In Part 1 of this guide on ways to grow your accounting business web presence, we provided in-depth information on the following topics:
- Challenges Accounting And Financial Businesses Face Online
- Online Opportunities For Professional Accountants
- Basic Pages
- Tips For Improving The Content On Your Site
In this section, we explore more ways to grow your accounting services business online. Topics covered include:
- Tips For Improving Web Traffic
- Ways To Generate Leads & Enquiries With WordPress-Based Applications
- WordPress Plugins & Themes For Improving SEO, Creating Better User Engagement And Web Traffic Generation
For more information about WordPress plugins and themes, go here:
Grow Your Accounting Website – WordPress Plugins That Can Improve Search Engine Optimization, Improve User Engagement And Generate More Traffic
Your web traffic is vital to your online business growth. In this section, you will learn how to improve search engine optimization, increase user engagement and increase web traffic generation using plugins.
Optimizing Your Website For SEO
There are lots of ways WordPress can help to improve SEO:
- SEO-Friendly – configure the permalinks to use the title of the post.
- Post Tags – Specify the keywords that you want search engines to index your posts for.
- Categories – Add categories for your posts and products.
- Excerpts – Create an excerpt that visitors will see in the search engine results.
- Images – title images used in your content with keywords for improved search results.
- Internal Linking – WordPress has a built-in feature that allows you to easily link your content to other posts
- Pinging – WordPress can be configured to automatically notify (ping) other sites and directories immediately upon publishing a new post on your site.
Improve SEO, Increase User Engagement And Increase Web Traffic Generation Using Plugins
In addition to 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.
For example, you can install the plugins below to improve your SEO:
- All in One SEO – WordPress SEO plugin
- Google XML Sitemaps – WordPress sitemap plugin (for search engines)
- Page-List – WordPress site map plugin (for visitors)
(Use a plugin like Yoast SEO (formerly known as WordPress SEO by Yoast) to improve your SEO)
Other WordPress tools you can add to improve SEO, increase user engagement and drive more visitors to your site are to add a forum, newsletters, comments, and social sharing features. Here are some more useful plugins that can help (many of the plugins listed below are also free):
- BuddyPress – Set up an online social community on WordPress, with member profiles, messaging, user groups, activity streams, and more.
- bbPress – This free plugin helps you run a forum on WordPress.
- E-Newsletter – Use this WordPress plugin to send professional email newsletters, track results and manage subscribers from your WordPress dashboard, without a third party subscription.
- Disqus – use this WordPress plugin to power discussions and increases user engagement on your website or blog.
- Monarch – Use this plugin to add social buttons and features that allow visitors to share your content online on your pages and posts.
(WordPress users can easily add social sharing buttons to their site with free or inexpensive plugins)
Generate More Leads & Enquiries
Let’s discuss now how to improve your sales and generate leads and enquiries.
Provide An Email Newsletter
Providing an email newsletter is an excellent way to grow and retain your readership. It] provides a number of benefits including:
- Sends targeted traffic
- Keeps readers from forgetting about you
- Provides updates
- Provides a highly targeted marketing channel
- Allows you to provide special services or products to a select audience
- Provides new opportunities for interaction
- Provides additional opportunities for subscribers to share your content
A proven way to attract new subscribers to your newsletter is to provide them with valuable information and offer them free gifts in exchange for their details. This can be a time-saving guide, tips for handling tax, access to tax calculators, discount coupons, access to courses, contests, etc.
Add Contact Forms
Contact forms make it easy and simple for readers to get in touch. A contact form also lets users report issues, contact specific departments, ask for quotes, give suggestions and more.
Contact forms provide a number of benefits and advantages, like:
- Reducing spam
- Set up automated responses
- Gives you control over what is sent to you
- You can keep your email address private
- Can be added to any page or post
- Improves the professional look of your site
- Convenient for users
A very popular WordPress contact form plugin is Contact Form 7.
Contact Form 7
(Contact Form 7 WP Plugin)
This free plugin allows you to insert and manage multiple contact forms to your site, customize your form and the mail contents, add fields, and more.
International languages, Ajax-powered submissions, CAPTCHA, and spam filtering is supported.
Something else to consider is to segment your contact form so prospective clients can select the topic they want to discuss. This ensures that contact form requests reach the right person.
