How to Get More Customers as a Mortgage Broker in Australia

Introduction

Most mortgage brokers in Australia still rely on word of mouth and referral networks to fill their pipeline. And fair enough — that approach worked brilliantly ten years ago when your BDM relationships and a solid reputation were enough to keep the phone ringing.

But the market has shifted. Hard.

In 2025, research from BrightLocal shows that 97% of consumers search online before choosing a local service provider. That includes home loan customers. They're Googling "mortgage broker near me" at 10pm on a Tuesday night, reading reviews, scanning websites, and shortlisting two or three brokers before they ever pick up the phone.

If you're not showing up in that search, you're invisible to the fastest-growing segment of borrowers — millennials and Gen Z buyers entering the market for the first time.

This guide walks you through exactly how to get more customers as a mortgage broker in Australia. No fluff. No theory. Just the practical steps that actually move the needle, based on what we see working across hundreds of financial services businesses right now.

The average mortgage broker earns between $3,000 and $10,000 in commission per settled loan. That means every new customer you attract through better online visibility could be worth thousands. Even one extra deal a month changes your year.

Let's get into it.

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TL;DR

• This is a step-by-step guide to getting more customers as a mortgage broker in Australia
• We cover Google Business Profile, local SEO, reviews, content marketing, AI search optimisation, and tracking
• Average commission per settled loan sits between $3,000 and $10,000 — so even small improvements in lead flow deliver serious ROI
• You can DIY most of this, but a specialist can accelerate results significantly
• We build these systems for mortgage brokers every day — talk to us if you want it done properly

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Step 1: Claim and Optimise Your Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is the single most powerful free tool available to you as a mortgage broker. When someone searches "mortgage broker [your suburb]," the Google Maps 3-pack is the first thing they see — before any website, before any ad. If you're in that pack, you get calls. If you're not, your competitors do.

Here's how to set yours up properly:

Claim your profile. Head to business.google.com and either claim your existing listing or create a new one. Google will verify your business via postcard, phone, or email. Don't skip this step — unverified profiles don't rank.

Complete every single field. Business name (use your actual registered name — don't keyword-stuff it), address, phone number, website, business hours, and service areas. Incomplete profiles get outranked by complete ones. It's that simple.

Choose the right categories. Your primary category should be "Mortgage Broker." Add secondary categories like "Financial Consultant," "Loan Agency," or "Financial Planner" if they're relevant to your services.

Write a compelling business description. You get 750 characters. Use them. Mention the suburbs you serve, your specialties (first home buyers, refinancing, investment loans, SMSF lending), and your experience. Write it for humans, not algorithms.

Add photos. Profiles with photos receive 42% more direction requests and 35% more click-throughs to websites, according to Google's own data. Upload photos of your office, your team, and even you at settlement events. Real photos, not stock images.

Post weekly updates. Google Business Profile has a "Posts" feature that most brokers ignore completely. Use it. Share rate updates, customer wins (with permission), market commentary, or links to your latest blog post. Activity signals relevance to Google.

If you do nothing else from this entire guide, do this step. We consistently see mortgage brokers double their inbound call volume within 90 days of properly optimising their Google Business Profile. For a deeper dive, read our full guide on local SEO for mortgage brokers.

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Step 2: Get Your Website Ranking for Local Keywords

Your Google Business Profile drives Maps visibility. Your website drives organic search visibility. You need both.

The biggest mistake we see mortgage brokers make? Having a single-page website with no suburb-specific content, no service pages, and no blog. Google can't rank you for searches it doesn't know you're relevant to.

Here's what a high-performing mortgage broker website looks like:

Service pages for every product you offer. Home loans. Refinancing. First home buyer loans. Investment property loans. Commercial lending. Construction loans. SMSF loans. Each one gets its own page with unique, helpful content. Not 200 words of filler — genuinely useful information about the process, eligibility, and what you specifically bring to the table.

Location pages for every suburb you serve. This is where most brokers leave money on the table. If you serve clients across Sydney's Inner West, you should have pages targeting "mortgage broker Marrickville," "mortgage broker Newtown," "mortgage broker Leichhardt," and so on. Each page should include locally relevant content — not just the suburb name swapped into a template.

Fast load times and mobile-first design. Over 60% of local searches happen on mobile devices. If your site takes more than three seconds to load or looks broken on a phone, you're losing leads before they even read a word.

Clear calls to action. Every page needs a way for visitors to contact you. Phone number in the header. Contact form above the fold. A "Book a Free Consultation" button that follows them as they scroll. Make it effortless.

Schema markup. This is the technical code that tells search engines exactly what your business does, where it's located, and what services you offer. Most web developers can implement this in under an hour, and it makes a measurable difference to how Google displays your site in results.

We've written extensively about this in our SEO for mortgage brokers guide — it's worth reading if you want to go deeper on keyword research and on-page optimisation.

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Step 3: Build a Review Generation System

Reviews are the social proof engine of your business. They influence rankings (Google has confirmed that review quantity, quality, and velocity are ranking factors for Maps) and they influence conversion. A broker with 47 five-star reviews will get chosen over a broker with 3 reviews every single time, even if the second broker is technically better at their job.

The problem? Happy clients don't leave reviews unless you ask them.

When to ask. The best time to request a review is immediately after a positive milestone — unconditional approval, settlement day, or a successful refinance completion. The client is emotionally engaged and grateful. Strike while the iron is hot.

How to ask. Keep it simple and direct. Here's a template that works:

"Hi [Name], congratulations again on settlement! If you had a good experience working with us, would you mind leaving a quick Google review? It really helps other buyers find us. Here's the direct link: [your Google review link]. Thanks so much — and enjoy the new place!"

