ITC Vrs Agent Methods

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vic120

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I am a Medicare Agent that Really just doesn't understand the Tech side of things, I wanted to get a good site with SEO and Just don't want to have to do much work to put it together. I am a talker not a writer, So I need a lot of help with content and stuff, Give me a paragraph to write I might be paralyzed for 2 hours.

With that said would I get a lot more with ITC For 1 K upfront and $159 a month or is it basicly close to what I get from Agent methods with no upfront and $59 a month?

I mean I talk to these guys and it all sounds the same but not understanding the language there might be some huge difrences
 
vic120,

Thank you for your interest in ITC. The plan you mentioned offers more than what they offer as they do not offer a complete e-mail marketing drip and nurturing campaign system or the one hour of one-on-one SEO support.

ITC also offers a $59/month plan with only a $350 setup. We also have other plans that might meet your needs at a lower price point such as our Bronze plan which is no cost per month.

Please give us a call at (800) 383-3482 to speak with someone who can help you understand how ITC differs from Agent Methods and which one of our plans will work for you.
 
You know I spoke to some one few months ago when I thought I would go with a cheaper site just for lead generation, honestly I am confused on these type things.At that time I was quoted a lot different then what is on the site at the pricing for the Bonze website setup with be $1375m Where your site says $350,

However I may have been speaking about extra features I don't know these conversations tend to be info overload,In a language I don't speak.

Now after much though I wanted to go a different rout then I did then, I am more looking for a really good site, and I wanted to do SEO if it works at all.

I dont know I have been in business 3 years without a site But I thought this could help me take my buis to a new level, My biggest problem I don't understand the language at all when I speak with a rep from any of these places and I end up feeling like I could be taken advantage of. That's why I am asking on forum
 
vic120 said:
You know I spoke to some one few months ago when I thought I would go with a cheaper site just for lead generation, honestly I am confused on these type things.At that time I was quoted a lot different then what is on the site at the pricing for the Bonze website setup with be $1375m Where your site says $350,

However I may have been speaking about extra features I don't know these conversations tend to be info overload,In a language I don't speak.

Now after much though I wanted to go a different rout then I did then, I am more looking for a really good site, and I wanted to do SEO if it works at all.

I dont know I have been in business 3 years without a site But I thought this could help me take my buis to a new level, My biggest problem I don't understand the language at all when I speak with a rep from any of these places and I end up feeling like I could be taken advantage of. That's why I am asking on forum
Click to expand...


I do not recommend Agent Methods at all. He used to post on here and made many statements about SEO that were 100% false according to Google. When asked to provide documentation that his statements were true he never did. When presented with documentation that proved his statements were false he never responded. Also, he never responded when asked if the agent owns the content and source code of the site. I could go on but I think Ive made my point.


On to your website...

Domain (domain name):
This is the actual address. Think of it as being similar to a registration on a car or a deed to a house. Whoever owns the domain has the right to display content on that domain.

Some website builders will register your domain for you. I highly recommend that you just do it yourself. There are many different companies that you can register a domain through (go daddy, host gator, 1&1). But I recommend Google. Google charges $12 per year for a .com domain. http://domains.google.com

If you use gmail for business (which I love) it makes it simple to set up your email through that domain as well.


Hosting:
In layman terms, the host is the company that "holds" or "stores" the content of your website and displays/publishes it on the web to be viewed by visitors to your Domain.

There are many different hosts out there you can use. Host Gator, Blue Host, InMotion, DreamHost, GoDaddy, 1&1 (I do not recommend 1&1 for hosting).

Hosting prices will vary and this is where it starts to get more complicated. There are many different types of hosting packages you can get. But a simple small business host plan will cost around $10-$40 per month.

HostGator has one that includes a free 1800 number. It is around $15/m or so and will be perfectly fine for a standard agents website.


How to create your site:
You can do this in different ways. One way is to use a service like ITC and pay them an ongoing monthly fee. Usually that fee will include the Hosting along with the website design. NEVER use a company like that to secure your Domain name... do that yourself!

Another route is to use a content management system like Wordpress and have a designer create a site for you and pay them a 1 time fee. This is the cheapest route in the long run. A quality wordpress design will cost around $1k-$5k most likely. Then updates to the design will be anywhere from $100-$500 depending on how work intensive they are.


No matter what you do, but especially if you use a 3rd party with ongoing fees, always create your own content (meaning the articles). Google will sandbox or blacklist your site if it finds other sites with the exact same articles word for word. This is called duplicate content and this is exactly what Agent Methods recommends their client to do... and Agent Methods has multiple sites that are sandboxed or blacklisted by google because of this.

I do not believe that ITC offers canned content for their sites. I have seen/experienced ITCs sites and they are good quality sites from a visual aspect. I dont know how they do with SEO though.

But I would make sure to ask if you own the "Source Code" of the site or if they do. The Source Code is the final computer code that makes the site appear as it does online. If they own it, then if you ever want to leave them you will have to totally redesign your site and totally rewrite the articles!! If you own the code/content, then you can easily transfer it to a new layout and Host.

