Grow Your Accounting Business Online With WordPress

The information economy has not only transformed the way business is done worldwide, it has also created increasingly difficult challenges and opportunities for accounting and financial services businesses.

Online Challenges For Accounting Businesses

Certified Public Accountants today must work harder than ever before to remain in business. Not only do you have to maintain a strong presence in the communities and industries you serve, you must also maintain a strong presence online. This includes having an effective web presence and learning how to better promote your business services online.

As well as investing dollars in offline marketing activities such as advertising on local newspapers, ads in industry publications and magazines, radio and television, etc., businesses in the accounting industry are also finding that they will need to designate a bigger portion of their budget to develop and maintain a website that will bring new prospective clients, engage users, outrank the competition in search engines and social media, and give them a wider degree of marketing exposure online.

This means that your website not only has to look great, your web pages have to be fast-loading, and be easy to navigate, but even more importantly, your site’s needs may change over time and sections will need to be updated frequently. This requires a sound website and content management strategy.

One other problem that accountancy firms face with their websites (as most other professions do for that matter), is that your site has an average of 30 seconds to provide visitors with what they need or they will go away.

“Websites have evolved into central information hubs where service information is still present but enhanced with web portals, hyperlinks to state and federal sites, and a variety of free tools.”

Michael Alter, http://www.accountingweb.com/technology/accounting-software/tips-for-improving-your-website

Opportunities For Accounting Businesses In The Web Economy

As well as facing many new challenges, there are also many online opportunities available to businesses in the accounting industry that are willing to adapt to meet digital economy challenges and can think progressively about improving their online marketing skills.

This comprehensive article will help you uncover ways to attract and engage new visitors and improve your business online.

As well as providing tips and information on ways to improve your accounting web presence, we also recommend that you consider using the WordPress CMS platform to power your accounting or financial services website.

To learn more about the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress Content Management System (CMS), go here:

• Discover Why A Poorly Designed Web Site Can Lose You Business And What To Do About It
• How To Grow Your Small Business With A WordPress Site

Tips To Improve Your Accounting Site

We’ll start first by reviewing some basic information you need. In this section, we’ll look at how to improve your accounting website and get better results. We show you what web pages you need, what type of content works best for accounting websites, your navigation structure, etc.

If you need website planning assistance, read this detailed guide we have written: Planning A Website: A Comprehensive Guide For Business Owners

Essential Pages

All websites require a number of essential pages. Let’s take a look at the pages your  need and how to structure your website for best results.

Products And Services Description Page

You need to include a page that explains your products or services.

It will include all the services you offer, such as:

• Business – business planning, company structures, accounting, payroll, preparing financial statements, bookkeeping, financing, budgeting, forecasting, strategic planning, consulting, etc.
• Taxation – preparing, planning, reviewing, auditing, advising, problem resolution
• Investment strategies
• Corporate accounting
• Wealth creation
• Superannuation/retirement plan (401k) advice
• Audit risk assessment and assurance
• Quickbooks – setup, training, tune up, and support
• Specialist services – mergers, acquisitions, information technology, secretarial, rentals, trusts, fiduciary accounting, succession planning, selling businesses, transfers, etc.
• Lending and leasing

List all of the services you provide, not just the ones you specialize in. Educate your visitors about the benefits of using your services and why they should book an appointment with you.

About Us Page

The ‘About Us’ page should give a description of your business and what it stands for, its unique approach, philanthropy, etc.

It’s important to mention any industry awards, recognitions, accreditations, certifications, associations, publications, etc., that can be used to promote your company and set it above other competitors.

(List all of your professional awards certifications, recognitions, accreditations, associations, publications, etc. in your About page. Screenshot image source: deloitte.com)

Meet Our Team

If you are looking for simple ways to sell more products online or increase user interaction with your site, then something you can do, is help your visitors get to know, like and trust your business better.

You want potential clients to relate to your business. One great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your staff. This page should include a photo and a mini bio. Since most visitors will not tend to be very well-versed in accounting terms it should tell who they are and what their specialties are. It should also explain what those specialties mean. It should even include social buttons that will allow your prospective clients to follow some of your team members on their social pages.

On this page, don’t be afraid to humanize your people with personal stories, hobbies, etc., but make sure to highlight each team member’s experience, why they are an asset to your team, and more importantly, how they can help add value to your clients’ business.

(Make sure to add a staff page. Screenshot source: deepsky.com)

We have written a detailed tutorial on how to add a simple team members directory to your web site without coding skills here: WordPress Plugin Tutorial: How To Add An Employee List Directory

Job Opportunities Page

List any career opportunities available within your organization. It can include training offered, employee benefits, advancement opportunities, social activities promoted or sponsored by your firm, etc. You can include stories of trainees who have established a solid career path thanks to your organization and information such as the job outlook and upcoming career opportunities in the accounting industry.

Include also a positions available section in your page. If there are no positions currently available, consider inviting people to return periodically to this page, subscribe to your newsletter, follow you on social media, etc.

Testimonials

Testimonials from previous clients and case studies are a great way to show prospective clients what kind of solutions you can implement to help solve their problems. By adding a page with case studies and reviews from clients, you will also help to provide social proof.

(Add a page to your site with case studies and testimonials from previous clients. Screenshot image source: pcg-services.com)

To learn more about using case studies, testimonials and reviews, see this article: How To Improve Your Sales Using Highly Effective User Testimonials

Contact Page

A clean contact page is absolutely necessary.

It should include:

• Company Name
• Physical location
• Telephone
• Facsimile number
• Email address
• Google Map and directions
• Website URL
• Contact form
• Name of person to contact
• Links to social media profiles
• Live chat (optional feature)

If your business services multiple areas you should make this clear when displaying the address and contact info.