Adding Maps
Adding maps helps your visitors and clients find you.
A map is a very useful tool for several reasons:
- They increase local SEO
- Customers can better plan their meeting or appointments
- Display location of events
(Adding maps to your site helps your visitors and clients find you)
Below are just some popular plugins that let you embed, customize and display Google maps on your WordPress site:
- Google Maps
- Advanced Google Maps Plugin for WordPress
- WP Google Maps
- Comprehensive Google Map Plugin
WordPress Plugins For Improving Search Engine Optimization, Better User Engagement And Web Traffic Generation
WordPress Plugins For Accountants
WordPress makes available a number of plugins you can add to your accounting website that will immediately add a range of practical tools for visitors. Here are just some of these plugins:
Calculator Pro Calculators
(Calculator Pro Calculators Plugin)
This is a free collection of over 400 calculators that you can display on your website and embed into your posts, pages, or sidebars using shortcodes. It also supports internationalization
Most of them aren’t focused specifically on accounting, but there are a few for:
- Mortgage
- Loans
- CD
- Credit
- And more
For more details, go here}:
Show Stock Quotes
(Show Stock Quotes Plugin)
This free plugin gives you a widget that shows a number of different stock quotes per portfolio. You can show as many portfolios as you like.
(Show Stock Quotes Plugin For WordPress – Stock Portfolio)
For more details, go here}:
Custom Stock Ticker
(Custom Stock Ticker WP Plugin)
With this plugin you can place custom stock tickers on any page, post, or sidebar with shortcodes.
Custom Stock ticker provides loads of customizable ticker. You can choose to use built-in skins or customize it yourself. It’s easy to customize it so it matches your site. You can also add custom stocks to individual categories.
Appearance customizations include height, width, scroll speed, background color, opacity, number of stocks displayed at one time, font size, font family, text color, etc.
For more details, go here}:
Finance Calculator
(Finance Calculator WordPress Plugin)
This free calculator lets users calculate indicative repayments. It’s great for calculating automotive loans, property, or any other large loan.
(Finance Calculator – WordPress Plugin – Loan Calculator)
This plugin also contains an application form that sends a message to a specified email address.
Other features of this plugin include showing 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}:
WP-Invoice
(WP-Invoice Plugin For WordPress)
WP-Invoice is ideal for WordPress users with clients to bill.
WP-Invoice integrates billing into WordPress. You can send clients itemized invoices, set up recurring billing and expand functionality with free and premium add-ons, like business location, electronic signature, PDF creation, quoting, checkout forms, and more.
The plugin ties into the WP user management database to keep track of your clients and their information, and integrates with PayPal, Authorize.net, Stripe, and others.
The plugin lets you add custom payments and charges, add pre-defined line items and discounts, view invoice status and progression, easily filter and find invoices, see invoice receipts and invoice history, create notification email templates, access reports (collected vs uncollected invoices, 10 most valuable clients and top grossing line items), and more.
For more details, go here}:
All In One Business Management Application
(All In One Business Management Application)
This complete business management system includes accounting management, invoicing, order management, helpdesk with knowledgebase and ticketing management system, CRM and many additional features.
(All In One Business Management Application – WordPress Plugin – Invoicing)
All In One Business Management Application supports multiple languages, is fully customizable and provides powerful tools such as document management, to do app, and more.
For more details, go here}:
iBilling – Accounting And Billing Software
(iBilling – Accounting and Billing Software Plugin)
iBilling is a scalable business software that lets you manage and communicate with customers, track your company’s cash flow and net worth, and lots more.
(iBilling – Accounting and Billing Software – WordPress Plugin – Client Invoice)
It integrates with several online payment gateways.
For more details, go here}:
Accounting And Financial Services WordPress Themes
To benefit the most from using WordPress to grow your business online, it’s best to choose a theme specifically suited for accounting. Here is a look at some of the best accounting themes available. These themes allow you to own a professional accounting website within minutes and save hundreds to thousands of dollars on the cost of website design.
Accounting Pro
(Accounting Pro – WordPress Theme)
This is a turn-key theme for accountants and accountancy firms. It’s responsive, has a drag-and-drop page-builder, offers several page templates, a custom menu feature, a content composer (gives you an improved WordPress editor), a sidebar manager, performs auto resizing for images, and lots more.