Maybe our local ITC guy can chime in here and let us know who owns the Source Code and content with ITC.
 
Last edited:
scagnt83 said:
I do not recommend Agent Methods at all. He used to post on here and made many statements about SEO that were 100% false according to Google. When asked to provide documentation that his statements were true he never did. When presented with documentation that proved his statements were false he never responded. Also, he never responded when asked if the agent owns the content and source code of the site. I could go on but I think Ive made my point.


On to your website...

Domain (domain name):
This is the actual address. Think of it as being similar to a registration on a car or a deed to a house. Whoever owns the domain has the right to display content on that domain.

Some website builders will register your domain for you. I highly recommend that you just do it yourself. There are many different companies that you can register a domain through (go daddy, host gator, 1&1). But I recommend Google. Google charges $12 per year for a .com domain. http://domains.google.com

If you use gmail for business (which I love) it makes it simple to set up your email through that domain as well.


Hosting:
In layman terms, the host is the company that "holds" or "stores" the content of your website and displays/publishes it on the web to be viewed by visitors to your Domain.

There are many different hosts out there you can use. Host Gator, Blue Host, InMotion, DreamHost, GoDaddy, 1&1 (I do not recommend 1&1 for hosting).

Hosting prices will vary and this is where it starts to get more complicated. There are many different types of hosting packages you can get. But a simple small business host plan will cost around $10-$40 per month.

HostGator has one that includes a free 1800 number. It is around $15/m or so and will be perfectly fine for a standard agents website.


How to create your site:
You can do this in different ways. One way is to use a service like ITC and pay them an ongoing monthly fee. Usually that fee will include the Hosting along with the website design. NEVER use a company like that to secure your Domain name... do that yourself!

Another route is to use a content management system like Wordpress and have a designer create a site for you and pay them a 1 time fee. This is the cheapest route in the long run. A quality wordpress design will cost around $1k-$5k most likely. Then updates to the design will be anywhere from $100-$500 depending on how work intensive they are.


No matter what you do, but especially if you use a 3rd party with ongoing fees, always create your own content (meaning the articles). Google will sandbox or blacklist your site if it finds other sites with the exact same articles word for word. This is called duplicate content and this is exactly what Agent Methods recommends their client to do... and Agent Methods has multiple sites that are sandboxed or blacklisted by google because of this.

I do not believe that ITC offers canned content for their sites. I have seen/experienced ITCs sites and they are good quality sites from a visual aspect. I dont know how they do with SEO though.

But I would make sure to ask if you own the "Source Code" of the site or if they do. The Source Code is the final computer code that makes the site appear as it does online. If they own it, then if you ever want to leave you will have to totally redesign your site and totally rewrite the articles!! If you own the code/content, then you can easily transfer it to a new layout and Host.

Maybe our local ITC guy can chime in here and let us know who owns the Source Code and content with ITC.
Click to expand...

A lot of great Info thank you. The main thing though (and I am starting to feel there is no way around it) is the need to write my own content. This more then money is the thing that is holding me back from doing a site.

I Have no problem being on the phone with a client for hours going over details, The moment a client wants the info in the form of an email, I mean without my wife I would be done, Writing has always been my kryptonite. On top of that I don't know the first thing about content
 
vic120 said:
A lot of great Info thank you. The main thing though (and I am starting to feel there is no way around it) is the need to write my own content. This more then money is the thing that is holding me back from doing a site.

I Have no problem being on the phone with a client for hours going over details, The moment a client wants the info in the form of an email, I mean without my wife I would be done, Writing has always been my kryptonite. On top of that I don't know the first thing about content
Click to expand...

No problem.

And you are correct. There is no way around creating your own content (content is just the articles or the stuff written on the various web pages).

With most content management systems (CMS) it is like creating an email or a word document. Then you hit publish and it publishes it on your site.

If you dont like to write/type, then dictate it verbally to your wife and have her do the typing. Or if she does not like that idea then hire someone and pay them $10/h to do it for you as you talk.
 
scagnt83 said:
No problem.

And you are correct. There is no way around creating your own content (content is just the articles or the stuff written on the various web pages).

With most content management systems (CMS) it is like creating an email or a word document. Then you hit publish and it publishes it on your site.

If you dont like to write/type, then dictate it verbally to your wife and have her do the typing.
Click to expand...

I would do that and it wouldn't be terrible,Keep in mind she is not in insurance so it does take a while going back and forth, Still it would be workable except from what I have been reading it seems this would be something that would need to up updated on a constant basis, That is where the issue is.Doing it once Ok but over and over again is just too time consuming

----------

I really wish there was a service that can take my Idea's and concepts and turn it into paragraphs and articles.
 
"A quality wordpress design will cost around $1k-$5k"

"simple small business host plan will cost around $10-$40 per month."

Wow. Those prices seem high. Very high. The hosting should not cost $40 for a his first site.

Hackathornbury SEO And Website Design
Tucson, Az.
Service Since 1974
 
Last edited:
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