Search Engine Land’s daily brief features daily insights, news, tips, and essential bits of wisdom for today’s search marketer. If you would like to read this before the rest of the internet does, sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox daily.

Good morning, Marketers, and I’m trying to work from a coworking space this week.

It’s strange, to say the least. Everyone is social-distancing… together? As an introvert, it can definitely feel like a lot sometimes, but I’m making it work, designers. When I was chatting with Barry Schwartz about it, he brought up that it’s a lot like shared hosting. I guess I’m the website in this analogy.

I’ve seen a few articles about the pros and cons of shared hosting, and they are confusing if you’re not an expert. Is it bad for SEO? Can it affect your site resources? Yes and no and yes and no. A top-ranking Forbes article says, “The downside is that the resources available will be limited and could even be affected by the actions of others on the same server. For example, if one user on the server gets a virus, it can put everyone else at risk.”

The featured snippet when I ask “Is shared hosting bad for SEO?” tells me: “The choice of a web hosting provider or a web hosting plan does not affect the SEO of a website, if all other things are equal and adheres to Google webmaster quality guidelines.” But then goes on to say, “It is indeed a fact that most low quality spammy websites use shared hosting for hosting most of their sites.”

So what’s a business or SEO newbie to do? Follow John Mueller’s advice from last year and “Host where it makes sense for you.”

Carolyn Lyden,
Director of Search Content

Sorry. The Google Ads search term disclosure was a glitch

Big womp. “Back in September 2020, Google announced it would show less search term data in the Google Ads Search Terms report. As you can imagine, the advertising community was not happy. But something changed yesterday and all the search term data is now showing in that report,” wrote Barry Schwartz for SERoundtable.

Many PPCers responded on Twitter hoping it was here to stay: “Please be feature … please be feature … please be feature … please be feature … please be feature …” tweet-begged CypressNorth’s Greg Finn. But later yesterday Barry confirmed that it seems to be a bug as it just … stopped working for advertisers. We hope you were able to download your search term reports before the glitch was fixed.

Update. Google Ads product liaison Ginny Marvin tweeted that the search terms glitch may become a feature. Yay!

Yelp introduces “Proof of vaccination required” and “Staff fully vaccinated” profile attributes

Yelp is introducing two new COVID-related profile attributes, the “Proof of vaccination required” and “Staff fully vaccinated” attributes, the company announced Thursday. Users will be able to filter searches using these attributes and the “Proof of vaccination required” attribute will be visible in search results.

Why we care. Given the rapid spread of COVID’s Delta variant, these attributes may help customers feel safer when visiting a local business. Yelp’s “additional safety measures” may also help to curb any potential blowback from bad actors seeking to leave reviews based on their stance about COVID vaccines as opposed to their firsthand experiences with the business.

Read more here.

Google drops safe browsing as a page experience ranking signal

Google is removing the safe browsing signal from the Google page experience update, the company announced. “We recognize that these issues aren’t always within the control of site owners, which is why we’re clarifying that Safe Browsing isn’t used as a ranking signal and won’t feature in the Page Experience report,” the company said.

Why we care. This is one less ranking signal and factor you need to worry about when it comes to your performance in Google Search. Of course, you don’t want to provide an unsafe browsing experience for your users, but you can still learn about those in Search Console, but it won’t count against you in your rankings.

Read more here.

Search Shorts: Trends in PPC, salary negotiations, and start your GA4 account now

Key trends in PPC, reporting and analytics. Consumers are more online than ever before. Ecommerce sales jumped $174.87 billion from 2019 to 2020, and there’s still an indication that trends begat by COVID won’t go away anytime soon and may even become our “new normal.” For PPC marketers, that means a focus on the following five trends.

Ready to switch jobs or move up in your career? Don’t forget to negotiate your salary. It’s a job-seeker’s market in SEO and PPC right now. Salary negotiation gives you the chance to ensure you’re paid what you’re worth. Check out these 6 salary negotiation tips from yours truly.

Not ready for the switch to GA4? Well, at least get your account started ASAP. Make sure you’re running Universal and Google Analytics 4 concurrently because “Data will not transfer to GA4 from Universal Analytics” Julie Bacchini reminds us on Twitter.

What We’re Reading: Trying to get shadow banned —  for science

“Shadow banning is the first thing every social media marketer’s mind goes to when they experience sudden drops in engagement or reach,” wrote Stacey McLachlan for Hootsuite. 

