In 2020, 6.5 million homes were sold in the U.S.
The number is projected to increase to 7.1 million by 2021.
Despite an increase in sales, finding or generating mortgage leads remains a difficult task. The changing home buyer journey calls for a change in the process to find leads as well.
The entire process is getting more and more digital with every passing day. For instance, 92% of the borrowers are doing online research before speaking with a lender. Moreover, 80% of the borrowers desire to complete the entire loan application online.
(Source: https://www.datafacts.com/lendingsolutionsblog/important-digital-mortgage-statistics-mortgage-pros-should-know)
It indicates that you can find leads if you know the right strategies. Let’s discuss 17 highly-effective ways to find mortgage leads online.
17 Easy Ways to Find Mortgage Leads Online
Use Search Engine Optimization Techniques to Build Your Online Presence
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the best ways to generate mortgage leads online. You can gain visibility among prospects by ranking your website higher on search engines using SEO techniques. The higher the ranking of your website, the greater number of leads you can generate.
1. Target right keywords and building a content strategy around it
SEO techniques like keywords and content strategy improve the ranking of your website.
For this, you need keywords with good search volume and low competition. Several free and paid online tools can help you find these keywords. For instance, tools such as Google keyword planner, Ahrefs, and SEMrush are useful for keyword research.
Once you have the keywords, you need to start building content around it. Providing meaningful information that helps your prospects in their buyer journey should be at the core of your content strategy. Focus on creating long-form informative content as they rank higher on search engines. Moreover, make use of infographics and images to boost the visibility of your content. It is the content that will drive traffic to your online website. It will help you to convert online leads to paying customers.
In the above example, the query “how much is a mortgage on a 500k house” has a good search volume and has lesser competition. You can find such keywords which are easy to rank and build informative content around it.
2. Local SEO
You can also use local SEO techniques to attract local leads. For this, use the website metadata appropriately for local searches to find the leads online. Each website has a description and title that displays in search results. Make sure you use this space to your advantage. It will help you capture more leads in your local area. For instance, searching for the query “Austin Mortgage Broker” results in the following on Google.
These results appear on the first page of Google based on the keyword “Austin Mortgage Broker.” There are several mortgage brokers in Austin. However, these lenders appear on the first page as they use metadata more effectively. Using keywords in the title and description space will also boost the SEO of your website.
3. SEO Schema Markup
Schema markup is a piece of code that you can put on your website to indicate the type of content. It helps search engines to return more informative results to the users.
However, you need not worry about the technical aspects of schema markups. Most of the content management systems like WordPress have inbuilt schema markups. For example, if you have a web page that describes your business, you can use Local Business Markup to help search engines find your organization.
Create Your Business Profiles on Popular Platforms
Local listings are by far the easiest way to find online leads. Therefore, ensure that you have a presence on relevant local directories.
4. Local Listings
Google My Business is a great place to start gaining traction from local customers. You can create a profile on Google My Business for free and within a few minutes.
Features like listing on Google Maps makes it more credible to potential borrowers. People can locate the location of your business and access other valuable information. Besides that, you can also collect reviews from customers to build online credibility. The following is the Google search result for the query – “mortgage loan in Alaska.” The search result page shows the list of businesses that have listed themselves in Google My Business.
5. Directory Listing
Some of the other websites where you can list your services include Yelp and Angie’s List. You can also list your services on other hyper-local business directories in your location.
Local listings are great because they bring inbound leads. Most of these leads are worth it because only those searching for relevant services browse such websites.
6. MLS Listing
MLS or Multiple Listing Service is a database established by real estate brokers to provide information about the properties available for sale in the US. It also features real estate news, Q/A, mortgage information, and a mortgage calculator for properties.
Homebuyers search for properties and details on this site. So, you can partner with a broker or realtor and get yourself named in the property description as a mortgage lender.
Use Social Media for Creating Brand Awareness
In this digital age, social media presence is critical for the success of any business, especially in the US. Approximately 80% of the American population is active on social media platforms. You can imagine an ocean of leads available online. Therefore, lenders must have a social media presence to find mortgage leads online. However, creating social media profiles on all available platforms will not be enough. Lenders must try to engage with people by providing answers to their queries.
Besides, social media is perfect for promoting services and receive consistent leads. If done correctly, you can generate leads at zero cost because these platforms are free to use. Some of the ways you can use social media to find online leads include the following.
