In Part One of this step-by-step article on ways to build your accounting business online, we provided many practical tips and suggestions on the following areas:
- Online Challenges For The Accounting Profession
- Opportunities For Accountants In The Digital Economy
- Your Website Pages
- Tips On How To Improve The Content On Your Site
In this section, we will continue exploring more ways to grow your accounting services business online. Areas covered include:
- Tips For Improving Traffic
- Generate Leads & Enquiries
- Improve SEO, Improve User Engagement And Increase Traffic To Your Business Generation With Plugins & Themes
For more information about WordPress plugins and themes, go here:
Ways To Improve Traffic Using WordPress
Your web traffic is an important part of your business growth. In this section we explore ways to help you improve your web traffic using WordPress.
Optimize Your Website For Search Engines (SEO)
There are loads of ways that WordPress helps optimize your accounting website for search engines:
- URLs – configure the permalinks to create search engine-optimized URLS for your posts.
- Tags – Choose the keywords that you want your article pages to be indexed for in the search engines.
- Post Categories – Add search engine-friendly categories for keeping your content organized and easy to find.
- Post Excerpts – Create descriptions for your posts that will show to search engine users.
- Images – title your images with keywords for improved search results.
- Content Linking – WordPress provides a built-in feature that allows you to easily link your content to other posts on your site
- Pinging – Set up your WordPress site to automatically notify (ping) other sites and directories immediately upon publishing a new post on your website.
Improving Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Increase User Engagement And Increase Traffic Generation With Plugins
In addition to the built-in features of WordPress, the WP community makes available quite a number of plugins that will improve SEO, increase engagement and drive more traffic to your site.
Here are some plugins you can use to improve your SEO:
- All in One SEO – WordPress SEO plugin
- Google XML Sitemaps – WordPress sitemap plugin
- Page-List – WordPress site map plugin (for visitors)
(Use a plugin like Yoast SEO (previously called WordPress SEO by Yoast) to improve your SEO)
Other things you can do to improve SEO, increase engagement and drive more web traffic to your website are to add a forum, newsletters, comments, and social sharing features. Here are a few useful plugins that can help:
- BuddyPress – Run an online social network on your website.
- bbPress – Use this free WordPress plugin to set up your own online community forum on your site.
- E-Newsletter – E-Newsletter allows you to send professional email newsletters, track results and manage subscribers from your WordPress site.
- Disqus – use this WordPress plugin to power discussions and helps to increase user engagement on your website or blog.
- Floating Social – Add powerful social sharing features and buttons on your site.
(You can add social sharing buttons to your site easily using free or inexpensive WordPress plugins)
Generating New Leads & Enquiries Using WordPress
Let’s discuss now ways to improve sales and generate leads and enquiries for your business.
Add An Email Newsletter
Adding a newsletter is an excellent way to build a list of subscribers. It provides a number of benefits and advantages, like:
- Drives targeted traffic to your website
- Keeps your business at the forefront of your reader’s minds
- Provides updates that could save businesses time and money
- Provides you with a highly targeted marketing channel
- Allows you to provide special services or products to a select audience
- Increases user engagement
- Provides additional opportunities for your content to be shared around with other prospective customers
An effective strategy for getting visitors to subscribe to your newsletter is to provide users with high value information and offer them free gifts or bonus items in exchange for their personal details. This could be a useful report, tips for handling tax, access to financial calculators, coupons, access to videos, contests, etc.
Provide Contact Forms
A contact form provides an easy and simple way for readers to contact you. A contact form also allows visitors to report issues, ask questions to specific departments, request quotes, send suggestions for improvements and more.
Contact forms provide several benefits and advantages including:
- Reduces spam
- Automated response
- Gives you control over what is sent to you
- You can keep your email address private
- Contact forms can be added to any page or post
- Looks professional
- Convenient for site visitors
One of the most popular contact form plugins for WordPress is Contact Form 7.
Contact Form 7
(Contact Form 7 Plugin)
Contact form 7 is a free plugin that allows you to insert and manage multiple contact forms, customize the forms and the email contents, add fields, and more.
International languages, Ajax-powered submitting, CAPTCHA, and spam filtering is supported.
Something to consider is to segment your contact form so prospective clients can select the department they want to contact. This helps you get the comment to the right person.
Add Maps
Adding maps to your website helps your visitors and customers find you.
A map is a useful tool for several reasons:
- They improve local SEO
- Visitors can easily find you
- Displays location of events
(Adding a map helps your visitors and customers find you)
Here are just some of the more 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 SEO, Better User Engagement And Driving More Web Traffic
Accounting WordPress Plugins
WordPress lets you add a number of plugins to your accounting website that will immediately make available a range of practical tools for your site visitors. Here are just some of the plugins you can choose from:
Calculator Pro Calculators
(Calculator Pro Calculators WP 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. Internationalization is supported.
Most of the calculators aren’t focused specifically on accounting, but there are a few for:
- Interest rate
- Payments
- CD
- Equity
- And lots more
For more details, go here}:
Show Stock Quotes
(Show Stock Quotes Plugin)
This plugin installs a widget that shows up to 20 different stock quotes per portfolio. You can display 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)
With this plugin you can add custom stock tickers to any sidebar, page or post with shortcodes.
The plugin offers loads of customizable features. You can choose to use built-in themes or customize these yourself. It’s easy to customize it so it matches your website. You can also add custom stocks to individual categories.
Appearance customization features include width, height, background color, opacity, scroll speed, number of stocks displayed simultaneously, text color, font size, font family, etc.
For more details, go here}:
Finance Calculator
(Finance Calculator Plugin)
This free plugin lets your visitors calculate indicative repayments. This is a great tool for auto loans, property, or other large loans.
(Finance Calculator Plugin – Loan Calculators)
The plugin also contains an application form that will send a message to the email address you specify.