However, Instagram’s CEO says shadow banning isn’t actually a thing: “If someone follows you on Instagram, your photos and videos can show up in their feed if they keep using their feed. Being in [Instagram’s Explore page] is not guaranteed for anyone. Sometimes you’ll get lucky, sometimes you won’t.”

To test her “how to get shadow banned” experiment, McLachlan decided to act like a bot. She said the most SMMs believe that there are three main ways to get banned:

1. Using too many hashtags
2. Using irrelevant hashtags
3. Writing generic comments on a bunch of other people’s posts

So she hopped to it. Posting pictures that would normally get engagement with WAY too many hashtags, spam-commenting things like “Nice post” to random accounts on the Explore page, and posting stock photos of her city to her feed.

Did it work? In short, no. She couldn’t get shadow banned. The experiment actually got her account a ton of comments and support, which may be why. McLachlan’s engagement did dip during the shadow ban attempt — going from 17% to just above 9%. But her reach remained the same. “I wouldn’t say I’ve been ‘shadow banned’ so much as I’ve been ‘correctly noted as being a liar,’” she wrote.

Is shadow banning real? Or is Instagram just good at determining what users want when they search for hashtags and content on the platform? Or are the two one and the same?

The post If you saw expanded search terms in Google Ads, it was a glitch; Friday’s daily brief appeared first on Search Engine Land.

E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) is how Google serves its users’ most relevant search results. A large part of Google’s E-A-T can be objectively measured and improved upon using Topical Authority. So, if you want to rank better than your competitors on Google, you need to understand the drivers of Topical Authority and how to improve on them.

Join iQuanti’s Ajay Rama and Kartik Shrivastava in this webinar to understand the framework and tactics used to build topical authority and win in Google’s E-A-T.

Register today for “How to Win in Google’s E-A-T,” presented by ALPS.

The post How to win in Google’s E-A-T appeared first on Search Engine Land.

Search Engine Land’s daily brief features daily insights, news, tips, and essential bits of wisdom for today’s search marketer. If you would like to read this before the rest of the internet does, sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox daily.

Good morning, Marketers, I’m not a big sports fan, but when there’s a domain dispute, count me in.

Those of you who have gone through a rebrand know how much effort goes into it. Unfortunately for Cleveland’s MLB team (which will soon be going by its new name, the Cleveland Guardians), the rebranding effort may have overlooked an important detail: the preferred domain. ClevelandGuardians.com is the official site for the men’s roller derby team of the same name.

The roller derbying Cleveland Guardians have been around since 2011, and on top of possessing the domain, the team also has the Facebook and Instagram accounts. Now, both entities seem to be positioning themselves for a trademark battle.

It wasn’t until four days after the Cleveland MLB team made its name change announcement that it filed for a federal trademark to begin selling merchandise, according to Cleveland 19 News. A couple days later, the roller derby team filed for their own trademark and launched their own online store.

It’s still unclear how this is going to end, but what is clear is that, if an MLB franchise with all the resources at its disposal can commit such an oversight, it could happen to any of us. 

George Nguyen,
Editor

‘Make Every feature Binary’: Bing’s sparse neural network for improved search relevance

Bing has introduced “Make Every feature Binary” (MEB), a large-scale sparse model that complements its production Transformer models to improve search relevance. This new technology, which is now running on 100% of Bing searches in all regions and languages, has resulted in a nearly 2% increase in clickthrough rate for the top search results, a reduction in manual query reformulation by more than 1% and a 1.5% reduction of clicks on pagination.

“When looking into the top features learned by MEB, we found it can learn hidden intents between query and document,” Bing said. As shown in the image above, MEB was able to learn that “Hotmail” is strongly correlated to “Microsoft Outlook,” even though the two aren’t close in terms of semantic meaning. It can also identify negative relationships, like how users searching for “baseball” don’t typically click on pages about “hockey.”

MEB’s more nuanced understanding of content may also help to drive more traffic to brands, businesses and publishers, since the search results may be more relevant. And, its understanding of correlated phrases and negative relationships may enable marketers to spend more time focusing on what customers are really searching for instead of fixating on the right keywords to rank higher — this is especially applicable for rebranding scenarios (are you listening, Cleveland Guardians?). And, for the search industry overall, it may help Bing maintain its position as Google continues to innovate with new technologies like MUM. 

