Most insurance prospects who receive a cold call from an agent they have not heard of will search that agent's name within 24 hours — before they call back, before they make a decision, sometimes while they are still on the phone. What they find either confirms the trust or destroys it.
Setting Up Your Profile Correctly
Business Category and Description
Set your primary category to "Insurance Agency" or the most specific applicable option. Add a description that uses your niche framing and include your state license number — a trust signal most competing agents omit.
Contact Information and Hours
Use your direct phone number — not a tracking number, not a voicemail-only line. Set your hours to reflect when you are actually available to take calls — not 9-5 if you call until 8 PM.
Service Area vs. Address
For agents who work from home: Google Business Profile allows you to hide your address and instead list a service area (city, county, or state). This provides geographic relevance in local searches without requiring a commercial address.
Generating Legitimate Reviews
The Post-Enrollment Request
The best time to ask for a review is 7-10 days after enrollment, during the welcome call. After confirming coverage is active: "I have one small favor to ask — if you had a good experience working with me, a Google review makes a real difference. I will send you a text with a direct link — takes about 2 minutes."
A direct link produces 3-5x higher review completion rates than asking someone to "find me on Google and leave a review."
The Annual Review Request
During the annual review call, after a positive interaction: "If you found this annual review helpful, one thing that would mean a lot to me is if you could mention it in a quick Google review — it helps other people in your situation find someone they can trust."
What Makes a Review Effective
Reviews that are specific, situation-relevant, and recent. A review that says "Great agent, very helpful!" is weak. A review that says "I was confused about the difference between Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage and [Agent] explained it clearly without pressure" is strong.
You can prime clients: "If you mention what you were confused about before we talked and how it worked out, that tends to be the most helpful for other people reading reviews."
Using the Profile as a Conversion Tool
After every outbound call where a prospect says they will think about it, send a follow-up text: "Good talking with you. If you want to check me out before we reconnect, my Google profile is [link]. Happy to answer any questions." A prospect who reads five specific reviews from real clients is significantly more likely to call back.
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References
- BrightLocal. (2024). Local Consumer Review Survey. Review influence on service business trust and conversion.
- Google. (2024). Google Business Profile Help. Service area configuration and review link generation.
