In Part One of this guide on ways to improve your accounting business online, we provided in-depth information on the following areas:
- Online Challenges For Accountants
- Opportunities For Accounting Services
- Basic Pages
- Improve The Content On Your Site
In this section, we continue exploring more ways to grow your accounting services business online. Areas covered below include:
- Improving Web Traffic With WordPress
- Generating Leads & Enquiries
- Improve Search Engine Optimization, Increase User Engagement And Drive More Visitors With WordPress Plugins And Themes
To learn more about WordPress plugins and themes, see these articles:
Ways To Improve Web Traffic Using WordPress
Your web traffic is vital to your online business growth. In this section we explore ways to help you improve your web traffic.
Optimize Your Site For Search Engines (SEO)
There are so many ways WordPress can help to improve your accounting or financial services website’s SEO:
- Search Engine-Friendly URLs – configure the permalinks to create search engine-optimized URLS for your article pages.
- Tags – WordPress lets you specify the keywords that you want your articles to be indexed by in the search engines.
- Post Categories – Create SEO-friendly categories for your posts and products.
- Post Excerpts – Set descriptions for your posts that search engines will display in their search result pages.
- Images – title images used in your content with keywords for improved search engine results.
- Internal Linking – WordPress has a built-in feature that lets you easily create internal links
- Post Notification – Set up your site to automatically notify (ping) other sites and directories the moment a new post is published on your website.
Improve SEO, Improve User Engagement And Increase Web Traffic Generation Using WordPress Plugins
In addition to the built-in features of WordPress, there are a number of WordPress plugins that will improve your accounting website’s SEO, increase user engagement and drive more web traffic to your website.
For example, here are some plugins you can use to improve your SEO:
- Yoast SEO – WordPress SEO plugin
- Google XML Sitemaps – WordPress sitemap plugin (for search engines)
- Page-List – WordPress site map plugin (for visitors)
(Use a plugin like Yoast SEO to improve your site’s search engine optimization)
Other things you can do to improve SEO, increase user engagement and drive more web traffic to your site are to add a forum, newsletters, commenting, and social sharing. Here are some more plugins that can help (many of the plugins listed below are also free):
- BuddyPress – This free plugin can be used to set up your own social community on your WordPress site.
- bbPress – Run your own online forum on your WordPress site.
- E-Newsletter – E-Newsletter lets you send email newsletters, track results and manage subscribers from your WordPress site.
- Disqus – This plugin lets you power discussions and increases engagement on your site.
- Social Media Feather – Use this plugin to add social sharing features on your website or blog.
(You can add social features to your website easily with free or inexpensive plugins)
Generating More Leads & Enquiries
This section covers how to improve your sales and generate new leads and enquiries.
Providing An Email Newsletter
Providing an email newsletter is an excellent way to build a subscriber list. Adding newsletters] provides many benefits and advantages including:
- Drives targeted traffic to your site
- Keeps readers from forgetting about you
- Provides useful updates
- Provides you with a highly targeted marketing channel
- It’s a way to offer special products or services to a select audience
- Provides new opportunities for improving user engagement
- Provides additional opportunities for subscribers to share your content
An effective strategy for attracting subscribers to your email newsletter is to provide them with high value content and offer them free gifts or bonus items in exchange for their personal details. This can be a special report, checklists for handling finances, access to tax calculators, coupons, access to courses, contests, etc.
Adding Contact Forms
A contact form provides an easy and simple way for readers to get in touch with you. Visitors can raise concerns, ask questions to specific departments, ask for a quote, and more.
Contact forms provide many benefits, like:
- Reduces spam
- Automated response
- Giving you control over what is sent to you
- You can keep your email address private
- Different forms can be added to any post or page
- Looks professional
- More convenient for users
One of the most popular WordPress contact form plugins is Contact Form 7.
Contact Form 7
(Contact Form 7 Plugin)
Contact Form 7 allows you to create and manage multiple contact forms into any page on your site, customize your forms and the email contents, add fields, and more.