Read more here.

How to limit waste and accelerate ROI in paid search marketing

Having spent the last 11 years surrounded by sales leaders, Amanda Farley, Partner and Director of Accounts and Digital Strategy at SSDM, picked up on some of their biggest successes and opportunities. But recently, she had the idea to apply them outside of the sales box and into her digital marketing campaigns. “This is really what sales and marketing integration is all about,” said Farley recently at SMX Advanced. “It’s about building the relationships, the trust and guiding [buyers] to impactful solutions that ultimately lead into more sales or leads.”

These buyer personas are based on a book called The New Strategic Selling by Robert B. Miller and Stephen E. Heiman. “Your strategy can only begin when you know who your players are,” added Farley. “The best way to think of it is like a football team: every player must be on the field to close the deal.”

• Economic buyer: Has the ability to commit funds to a purchase.
• User buyer: The end-user of your product or service.
• Technical buyer: Ensures all the technical specifications are met.
• Coach: Really wants your solution to win.

When we take this into our marketing efforts, we need to understand what each audience cares about most, what their content preferences are and what channels they’re most likely to engage with.

Read more here.

“We should allocate our budget first to digital because our brand is… um… digital-first.”

Before you switch agencies. “Too often, marketers put the media cart before the strategy horse,” said Marketoonist creator Tom Fishburne, “Media choices should be driven by the specific goals the marketers are trying to achieve. And the most value often comes from an integrated plan that combines multiple channels.”

No thanks. Jason Hennessey found a street pole flyer asking “Do you want to learn SEO?” Apparently, there’s only one correct answer, and it’s in all caps.

But, AdWords. Andrew Bethel spotted this text ad of, well, nothing. It just says “AdWords AdWords.” Interestingly enough, the URL it leads to belongs to a System1 company — System1 owns Info.com, which was the only search engine that seemed to have positive things to say about the Android search choice screen when I asked for comment earlier this year.

How to win against endless AI-generated content

We’re approaching what Ryan Law calls the “search singularity,” according to his blog post for Animalz. “AI writing tools mean that the marginal cost of a blog post is nosediving from multiple skilled person-hours to minutes spent in a freemium SaaS product,” Law said. “In the near future, any company with a modest budget and a functioning internet connection will be able to pump out truly mind-numbing volumes of content.”

The technology is getting better and more accessible. Like any tool, it’s really about the wielder rather than the tech itself. There will be those who use GPT-3-like models to assist in their writing and then there will be the ones who use it to churn out generic content. Since it’ll be so easy to do the latter, Law argues that the industry is headed to a point where the search results may be flooded with homogenous content — the “search singularity.”

Bad content impacts everyone: It makes users lose trust across the board and it makes it harder for us to cut through the noise. There are, however, things that human marketers are great at that can help us continue to achieve our objectives in the face of this deluge of samey content. Law recommends that marketers:

• Focus on information gain. AI can only work with what’s already available, but marketers can uncover new information and conduct interviews and surveys to bolster their content.
• Invest in thought leadership. If we humans are great at one thing, it’s giving you our opinions, which AI-generated content struggles to do. Bringing in elements of industry analysis, storytelling and even personal narrative can help you stand out in this regard.
• Create a new experience. Creativity will continue to be a valuable trait if we ever reach the search singularity. By putting our own spin on something, marketers can create content that resonates with their specific audiences — just look at what Lin-Manuel Miranda did with Hamilton.

The post MEB or meh? Make Every feature Binary is Bing’s new search tech; Thursday’s daily brief appeared first on Search Engine Land.

For every dollar a local business owner spends on technology and digital solutions, $2.50 is spent on implementation and ongoing services from marketing agencies and other local experts. Digital technology is a $220 billion market that is rapidly expanding and comes with its own set of challenges. 

A 2020 survey of more than 600 respondents reveals local agencies and business experts saying their inability to scale operations is the number one challenge they face in providing digital solutions to local businesses.

Here are the most common challenges faced by local experts and tactics to help overcome them.

