Grow Your Accounting Business Online With WordPress

The digital economy has not only revolutionised businesses worldwide, it has also created difficult challenges and opportunities for the accounting industry.

Online Challenges For CPAs

CPAs today must work harder than ever before to remain competitive. Not only do they have to maintain an active presence in the communities and industries their business serves, they must also develop a strong presence online. This includes having a dynamic web presence and learning how to better market your services online.

In addition to spending dollars marketing offline, you will probably find that in order to compete, increasingly larger amounts of their marketing budget need to be delegated towards the development and management of a website that can bring in clients, engage visitors, outrank the competition in search engines and social media, and increase your marketing exposure online.

This means that your site not only has to look professional, your pages have to be fast-loading, and your website layout has to be easy to navigate, but even more importantly, your site’s needs may change in time and many aspects will need to be frequently updated. This requires implementing sound website and content management strategy.

Another challenge that CPAs face, as do other professions for that matter, is that you have only about thirty seconds or less to give visitors what they are looking for or they will go elsewhere.

“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

Online Opportunities For Certified Public Accountants

As well as facing a number of significant challenges, there are also many online opportunities available for accounting companies that are willing to evolve to meet online challenges and can think outside the box in terms of improving their online business marketing skills.

This comprehensive article will help you uncover new ways to drive more web traffic and improve your accounting and financial business presence online.

As well as providing tips and information on ways to improve your accounting website, we also place special emphasis on the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress CMS platform to power your accounting or financial services business website or blog.

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

• How A Poorly Constructed Web Site Can Cost You Potential Customers And What To Do About It
• Everything You Need To Know To Grow Your Business Online Using WordPress

Practical Tips For Improving Your Website

This section covers ways to improve your website and get better results online. We will look at what pages a financial services site needs, what content you need, your navigation structure, etc.

If you need help with website planning, visit this page: The Web Site Planning Process - A Practical Guide For Business Owners

Essential Website Pages

All business websites need a number of essential pages. Let’s review the pages your  need to have and how to structure your accounting website for best results.

Description Of services And Products

It’s essential to have a page that describes your services and any products that you offer.

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

• Business accounting – business planning, company formation, general accounting, payroll, financial statement compilation, book keeping, budgeting, financing, forecasting, strategic planning, consulting services, etc.
• Taxation – preparing, planning, reviewing, auditing, advising, problem resolution
• Investment strategies
• Corporate finance
• 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

Make sure to 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 why they should choose you.

About Us

This page needs to describe your business and explain to visitors what it stands for, its unique approach, philanthropy, etc.

It should also mention any awards, certifications, recognitions, accreditations, associations, publications, etc., that can be used to promote your company and set it above the competition.

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

Your Staff Page

If you are searching for simple ways to grow your business online and increase user interaction on your site, then something you can do, is help prospects get to know, like and trust you, your team and your organization better.

Potential clients need to relate to your business. One great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your staff or team members. This page should include a photo and a mini bio. Since most visitors will not tend to be familiar with accounting terms your descriptions should tell who they are and what their specialties are. You may also want to explain what those specialties mean. This page should even include social buttons so your prospective clients can follow some of your team members on their social pages.

On this page, make sure to highlight your team member’s expertise and qualifications, why they are an asset to your team, and more importantly, how they will help add value to your clients’ business.

(Add a page that introduces your staff to prospective new clients. Screenshot image sourced from: deepsky.com)

For a detailed step-by-step tutorial on how to easily add an easy-to-manage list of staff members in your website with no coding skills required, go here: How To Add A Simple Employee Directory On Your WordPress Site With No Coding Skills Required

Job Opportunities Page

List any career opportunities within the company. This page should include training provided, employee benefits, advancement opportunities, etc. It should include case studies of recruits who have established a solid career path thanks to your firm and information about new career opportunities in the accounting industry.

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

Case Studies

Testimonials from previous clients and case studies are a great way to show prospective clients minimise tax, increase profitability, or grow strategically. Adding a web page with reviews from clients and case studies also provides social proof.

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

We have created a detailed article on using testimonials, case studies and reviews to grow your business online. If you are interested in learning more here: Learn How To Convert More Visitors Into Qualified Leads Using Profit-Boosting Testimonials

Contact Us Page

Having a contact page is absolutely necessary.

