In Part 1 of this article on ways to build your accounting business web presence, we covered the following topics:
- Challenges Accountants Face Online
- Opportunities For Accounting Businesses In The Web Economy
- Improve Your Web Pages
- Ways To Improve The Content On Your Website
In this section, we explore more ways to grow your accounting services business online. Areas covered below include:
- Improving Traffic With WordPress
- Generating Leads & Enquiries Using WordPress
- Improve SEO, Improve User Engagement And Drive More Traffic With WordPress Plugins & Themes
For more information about WordPress plugins and themes, go here:
Ways To Improve Web Traffic
Web traffic is a vital part of your business growth. In this section we explore ways to help you improve your web traffic.
Optimizing Your Website For Search Engines With WordPress
There are lots of ways WordPress can help to improve your website’s SEO:
- SEO-Friendly – configure the permalinks to use the title of the post.
- Tags – Choose the keywords that you want your article pages (posts) to be indexed by in the search engines.
- Post Categories – Add SEO-friendly categories for archiving and organizing your content.
- Excerpts – Create the description for your posts that will appear in search results.
- Images – title your images with keywords for improved search results.
- Internal Linking – WordPress provides a built-in feature that allows you to easily create internal links for faster page indexing
- Post Notification – Set up your WordPress site to automatically notify (ping) other search directories immediately upon publishing a new post on your website.
WordPress Plugins For Improving Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Better User Engagement And Generating More Traffic
In addition to the built-in features of WordPress, there are dozens of WordPress plugins that will improve your accounting website’s SEO, increase engagement and drive more web traffic to your business.
Here are some plugins you can use to improve your SEO:
- Yoast SEO – WordPress SEO plugin
- Google XML Sitemaps – WordPress XML sitemap plugin (lists all of your pages for indexing by search engines)
- Page-List – WordPress site map plugin
(Use a plugin like Yoast SEO (previously called WordPress SEO by Yoast) to improve your website’s SEO)
Other ways to improve SEO, increase engagement and drive more traffic to your site are to add a forum, newsletters, comments, and social sharing. Here are a few more WordPress plugins that can help (many of the plugins described below can be downloaded at no cost):
- BuddyPress – Run your own social networking community on your WordPress website, with member profiles, user groups, messaging, activity streams, and more.
- bbPress – Use this plugin to set up and manage an online community forum on WordPress.
- E-Newsletter – This plugin lets you send email newsletters, track results and manage subscribers from your WP dashboard, without requiring 3rd-party subscriptions.
- Disqus – This plugin lets you power discussions and increases user engagement on your site.
- Monarch – Use this plugin to add social buttons and features that allow visitors to share your content online on your posts and pages.
(You can add social sharing to your website easily using free or inexpensive plugins)
Ways To Generate Leads & Enquiries
Let’s take a look now at how to improve your sales and generate more leads and enquiries online.
Add A Newsletter
Adding an email newsletter is a great way to build a subscriber list. Adding an email newsletter provides many benefits and advantages including:
- Sends targeted traffic
- Keeps readers from forgetting about you
- Provides updates
- Provides a targeted marketing channel
- Allows you to offer special products or services to a select audience
- Provides regular opportunities for increasing engagement with your users
- Provides another way for subscribers to share your content
A proven strategy for getting your visitors to subscribe is to provide users with valuable information and offer them free gifts in exchange for their personal details. This can be a special report, tips for handling tax, access to financial calculators, coupons, access to subscriber-only content, contests, etc.
Adding Contact Forms
Contact forms provide an easy and simple way for readers to contact you. Readers can report issues, contact specific departments, request a quote, send suggestions and more.
Contact forms provide many benefits including:
- Reduces spam
- Set up automated responses
- Giving you control over what gets sent to you
- Allows you to keep your email address private
- Can be added to any post or page
- Looks professional
- Convenience for visitors
A very popular WordPress contact form plugin is Contact Form 7.
Contact Form 7
(Contact Form 7 WordPress Plugin)
Contact form 7 is a free plugin that is easy to install and configure and allows you to insert and manage multiple contact forms on your posts and pages, customize the forms and the mail contents, add fields, and more.
The plugin supports international languages, Ajax-powered submitting, CAPTCHA, spam filtering and so on.