7. Use Facebook for Mortgage Lead Generation
Facebook is one of the most popular social media sites. It has a very high user engagement rate as well. Almost all your prospects must be using Facebook at least once a day. You can use it in the following ways:
- Create a Facebook page to share information relevant to your business and customers
- Interact with previous and potential clients on Facebook
- Share photos and videos
- Share client reviews on your Facebook profile page
- Create or share realtors event information for networking
8. Use Instagram for Engaging with Your Prospects
Instagram is one of the most popular picture sharing sites. People who are planning to buy a home also look for home-décor ideas and inspiration on such apps. Therefore, platforms like Instagram can be a media to pitch your services to the people on these apps. Here’s how you can find leads on Instagram without selling yourself too hard.
- Share pictures of the read-to-move homes, which are also a part of your partner network
- Search for popular hashtags on Instagram and use them to expand your visibility
- Share client reviews on your Instagram profile page
- Share stories whenever you attend an event, event reminders, home tours, etc.
- Highlight success stories and reviews in your profile so that prospects can shortlist you even before contacting you.
9. Use LinkedIn for Finding Leads
It may sound tricky because LinkedIn is a popular site for networking for professionals. But, if you see, professionals are the ones who would be looking forward to buying a home or investing in a property. In a way, we can say that a large chunk of your prospective customers can be found on LinkedIn.
Moreover, by looking at their profiles, occupation history, job title, etc. you can gauge if they’re worthy of lending or not. The following are the ways to use LinkedIn effectively for finding mortgage leads.
- Share market news and information to engage with people interested in a mortgage
- Create polls – it will help you understand the buyer’s outlook
- Build a LinkedIn community to network with professionals, understand their concerns, and propose solutions.
10. Use YouTube for Video Content
YouTube is the most popular video streaming channel. There are over 126 million unique monthly viewers of videos on YouTube in the US. Thus, you can find leads from YouTube as well. Here’s how.
- Find people who have commented or posted queries on relevant videos by your competitors
- Create your YouTube channel, post informational videos, and add your contact information (email or phone number) in the video description box
- Post your video content on other social channels.
All of these represent a cost-effective way to generate online mortgage leads. However, you must have an effective strategy and the ability to execute it consistently. Your social media presence should provide value to customers. It should not come across as self-serving.
Now, if you use multiple social channels for finding leads, collecting them, and interacting with each of them can be difficult. So, you need a centralized system where you can capture leads and automate communications. It will ensure that you do not miss any communication. After all, every prospect is precious, and you never know, the one you just missed had a high chance of conversion.
To resolve this challenge, you can use CRM software, specially built for mortgage lenders. By using a mortgage CRM, you can effectively capture leads from different sources, distribute them automatically to your agents, call-center teams, or sales reps for interaction, and prioritize them for follow-ups based on their probability of conversion.
Use Customer Reviews to Your Advantage
Reviews are crucial for customers to determine if they can trust the product or service. It is essential for mortgage companies also. Customers want to ensure that they are working with a reputable business.
According to Bright Local, 82% of the customers read online reviews of businesses. Moreover, as much as 91% of the customers prefer to buy from a company with positive feedback from customers. On the other hand, 82% of the customers get off when they see a negative review. Therefore, it is crucial to have positive reviews on the website to increase the number of leads.
11. Post reviews on your website, local listings, and social profiles
When your business has positive reviews, it will make it easy for you to find mortgage leads online. But this is not easy, and it will take some time. Therefore, whenever you close a deal, ask your customers to leave a review, especially when you have a happy customer. Positive experiences will build credibility and reputation for your mortgage business.
That said, do not lose confidence when you get a negative review. Instead, positively respond to the customers. Ask them what you can do differently to improve their experience. Among customers who read reviews, 97% of them also read responses to the reviews.
The following example illustrates how Veterans United Home Loans has showcased happy customer reviews on its website to attract potential prospects.
Generate Immediate Leads through PPC Advertisements
Advertising is another way to find leads online. You can generate leads faster through social media advertising and pay-per-click campaigns. For instance, targeted Facebook ads are an efficient way to create leads. You can create targeted ads based on customer salary, age, and location.
12. Google Ads
You can target business keywords to find leads immediately through Google Ads. Google Ads are the best for immediate ROI. However, for long term gains, you must invest in SEO and brand awareness strategies. You can show ads to people based on their annual household income, age, location, gender, etc. With Google Ads, you can display ads on search results, partner websites, and YouTube. The following image shows the ads of mortgage lenders for the keyword – “mortgage leads.”