The plugin also supports international languages, Ajax-powered submitting, CAPTCHA, Akismet spam filtering and so on.
Something to consider is to add sections to your contact form so prospective clients can select which topic they want to discuss. This will help you to get the comment to the right person.
Provide Maps
Adding maps to your website helps your visitors and clients find you.
A map is a very useful tool for several reasons:
- They help to increase local SEO
- Visitors can easily find you
- Display location of events
(Adding a map to your website helps your visitors and clients find you)
Below are some of the more popular plugins that let you embed, customize and display maps on your site:
- 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 Web Traffic With Plugins
WordPress Accounting Plugins
WordPress lets you add a number of plugins to your website that will immediately add a range of practical tools for site visitors. Here are just some of the plugins you can choose from:
Calculator Pro Calculators
(Calculator Pro Calculators – WordPress Plugin)
This plugin provides a free collection of over 400 calculators. You can embed them into your pages, posts, or sidebars using shortcodes. It also supports internationalization
Note: Most of them aren’t focused on accounting, but there are a few you can use for:
- Mortgage
- Loans
- Tax
- Credit
- And many more
For more details, go here}:
Show Stock Quotes
(Show Stock Quotes)
This plugin lets you add a widget that shows a number of different stock quotes per portfolio. You can display as many widgets as you like.
(Show Stock Quotes Plugin For WordPress – Stock Portfolio)
For more details, go here}:
Custom Stock Ticker
(Custom Stock Ticker)
With this plugin you can place custom stock tickers on any post, page or sidebar with shortcodes.
Custom Stock ticker includes loads of customizable features. Choose from built-in themes or customize these yourself to match your site. You can also add custom stocks to specific categories.
Appearance customization features include height, width, scroll speed, background color, opacity, number of stocks displayed simultaneously, text color, etc.
For more details, go here}:
Finance Calculator
(Finance Calculator)
This free calculator lets your site visitors calculate indicative repayments. It’s great for car loans, real estate loans, or any other large loan.
(Finance Calculator Plugin – Loan Calculator)
This plugin also contains an application form that sends a notification message to the email address you specify.
It will display 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)
WP-Invoice is ideal for WordPress users with clients to bill.
This plugin 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, single-page checkout forms, and more.
The plugin ties into your WordPress user management database to keep track of clients and their information, and integrates with payment processors like PayPal, Authorize.net, Stripe, and several others.
WP-Invoice features include adding custom payments and charges, creating pre-defined line items and discounts, viewing invoice status and progression, filtering and finding invoices, showing invoice receipts and invoice history, creating notification e-mail templates, displaying reports (collected vs uncollected invoices, 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 WordPress Plugin)
This is a complete business management system that includes accounting management, invoicing, order management, helpdesk with support ticketing system, CRM and many more features.
(All In One Business Management Application Plugin For WordPress – Client Invoicing)
The plugin supports international 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 – WordPress Plugin)
iBilling is a scalable business software that lets you manage customer data and invoices, track your company’s cash flow and net worth, send single-click payment reminders and payment confirmations, and lots more.
(iBilling – Accounting and Billing Software WordPress Plugin – Client Invoice)
iBilling Accounting and Billing Software integrates with several payment gateways.
For more details, go here}:
Financial Themes For WordPress
To get the most benefit out of growing your business online with WordPress, it’s best to choose a theme specifically suited for accounting. Here is a list of some of the best accountancy themes available. These themes allow you to own a professional accounting website within minutes.
Accounting Pro
(Accounting Pro – WordPress Theme)
This premium WordPress theme is a turn-key theme for accountants and accountancy firms. It’s a responsive theme with a drag-and-drop page-builder, has several page templates, custom menus, a content composer (gives you an improved WordPress editor), a sidebar manager, auto-resized images, and lots more.
You can customize Accounting Pro using premium add-ons.