Challenge #1 to scale your agency: Attracting qualified leads

Three out of four B2B buyers want to self-educate and try before they buy. Most local business owners want to test-drive technology before ever spending a cent. To show up in places where small-and medium-sized business (SMB) owners search and have the best chance at capturing a lead, try these tips:

1. Optimize your website for search engines. Ensure you’re easy to find by positioning yourself as a technology company.
2. Make sure your product catalog is available online. Adopt a product-led (freemium) acquisition strategy so that your clients can try before they buy. Use this tactic to uncover insights about your prospects so you can meet their needs with the right paid solution at the right time.
3. Nurture your leads with email campaigns. Use marketing automation to trigger a campaign whenever you get a new lead, so your business always remains top of mind for them.

Challenge #2 to scale your agency: Knowing what to sell and when

The secret to sales success resides in your data.

During the sales process, ask yourself what are the pieces of data that you can bring to the table for your prospects. Do you have competitive intelligence and industry benchmarks? Do you understand how their online performance compares to the businesses that matter to them? These data points allow you to earn trust.

Lean on sales intelligence tools like the Vendasta Snapshot Report to surface data that helps you gain trust with your SMB clients, identify what solutions they need, and pinpoint exactly when they need them.

These tools allow agencies to generate personalized competitive intelligence and industry benchmarks on their prospect’s online performance, all with one click of a button. Vendasta partners who use more than 100% of their monthly allotment of snapshot reports each month have a revenue pipeline 18 times bigger. They close nearly three times more opportunities than partners who use less than 50% of their allotment.

Challenge #3 to scale your agency: Connecting with prospects

The pain of sending multiple back-and-forth emails, playing phone tag and texting a client several times just to find out when both you and your sales prospect are available for a meeting, can be a major cause of concern. Not only is there opportunity for a follow-up to fall off your radar, but the process can frustrate prospects, causing them to abandon their intentions to find out more about working with you.

Use a meeting scheduling software that’s integrated with your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform. Just by using a tool that lets you schedule meetings; experts can save an incredible 10 hours per week.

Challenge #4 to scale your agency: Predictable revenue

Without being able to predict how much revenue you’ll be generating next month, next quarter or next year, it’s impossible to grow your operations. It limits your ability to hire new staff, determine whether you can afford to spend more on marketing, and figure out if you should invest in expanding your product offerings.

All of these problems can be solved by effectively managing your sales pipeline. It’s a critical component to growing your business.    

Manage your sales pipeline in a CRM through four basic stages:

1. Prospect
2. Qualify
3. Connect
4. Close

Looking across our channel partner base, we found that one in 10 opportunities resulted in a sales order. Your mileage may vary, with a higher conversion rate or fewer opportunities, but it’s a nice ratio to keep in mind as you work your (sales) pipeline. It’s a starting point for understanding how much revenue you can forecast based on what’s in your pipeline.

In addition to creating opportunities, use a metric-driven approach to move prospects through a sales pipeline. Monitor activities that lead to winning new business, like the number of calls, prospecting emails sent, and booked meetings, and use a CRM that can track this activity.

Wrapping Up: 5 key takeaways for scaling your operations

1. Focus on attracting product-qualified leads. Optimize your website and nurture it with email campaigns.
2. Use data to help understand what to sell and when. Use a sales intelligence tool like the Vendasta Snapshot report and set time aside to use up your monthly allotment of reports you can generate to help you sell to new leads.
3. Engage using integrated meeting schedulers. Setup text replacement on your mobile device to quickly send a link to book a meeting into your calendar.
4. Build a sales pipeline and fill it with opportunities. Monitor top activities that lead to winning new business-like number of calls, prospecting emails sent, and meetings booked.
5. Adopt an end-to-end platform. Stop piecing together different technologies to solve your biggest challenges by using a single integrated platform for a seamless experience that removes complexity and reduces costs.

By using one unified place where you can log in, manage, view and assign, you’re removing obstacles that crop up when you’re ‘frankensteining’ together different digital solutions to build your business.

Adopting an end-to-end platform

Based on a typical local expert with five employees and 75 customers, agencies can save 520 hours and up to $70,000 per year by switching to the Vendasta platform. Using an end-to-end platform, local experts can:

• Build and configure: instantly go-to-market with a broad set of customizable and branded solutions
• Market and sell: predict needs and intent through an SMBs interaction with sales intelligence reports using an integrated CRM with built-in marketing automation
• Bill and fulfill: invoice and accept payment from clients for any of your tightly integrated products and services
• Deliver and grow: offer a seamless experience for your clients with a single sign-on dashboard of automated proof of performance reporting to help identify the ongoing needs of your SMB customers

To learn more, watch these videos:

Scale your business by bringing everything together.

