By Khrisna Rao

The quarterly research uses industry data to identify 720 of the most popular search terms used by UK consumers to find providers of home, travel and car insurance.

The report, Insurance Sector Report – October 2010, reveals there were over 1.7 million searches made online in October 2010, for insurance-related products. Terms pertaining to car insurance were most popular, accounting for more than half (51%) of all insurance-related searches. Travel insurance followed with 29%, then home insurance (20%).

Greenlight predicts home insurance-related searches, which totalled 337,000 in October 2010, will see an increase in early 2011, as homeowners look to reassess their insurance options in the New Year.

The term ‘home insurance’ in particular, of which searches have remained relatively low since April 2010, is tipped to increase in popularity. In October 2010, it accounted for 49,500 searches for home insurance. ‘Contents insurance’ (22,500), was the second most popular term used. Others included ‘buildings insurance’ and ‘home contents insurance’.

Simon Hollingsworth, lead researcher at Greenlight says: “Among other facets that online marketers should consider, identifying the most popular terms used to find insurance products and maximising your website’s visibility for these keywords is crucial as it impacts on how visible you are to consumers in the search results. Furthermore, insurers should also plan for the holiday season, targeting popular travel insurance keywords in order to channel consumers through to their websites.”

Greenlight’s report also charts the 60 most visible insurance websites in both natural* and paid search**.

In natural search, MoneySupermarket was the site most visible to searchers. It secured 73% visibility, well ahead of its nearest rivals GoCompare (43%) and CompareTheMarket (37%).

In paid search however, the picture was different. GoCompare.com was the most visible advertiser, with 61% share of voice. It was closely followed by MoneySupermarket (59%) and Aviva (46%). Greenlight observed a notable entrant into the top 10 of its league table, USwitch. It assumed fifth position, achieving 31% share of voice overall.

The research also found that a notable number of brands do not have Facebook pages and therefore are isolated from social media interaction with consumers, a significant issue for some insurance websites that received negative consumer commentary.

Top 10 of the 60 most visible Insurance websites in both in natural and paid search, UK

Source: Greenlight

Notes

*Natural Search - Listings in search engine results pages that appear because of their relevance to the search terms.

**Paid Search – an Internet advertising model used on websites, in which advertisers pay their host only when their ad is clicked. With search engines, advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases relevant to their target market.

Greenlight’s report, ‘Insurance Sector Report October 2010’, profiles search behaviour in this sector. It assesses which brands, websites and aggregators are the most visible in natural and paid search results, and hence have the greatest share of consideration when UK-based searchers go to Google to look for travel, car and home insurance. For social media, Greenlight’s social media popularity index (SMPI), highlights and ranks the 15 most followed and proactive brands in social media.

About the author and Greenlight

Krishna Rao is PR for Greenlight, a leading independent search marketing specialist and technology firm, with over 100 blue-chip clients including Santander, Vodafone UK, New Look, Interflora, Co-operative Financial Services, Nespresso and ghd. Founded in 2001, Greenlight is headquartered in London, with offices in New York.

www.greenlightsearch.com