Grow Your Accounting Business Online With WordPress

Accounting professionals face many new challenges in today’s web economy, especially when it comes to growing a successful presence online.

Challenges Certified Public Accountants Face Online

Accounting businesses today must work harder than ever to remain competitive. Not only do you have to participate in the communities and industries your business serves, you must also develop and maintain a strong presence online. This includes having a website and learning how to better market your business online.

As well as investing money in offline marketing, businesses in the accounting industry are also finding that increasingly larger amounts of their budget will need to be delegated towards the development and maintenance of a website that drives clients, engages visitors, outperforms the competition in search engines and increases their reach online.

This means that your site not only has to look great, load fast, and be easy to navigate, but it’s also important to keep in mind that the needs of your website may change in time and sections may need to be updated often. This requires having a well-planned website and content management strategy in place.

Another problem that CPAs face (as most businesses do for that matter), is that you have only around 30 seconds or less to give users the information they are searching for 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 Accountants

As well as facing many new business and technology changes, there are also many online opportunities available to accounting businesses that can evolve to meet the challenges of the online economy and think outside the box about improving their online marketing skills.

In this article, you will discover ways to increase web traffic and establish online credibility for your business.

As well as providing tips and information on cost-effective ways to improve your accounting web presence, we also recommend that you consider using the WordPress content management system (CMS) to power your accounting business website.

To learn more about the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress content management system, see the articles below:

• How A Poorly Built Web Site Can Cost You Business And What To Do About It
• WordPress For Small Business – The Beginner’s Guide To Building A Successful Business With A WordPress Blog

Practical Tips For Improving Your Accounting Site

This section explains how to improve your accounting website and get better results. We show you what web pages you need, what type of content you need, useful tips for improving your site’s navigation structure, etc.

If you need website planning assistance, visit this page: The Web Site Planning Process Explained - A Practical Primer For Non-Technical Business Owners

How To Improve Your Web Pages

Professional websites need some essential pages. Let’s discuss the pages your  should have and how to structure your accounting website for best results.

Description Of Products And Services

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

It will include services such as:

• Business – business planning, incorporation of companies, accounting, payroll, financial statement compilation, bookkeeping, forecasting, financing, budgeting, strategic planning, consulting services, etc.
• Taxation – preparation, planning, reviewing, auditing, advice, 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 a business, transfers, etc.
• Lending and leasing

List all of the services you provide, not just the ones you specialize in. Provide your visitors with information that will educate them about what these services do and direct them to your appointment booking page.

About Us

This page should give a description of your business and what your business stands for, its unique approach, philanthropical activities, etc.

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

(List all of your awards accreditations, recognitions, certifications, associations, publications, etc. in the About Us page. Image sourced from: deloitte.com)

Team Profile Page

If you are looking for inexpensive ways to grow your business online, then make it easier for your visitors to get to know you and your business better.

You want prospective clients to relate to your business. A great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your people. It should include a photo and a brief biography. Since most visitors will not tend to be very well-versed in accounting terms your descriptions should tell who they are and what their specialties are. It should also explain what those specialties mean. This page should even include social buttons so your prospective clients can follow individual team members on their social pages.

In this page, don’t be afraid to show the human side of your people with personal stories, hobbies, etc., but make sure to outline your employee’s qualifications, why they are an invaluable asset to your team, and more importantly, how they will help add value to your clients’ business.

(Add an employee description page. Screenshot image sourced from: deepsky.com)

To learn more about how to add an easy-to-maintain simple team directory in your WordPress site using a free plugin, refer to this step-by-step tutorial: How To Easily Create A Simple Employee List For Your WordPress Site Without Editing Code

Recruitment

This is a listing of career opportunities within your company. It should include training provided, employee benefits, advancement opportunities, etc. You can include information such as the job outlook and new career opportunities in the accounting and financial services industry.

Maintain a positions available section in your page. If there are no positions currently available, consider inviting people to return periodically to the page, subscribe to your contact list, follow you on social media, etc.

Case Studies And Testimonials

Case studies and testimonials from past clients are a great way to show potential clients what kind of financial solutions you will implement to help them solve problems. By adding a page with reviews from clients and case studies, you will also help to provide social proof.

(Add a web page with client reviews and case studies. Screenshot image sourced from: pcg-services.com)

We have written extensively about using testimonials, case studies and reviews to grow your business online. Go here to learn more: Learn How To Convert More Visitors Into Qualified Prospects With Awesome Testimonials

Contact Us Page

Having a contact page is absolutely necessary.

Your contact page should include some or all of the following:

• Name Of Your Organization
• Your address
• Phone
• Fax number
• Contact email address
• Map and directions
• Website address
• Contact form
• Request for more information – contact details
• Links to social media profiles
• Interactive chat (optional feature)

If your business services multiple areas you will want to make this clear when showing the address and contact info.

