According to the National Association of Realtors’ 2021 Profile on Home Buyers and Sellers, 87% of buyers financed their purchases. In other words, mortgage lenders are in high demand.
Mortgage leads are the people who have the potential to need your services, such as a new mortgage or a mortgage refinance. Here are some of the top benefits of generating mortgage leads:
- Boosts your revenue: Lead generation maximizes your ability to reach your ideal customers. High-quality leads and customers will eventually spur the growth and stability of your company.
- Expands your market: Lead generation could help you earn engagement from companies and job positions your marketing campaigns didn’t initially include. You’ll be able to pinpoint trends and identify business opportunities.
- Builds visibility and awareness: Lead generation can help you achieve top-of-mind awareness in your marketplace. It’ll be easier for prospective leads to find you, and they’re more likely to think of you when they need the service you provide.
Now that you know the benefits of generating mortgage leads, the next challenge you’ll have to face is actually doing it. In this article, you’ll learn five effective ways to attract as many mortgage loans and refinance leads as possible.
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How to generate mortgage leads
Most prospective home buyers look online to learn more about the homebuying process and this includes the mortgage loan process. Digital marketing strategies offer you opportunities to provide the information these buyers need, allowing you to earn their trust and become their lender of choice.
1. Use content marketing
Content creation is an effective way to provide information that educates and engages your prospective leads. Blog articles, videos, infographics, and even podcasts can help your target audience learn about the mortgage loan process. Optimizing your content for search engines makes your website or content more visible to potential clients. Search engine optimization (SEO) involves strategies such as:
- Keyword usage: Incorporate relevant keywords throughout your website. For instance, if you offer VA home loans, place related keywords on your home page, service pages, and your VA home loan information page.
- Link building: Internal links bring your visitors from one page of your site to another. For example, you may include links from your main service page to different pages that provide more information about specific loan options. You might also consider earning backlinks, which are links to your site from external websites. For instance, if you work with certain lenders, you can request that they include links to your website from theirs.
- Keyword-rich URLs: Keep URLs short and incorporate a relevant keyword you want to rank for. So, if you have a blog post about mortgage loan myths, you might use something like “www.yourwebsite.com/10-mortgage-myths-debunked.”
Every piece of content should incorporate your company’s voice and tone. End the content with a call to action (CTA) that tells your audience what they need to do next. You should also publish content regularly. It offers more opportunities for indexing on search engines and more keyword opportunities.
2. Harness social media marketing
With nearly 4.5 billion people on social media worldwide, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter offer excellent opportunities for mortgage lenders to connect with customers and generate new mortgage leads. Offer up information about the housing market, interesting trends, mortgage loan rates, and other valuable information.
Much like content creation, regularly posting relevant and valuable information allows you to show your expertise and establish your authority. It also keeps you at the top of your followers’ minds. Be sure to engage with your mobile customers and prospective leads, too.
3. Create advertising campaigns
Paid advertising campaigns can be expensive, but they can also be very effective. Google estimates that businesses earn $2 for $1 spent. Using Google Ads, you can target specific keywords and appear above the first organic result on the search engine results pages.
Generally, just under 30% of search engine users click the first organic result. However, the presence of ads changes things. When Google displays ads, they receive just over 44% of clicks. The more competitive a keyword, the more expensive it can be. Lower volume keywords are typically more affordable, and they give you unique opportunities to target topics relevant to your audience. Rather than trying to rank for “mortgage lender,” you might try “mortgage lender in (your city).”
4. Leverage referral marketing
Networking with real estate agents, investors, and other professionals can help you build relationships that earn you referrals. Develop these relationships by showing real estate professionals that you’re trustworthy. Provide easy-to-understand educational materials, such as a loan program “cheat sheet,” that allow professionals to advise clients navigating mortgage loan options.
Look beyond real estate professionals for referrals, too. Financial planners, CPAs, life insurance agents, and estate planning attorneys could help you obtain clients. You might even consider partnerships with banks and credit unions that don’t have in-house mortgage origination services.
5. Optimize your website
Factors such as your website’s design, mobile-friendliness, and user experience can impact a visitor’s decision to become a lead. It takes less than a second for a visitor to form an opinion of your website. That’s why it should look great, load quickly, and provide seamless navigation.
Your website should look just as beautiful on mobile devices. Optimizing your pages for search engines will also help to ensure prospective leads find you.
Measure your results
You need to monitor and analyze each lead generation effort. If you find something isn’t working as you’d hoped, you can make adjustments for better results. Here are some ways to monitor your mortgage lead generation strategies:
- Google Analytics: This tracks various metrics such as the number of visitors your website receives, how long they spend there, how they got there, what they clicked on, and more. It can also show conversion rates.
- Google Search Console: This shows you your website’s activity in the SERPs. You can monitor metrics such as your impressions, click-through rates, and what keywords prospective leads use.
- Analytics for social media: Most platforms offer businesses tools to monitor their marketing campaigns. You can track your engagement, reach, clicks, follower count, and more.
Need help generating mortgage leads?
Digital marketing strategies can help you generate high-quality mortgage leads. But they can be time-consuming, especially if you’re trying to implement them all at the same time. Starting with one or two can help you determine what works best for your mortgage loan business.
If you’re looking to generate even more mortgage leads, the unlimited calling and texting capabilities of Aloware’s all-in-one tool kit can help. Book a demo with Aloware today!