Go here for more details:
Accountancy
(Accountancy – WordPress Theme)
This theme has a variety of styles and layouts to help give your accounting website a professional look and feel.
It includes a custom slider, a featured testimonial, and more. It’s lightweight, SEO friendly, fast loading, and is responsive. Accountancy provides what you need without bloating your theme with features you don’t need. The price includes free updates and one year of support.
More information:
Accounting
(Accounting Theme)
This premium WordPress theme includes a drag-and-drop builder that allows you to design your website any way you want. It also provides unlimited sidebars and custom widgets, four different header types, 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 loading theme.
Go here for more info:
Kathryn
(Kathryn Theme For WordPress)
This premium WordPress theme was designed specifically for accountants. It has a slider, multiple layouts, multiple sidebars, various colors, is easy to use, search engine optimized, and is responsive. Although this theme could easily suit any profession you like, it builds a great looking accounting theme. It includes a license for the Soliloquy slider plugin and is a separate purchase from the Genesis Framework.
Go here for more information:
Accounting WordPress Theme
(Accounting WordPress Theme – Theme For WordPress)
This theme was developed to enhance professionalism within the accounting industry. Every color, layout element, icon, menu item, page structure, call-to-action, etc., is specifically designed to give your accounting site a professional look while not looking dull. It’s a turn-key installation but you can still modify it if you want. It’s responsive (mobile-friendly) and includes pages for your accounting services, contact section with consultation requests (downloadable as CSV), testimonials section, and a blog.
For more information, go here:
WP Advocate
(WP Advocate Theme For WordPress)
This is a free corporate theme developed specifically for professional service providers such as accountants and attorneys. Use the bundled images or upload your own. WP Advocate includes a custom post type adding employee profiles. It will also integrate with BeSpoke profile templates. It’s clean-looking and loads fast.
To learn more about using this WordPress theme, go here:
Divi
(Divi)
This premium theme is one of the most flexible themes in Elegant Themes‘ entire theme collection. You can create any kind of professional website you want using its page builder or beautiful pre-made layouts. You can modify your layout as much as you need.
Divi’s page builder transforms elements into visual building blocks, allowing anyone to understand and redesign the structure of their pages without editing code.
(Divi WP Theme – Flexible Page Builder)
Divi has 40 content modules that you can drag and drop anywhere you want. It has multiple layouts, a slider, you can place pricing tables, testimonials, call-to-action, and lots more. Divi is mobile-friendly and completely customizable. Themes start at $69 per year and includes full access to all sleek business themes.
Go here for more info:
The Corporation
(The Corporation – WordPress Theme)
This one was specifically designed to make corporate sites look good.
It has a page-based home page design with a eye-catching slider, blog design, 6 different different color schemes, multiple page templates which include contact pages, blog feeds, sitemaps, search page, gallery page, and more. Theme prices start at $69 per year and includes access to over 80 stunning themes.
For more information, go here:
Adviser
(Adviser)
The Adviser WordPress Theme was designed to help finance professionals build trust online through clean web design. It’s perfect for businesses that provide services such as investing or tax advice. Adviser 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.
More info:
Tax Help
(Tax Help Theme For WordPress)
This one was specifically developed for financial organizations, tax and finance advisors, and businesses that offer tax assistance. It’s designed to showcase your services professionally to help grow your business reputation. It provides different blog styles, uses a drag-and-drop visual composer, includes a shortcode builder, the Revolution Slider, and many custom shortcodes.
To learn more about this WordPress theme, go here:
Finance Business
(Finance Business Theme For WordPress)
This one was developed specifically for firms that provide any type of financial service such as tax help, consulting, corporate, insurance, finance, accounting, loans, and more. It includes a custom CMSMasters Visual Content Composer plugin, around one hundred shortcodes that includes charts and financial content, custom drag-and-drop composer, two premium sliders, page settings, color management features, animated elements, and lots more.
More info:
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 article has helped you learn WordPress plugins & themes for improving search engine optimization, better user engagement and driving more visitors to your website.
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