The open enrollment period for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act starts on November 1, 2020. Health insurers and consumers alike are going to spend hours on the phone trying to lineup the best coverage plan at the most affordable rate available. This means that insurance providers need to ready themselves for a deluge of phone calls and ensure that their brand is locatable and easy to reach by consumers looking for new, affordable coverage. There were a total of 14,569,000 calls made on the federal health insurance marketplace during the open enrollment period ending January 1, 2016. With call volumes increasing in the years since, preparation is crucial.
Read More: How Health Insurance and Medicare Providers Can Take Advantage of Open Enrollment Periods
Blog in Advance on Open Enrollment Topics
You’ll need to do the relevant research here on your own before choosing topics, but the value of blogging during the open enrollment period is undeniable. 82% of smartphone users consult their mobile device before making an in-store purchase and 45% read reviews before buying. The same goes for health insurance. Worried consumers who may feel overwhelmed by their options or confused by their choices want peace of mind from this process.
You can use your blog to your advantage. First and foremost, creating blog content with valuable information on topics such as the open enrollment process, commonly asked questions, and other points of confusion regarding open enrollment helps boost your brand’s visibility in the search results. Consumers seeking information on health plans and providers are, as a result, more likely to find your business. Additionally, blogging demonstrates the credibility of your insurance business within the industry.
While the topics are up to you, remember to ensure that your keyword selection is on-point. There’s no need to overload your content, but make sure important keywords such as “ACA,” “Obamacare,” and “open enrollment health insurance” appear in your content to boost SEO performance.
Optimize Your Lead Forms
When consumers are searching around online and encounter your brand, they are likely to have their first interaction via a landing page. Make sure that your landing pages are optimized with lead forms that are quick and easy to fill out, and don’t forget to prominently display your business phone number on the page. While many may opt to fill out the form, others may find all the answers they need in your landing page content and simply want to get the process over with by calling your business directly.
For those who will go on to fill out the lead form instead and wait for you to contact them, make it easy for them to do. Keep your lead form to a maximum of four fields, such as name, phone number, email address, and type of insurance sought. Place the lead form above the fold so visitors see it immediately and make sure it is responsive in nature. You want visitors on desktop, tablet, or smartphone to have the same quick, easy experience filling out that lead form.
Read More: Case Study: The Call for Open Enrollment Campaigns Continues to Grow
Check Your Google Business Listings
Finally, if you really want to ensure your Pay Per Call campaign and your business at-large are ready for the influx of calls during open enrollment, check your Google Business listing. Simply Google your company and see what comes up. A good business listing on Google includes the full company name, text that identifies the industry it operates in (health insurance agency), a physical address, and a phone number. Be sure to also list your hours of operation so consumers know when to call, and consider using click-to-call for the phone number so they can quickly connect to your business.
A Google Business listing may seem minor to the success of your Pay Per Call efforts during open enrollment, but it can actually make it easier to contact your business (click-to-call) and assure searchers that your business is real and credible.