With Vendasta, you can operate your business, find and sell more digital solutions and services, engage with your customers, and create a superior client experience, all under one roof.

GET STARTED WITH VENDASTA  for free today.

The post 5 tactics to scale your agency appeared first on Search Engine Land.

Yelp is introducing two new COVID-related profile attributes, the “Proof of vaccination required” and “Staff fully vaccinated” attributes, the company announced Thursday. Users will be able to filter searches using these attributes and the “Proof of vaccination required” attribute will be visible in search results.

“We’ve put additional safety measures in place to proactively monitor content for businesses that select one of these attributes, whether it’s the identity attributes or the vaccination attributes,” Noorie Malik, VP of user operations at Yelp, told Search Engine Land, “And so we’re proactively looking out for any hateful, harmful content on these businesses.”

Why we care

Given the rapid spread of COVID’s Delta variant, these attributes may help customers feel safer when visiting a local business, which can help businesses continue to operate as more safety-oriented consumers shy away from in-person activities, like going to a cafe or bar. Yelp’s “additional safety measures” may also help to curb any potential blowback from bad actors seeking to leave reviews based on their stance about COVID vaccines as opposed to their firsthand experiences with the business.

More on the news

• Reviews from customers that criticize a business’s vaccination requirements violate Yelp’s COVID Content Guidelines. So far this year, the company has removed nearly 8,000 reviews for violating these guidelines, according to the announcement.
• Since January 2021, Yelp has placed over 100 Unusual Activity Alerts on business profiles in response to businesses attracting public attention over their COVID health and safety practices. This has resulted in the removal of nearly 4,500 reviews for violating the platform’s content policies.
• Yelp has also introduced several diversity attributes for business profiles, including the Asian-owned, Black-owned, Latinx-owned, LGBTQ-owned and women-owned attributes.

The post Yelp introduces “Proof of vaccination required” and “Staff fully vaccinated” profile attributes appeared first on Search Engine Land.

Just a few short years ago, mortgage processing relied heavily on physical document collection and in-person interactions. This made closing on a home a time-consuming and inefficient experience. With no better options available, clients and loan officers just accepted this inefficiency as “part of the process.” 

However, consumer expectations have changed. The modern home buyer is much more open to a tech-centered mortgage processing experience. In fact, many of them actually prefer self-service and digital communication.

If you want to exceed customer expectations and stay relevant, then you must adopt these trends. But you might not be sure where to begin.

Below, we’ll take a look at what kicked off this shift in the mortgage industry. We’ll also outline the tech trends that are on the rise in 2021. 

By implementing these new tools into your business model, you can revolutionize the way you process mortgages.

What Happened?

Over the last decade or so, countless industries have shifted towards a digital buying experience. Many experts affectionately call this the “Amazon Effect.” The digital retail trailblazer disrupted traditional retail practices. It allows consumers to purchase products online and receive them just a few short days later.

The Amazon Effect has unavoidably impacted the mortgage industry, as well. Modern home buyers now expect:

Instant Gratification

Perhaps the biggest impact of the Amazon Effect is that buyers expect instant gratification. Unfortunately, even the best loan officers cannot close on a mortgage overnight. Gathering the necessary financial documents and processing the application takes time.

With that being said, consumers need some sort of rapid feedback. By incorporating modern tech tools into your business model, you can fill that need. Every time a client signs a document or submits requested information, you can send them a notification. This allows you to keep the customer happy and information while you’re processing their mortgage.

The Ability to Serve Themselves

Consumers also have an increased desire to engage in self-service. While they do not want to process the mortgage all on their own, they do want to feel involved. As you will see below, many modern tech trends are geared towards self-service.

Your software should allow clients to submit documents, check on their loan status, and message their loan officer. Prospective customers should also be able to readily access information regarding the loan process in general. This can include information about current loan rates and a breakdown of each mortgage type.

Trends on the Rise in 2021

Now that you know how the shift started, let’s take a look at trends on the rise in 2021. Many of these tech trends have already been adopted on a wide scale. However, they are poised to affect an even larger part of the market in the coming year. Companies that successfully leverage technology will set themselves up for sustainable growth.

If you have been searching for a way to take your brokerage to the next level, these tech trends might be just what you are looking for.

The Mortgage Processing is Going Digital

For the last few years, digital listing sites have been taking over the home buying market. Clients can easily search for properties and access resources to help them make a purchase. 