Also read:
13. Facebook Ads
Facebook leads ads is one of the most rewarding channels for businesses to find online leads. It is an easy-to-use tool that allows you to create ads within a few minutes. However, it is imperative to know the target market before building ads. Otherwise, the ads will not serve the purpose, and you will not receive quality leads. You can create different types of ads on Facebook. Such as a single image, carousel, video, or text ads.
Useful resources:
Watch the webinar: how to be a smart real-estate marketer?
Community and Referral Marketing
14. Use Quora
People use Quora to find answers to their queries. As a mortgage lender, you can engage with prospects by providing solutions to their doubts.
For example, if you search for queries related to “mortgage in Alaska,” you can find a vast number of questions that people have asked. You can answer their query and tell them about your services.
Now, some of the questions may be older than a year. However, it’s worth answering these questions because it will reach out to the people looking for similar answers. The following screenshot displays the number of users and their queries that can help you find leads. Instead of searching for different questions, you can also look at the related query section on the bottom left and top right of the Quora query page.
15. Partnership with realtors
You can approach real estate builders and property marketplaces like Zillow, Craigslist, HomeFinder, etc. and list yourself as a lender with them. For example, Eastbrook Homes is a leading realtor and has listed Lake Michigan, Fifth Third Bank, and Dart Bank as their partner mortgage lenders.
This strategy will help you find leads who are interested in the properties of those builders.
Email Marketing
16. Use Email Marketing Techniques to Find and Filter Leads
Email marketing is another great channel to find online leads. It may sound tricky as you need a list of email ids for your email marketing campaigns. However, you can create a list of people relevant to your business, and via email marketing, start nurturing them to identify leads. You can build a list of prospective customers by:
- Providing an option to subscribe to your blog or web-articles
- Importing lists of prospects from agencies
- Collecting email ids through website widgets like loan eligibility checker
- If you are targeting corporates, you can find the communication emails through their website contact pages
- Finding contact details via social profiles such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
Next, you can monitor the activities like email opens, link clicks, unsubscribed, bounce, etc. The ones who are interacting with your emails can be probably interested in doing business with you. So, you can use these insights into your lead nurturing campaigns.
How to make the most of email marketing?
For success in your email marketing strategy, you need to invest in email marketing software or CRM software to monitor the effectiveness of your emails. Based on click-rates, you can determine whether you need to modify the email content, work on your emailing list, or re-strategize the frequency and timings of emails.
With a high ROI, email marketing can help you nurture your potential customer. You can send your contacts recent market insights, promotional offers, and discounts. Include a call-to-action button to drive more customer engagement. You can lead them to your website and capture their information. It will help you to convert online leads to actual paying customers.
While email marketing is effective, do not flood the inboxes of your customers. Provide customers with quality rather than quantity.
Also read:
- The essential email marketing metrics you need to track
- What should be there in your email marketing funnel?
- Email marketing best practices i learnt after sending 2,049,567 emails
- What is drip marketing?
Generate Mortgage Leads Online by Providing Direct Benefits
17. Website Plugins
Apart from the above techniques, there is another way to generate qualified mortgage leads online. You can embed plugins like mortgage payment calculators, chatbots, etc. to help a prospect determine his eligibility and engage with you for further queries.
Look at the mortgage premium calculator by Bank of America.
Final Thoughts
Finding a quality mortgage lead online is not easy. However, the implementation of the right strategies will ensure your pipeline is always full. With these ways, you can generate leads for your business and turn them into paying customers. Home sales are increasing, and this the time to take advantage of it. Act now and find leads to grow your mortgage business.
If you’re looking for a software solution that can streamline your lead generation process, you should definitely consider LeadSquared CRM specially built for mortgage business.
Finding Mortgage Leads Online FAQs
To promote your services and attract leads, you need to spend on marketing activities. You can promote your services on social media, create PPC campaigns, and list yourself on Google My Business. To sync all these channels, use CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software to communicate with leads efficiently.
The best way to find and interact with mortgage leads is to network. You can join local organizations such as PTA, attend real-estate events and trade shows, and associate with realtors. You can also use digital channels such as social media, PPC ads, etc. to find leads. Details.
Further reading:
