Name of your website?Short Term Health Insurance
Your name?
Brian Thacker
Your Location (city, etc)
Greensboro
Please give us a short summary of your website?
Short-termhealthinsurance.com offers multiple plans from high quality health insurance companies. We have done the research and put together the most comprehensive list of affordable health insurance plans available in the United States. Our site is fast, easy, secure, and offers affordable solutions to your health insurance needs. If you have questions, call an agent on the toll free number.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
I have been representing health insurance for individuals in North Carolina for the last 15 years. This site allowed me to expand my services across the country. My goal is to create the agent experience online so that you can get all the information you need to make the best decision for your medical insurance situation
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
I launched the first website in 1998 and it was for an individual health insurance policy in North Carolina called the Blue Advantage plan through Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. I was one of the top agents in the state because of the service from our agency.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
People who are between jobs, graduating from school, or waiting for benefits to start with a new job need short-term health insurance. It is more affordable because it does not offer co payments for doctor visits. However, this niche of people would be looking for the product that is in the name of my website.
What makes your website different from other, similar offerings?
Most websites are huge conglomerates that offer all types of insurance. This site is designed for a specific targeted purpose. My agency offers regular plans, but if you need short term plans, my site is the most comprehensive and targeted available.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
My eventual goal is to become a major player in many types of insurances. Right now my focus is on health insurance. But I expect to take my experience from this site into other lines of insurance. I hope to launch a term life insurance site within the next 3 months. This site is the cornerstone to my future.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
The internet always changes. You have to spend time to make sure that technology has not passed you and your site by. The more time I spend on the internet, the more things I find to offer my visitors.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
I would work more closely with traditional media websites. I probably would not purchase banner ads, but I would like to offer links to my pages within articles on TV, newspaper, and especially spanish speaking sites. I would also have agents on live streaming video to help visitors find the products that they need. They could see and hear the agent if they had questions.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
My site is pretty big already. Most of the products are automated so it is easy to scale it up. If it got too big all I would need to do would be purchase more bandwidth and hire some extra agents. Yes, it is automated for the most part now so I should be able to keep up with as much demand as I can get.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
This site has been mostly headache free. Some insurance companies are easier to deal with than others. It is a hassle getting and keeping licenses in each state current. But for the most part, the SEO and changing environment in getting good placement is as difficult as it would be with anything.
What has been your biggest challenge?
My biggest challenge has been getting licenses in all the states and appointments with all the companies. It is pretty pricey, and you have to make sure that you renew them all every year too.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
Getting the largest footprint possible has been the most successful. I also comment on some popular blogs to build the brand and get brand name recognition.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
It has gone pretty much as expected. I am excited to start a new project.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
The site is about two and a half years old. I expect it to be up as long as there is a need for temporary health insurance. It takes a while to build everything up, but now the site is profitable.
What is your next project going to be?
Since I already have life insurance licenses across the country, I expect to offer a new term life insurance website soon.
What is your website address?
Short Term Health Insurance
No trackbacks.
Comments