In Part 1 of this article on ways to improve your accounting web presence, we provided in-depth tips and suggestions on the following areas:
- Online Challenges For Accounting Businesses
- Opportunities For Accounting Professionals
- Basic Website Pages
- How To Improve The Content On Your Site
In this section, we continue looking at more ways to grow your accounting business online. Areas covered include:
- Ways Of Improving Web Traffic With WordPress
- Generate Leads & Enquiries Using WordPress-Based Applications
- WordPress Plugins & Themes That Can Help To Improve SEO, Create Better User Engagement And Increase Web Traffic Generation
To learn more about WordPress plugins and themes, see the articles below:
Improving Traffic With WordPress
Your web traffic is a vital part of your online business growth. This section will help you improve your web traffic.
Optimize Your Website For SEO
There are lots of ways that WordPress helps optimize your accounting or financial services website for search engines:
- URLs – WordPress lets you set the permalinks to create search engine-optimized web addresses for your articles and posts.
- Tags – Specify the keywords that you want search engines to index your article pages (posts) for.
- Categories – Add categories for archiving and organizing your content.
- Post Excerpts – WordPress lets you compose descriptions for your posts that search engines will show.
- Images – title your images with keywords for improved search engine results.
- Internal Content Linking – WordPress has a built-in feature that lets you easily link your content to other posts and pages on your site
- Post Notification – Configure your site to automatically notify (ping) other sites and directories as soon as a new post is published on your website.
WordPress Plugins That Can Help Improve Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Improve User Engagement And Increase Web Traffic Generation
In addition to the built-in features of WordPress, the WordPress community makes available many plugins that improve SEO, increase user engagement and drive more visitors to your website.
For example, you can install the plugins below to improve your SEO:
- All in One SEO – WordPress SEO plugin
- Google XML Sitemaps – WordPress XML sitemap plugin (lists all of your posts and pages for indexing by search engines)
- Page-List – WordPress site map plugin
(A plugin like Yoast SEO can improve your website’s SEO)
Other ways to improve your accounting or financial services site’s SEO, increase engagement and drive more visitors to your website are to add a forum, newsletters, comments, and social features. Here are a few more useful WordPress plugins that can help:
- BuddyPress – This free plugin can be used to run your own social networking community on your WordPress site, with member profiles, activity streams, messaging, user groups, and more.
- bbPress – bbPress can be used to set up and manage a forum on your WordPress website.
- E-Newsletter – This plugin lets you send professional email newsletters, track results and manage subscribers from your WP site.
- Disqus – Power discussions and increases engagement on your website or blog.
- Floating Social – Add social buttons and features that allow visitors to share your content online to your website.
(WordPress users can easily add social sharing to their site using WordPress plugins)
Ways To Generate Leads & Enquiries
In this section we show you how to improve sales and generate leads and enquiries for your business.
Adding A Newsletter
Providing an email newsletter is a great way to build a list of subscribers. Adding a newsletter provides several benefits including:
- Drives targeted traffic
- Keeps your business at the forefront of your reader’s minds
- Provides useful updates
- Provides you with a targeted marketing channel
- Allows you to offer special services or products to a select audience
- Increases user interaction
- Provides an additional way for your content to be shared online with new prospective customers
One of the things you can do to get visitors to subscribe is to provide high value information and give users something for free in exchange for their details. This could be a time-saving guide, checklists for handling finances, access to tax calculators, discount coupons, access to videos, contests, etc.
Contact Forms
A contact form provides an easy and simple way for prospective customers to contact you. A contact form also allows visitors to provide feedback, contact specific departments, ask for a quote, send suggestions and more.
A contact form provides several benefits and advantages including:
- Reducing spam
- Set up automated responses
- Gives you control over what is sent to you
- Allows you to keep your email address private
- They can be added to any post or page
- Looks professional
- Convenient for visitors
One of the most popular WordPress contact form plugins is Contact Form 7.
Contact Form 7
(Contact Form 7 Plugin)
Contact form 7 is a free plugin that lets you add and manage multiple contact forms into any post or page, customize the form and the email contents, add fields, and more.
The plugin supports international languages, Ajax-powered submissions, CAPTCHA, spam filtering and so on.