Send this via text message, not email. Text has a 98% open rate. Email sits at around 20%. The difference in response rates is dramatic.

Make it a system, not a one-off. Build review requests into your settlement workflow. Use a CRM trigger, a task reminder, or even a simple checklist. The brokers who consistently generate reviews are the ones who've systematised the ask.

Respond to every review. Thank people for positive reviews. Address negative reviews professionally and constructively. Google rewards engagement, and potential clients notice how you handle criticism.

Aim for a minimum of 2-3 new reviews per month. That sustained velocity tells Google your business is active and trusted.

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Step 4: Create Content That Attracts Customers

Content marketing isn't just for big brands. For mortgage brokers, a well-written blog post can rank on Google for years and deliver a steady stream of qualified leads without any ongoing ad spend.

The key is writing content that answers the questions your potential clients are actually asking.

Start with FAQs you hear every day. "How much deposit do I need for a first home in Brisbane?" "Can I get a home loan while on probation?" "What's the difference between fixed and variable rates in 2025?" You answer these questions on every client call. Put those answers on your website.

Write suburb-specific market commentary. "Is it a good time to buy in [suburb]?" posts perform exceptionally well in local search because they combine buyer intent with geographic relevance. Update them quarterly with fresh data.

Create guides for specific buyer segments. A comprehensive "First Home Buyer's Guide to Melbourne" or "Investor's Guide to Refinancing in Queensland" positions you as an authority. These longer pieces (1,500+ words) tend to rank well and attract backlinks naturally.

Use plain English. Your clients aren't mortgage professionals. Drop the jargon. Write like you talk in a client meeting — clear, confident, and helpful. If a sentence could appear in a product disclosure statement, rewrite it.

Publish consistently. Two to four quality blog posts per month is enough to build meaningful organic traffic within six to twelve months. Consistency matters more than volume.

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Step 5: Optimise for AI Search (GEO)

Here's what most mortgage brokers aren't thinking about yet: AI search engines.

ChatGPT, Google's AI Overviews, Perplexity, and Microsoft Copilot are rapidly changing how consumers find service providers. Instead of scrolling through ten blue links, users are asking AI assistants questions like "Who's the best mortgage broker in Parramatta?" and getting direct recommendations.

Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is the practice of positioning your business to be cited and recommended by these AI tools. It's early days, but the brokers who move now will have a significant first-mover advantage.

What works for GEO:

• Structured, well-organised website content that AI can easily parse and cite
• Strong review profiles across multiple platforms (Google, Product Review, Trustpilot)
• Being mentioned on authoritative third-party sites, directories, and industry publications
• Clear entity information — your name, credentials, ACL number, aggregator affiliation, and service areas stated explicitly on your site
• FAQ schema markup that directly answers common questions

We've published a comprehensive breakdown of this emerging channel in our GEO for mortgage brokers guide. If you want to stay ahead of the curve, that's essential reading.

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Step 6: Track Your Results

You can't improve what you don't measure. And in mortgage broking, where a single settled loan is worth thousands in commission, knowing which channels deliver clients is critical to smart marketing spend.

Track these metrics monthly:

• Google Business Profile insights: calls, direction requests, website clicks, and search queries that triggered your listing
• Website traffic: total sessions, organic traffic, and traffic by landing page (use Google Analytics 4)
• Keyword rankings: track your position for your top 10-20 target keywords using a tool like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or BrightLocal
• Lead volume and source: how many enquiries came in, and where did they come from? Phone, form, email, social?
• Conversion rate: of the leads that came in, how many booked a meeting? How many submitted an application? How many settled?

Set up call tracking. Services like CallRail or even Google's built-in call tracking through GBP let you attribute phone calls to specific marketing channels. This is particularly valuable for mortgage brokers because so many leads come via phone.

Review quarterly, adjust accordingly. Look at what's working, double down on it. Look at what's not, fix it or drop it. Marketing isn't set-and-forget — it's an ongoing refinement process.

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When to Hire a Professional

Everything in this guide is technically something you could do yourself. But let's be honest — your time is worth more spent sitting across from clients and settling loans than wrestling with Google's algorithm.

Consider DIY if: you have fewer than five active clients, you enjoy digital marketing, and you have 5-10 hours a week to dedicate to it.

Consider hiring a specialist if: you want faster results, you're already busy with client work, or you've tried DIY and hit a plateau.

At MoneyNearMe, we work exclusively with financial services businesses in Australia. We understand ASIC compliance, the mortgage broking sales cycle, and what actually converts a website visitor into a booked appointment.

Our packages range from $500 to $2,000 per month depending on your growth goals and competitive landscape. Every engagement starts with a free audit of your current online presence so you can see exactly where the gaps are.

Book your free audit here and we'll show you precisely what's costing you leads right now — and how to fix it.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How can mortgage brokers get more customers online?

Optimise your Google Business Profile, build suburb-specific website pages, generate consistent reviews, and publish helpful content that ranks for local search terms.

What's the fastest way to get more calls as a mortgage broker?

Optimise your Google Business Profile completely. Most brokers see increased call volume within 30-90 days of proper setup and ongoing posting.

How much should I spend on marketing as a mortgage broker?

Most successful brokers invest $500-$2,000 per month. Given the average loan commission, one extra settled deal typically covers several months of marketing spend.

Is Google Ads or SEO better for mortgage brokers?

Both work. Google Ads delivers faster results but stops when you stop paying. SEO builds compounding value over time. The best strategy uses both together.

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Ready to stop relying on referrals alone and build a predictable lead generation engine? Get in touch with MoneyNearMe — we'll show you exactly what's possible.