The rest of the mortgage ecosystem is finally catching up. With the right technology, almost everything can be handled digitally. Loan officers can process online 1003s, manage documents, and send updates to buyers via SMS. Many mortgage brokerages are even transitioning to digital or hybrid closings.  

If you are a loan officer, you can join the evolution, too. You can either build your own digital processes from the ground up or partner with a high-quality CRM provider.

Companies like BNTouch have already done the heavy lifting. Our CRM software gives you all the tools needed to process mortgages digitally. Our tech focuses on providing a great customer experience from start to finish.

An Increased Emphasis on Self-Service

Take a look at any of the nationwide lenders’ mortgage websites. You will notice a common theme:  The ability to engage in self-service. These companies understand that modern consumers need instant feedback and want to help themselves.

In 2021, even more, mortgage brokers will incorporate self-service into their existing sites. We recommend that you do the same.

Ask yourself:  Can customers readily access your portfolio or products? If not, then your self-service capabilities are due for an upgrade

A curious consumer should be able to navigate to your site and quickly interact with your products. This may include taking actions such as:

• Completing a contact form
• Filling out a loan application
• Checking on the status of a loan
• Logging into their account (existing clients)
• Viewing the most recent mortgage rates
• Finding information about various loan types
• Submitting requested documents

Self-service also frees up your staff to focus on other projects. It reduces costs and improves customer acquisition rates. 

A small note of caution:  While customers appreciate the ability to self-serve, make sure that they can reach someone when needed. Overly automated services can diminish the consumer experience.

Automated Data Collection

As any loan officer will tell you, collecting client data and backfilling a 1003 form is tedious. It can slow down the entire mortgage process and take your team away from other valuable tasks. This also creates plenty of room for error.

Thanks to single-source validation, this process can be streamlined. Single-source validation allows your mortgage brokers to import data from the IRS or other financial institutions with a few clicks. This data is automatically filled into a 1003 form, letting your team submit applications faster. The best part is that it drastically reduces the chances of a filing error.

If your team is still collecting client data manually, then it is time to up your game. Digitize your mortgage processing practices and gain access to valuable data import tools. Your loan officers and clients will thank you for it!

Streamlined Lead Distribution

Modern technology is not just about improving the user experience. It also allows mortgage brokers to track key performance metrics. The top brokerages analyze employee data to maximize performance and distribute leads. With the right technology, you can, too.

Top CRM software includes integrated lead distribution platforms. These platforms allow you to receive leads and distribute them automatically. You can even integrate it with your current lead provider. While you are at it, you can track team performance and optimize productivity. This can help to ensure that your employees are well equipped to meet the needs of the clients they serve.

A Focus on Mobile Compatibility

Another significant tech trend in the mortgage industry is a shift towards a mobile-first business model. Many mortgage brokerages initially focused on PC compatibility and added mobile tools as an afterthought. Some did not give mobile users any consideration at all. This approach is simply not sustainable.

When you’re transitioning to a digitized mortgage processing strategy, you must focus on mobile users. The majority of your clients will access your tools via their phones or tablets. Some may exclusively use mobile devices during the mortgage process.

What better way to focus on mobile compatibility than with an app? When you’re searching for a CRM software provider, make sure that tech tools include an integrated mobile app. This will let you know that they have a mobile-first attitude.

Once a client partners with you to handle their mortgage, simply ask them to download the app. You and your team will easily be able to send them alerts, request information, or take other steps to speed up the mortgage process.

More Efficient Team Collaboration

Maintaining open lines of communication as you’re processing a mortgage can be quite challenging. Buying a home involves a lot of moving parts and everyone has unique communication methods that they prefer to use.

In order to address this issue, many mortgage brokers are transitioning to team collaboration software. This technology allows lenders, borrowers, and realtors to communicate on a single platform. It eliminates the need to play endless games of “phone tag” or send countless emails.

With the right software, every member of your team will be able to stay connected. They can work on the same files, share notes, and more. Your clients can even open their mobile app and check on the current status of their files. This means that you will no longer have to field phone calls to answer questions about the status of a mortgage.

Modernizing Your Mortgage Processing Capabilities

As you can see, modern tech trends are changing the ways that brokers process mortgages. Every aspect of the home buying experience is going digital. If you want to get in on the action, then you will need the right CRM software. That’s where we come in!

