Grow Your Accounting Business Online With WordPress – 2

In Part One of this guide on ways to build your accounting web presence, we provided in-depth information on the following areas:

• Online Challenges For Accounting And Financial Businesses
• Opportunities For Accountants
• Essential Web Pages
• Tips On How To Improve Your Web Content

In this section, we will continue exploring more ways to grow your accounting business online. Topics covered include:

• Improve Web Traffic Using WordPress
• Generating More Leads & Enquiries With WordPress
• Improve SEO, Increase User Engagement And Generate More Visitors With Plugins

For more information about WordPress plugins and themes, go here:

• WordPress Plugins – The Easy Way To Enhance Your Blog’s Capability
• WordPress Themes – An Introduction

Improve Web Traffic With WordPress

Web traffic is an integral part of your online business growth. In this section we explore ways to help you improve your web traffic using WordPress.

Optimizing Your Website For Search Engines

There are so many ways WordPress can help to optimize your accounting website for search engines:

• Search Engine-Friendly URLs – Set the permalinks to create search engine-optimized URLS for your articles and posts.
• Tags – Specify the keywords that you want search engines to index your article pages (posts) for.
• Categories – Create SEO-friendly categories for keeping your content organized and easy to find.
• Excerpts – WordPress lets you compose the description for your posts that search engines will show in their search result pages.
• Images – title images with keywords for improved search engine results.
• Internal Linking – WordPress has a built-in feature that allows you to easily create internal links for better indexing of pages
• Pinging – WordPress can be configured to automatically notify (ping) other sites and directories the moment a new post is published on your website.

WordPress Plugins That Can Improve Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Improve User Engagement And Drive More Traffic

As well as the built-in features of WordPress, the WP community makes available many plugins that improve SEO, increase engagement and drive more visitors to your site.

Here are some plugins you can use to improve your SEO:

• All in One SEO – WordPress SEO plugin
• Google XML Sitemaps – WordPress XML sitemap plugin (for search engines)
• Page-List – WordPress site map plugin (for visitors)

(Use a plugin like Yoast SEO (previously called WordPress SEO by Yoast) to improve your SEO)

Other things you can do to improve your accounting site’s SEO, increase engagement and drive more web traffic to your website are to add a forum, newsletters, commenting, and social features. Here are a few powerful plugins that can help:

• BuddyPress – This plugin lets you run a social network on your website.
• bbPress – This free plugin helps you set up and manage your own forum on your site.
• E-Newsletter – Use E-Newsletter to send professional email newsletters, track results and manage subscribers from your WP site.
• Disqus – This plugin lets you power discussions and increases engagement on your website or blog.
• Floating Social – Add powerful social sharing features and buttons on your website or blog.

(You can easily add social sharing buttons to your site with free or inexpensive plugins)

How To Generate New Leads & Enquiries

This section explains ways to improve sales and generate leads and enquiries for your accounting business.

Add A Newsletter

Adding a newsletter is an excellent way to build a list of subscribers. Adding a newsletter provides several benefits including:

• Drives targeted traffic
• Keeps your business at the forefront of your reader’s minds
• Provides useful updates
• Provides you with a highly targeted marketing channel
• It’s a way to offer special products or services to a select audience
• Increases user engagement
• Provides you with additional opportunities for your content to be shared with other potential clients

A proven strategy for getting your visitors to become subscribers is to provide high value content and offer users free gifts in exchange for their personal details. This could be a guide, checklists for handling tax, access to financial calculators, discount coupons, access to videos, contests, etc.

Add A Contact Form

A contact form makes it easy and simple for readers to get in touch with you. Readers can report issues, ask questions to specific departments, ask for a quote, give suggestions for new services or products and more.

Contact forms provide a number of benefits, like:

• Reducing spam
• Automated response
• Gives you control over what is sent to you
• Allows you to keep your email address private
• They can be added to any page or post
• Improves the professional look of your website
• Convenience for site visitors

One of the most popular WordPress contact form plugins is Contact Form 7.

Contact Form 7

(Contact Form 7 – WordPress Plugin)

This free contact form plugin is easy to install and set up and lets you add and manage multiple contact forms on your site, customize the form and the email contents, add fields, and more.

Supports international languages, Ajax-powered submissions, CAPTCHA, spam filtering and so on.

Something else to consider is to add sections to your contact form so users can choose which aspect of your business they are contacting your company about. This helps you get the comment to the right person.

Adding A Map

Adding a map helps your visitors and clients find you.

