Mortgage Choice leads the way with online milestones with several key No. 1 rankings in Google searches

Australian mortgage broker franchise network, Mortgage Choice , this month celebrates a number of key milestones that position it ahead of its competitors in the online space.

The national mortgage franchise company has been operating for more than 17 years and is forward-thinking when making the most of optimising its presence on the internet. The mortgage consultant franchise places a significant focus on online marketing initiatives, including a 17% annual budget increase for search engine optimisation activities.

Michael Russell, CEO of the mortgage broker franchise group said, “The results speak for themselves. In December 2009, the leads we acquired from online traffic generated almost three quarters - 74% - of our overall volume.”

“We’re just as proud of the fact that January marks the seventh consecutive month Mortgage Choice has ranked number one on Google’s organic search listings for the phrase ‘home loan’, which provides us with a considerable competitive advantage.

Mr Russell explained that the Mortgage Choice website is also at the top of the list for other key search terms at present: home loans, mortgage brokers, home loan brokers, home loan broker and home mortgage loans.

“Achieving such a high ranking for several of the most relevant terms for our industry is a feat we are excited about. It means we are more likely to be top of mind for both existing and potential customers and our franchisees’ local pages – their mini-sites within our website – are more likely to be visited by those on the search for a home loan.

“Everyone is aware of the rise in popularity of the internet for researching finance options. Our 2009 Property Investors Survey saw the internet easily ranking number one when respondents were asked where they sourced their property investment knowledge. These milestones demonstrate how Mortgage Choice is adapting to the needs of an evolving consumer landscape.

“The combination of innovative online activities such as search engine optimisation, reciprocal links and performance online advertising campaigns along with our lead allocation process, where incoming leads are followed up in 24 hours and referred to their local broker, is highly effective in driving repeat and referral business.”

The online efforts of the mortgage broker franchise network are not focused on lead generation only, it is transitioning to new online platforms to improve serviceability and productivity across a number of applications.

Mr Russell continued to explain that as part of a host of e-commerce changes, the mortgage franchise has transitioned all staff and the franchise network across to a suite of online communication and collaboration tools. So far, Mortgage Choice has welcomed Google Apps, Gmail and Google Sites, enabling the mortgage franchise network to access key information anywhere, any time, and on any device.

“We’re also fine tuning our electronic loans processing technology. This, along with other IT initiatives, is helping us enhance our highly regarded customer service proposition, positioning Mortgage Choice to better take advantage of acquisition and growth opportunities in 2010,” Mr Russell said.