Accounting Pro can be customized using premium add-ons.
Visit the theme website to learn more about using this WordPress theme:
Accountancy
(Accountancy)
This premium theme for WordPress comes in a variety of styles and layouts that helps give your accounting website a professional look and feel.
This responsive (mobile-friendly) theme includes a custom slider, a featured testimonial section, it’s lightweight, search engine friendly, and loads fast. It provides the flexibility you need without bloating your theme with features you don’t need. Your purchase price includes free updates and 1 year of support.
To learn more about this WordPress theme, visit this site:
Accounting
(Accounting)
This premium theme includes a drag-and-drop builder so you can design your site any way you want. It also provides unlimited sidebars with custom widgets, four different types of headers, a custom admin panel, different color schemes, custom slider, 3 blog types, and is mobile-friendly. Accountancy is a clean-looking, modern and fast-to-load theme.
Go here to learn more about using this theme:
Kathryn
(Kathryn)
This premium theme was created for accountants. It has a slider, multiple layouts, multiple sidebars, flexible rotator, many colors, is easy to use, search optimized, and is mobile-friendly. Although it can easily fit any profession, 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.
To learn more about this theme, go here:
Accounting WordPress Theme
(Accounting WordPress Theme – WordPress Theme)
This theme was designed to exude professionalism within the accounting industry. Every color, layout element, icon, menu item, page structure, call-to-action, etc., is designed specifically to help give your accounting site a professional look. It’s a turn-key installation but you can still modify it if you want. It’s responsive and includes pages for your accounting services, contact form section with consultation requests (downloadable as CSV), testimonials, and a blog.
For more information, go here:
WP Advocate
(WP Advocate)
WP Advocate is a corporate theme built specifically 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 for employee profiles and can also integrate with BeSpoke profile templates. It’s a clean-looking and fast-loading theme.
To learn more about this WordPress theme, visit this website:
Divi
(Divi Theme For WordPress)
This theme is the most flexible theme in Elegant Themes‘ entire collection of WordPress themes. Divi lets you create a unique, professional website using its page builder or beautiful and unique pre-made layouts. You can modify your layout as much as you need.
The builder transforms web elements into visual building blocks, allowing you to understand and edit the structure of their web pages without editing code.
(Divi Theme – Flexible Page Builder)
Divi comes with 40 content modules that you can drag and drop anywhere you want. This includes multiple layouts, a slider, you can place pricing tables, testimonials, call-to-action, and lots more. Divi is mobile-friendly and fully customizable. Theme prices start at $69 per year and includes access to 80+ themes.
For more details, go here:
The Corporation
(The Corporation)
The Corporation WordPress Theme from Elegant Themes was built specifically to create good-looking corporate websites.
This theme has a page-based home page design with a eye-catching slider, blog design, six unique color schemes, multiple page templates which include contact pages, blog feeds, sitemaps, search page, gallery page, and more. Prices start at $69 per year and includes full access to over 80 stunning themes.
For more details, go here:
Adviser
(Adviser WordPress Theme)
This premium theme for WordPress was specifically built to help finance professionals build trust online with a clean business design. It’s ideal for those that provide services such as investment advice or tax help. Adviser includes a recruitment page with hiring announcements and where to send applications, a lease calculator, widgets and multiple shortcodes, and a drag-and-drop visual composer..
For more details about using this theme, visit this site:
Tax Help
(Tax Help – WordPress Theme)
Tax Help was developed for financial companies, tax and financial advisors, and firms that offer tax services. Tax Help is designed to showcase your services professionally and help establish your business reputation. It has a range of blog styles, uses the drag-and-drop visual composer, includes a shortcode builder, the Revolution Slider, and additional custom shortcodes.
Go here to learn more about using this theme:
Finance Business
(Finance Business WordPress Theme)
This premium theme for WordPress was specifically developed for firms that provide financial services including consulting, tax help, finance, insurance, corporate, loans, accounting, and more. This theme includes a custom CMSMasters Visual Content Composer plugin, around one hundred shortcodes that includes charts and financial content, the custom drag-and-drop composer, two premium sliders, page settings, color management, animations, and a whole lot more.
Visit the theme website to learn more about using this 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, you have found this comprehensive guide on ways of improving your business online with WordPress themes and plugins helpful.
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"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)
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