Your contact page should provide:

• Name Of Your Organization
• Address
• Phone
• Fax
• Email address
• Google Map and directions
• Website URL
• Contact form
• Name of person to contact
• Links to social media pages
• Chat feature

If you operate from multiple locations you want to make this clear when displaying your address and contact information.

Consider also including links to an FAQ section, useful pages, special offers, support page, newsletter opt-in form, blog, etc.

Add A Blog

A blog can be a powerful marketing tool for your business. Many blogging platforms typically include a content management system that allows you to easily promote your business using content like company events, product releases, useful information, informative posts, videos, media presentations, etc.

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

If you don’t have a website yet, or your existing site is hard to manage or not giving you the results you want, then WordPress can become both your website and business blog.

Very few businesses know that an expertly configured WordPress site can turn into an automated traffic machine that will help begin to drive targeted traffic to your website, simply by adding new content on a consistent basis to your website.

(WordPress can automate your traffic generation)

Go here to learn more: Web Traffic Blueprint – A Complete Guide To Driving More Website Visitors Automatically Using WordPress

Legal Info Pages

As a professional accountant, having a website that complies will all legal requirements online is essential, not just for establishing trust and credibility with prospective clients, but also to ensure that you are not breaking laws and regulations wherever your business services clients.

Adding the legal pages below to your site will help you stay out of trouble with most regulatory authorities, third-party service providers (e.g. Facebook), and other potential sources of threats and legal inconveniences:

• Contact Page
• Privacy Policy
• Terms And Conditions Of Use
• 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

If you want to learn more about adding legal pages to your site, see this article: What You Need To Know About Adding Legal Pages To Your Website

Tips On How To Improve The Content On Your Site

In today’s globally competitive economy, being generous with content that educates and informs visitors has become one of the key differentiators for businesses that sell similar products or provide similar services.

By committing to providing great content with useful information and tips, you will get your visitors sharing your content with others online and coming back for more. Content marketing is a great way to educate site visitors and prospects about your business and about doing business with you.

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

• How balance sheets work
• Profit & loss statements
• Directors’ duties and legal responsibilities
• How to present accounts for non-profit activities
• Cashflow planning tips
• Business insurance
• Risk protection
• Structuring a self-managed retirement fund
• Dos and don’ts of … (e.g. purchasing insurance, setting up payroll systems, etc.)

You can also create a series of educational articles that will help your your readers understand accounting services, such as software accounting, small business accounting, tax planning for small business, reducing business debt, understanding accounting conventions, etc.

Remember to use the same keywords and terms in your content that prospective clients will be searching for online.

We recommend subscribing to our Content Marketing Email Training Series. You will receive a comprehensive series of training emails with actionable information and practical tips that will teach exactly how to drive more traffic to your website or blog, save money creating high-quality content that will add value to 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!

Ways To Improve User Experience

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

Adding RSS Feeds

RSS feeds can help to improve your visitor engagement and user experience in several ways.

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

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

• All of your content updates are kept in one place
• Doesn’t rely on email
• Your feed can be shared online
• Allows users to subscribe
• An RSS feed provides links to your site
• Your feeds can be submitted to RSS directories and aggregators
• There are a number of ways your readers can receive your content (e.g. users can read the content on their mobile device using different applications)
• RSS is built into WordPress

There are also benefits when it comes to providing content on your site from other websites, such as the fact that you don’t have to write, manage or update the content.

To find useful RSS feeds for your website, search online for relevant government departments and industry bodies.

Below we have listed examples of useful RSS feeds 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

(Adding RSS feeds can help to improve your accounting site’s UX.)

Checklists And Forms

Checklists and forms are a great way to help increase user engagement, add value to your audience and provide something unique. They can provide step-by-step instructions and resources to get necessary tasks completed. Forms and checklists are great planning tools.

Forms and checklists can cover subjects such as:

• How To Set Up A Business
• Negative Gearing Worksheet
• Non-Profit Governance Checklist
• Disclosure Checklists
• Individual Tax Checklist
• Capital Gains Tax Checklist
• Income Tax Variation Forms

Other Tools

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

In part two of this detailed article, we discuss a number of WordPress-based tools you can add to your site that can help to improve your search engine optimization, improve user engagement and drive more visitors to your business.

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This is the end of section one.

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

• How To Grow Your Accounting Or Financial Services Website – Part 2

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