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HUB SmartCoverage

HUB SmartCoverage (HUB smartcoverage.ca) is an online insurance broker that serves clients in Ontario, Alberta and Quebec. The company maintains partnerships with some of the top insurance providers in Canada, allowing them to offer competitive home, auto and travel insurance quotes. In addition to providing quotes, the website shares information about various insurance related matters, and offers advice for filing claims.

The Initiation of Growth

Because its services are primarily rendered online, it is important for HUB SmartCoverage to have a strong presence in Google search results. So to bolster performance, HUB SmartCoverage partnered with Rank 1st in the spring of 2017. At that time, the website was generating a modest flow of traffic from branded search terms, but was coming up short for the queries that produce the most revenue for brokers.


In working together, Rank 1st and HUB SmartCoverage determined the SEO strategy should not only focus on increasing traffic, but target users predisposed to engaging with the website’s services. To meet these objectives, Rank 1st audited the website and conducted in depth keyword research.

Increase to organic traffic in six months

Increase to organic traffic in six months

Increase to organic traffic in six months

The plan developed by Rank 1st and HUB SmartCoverage was to revamp the company’s website to improve SEO optimization and user experience. This involved tweaks to the design, a thorough assessment of all technical elements and a fresh new content strategy.

Once the strategy was in place, the following key tasks were executed:

  • Add new pages that rank for important terms
  • Publish regular content to increase the site’s scope
  • Improve user experience and site optimization
  • Optimize site speed and crawlability
  • Structure pages to boost engagement and conversions

These action items addressed the elements that Google prioritizes highest, including speed, mobile performance and security. They also addressed the elements most closely linked to user behaviour, including informational quality, design and clear calls to action.

In order to appeal to both visitors and search engines, the blog section was completely overhauled. Topics were formulated using data-driven keyword research, which led to a steady production of articles that garner interest from people searching for insurance-related queries.

To complement the SEO initiative, Rank 1st devised a promotional giveaway event. Leveraging its social media and online advertisement expertise, Rank 1st was able to draw in users from new sources to further augment high-quality leads.