Another option you may want to consider is adding sections to your contact form so prospective clients can choose the topic they are contacting your company about. This ensures that contact form requests reach the right person.
Add A Map
Adding maps helps your visitors and customers find you.
A map is a useful tool for several reasons:
- Maps help to improve local SEO
- Helps visitors find you easily
- Show location of events
(Adding a map to your site helps your visitors and clients find you)
Here are just some plugins that let you embed, customize and display Google maps on your website:
- Google Maps
- Advanced Google Maps Plugin for WordPress
- WP Google Maps
- Comprehensive Google Map Plugin
WordPress Plugins For Improving Search Engine Optimization, Increasing User Engagement And Driving More Visitors
WordPress Plugins
WordPress makes available a number of plugins you can add to your site that will immediately add a range of practical tools for your site visitors. Here are some of these:
Calculator Pro Calculators
(Calculator Pro Calculators – WordPress Plugin)
This is 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 you can use for:
- Mortgage
- Payments
- CD
- Credit
- And lots more
For more details, go here}:
Show Stock Quotes
(Show Stock Quotes – WordPress Plugin)
This plugin installs a widget that displays up to 20 different stock quotes per portfolio. You can show as many portfolios as you want.
(Show Stock Quotes Plugin – Stock Portfolio)
For more details, go here}:
Custom Stock Ticker
(Custom Stock Ticker WordPress Plugin)
This free plugin lets you add custom stock tickers to any sidebar, page or post with shortcodes.
This plugin includes several customizable ticker. You can choose from built-in skins or customize these yourself to match the look and feel of your site. You can also add custom stocks to individual categories.
Customize the appearance by changing height, width, scrolling speed, opacity, background color, number of stocks displayed simultaneously, typeface, etc.
For more details, go here}:
Finance Calculator
(Finance Calculator – WordPress Plugin)
This free plugin lets your users calculate indicative repayments. It’s great for calculating auto loans, real estate loans, or any other large loan.
(Finance Calculator WP Plugin – Loan Calculator)
The plugin also contains an application form that sends a message to the email address you specify.
Other features of this plugin include displaying 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)
WP-Invoice lets you send itemized invoices to clients.
WP-Invoice lets you integrate billing into WordPress. You can send out itemized invoices, set up recurring billing and expand functionality with both free and premium add-ons, like business location, electronic signature, PDF creation, quote creation, checkout forms, and more.
The plugin ties into the WordPress user management database to keep track of clients and their information, and integrates with payment processors like PayPal, Authorize.net, Stripe, and others.
WP-Invoice lets you add custom payments and charges, insert pre-defined line items and discounts, view invoice status and progression, filter and find invoices, show invoice receipts and invoice history, create notification email templates, view reports (collected vs uncollected invoices, 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 Plugin For WordPress)
This is a complete business management system that includes accounting management, invoicing, order management, helpdesk with support ticketing management system, client relationship management and many more features.
(All In One Business Management Application – Invoice)
The plugin supports international languages, is fully customizable and provides additional tools like document management, notice board, and more.
For more details, go here}:
iBilling – Accounting And Billing Software
(iBilling – Accounting and Billing Software Plugin)
This is a scalable business software that lets you manage and communicate with customers, tracks your company’s cash flow and net worth, and lots more.
(iBilling – Accounting and Billing Software – WordPress Plugin – Client Invoice)
iBilling allows you to get paid faster online by integrating with several online payment gateways.
For more details, go here}:
Accounting And Financial Services Themes For WordPress
To benefit the most from using WordPress, it’s best to choose a theme specifically for accounting businesses. Here is a look at some of the best themes themes available for accounting businesses. With these themes you can own a professional-looking accounting website within minutes.
Accounting Pro
(Accounting Pro – WordPress Theme)
This is an inexpensive turn-key theme for accountants and accounting firms. It’s responsive, has a drag-and-drop page-builder, has several page templates, custom menus, a content composer (which improves on the standard WordPress editor), a sidebar manager, performs auto resizing for images, and a whole lot more.
You can easily customize this theme through premium add-ons.
Go here for more details:
Accountancy
(Accountancy Theme For WordPress)
Accountancy comes in a variety of built-in styles and layouts to make your accounting site look and feel professional.