Inserting maps (e.g. Google Maps), into your site also provides many benefits, such as:

• They help to improve local SEO
• Visitors can easily find you
• Shows location of events

(Adding maps to your site helps your visitors and customers find you)

Some of the most popular map plugins include:

• Google Maps
• Advanced Google Maps Plugin for WordPress
• WP Google Maps
• Comprehensive Google Map Plugin

WordPress Plugins & Themes That Can Help Improve Search Engine Optimization, Increase User Engagement And Drive More Visitors

Accounting Plugins For WordPress

WordPress makes available a number of plugins you can add to your accounting or financial services site that will immediately add a range of practical tools for users. Here are just some of these plugins:

Calculator Pro Calculators

(Calculator Pro Calculators Plugin)

This plugin provides a free collection of 400+ calculators. You can embed these into your pages, posts, or sidebars using shortcodes. The plugin also supports internationalization

Note: Most of the calculators aren’t focused specifically on accounting, but there are a few for:

• 401k
• Payments
• Leases
• Equity
• And lots more

For more details, go here}:

• Calculators Pro Plugin For WordPress

Show Stock Quotes

(Show Stock Quotes WP Plugin)

This plugin installs a widget that shows up to 20 different stock quotes per portfolio. You can show as many widgets as you like.

(Show Stock Quotes Plugin For WordPress – Stock Portfolio)

For more details, go here}:

• Show Stock Quotes WordPress Plugin

Custom Stock Ticker

(Custom Stock Ticker – WordPress Plugin)

With this plugin you can add a custom stock ticker to any page, post, or sidebar with shortcodes.

Custom Stock ticker provides a number of customizable features. Choose from built-in skins or customize it yourself to match your website. You can also create custom stocks for specific categories.

Appearance customization features include width, height, scroll speed, opacity, background color, number of stocks displayed simultaneously, typeface, etc.

For more details, go here}:

• Custom Stock Ticker – WordPress Plugin

Finance Calculator

(Finance Calculator – WordPress Plugin)

This free calculator allows your visitors to calculate indicative repayments. This is a great tool for calculating auto loans, property, or any other large loan.

(Finance Calculator WordPress Plugin – Loan Calculator)

The Finance Calculator plugin also contains an application form that will send a message to a specified email address.

Other features of this plugin include displaying payment protection, calculating 12 to 60 months loans and creating a form that can be placed in any page or post.

For more details, go here}:

• Finance Calculator – WordPress Plugin

WP-Invoice

(WP-Invoice)

WP-Invoice is ideal for WordPress site owners with clients to bill.

This plugin lets you integrate billing into WordPress. You can send itemized invoices, set up recurring billing and expand plugin functionality with both free and premium add-ons, like business location, electronic signature, PDF creation, quoting, single-page checkout forms, and more.

The plugin ties into your WordPress user management database to keep track of your clients and their information, and integrates with PayPal, Authorize.net, Stripe, 2Checkout, PayPal Payments Pro, and many others.

Plugin features include adding custom payments and charges, inserting pre-defined line items and discounts, quickly viewing invoice status and progression, easily filtering and finding invoices, seeing invoice receipts and invoice history, creating e-mail notification templates, displaying reports (collected vs uncollected invoices, ten most valuable clients and top grossing line items), and more..

For more details, go here}:

• WP-Invoice Plugin

All In One Business Management Application

(All In One Business Management Application)

This complete business management system includes accounting management, invoicing, order management, help desk with support ticketing system, client relationship management and lots more.

(All In One Business Management Application – WordPress Plugin – Invoice)

All In One Business Management Application supports international languages, is fully customizable and provides powerful tools like document management, to do app, and more.

For more details, go here}:

• All In One Business Management Application

iBilling – Accounting And Billing Software

(iBilling – Accounting and Billing Software)

iBilling is a scalable business software that lets you manage customer data and invoices, tracks your company’s net worth and cash flow, and lots more.

(iBilling – Accounting and Billing Software WP Plugin – Client Invoicing)

iBilling Accounting and Billing Software allows you to get paid faster by integrating with several payment gateways.

For more details, go here}:

• iBilling – Accounting and Billing Software Plugin

WordPress Themes - Accounting Businesses

To benefit the most from using WordPress, it’s best to choose a theme specifically suited for accounting. Below is a list of some of the best accounting themes available. With the themes below you can have a professional accounting website within minutes.

Accounting Pro

(Accounting Pro WordPress Theme)

This premium theme for WordPress is an inexpensive turn-key theme built for accountants and accounting firms. It’s responsive, has a drag-and-drop page-builder, has several page templates, custom menu features, a content composer (gives you an improved WordPress editor), a sidebar manager, auto-resized images, and lots more.

You can customize Accounting Pro using premium add-ons.

Go here for more information:

• Accounting Pro WordPress Theme

Accountancy

(Accountancy – WordPress Theme)

This inexpensive theme comes in a variety of built-in styles and layouts to give your accounting site a professional look and feel.