Another feature to consider is to add sections to your contact form so visitors can choose the topic they are contacting you about. This ensures that visitors’ requests reach the right person.
Map
Adding a map to your site helps your visitors and clients find you.
Maps are great tools for several reasons:
- A map helps to increase local SEO
- Visitors can easily find you
- Displays location of events
(Adding maps helps your visitors and clients find you)
Some of the more popular Google Maps plugins for WordPress include:
- Google Maps
- Advanced Google Maps Plugin for WordPress
- WP Google Maps
- Comprehensive Google Map Plugin
How To Improve Search Engine Optimization, Increase User Engagement And Generate More Visitors With Plugins And Themes
WordPress Accounting Plugins
WordPress provides a number of plugins you can add to your accounting website that will immediately make available a range of practical tools for site visitors. Here are some of the plugins you can choose from:
Calculator Pro Calculators
(Calculator Pro Calculators Plugin)
This plugin provides a free collection of 400+ calculators that you can display on your website and embed into your pages, posts, or sidebars using shortcodes. The plugin supports internationalization
Most of the calculators aren’t focused specifically on accounting, but there are quite a few for:
- 401k
- Rate of return
- Tax
- Equity
- And more
For more details, go here}:
Show Stock Quotes
(Show Stock Quotes WP Plugin)
With this plugin you get a widget that displays a number of different stock quotes per portfolio. You can show as many portfolios as you like.
(Show Stock Quotes – Stock Portfolio)
For more details, go here}:
Custom Stock Ticker
(Custom Stock Ticker WP Plugin)
This plugin lets you place a custom stock ticker on any sidebar, page or post with shortcodes.
Custom Stock ticker comes with a number of customizable ticker. Choose from built-in skins or customize it yourself to match your site. You can also add custom stocks to specific categories.
Customize the appearance by changing colours, size, speed, text, and symbols, etc.
For more details, go here}:
Finance Calculator
(Finance Calculator Plugin)
This free calculator lets your visitors calculate indicative repayments online. It’s great for auto loans, real estate loans, or any other large loan.
(Finance Calculator Plugin For WordPress – Loan Calculators)
The Finance Calculator plugin also contains an application form that sends a message to the email address you specify.
Other features of this plugin include showing payment protection, calculating 12 to 60 months loans and creating forms that can be placed in any page or post.
For more details, go here}:
WP-Invoice
(WP-Invoice)
WP-Invoice lets WordPress blog owners send itemized invoices to their clients.
WP-Invoice integrates billing into WordPress. You can send itemized invoices, set up recurring billing and expand functionality with free and premium add-ons that let you manage locations, accept electronic signatures from clients, create PDF invoice versions, provide quotes, create checkout forms, and more.
The plugin ties into WP’s user management database to keep track of clients and their information, and integrates with payment processors like PayPal, Authorize.net, Stripe, and many others.
The plugin lets you add custom payments and charges, add pre-defined line items and discounts, quickly view invoice status and progression, filter and find invoices, show invoice receipts and invoice history, create email notification templates, display reports (collected vs uncollected invoices, ten 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 is a complete business management system that includes accounting management, invoicing, order management, helpdesk with knowledgebase and ticketing system, client relationship management and lots more.
(All In One Business Management Application – WordPress Plugin – Invoicing)
The plugin supports multiple languages, is fully customizable and provides powerful tools like document management, to do app, and more.
For more details, go here}:
iBilling – Accounting And Billing Software
(iBilling – Accounting and Billing Software)
This is a scalable business software that lets you manage customer data and invoicing, tracks your company’s cash flow and net worth, send single-click payment reminders and payment confirmations, and lots more.
(iBilling – Accounting and Billing Software – Client Invoicing)
It integrates with several online payment gateways.
For more details, go here}:
WordPress Themes For Accounting Services
To get the best features and professional look for your website, it’s best to choose a theme specifically suited for accounting. Below is a list of some of the best themes themes available for accounting. With the themes listed below you can own a professional accounting website within minutes.
Accounting Pro
(Accounting Pro WordPress Theme)
This premium WordPress theme is a turn-key theme built for accountants and accountancy 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-resizing for images, and a whole lot more.
Accounting Pro can be expanded using premium add-ons.
For more details about using this theme, visit this website:
Accountancy
(Accountancy Theme For WordPress)
Accountancy Theme comes in a variety of styles and layouts that helps give your accounting website a professional look and feel.
