Wow,
Sorry I didn't get back to this sooner. First of all, I had a multi-pronged approach to my online activities. This means that I had 2 levels of marketing. Online and offline. Both levels complimented eachother well.
The biggest reason for failure I see with online marketing amongst loan officers, is that most lo's don't even know who they are targeting!!! "Anyone that needs a loan" is their response. Is this what you would consider a laser focused target?
I started out by deciding WHO I was most likely to get loans from. Instead of creating a 1 size fits all website, I created multiple, small sites that were targeted at specific groups.
I had:
1. 1 FSBO site
2. 1 Realtor specific site
3. 1 refi/purchase site (general)
4. 1 information/ credit/credit repair site
These sites can be created insanely cheap if you do some digging. These are what are considered lead capture sites. The idea is to have a strong call to action and motivation for the visitor to give up his/her intentions and information. You should have NO more goals than this. If you are not 100% focused on moving the customer to the next step, it will show on your site, and he/she will be confused.
After I had my sites set up, I had them optimized for Search Engine Optimization. This was an ongoing process (Most lo's stop after 1 month), and was responsible for over 100 visitors per day to my site within 45 days. The secret was to find the proper keywords and to localize my efforts.
I selected very strong names for each site. Your domain needs to be obvious, and focused on your area. Example: Stllouismortgageguy.com, fsbohelp.com , etc. DON'T use your name as your domain.
I then utilized an article publishing campaign to increase link popularity, and publicity. I published 15 articles within 60 days and sent these articles to every article hub I could find.
I also used a PPC campaign that paid off VERY well. By avoiding Google, and going straight for the second tier PPC companies, I was able to pay only .11 per click, and drive an additional 3-400 visitors per month to my site, for less than $50 per month.
Last but not least, I ran small ads in local real estate publications that were eye catching, and got the readers excited. In order to get the information though, they had to visit my site.
Remember, it's all about credibility and putting your visitor at ease enough to give up their contact info. This is permission based marketing. Once you have a decent site up and running, you can then begin linking with some of the stronger realtors in your marketplace. Do research (marketleap.com) to make sure these sites have enough traffic to be worth your time. Once you are listed as the primary trusted resource, you WILL get phone calls from buyers and sellers visiting their sites. Nothing like a little leverage huh?
Chad Weber
Average Joe L.O.
www.averagejoelo.com