #2 - THE TITLE OF YOUR WEBSITE

Your website title should be no more than 5 or 6 words. The website title should use keywords reflecting what you are selling. Therefore "Individual Long Term Care Insurance Sales", or National individual major medical insurance would be an effective and terrific website title. This notifies Google and Yahoo that you are selling insurance and what type. Information they need to list your site higher than others without a descriptive title.

CORRECT MISTAKE #3 - THE DESCRIPTION OF YOUR WEBSITE

Here you have 2 to 3 sentences to name your company and what product you are promoting. Find you if you currently even have a description. Hit View on your page header and then select page source, look for this a few lines down. It should read exactly: meta name="description" content=" ". If it is missing, YOU MUST copy and paste it in using your website editor. Again you want to help Google by using key words in your description. Here is as sample for the above insurance website. Put this in between the quote marks. "Jones and Smith Insurance of Boston is top seller of long term care insurance. We ofter a variety of top rated long term care products for people aged 50 and over.

CORRECT MISTAKE #4 - THE KEYWORDS DESCRIBING YOUR WEBSITE

These word phrases are critical guidelines man top search engines view to understand what you are offering. Always use 3 to 4 word combinations and probably six are enough. Hit View on your page header and then select page source, look for this a few lines down. It should read exactly: meta name="keywords" content=" ". If it is missing, YOU MUST copy and paste it in using your website editor. For the above website, put in between the blanks something like - long term care insurance, Chicago ltc insurance policies, best long term care,senior insurance coverage, Chicago senior income protection, senior ltc insurance

CORRECT MISTAKE #5 - A DESCRIPTIVE FRONT PAGE

Remove all the fancy pictures and designs. If you want to help the search engines, there is only one way to do so. Provide them instead with a 300 or more word description of what insurance products and services that you offer. Make sure you use all of the keyword phrases mentioned above twice in your paragraphs. This is the main page read by internet searches. Your keywords should be the words you want them to type in to visit your site. Long keyword phrases, like those in the example above, are what provide you with phone calls and emails. In other words, free insurance leads by following the simple 5 corrections.

Of 500,000 insurance websites of all varieties, you could certainly climb the ladder in your ranking position. With 12,000,000 pages listed in Google for long term care insurance you certainly have some stiff competition. These 5 rarely used tips, applied as mentioned, alone will move you up. Depending upon your skill, for your detailed search word phrases you can easily end up in the #10 to #100 position.

There are another 2 dozen or so tricks and tips in website optimization to get you where the traffic flows. Applying all might land you that coveted number 1 to 20th position for "long term care insurance". I apply the advice given here and our site is in the top 1st to 18th position on over 200 key phrases for Google. All our internet inquiry leads are FREE. Likewise you should be getting free internet insurance leads and free insurance clients.

Invest in making your internet website produce income back to you.

Well published author, Don Yerke likes to concentrate on what you don't know or what no one else dares to print. Tell it like it is.

Watch for his new paperback book debuting on Amazon this spring. It is loaded with great insurance marketing and recruiting information.

Come and get your FREE "Think and Grow Rich" Ebook by Napoleon Hill instantly. The website address is [http://www.agentsinsurancemarketing.com]

Take Advantage of Top Producer to Manage Buyer and Seller Leads

The National Association of Realtors recently conducted a study that found that most people select the first Realtor who follows up with them to be their buyer's or listing agent. So many Realtors fail to follow up with potential leads that it creates an opening for the few who do. Why do so few Realtors follow up with their leads when it clearly leads to success?

The problem is that simply keeping track of potential leads can be a full-time job in itself. Luckily, modern Realtors now have access to inexpensive software that can do this work for you - many programs even automatically follow up with your leads!

Taking Advantage of Top Producer

Top Producer is the leading software program for Realtors. It has a great system that uses email to keep in contact with your clients. Most buyers and sellers enjoy email because it allows them to see that you're taking care of and remembering them, but it's unobtrusive. Many buyers take up to a year to make a decision on a home, and it can be easy to forget to call. If you set up an automatic email system through Top Producer, that buyer will receive frequent messages from you, even if you've forgotten that they're still looking! What an easy way to make sure that when they do find that perfect house, they will call your number.

Top Producer Works For Low-Tech Clients As Well

For clients who don't use email or who prefer a more personal touch, you can still use technology on your end. Set up reminders in Top Producer to tell yourself to call them. Top Producer can network with your handheld device, too, and be programmed to set off an alarm when you get an alert! Use this feature and you'll never forget to stay in contact again.

Also set up reminders to send out your direct mailings. It can be tempting to put them off, but when it automatically appears on your to-do list, you'll be reminded to keep up that contact. Make sure that you don't lose a client when it can be so easy to keep everyone happy!

Brett Miller is the founder of HoopJumper.com and has created the best lead generating real estate websites in the industry and helped hundreds of real estate professionals make the most of their Internet presence. Call 888-Hoop-Jumper for a complimentary web analysis today or visit http://www.HoopJumper.com to see how HoopJumper can help you grow your business.