Consider also including links to an FAQ page, useful pages, special offers, support area, newsletter, blog, etc.

Add A Blog Section

A blog is a very powerful marketing tool. Most blogging platforms typically comprise of a content management system that allows you to promote your business using timely content like company news, product updates, educational articles, discussions on current topics, promotional videos, infographics, etc.

If you already have an existing website, then consider adding a WordPress blog to promote your company.

If you don’t have a website yet, or your existing accounting or financial services website is hard to keep updated or not delivering you the results you want, then WordPress can become both your business website and blog.

Not many people know this, but an expertly configured WordPress site can become an automated traffic machine that will attract targeted visitors to your web site, simply by adding regular content to your web site.

(WordPress can automate your traffic generation)

To learn more about this go here: Web Traffic Blueprint – How To Turn Your Website Into An Automated Traffic Generation Machine

Legal Information Pages

Having a website that complies will all legal requirements online is really important, not just for building trust and credibility with visitors, but also to ensure that no local, regional and federal laws or regulations are being contravened wherever your business is located.

Depending on the products and services you provide, adding the following legal pages to your accounting site will help keep you out of legal hot water with most regulatory authorities, third-party service providers, and other potential legal threats or inconveniences:

• Contact Page
• Privacy Statement
• Terms Of Use
• Website Disclaimer
• Affiliate Agreement
• Anti-Spam Policy
• Compensation Disclosure
• DMCA Notice
• Earnings Disclaimer
• External Linking Policy
• Health Disclaimers
• Refund Policy
• Video/Audio Terms
• etc.

We have written a comprehensive article on adding legal pages to your website. Go here to learn more about this: Why You Need To Add Legal Pages To Your Site

Tips On How To Improve Your Content

In today’s highly competitive global economy, content generosity has become one of the key differentiators for businesses.

Providing great content with useful information and tips will get your visitors to share your web pages and come back for more information. Content marketing is the most effective way to inform and educate your visitors and prospects about your business and about using your services.

For example, for an accounting or financial services business, topics could include the following:

• How balance sheets work
• Overlooked tax deductions
• Directors’ duties and legal responsibilities
• How to present accounts for fundraising activities
• Business cashflow planning tips
• Business insurance
• Protecting revenues
• How to structure your self-managed retirement fund
• Things to look for when … (e.g. purchasing vs leasing, claiming business expenses, etc.)

You can also create a series of informative articles that will help your prospective clients understand accounting services, such as forensic accounting, tax accounting, office accounting software, reducing debt, understanding financial concepts, etc.

Remember to include the same keywords in your content that prospective clients will be searching for.

We recommend subscribing to our Content Marketing Email Training Series. You will receive regular training emails with actionable information and practical tips that will teach exactly how to drive more traffic to your web site, save money creating useful content for your site visitors and grow your business online using content. It’s not only a great course with loads of useful information, it’s also completely FREE!

Ways To Improve Visitor Engagement And User Experience

Improving website user experience (often referred to as UX) will help to keep visitors coming back and using your site. This section will show you different ways to improve visitor engagement and user experience.

Use RSS Feeds

RSS feeds can help to improve visitor engagement and user experience in a number of different ways.

If you provide content that adds value to others, other sites may want to syndicate your content to their visitors.

Some of the benefits of syndicating your content to other websites using RSS feeds, include:

• All of your updates are in one place
• Content distribution doesn’t rely on email
• Your feed can be shared and picked up by other sites online
• RSS feeds allow users to subscribe
• An RSS feed provides links to your site
• Feeds can be submitted to RSS directories
• RSS provides various ways for readers to receive your content (e.g. subscribers can view your content on their mobile device using a feed reader)
• It’s built into WordPress

There are also a number of benefits to providing great information on your website from other websites, such as the fact that you don’t have to write, manage or update the content.

To find RSS feeds with loads of useful content just search online for relevant government departments and respected industry bodies.

Below we have listed some RSS feeds you may want to consider adding to your site:

• Taxation Policy Center: http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/press/rss.cfm
• Australian Taxation Office: https://www.ato.gov.au/RSS-news-feeds.aspx
• Canada Revenue Agency: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/rssfeeds/
• UK HM Revenue and Customs: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/rss/rss.htm
• South Africa Revenue Service: http://www.sars.gov.za/Pages/RSS-Feeds.aspx

(RSS feeds can help to improve your accounting website’s user experience.)

Checklists And Forms

Checklists and forms are a great way to increase visitor engagement and add value to your readers. Checklists and forms can provide users with useful instructions and resources to perform necessary tasks. Forms and checklists can also be great planning tools.

You can provide forms and checklists (or links to these) covering a range of subjects such as:

• How To Set Up A Company
• Rental Property Worksheet
• Fundraising Governance Checklist
• Disclosure Checklists
• Sole Trader Tax Checklist
• Trust Tax Checklist
• Income Tax Variation Forms

Provide Online Tools

Providing useful tools and applications for businesses (or links to these tools) on your website is a great way to increase visitor engagement and add value to your potential clients. Calculators, such as loan and tax calculators, are great tools you can add to accounting websites. Other tools could include time cards, and retirement and interest calculators.

In part 2, we take a look at a several WordPress plugins and themes you can add to your site that can improve your seo, increase user engagement and generate more web traffic to your business.

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This is the end of part one.

To view the rest of this guide, click this link:

• The Ultimate Guide On How To Build And Grow Your Accounting Or Financial Services Online Presence Successfully With WordPress – Part Two

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