This responsive (mobile-friendly) theme includes a custom slider, a featured testimonial section, it’s lightweight, search engine friendly, and fast loading. Accountancy provides the flexibility you need without bloating your theme with features you don’t need. Free updates and 1 year of support is included with the cost of purchase.
Visit this site to learn more about using this theme:
Accounting
(Accounting Theme)
Accounting Theme includes a drag-and-drop builder that allows you to design your site any way you want. The theme also has unlimited sidebars with custom widgets, four different types of headers, a custom administration panel, four color schemes, a custom slider, three different blog types, and is mobile-friendly. It is a clean-looking, modern and fast-to-load theme.
Go here for more information about this WordPress theme:
Kathryn
(Kathryn Theme For WordPress)
Kathryn is built specifically for accounting businesses. It comes with a slider, multiple layouts, multiple sidebars, widgetized home page, flexible rotator, call to action boxes, author boxes for single or multiple bloggers, various color choices, is easy to use, search optimized, and is fully responsive. Although this theme could easily suit any profession, it builds a great looking accounting theme. It includes a license for the Soliloquy plugin and must be purchased separately from the Genesis Framework.
More information:
Accounting WordPress Theme
(Accounting WordPress Theme – Theme For WordPress)
This premium theme for WordPress was created with the idea of professionalism within the accounting industry. Every color, layout element, icon, menu item, page structure, call-to-action, etc., was specifically designed to give your accounting site a professional look. It’s a turn-key installation but you can still modify it if you want. It’s mobile-friendly and includes pages for your services, contact section with consultation requests (downloadable as a CSV file), testimonials, and a blog.
More info:
WP Advocate
(WP Advocate Theme)
WP Advocate is a free corporate theme designed specifically for professionals such as accountants and attorneys. You can use the bundled images or upload your own. It includes a custom post type for staff profiles and can also integrate with BeSpoke profile templates. WP Advocate is a clean and fast-loading theme.
More information:
Divi
(Divi – WordPress Theme)
This theme is the most flexible theme in Elegant Themes‘ entire collection of WordPress themes. Divi lets you create any style of professional site you want using its page builder or pre-made layouts. You can change your layout as much as you need.
The builder transforms elements into visual building blocks, allowing anyone to understand and easily edit the structure of their page without touching any code.
(Divi Theme – Page Builder)
Divi has 40 content modules that you can drag and drop anywhere you want. These modules include accordion, blog, code, divider, gallery, map, post title, pricing table, tabs, video slider, fullwidth code, fullwidth portfolio, fullwidth slider, and more.. It is mobile-friendly and completely customizable. Elegant Theme prices start at $69 per year and includes access to over 80 sleek business themes.
For more details, go here:
The Corporation
(The Corporation Theme For WordPress)
This premium theme from Elegant Themes was specifically developed to make corporate sites look great.
It has a page-based home page design with a prominent slider. It also has a blog design. It has 6 color schemes. It also has multiple page templates which include contact pages, blog feeds, sitemaps, search page, gallery page, and more. Themes start at $69 per year and includes full access to over 80 stunning themes.
More info:
Adviser
(Adviser)
Adviser was built specifically to help finance industry professionals build trust with a clean business design. It’s ideal for those that provide services such as investments or tax advice. The theme includes a recruitment page with hiring announcements and where to send applications, lease calculator, widgets and multiple shortcodes, and the drag-and-drop visual composer..
For more information, go here:
Tax Help
(Tax Help – WordPress Theme)
Tax Help was built for financial companies, tax and finance advisors, and businesses that offer tax services. The theme is designed to showcase your services in a professional way and help grow your professional reputation. It provides different blog styles, uses a drag-and-drop visual composer, includes a shortcode builder, the Revolution Slider, and additional custom shortcodes.
Go here to learn more about this theme:
Finance Business
(Finance Business Theme For WordPress)
This premium WordPress theme was developed for businesses that provide any type of financial service such as tax help, consulting, insurance, finance, corporate, loans, accounting, and more. The theme includes a custom CMSMasters Visual Content Composer plugin, around one hundred shortcodes that includes charts and financial content, a custom drag-and-drop composer, 2 premium sliders, page options, color management, animations, and lots more.
Go here for more information:
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, increase user engagement and generate more web traffic with WordPress plugins and themes.
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