It includes a custom slider, a featured testimonial section, and more. It’s lightweight, search engine optimized, fast loading, and is responsive. It provides what your business needs without bloating your theme. Your purchase price includes free updates and 1 year of support.

More info:

• Accountancy WP Theme

Accounting

(Accounting)

This one includes a drag-and-drop builder that allows you to design your site any way you want. It also provides unlimited sidebars with custom widgets, four different header types, a custom administration panel, different color schemes, custom slider, 3 blog types, and is fully responsive (mobile-friendly). It is a clean-looking, modern and fast loading theme.

For more details, go here:

• Accounting Theme

Kathryn

(Kathryn Theme)

This one is developed specifically for accountants. Kathryn comes with a slider, multiple layouts, multiple sidebars, widgetized home page, flexible rotator, call to action boxes, author boxes for single or multiple bloggers, many color choices, is easy to use, inexpensive, search optimized, and is mobile-friendly. Although this theme could easily suit any profession you like, it builds a great looking accounting theme. It includes a license for the Soliloquy slider plugin and is a separate purchase from the Genesis Framework.

Go here to learn more this theme:

• Kathryn WP Theme

Accounting WordPress Theme

(Accounting WordPress Theme)

This premium theme was designed to enhance professionalism within the accounting industry. It features an authoritative color scheme and elements designed specifically to make your accounting website look professional while not looking dull. It’s a turn-key installation but you can still modify it if you want. It’s fully responsive and includes pages for your accounting services, contact form section with consultation requests (downloadable as a CSV file), testimonials, and a blog.

More information:

• Accounting WordPress Theme WP Premium Theme

WP Advocate

(WP Advocate – WordPress Theme)

This is a corporate theme built for professional service providers such as accountants and attorneys. You can use the bundled images or upload your own. It includes a custom post type adding employee profiles and can also integrate with BeSpoke profile templates. It’s clean-looking and loads fast.

More information:

• WP Advocate Theme

Divi

(Divi – WordPress Theme)

This premium theme for WordPress is the most flexible theme in Elegant Themes‘ entire collection of WordPress themes. You can create a professional website using the page builder or beautiful and unique pre-made layouts. You can change your layout as much as you need.

The builder transforms web elements into visual building blocks, allowing you to understand and easily change the structure of their page without editing any code.

(Divi WordPress Theme – Page Builder)

Divi has 40 content modules that you can drag and drop anywhere you want. This includes modules such as multiple layouts, a slider, you can place pricing tables, testimonials, call-to-action, and lots more. Divi is responsive and completely customizable. Prices start at $69 per year and includes access to over 80 professional themes.

More info:

• Divi – WordPress Theme

The Corporation

(The Corporation)

The Corporation WordPress Theme was developed specifically to make corporate sites look good.

This theme has a sleek and professional page-based home page design with a prominent slider. It also has a blog design. It has six different  color schemes. It also comes with multiple page templates that include contact pages, blog feeds, sitemaps, search page, gallery page, and more. Elegant Theme prices start at $69 per year and includes access to over 80 professional themes.

For more information, go here:

• The Corporation Theme For WordPress

Adviser

(Adviser – WordPress Theme)

This one was developed to help finance industry professionals build trust with a clean business design. It’s ideal for businesses that provide services such as investments or tax advice. Adviser includes a recruitment page with hiring announcements and where to send applications, a built-in lease calculator, widgets and multiple shortcodes, and the drag-and-drop visual composer..

More info:

• Adviser Theme For WordPress

Tax Help

(Tax Help WP Theme)

Tax Help was specifically designed for financial companies, tax and finance advisors, and firms that offer tax assistance. Tax Help is designed to show your services in a professional way and help grow your business reputation. It provides a range of blog styles, uses a drag-and-drop visual composer, includes a shortcode builder, the Revolution Slider, and additional custom shortcodes.

Go here for more info:

• Tax Help WP Theme

Finance Business

(Finance Business WordPress Theme)

This premium theme for WordPress was built for businesses that provide financial services including consulting, tax help, finance, insurance, corporate, accounting, loans, and more. Finance Business includes a custom CMSMasters Visual Content Composer plugin, around one hundred shortcodes that let you add charts and financial content, a custom drag-and-drop composer, two premium sliders, page settings, color management, animated elements, and a lot more.

Go here to learn more about using this theme:

• Finance Business – WordPress Theme

Avada

(Avada Finance WordPress Theme)

Avada is a fully responsive and versatile multipurpose theme that lets you easily build, configure, and run any kind of website you want without touching code, including a website for an accounting or finance-related organization.

To learn more about the Avada theme for WordPress, go here: Avada

Hopefully, this comprehensive guide has helped you learn ways of improving SEO, improve user engagement and increase traffic generation with WordPress plugins.

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