Mortgage marketing is how a loan officer or mortgage broker becomes the name a buyer remembers and the one an agent is happy to recommend. It uses many of the same tools as marketing for real estate agents: a website, a Google profile, email, social and video. It also carries advertising rules of its own, which is the first thing to raise with any agency.
Marketing For Realtor is an independent referral service, not a marketing agency. When you send the form, your details go to an independent marketing agency that prepares any proposal and does any work.
Lending ads have their own rules
Mortgage and credit advertising is covered by federal and state rules beyond those on this site. This page does not set them out. Have your company’s compliance team, or a lawyer, review any ad before it runs, and ask an agency how it handles that review.
A site that teaches
Buyers have questions long before they apply: how the process works, what to gather, what pre-approval means, what happens at closing. A site that answers them clearly, in plain words, can earn trust and visits. Google’s systems are designed to favor “helpful, reliable information that’s created to benefit people”, so write for the buyer, not for the search engine. Keep rates and terms off general pages unless your compliance review has approved them.
Your Google Business Profile
Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity, and that there is no way to pay for a better local ranking. Use your real business name with no keywords added, choose the most specific category, and keep your office address on the profile. If you also meet clients elsewhere, Google lets you enter both your address and a service area. Ask every client for an honest review and offer nothing for it: Google bans incentives for reviews, and the FTC’s rule on consumer reviews bans fake reviews and incentives for positive ones.
Email and follow-up
Many people who ask a mortgage question are not ready to apply yet, so follow-up matters. Marketing emails fall under CAN-SPAM: accurate headers, honest subject lines, a valid physical postal address, a clear opt-out and opt-outs honored within 10 business days. Lending content in those emails is still advertising, so it goes through the same review.
Working with real estate agents
Many buyers meet their loan officer through an agent. Being easy to work with is marketing too: fast answers, clear updates and materials an agent can share with a buyer. Any joint marketing with agents should be reviewed by your compliance team before it runs. If you pay anyone to promote you, the FTC says the connection must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously.
Social and video
Short videos answering one buyer question at a time suit mortgage marketing well: what pre-approval is, what to bring, what happens between contract and closing. Keep them general and educational, and run anything that mentions a rate or a term through review first.
What to ask a mortgage marketing agency
- How do you handle compliance review of ads and content?
- Who writes the educational content, and how is it checked?
- Will the site, the domain and the ad accounts be in my name?
- How will leads reach me and my CRM?
- Can you show me examples of your previous work?
- How will you measure success, and how often will I see it?
Google says no one can guarantee a #1 ranking, which is worth remembering for mortgage SEO as for any other. The real estate SEO and email marketing pages go further on both.
Want mortgage marketing that teaches buyers and keeps agents close? Get a written proposal.
Questions agents ask
Are there special rules for mortgage advertising?
Yes. Mortgage and credit advertising has federal and state rules of its own. This site does not set them out; ask your compliance team or a lawyer before any ad runs.
Can I put rates on my website?
Only as your compliance review allows. Have any rate or term language reviewed before it goes live.
How do loan officers get more referrals from agents?
By being easy to work with: fast answers, clear updates and educational material an agent can share with buyers. Review any joint marketing with your compliance team first.
Should loan officers have their own website?
A page on your company’s site is a start. A site of your own, approved by your company, can carry your educational content, your story and your contact details. Ask your company what it allows.
Does this site offer loans or mortgage marketing?
No. Marketing For Realtor is an independent referral service, not a lender or a marketing agency. When you send the form, your details go to an independent marketing agency that prepares any proposal and does any work.
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