Ep #24: How to Get More Customers from Google

Chris Johnstone breaks down the digital marketing funnel for loan officers, with a heavy focus on Google My Business local search rankings and ratings/reviews as the highest-ROI lead source available. He also covers Google AdWords, Facebook custom audiences, look-alike audiences, and using Facebook ads to target local real estate agents. Best for LOs who want to generate purchase leads online without relying solely on agent relationships.

Takeaways you can run this week

• Go to business.google.com today, claim and fully optimize your Google My Business page (upload photos, hit 100% completion bar), then share the direct review link with every client at closing to start accumulating 5-star reviews.
• At the loan application meeting, ask borrowers to commit upfront: 'If I get you the best rate, keep you informed throughout, and close on time, will you leave me a 5-star Google review when we close?' Pre-commitment dramatically increases review compliance at the end of the transaction.
• To estimate your local search opportunity: Google total homes sold in your market last year, multiply by 23% (Accenture 2015 figure, now closer to 30%) — that's the pool of online-sourced mortgage customers you can compete for by ranking in the Google 3-pack.
• Upload your past-client database (name, phone, email) to Facebook Custom Audiences and run a monthly ad showing a customer testimonial plus a referral call-to-action — this keeps you top-of-mind for referrals without replacing phone/email outreach.
• To target local real estate agents on Facebook, go to Ads Manager > Interests > type 'real estate' > select the 'jobs' subcategory, set your local geo, then rotate 4-5 ads highlighting different value propositions (fast communication, happy past clients, market stats) — lead with value, not a sales pitch.
• If you need deals within 60 days, launch a Google AdWords or AdWords Express campaign using your Google My Business page; for long-term pipeline, prioritize organic local search (3-pack) ranking first, then layer Facebook on top to increase lifetime referral value from closed clients.

The playbook

1. Step 1 — Claim and optimize Google My Business at business.google.com (photos, complete profile to 100%)
2. Step 2 — At loan application, get borrower to verbally commit to leaving a 5-star Google review upon successful close
3. Step 3 — At closing, send borrower a direct link to your Google My Business review page with a follow-up call if they haven't reviewed within 7 days
4. Step 4 — Once ranked in the Google 3-pack, upload closed-client database to Facebook Custom Audiences and run monthly testimonial/referral-reminder ads
5. Step 5 — Create a Facebook look-alike audience from your past-client list and run direct mortgage ads to that cold audience for new purchase leads
6. Step 6 — Run a separate Facebook ad campaign targeting local real estate agents (interest: real estate > jobs) with market stats and value-add content to open referral relationships

Worth quoting

“If you haven't nailed down a search campaign and a process to make sure you're top ranked and top rated, that should be your primary focus.”

“Search marketing is almost always the category where you see the highest return on investment for what you put in to what you get out.”

Best for

LOs who want to generate inbound purchase leads online but have never set up or optimized their Google My Business profile or run Facebook custom audience campaigns.