It will show payment protection, calculate 12 to 60 months loans and create forms 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 clients itemized invoices. It even allows you to set up recurring billing. It can be expanded through both free and premium add-ons that let you manage locations, accept electronic signatures from clients, create PDF versions of invoices, create quotes, create single-page checkout forms, and more.
The plugin ties into WP’s user management database to keep track of your clients and their information, and integrates with PayPal, Authorize.net, Stripe, 2Checkout, Interkassa, and others.
The plugin lets you add custom payments and charges, insert pre-defined line items and discounts, quickly view invoice status and progression, 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 is a complete business management system that includes accounting management, invoicing, order management, help desk with knowledgebase and support ticketing management system, client relationship management and lots more.
(All In One Business Management Application Plugin For WordPress – Invoicing)
The plugin supports different languages, is fully customizable and provides additional tools such as document management, notice board, and more.
For more details, go here}:
iBilling – Accounting And Billing Software
(iBilling – Accounting and Billing Software Plugin For WordPress)
This is a scalable business software that lets you manage and communicate with customers, tracks your company’s net worth and cash flow, send single-click payment reminders and payment confirmations, and lots more.
(iBilling – Accounting and Billing Software – WordPress Plugin – Invoicing)
iBilling integrates with several online payment gateways.
For more details, go here}:
Financial Themes For WordPress
To get the best features and professional look for your website, we recommend choosing a theme specifically for accounting. Here is a list of some of the best themes themes available for accountancy businesses. With the themes below you can have a professional accounting website within minutes.
Accounting Pro
(Accounting Pro WordPress Theme)
This is a turn-key theme designed for accountants and accounting firms. It’s responsive, has a drag-and-drop page-builder, offers several page templates, a custom menu feature, a content composer (which improves on the standard WordPress editor), a sidebar manager, performs auto resizing for images, and lots more.
Accounting Pro can be customized by installing premium add-ons.
Visit this site to learn more about using this WordPress theme:
Accountancy
(Accountancy WordPress Theme)
This premium WordPress theme comes with a variety of built-in styles and layouts to help make your accounting site look and feel professional.
This fully responsive (mobile-friendly) theme includes a custom slider, a featured testimonial, it’s lightweight, search engine optimized, and loads fast. Accountancy Theme 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 your purchase.
For more details, go here:
Accounting
(Accounting WordPress Theme)
This premium WordPress theme includes a drag-and-drop builder so you can design your site any way you want. It also provides unlimited sidebars and custom widgets, four different header types, a custom admin panel, four color schemes, a custom slider, three different blog types, and is fully responsive. It looks clean and modern and loads fast.
To learn more about using this theme, visit this site:
Kathryn
(Kathryn – WordPress Theme)
This one is developed for accounting services. It allows you to use WordPress as a true content management system and offers multiple layouts, slider, multiple sidebars, various colors, is easy to use, search engine friendly, and is fully responsive (mobile-friendly). Although it could easily suit any profession you like, 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 details, go here:
Accounting WordPress Theme
(Accounting WordPress Theme)
This premium WordPress theme was designed to exude professionalism within the accounting industry. It features an authoritative color scheme and elements designed specifically to make your accounting business site look professional while not looking dull. 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 CSV), testimonials section, and a blog.
For more information about this theme, go here:
WP Advocate
(WP Advocate Theme)
WP Advocate is a corporate theme specifically designed for professionals such as accountants and attorneys. You can use the bundled images or upload your own. It also includes a custom post type adding employee profiles. It will also integrate with BeSpoke profile templates. It’s clean-looking and loads fast.
Go here to learn more this theme:
Divi
(Divi Theme For WordPress)
This is one of the most flexible themes in Elegant Themes‘ collection. You can create a professional website using the page builder or beautiful and unique pre-made layouts. You can change your layout as much as you need.
Divi’s page builder transforms web elements into visual building blocks, allowing anyone to understand and easily change the structure of their page without editing a single line of code.
(Divi – WordPress Theme – Page Builder)
Divi has 40 content modules that you can drag and drop anywhere you want. These include multiple layouts, a slider, you can place pricing tables, testimonials, call-to-action, and lots more. It is responsive and fully customizable. Prices start at $69 per year and includes access to over 80 professional themes.
Go here to learn more this theme:
The Corporation
(The Corporation Theme)
This premium WordPress theme from Elegant Themes was designed specifically to create good-looking corporate websites.
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. Prices start at $69 per year and includes access to 80+ themes.
Go here for more information:
Adviser
(Adviser Theme)
This premium theme for WordPress was specifically built to help finance industry professionals build trust online through clean web design. It’s ideal for those that provide services like investing or tax advice. It includes a recruitment page with hiring announcements and where to send applications. It also includes a lease calculator. It includes multiple shortcodes and widgets, and includes the drag-and-drop visual composer.
Go here for more information:
Tax Help
(Tax Help)
This premium theme was built specifically for financial organizations, tax and finance advisors, and those providing tax services. This theme is designed to showcase your services professionally and help build your professional reputation. It comes with a range of blog styles, uses the drag-and-drop visual composer, includes a shortcode builder, the Revolution Slider, and additional custom shortcodes.
Visit the theme site to learn more this theme:
Finance Business
(Finance Business)
This theme was built for organizations that provide any type of financial service including consulting, tax help, insurance, corporate, finance, loans, accounting, and more. The theme includes a custom CMSMasters Visual Content Composer plugin, around one hundred shortcodes that let you add charts and financial content, a custom drag-and-drop composer, 2 premium sliders, page settings, color management features, animations, and a lot more.
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
We hope that you have found this guide on how to improve search engine optimization, increase user engagement and generate more visitors to your accounting or financial services site using WordPress plugins & themes useful.
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