BNTouch offers cutting-edge CRM software for loan officers and brokers. We have scalable solutions for businesses of all sizes. Whether you are working solo or are managing a large-scale operation, our tech tools can help your business to grow.

But don’t just take our word for it. See for yourself by scheduling a free demo. Once you try our innovative CRM software, you will never want to do business without it. Contact us today to learn more about this exciting opportunity to expand your business!

The post The Evolution of Tech Trends in the Mortgage Industry appeared first on .

Getting a website online for any business is relatively easy nowadays, there are several quick and cheap options. But a website that’s also a hub of your business –central to lead nurturing, acquisition, branding, marketing, and Borrower Experience requires another level of sophistication. 

In this week’s post, we’re going to show you exactly how to create a mortgage website that meets all of these criteria, plus how you launch an attractive, professional, high-functioning mortgage website in less than five minutes. 

Best Mortgage Website Building Practices

Website Creation: Pictures and Text Are Not Enough

A quick search on launching a website will bring you over 360 million results, with the top generic website builders being Wix and Squarespace. But that’s just it –they’re generic. While the general design and launching are fast, the appearance is still bland, and its functionality is miles away from where it should be for a professional mortgage website. 

Of course, there’s much more to it. There’s also the matter of search engine optimization, content for conversion, and Borrower Experience. By the end, you’ll have the ability to decipher a generic website from a high-level mortgage website and know how to go about creating a mortgage website that supports your business needs, meets online ending industry standards, and modern consumer buying habits.

Responsive 

Responsive design is often mistaken for simply adjusting to the screen. While this may have been innovative ten years ago, modern responsive websites must also adapt their functionality. That means that items like lead capture forms, menus, videos, and any integrated 3rd-party applications must work and view properly without any effort from the user. No matter the device or operating system, the best mortgage websites are built for this level of user experience from the ground up.

Modern and Branded Mortage Design

As mentioned above, although there are plenty of clean website designs possible with generic website builders, a mortgage website that reflects modern design principles and the flexibility to brand is key to making your online business front stand out and above the rest. 

When it comes to designing, mortgage website templates from LenderHomePage offer a powerful and fast jumping-off point. With 45 attractive prebuilt mortgage designs, mortgage professionals of all sizes –from individual to multi-branch –can easily find a site that reflects their business. 

With some simple adjustments to the color scheme and the addition of your logo, both of which can be done without coding and matched your POS platform, your mortgage website will have a dynamically branded look and feel across the entire Borrower Experience.

Interactive Mortgage Tools

Online mortgage consumers crave an immersive and personalized shopping experience and interactive mortgage tools on your website are how to deliver this experience. Accurate to their location and loan program, online mortgage tools such as our mortgage calculators estimate down to the penny and move curious borrowers deeper through your lead nurturing strategy.

SEO Mortgage Copy

Search engine optimized copy is a precise craft of persuasive writing combined with researched keywords. This particular combination is aimed at helping to position your website for both a high-ranking organic search position and high conversion rates. This means that the words and the formatting must meet specific standards for search engines and consumers.

If you’d like to attempt it yourself, reach this previous article where we give a brief overview on how to DIY your mortgage SEO copy. Otherwise, we recommend taking advantage of our mortgage marketing services with professional and custom mortgage SEO content.

High-Value Content

Along the same lines as SEO copywriting is high-value mortgage content. The mortgage content can come in articles, videos, graphics, e-books, or white papers and, as expected, doesn’t come as part of any generic website design. 

While custom high-value content comes with additional costs, our mortgage website templates come with hundreds of pages of mortgage articles that can be edited as you see fit –or launch as is! Need additional help and resources? We got you covered. Our team of marketers is available for custom mortgage content and strategy development to guide how to make the best use of it on your website. 

Seamless Integration with Digital 1003 and POS

Last but not least, a mortgage website needs a seamless integration with your digital 1003 and POS. In today’s touchless environment, your mortgage website is more than an online presence –it’s also the hub of the Borrower Experience, and that includes your digital 1003 and mortgage POS platform. More than placing a simple link, integrating all the three platforms in such a way that captured leads, is branded, and is intuitively functional is vital to your competitive advantage. 

Want to see all this in action for free? Sign up for a free trial. Click here to get started –no credit card required! In only 14 days, you’ll be convinced that our mortgage website templates and support team are immensely better than what any generic website can offer. 

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