You could also include a few links for commonly-asked questions, main pages, special offers, helpdesk, newsletter opt-in form, blog, etc.

Add A Blog Section

A blog is a very powerful marketing tool for your business. Most blogging platforms typically include a content management system that allows you to easily promote your business by publishing content such as news, updates, useful articles, opinions and discussions, promotional videos, media presentations, etc.

If you already have an established 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 site is hard to manage or not giving you the results you want, then WordPress can serve as both your website and business blog.

Not many people know this, but WordPress can turn your web presence into an automated traffic-generation system that can help begin attracting an ongoing stream of new targeted traffic to your website, simply by publishing new content to your website on a consistent basis.

(WordPress can drive new visitors automatically to your site)

You can learn more about this here: Web Site Traffic Blueprint – Discover How To Turn Your WordPress Website Into An Automated Traffic Machine

Legal Pages

It’s really important for accounting and financial services organizations to ensure they have a website that complies will all legal requirements online, not just for building trust with prospective clients, but also to ensure that no laws or regulations are being breached wherever you provide services to.

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

• Contact Page
• Privacy Policy
• Terms And Conditions
• Website Disclaimer
• Affiliate Agreement
• Anti-Spam Policy
• Compensation Disclosure
• DMCA Notice
• Earnings Disclaimer
• External Linking Policy
• Financial Disclaimers
• Refund Policy
• Video/Audio Terms
• and others

Go here to learn more about adding legal pages to your website: The Importance Of Adding Legal Pages To Your WordPress Site

Ways To Improve Your Content

In today’s globally competitive economy, having a sound content marketing strategy has become one of the key differentiators for businesses that sell similar products or provide similar services.

You want to provide great content with advice and tips that will get your visitors sharing your content with others online and coming back for more information. Content marketing is the most effective way to inform and educate your visitors and prospects about your business.

For example, topics for an accounting business could cover the following:

• How balance sheets work
• Understanding profit and loss statements
• Directors’ duties and legal responsibilities
• How to present accounts for fundraising activities
• Business cashflow planning tips
• Business insurance
• Protecting revenues
• Tips on structuring a self-managed retirement fund
• Dos and don’ts of … (e.g. purchasing insurance, claiming business expenses, etc.)

You can also create a series of educational articles that will help your prospective clients gain a better understanding of your accounting or financial services, such as finance accounting, small business accounting, business budgeting, reducing debt, financial concepts made simple, etc.

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

We recommend subscribing to our Content Marketing Email Training Series. You will receive regular training emails with easy-to-digest information and practical tips that will show exactly how to drive more traffic to your web site, save money creating useful content for your visitors and grow your business online using content marketing. It’s not only a great course with loads of useful information, it’s also 100% FREE!

Improving Visitor Engagement And User Experience

Improving your site’s user experience (known as UX) will help to keep visitors coming back and engaging with your site. This section will show you ways you can improve visitor engagement and UX.

Use RSS Feeds

RSS feeds provide plenty of benefits for your accounting business.

If you provide valuable information, other sites may want to syndicate your content to their visitors.

Some of the benefits of having other businesses syndicate your content, include:

• All of your content updates are in one place
• your content distribution doesn’t rely on email
• Your feeds can be shared online
• Users can subscribe to your feed
• It provides links to your site
• RSS feeds can be submitted to RSS directories
• There are multiple ways your readers can receive your content (e.g. subscribers can read the content on their mobile device using different applications)
• It’s built into WordPress

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

You can find many useful RSS feeds for your website by searching online for finance-related government departments and well-known industry bodies.

For example, here are some exaples of feeds containing useful information that you may want to add 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 site’s UX.)

Checklists And Forms

Adding checklists and forms to your site is a fantastic way to help increase user engagement and add value to your readers. Checklists and forms can provide step-by-step instructions and resources to complete a necessary task. Forms and checklists are also great planning tools.

Forms and checklists could cover areas such as:

• How To Set Up A Company
• Rental Property Worksheet
• Non-Profit Governance Checklist
• Disclosure Requirements
• Individual Tax Checklist
• Self Managed Super Fund Tax Checklist
• Income Tax Variation Forms

Other Tools

Providing unique tools, gadgets and applications for businesses on your website can help increase visitor engagement and add significant value to your target audience. Calculators, such as loan and tax calculators, are popular tools for accounting websites. Others can include time cards, or retirement and interest calculators.

In part 2 of this guide, we look at a number of online tools you can use in your website using WordPress plugins that can improve your seo, improve user engagement and drive more web traffic to your business.

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This is the end of part 1 of this article on ways to grow your accounting business web presence.

Click on this link to continue reading:

• How To Build And Grow An Accounting Website With WordPress – Part 2

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