It includes a custom slider, a featured testimonial, and more. It’s lightweight, search engine optimized, loads fast, and fully responsive. It provides what your business needs without bloating your theme. The price includes free updates and 1 year of support.
Go here for more details:
Accounting
(Accounting – WordPress Theme)
This theme includes a drag-and-drop builder that allows you to design your site any way you want. The theme also provides unlimited sidebars and custom widgets, four different types of headers, a custom administration panel, four color schemes, a custom slider, 3 blog types, and is responsive. Accountancy is a clean-looking, modern and fast-to-load theme.
Go here for more details:
Kathryn
(Kathryn)
Kathryn is a premium child theme for the Genesis Framework that’s built specifically for accounting services. It has multiple layouts, slider, multiple sidebars, flexible rotator, a variety of color options, is easy to use, inexpensive, SEO friendly, and is responsive (mobile-friendly). Although it could easily suit any profession you want it to, it builds a great looking accounting theme. It includes a license for the Soliloquy slider plugin and must be purchased separately from the Genesis Framework.
For more information, go here:
Accounting WordPress Theme
(Accounting WordPress Theme – WP Theme)
This premium theme for WordPress was developed with the idea of professionalism within the accounting industry. It features authoritative colors and layout elements specifically designed to help give your accounting business site a professional look. It’s a turn-key installation but you can still modify it if you want. It’s fully responsive and includes pages for your services, contact section with consultation requests (downloadable as a CSV file), testimonials, and a blog.
For more information, go here:
WP Advocate
(WP Advocate Theme)
WP Advocate is a corporate theme developed specifically for professionals such as accountants and attorneys. Use the theme’s bundled images or upload your own. WP Advocate includes a custom post type for employee profiles and can also integrate with BeSpoke profile templates. It’s clean and fast-loading.
More info:
Divi
(Divi Theme For WordPress)
This theme is one of the most flexible themes in Elegant Themes‘ entire collection of WordPress themes. Divi lets you create a professional website using the page builder or beautiful and unique pre-made layouts. You can modify your layout to your heart’s content.
The builder transforms web elements into visual building blocks, allowing anyone to understand and edit the structure of their page without editing code.
(Divi – WordPress Theme – Flexible Page Builder)
It comes with 40 content modules that you can drag and drop anywhere you want. These include accordion, blurb, code, countdown timer, image, number counter, person, shop, testimonial, video, fullwidth code, fullwidth menu, fullwidth post title, and more.. Divi is fully responsive and fully customizable. Theme prices start at $69 per year and includes access to 80+ themes.
To learn more about this theme, go here:
The Corporation
(The Corporation WordPress Theme)
The Corporation from Elegant Themes was specifically built to make corporate sites look good.
The Corporation has a sleek page-based home page design with a prominent, flashy slider, blog design, six different color schemes, multiple page templates that include contact pages, blog feeds, sitemaps, search page, gallery page, and more. Theme prices start at $69 per year and includes full access to all themes.
More information:
Adviser
(Adviser)
Adviser was specifically built to help finance professionals build trust online through clean design. It’s ideal for those that provide services such as investments or tax advice. Adviser includes a recruitment page with hiring announcements and where to send applications. It also includes a built-in lease calculator. It includes widgets and multiple shortcodes, and includes the drag-and-drop visual composer.
Go here for more information about using this theme:
Tax Help
(Tax Help – WordPress Theme)
Tax Help WordPress Theme was designed specifically for financial organizations, tax and financial advisors, and those that offer tax assistance. It’s designed to show your services professionally and help build your professional reputation. It has different blog styles, uses the drag-and-drop visual composer, includes a shortcode builder, the Revolution Slider, and many custom shortcodes.
Go here for more info:
Finance Business
(Finance Business Theme For WordPress)
Finance Business Theme was built for businesses that provide any type of financial service such as consulting, tax help, insurance, corporate, finance, accounting, loans, and more. It includes a custom CMSMasters Visual Content Composer plugin, around one hundred shortcodes that let you add charts and financial content, custom drag-and-drop composer, two premium sliders, page settings, color management, animated elements, and lots more.
Go here for more details:
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 guide has helped you learn ways of improving search engine optimization, improve user engagement and increase web traffic generation with plugins.
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