In Part 1 of this guide on ways to build your accounting business web presence, we provided in-depth information on the following topics:
- Challenges Accountants Face Online
- Opportunities For The Accounting Profession In The Online Economy
- Ways To Improve Your Web Pages
- How To Improve The Content On Your Website
In this section, we will continue exploring more ways to grow your accounting services business online. Areas covered include:
- Improve Traffic
- Generating Leads & Enquiries Using WordPress-Based Applications
- Improve Search Engine Optimization, Improve User Engagement And Generate More Web Traffic Using WordPress Plugins & 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. This section discusses ways of improving your accounting or financial services business online using WordPress.
Optimizing Your Website For SEO
There are lots of ways WordPress can help to optimize your accounting or financial services website for search engines:
- URLs – WordPress lets you set the permalinks to create search engine-optimized URLS for your content posts.
- Post Tags – WordPress lets you select the keywords that you want your article pages to be indexed for in the search engines.
- Categories – Add search engine-friendly categories for keeping your content organized and easy to find.
- Post Excerpts – Create descriptions for your posts that search engines will show in their search result pages.
- Images – add search-optimized titles to your images for better search engine results.
- Internal Linking – WordPress has a built-in feature that allows you to easily link internal content
- Pinging – Set up your WordPress site to automatically notify other sites and directories whenever a new post is published on your website.
How To Improve Search Engine Optimization, Increase User Engagement And Increase Web Traffic To Your Website Generation With WordPress Plugins
As well as the built-in features of WordPress, there are a number of plugins that improve SEO, increase engagement and drive more web traffic to your site.
For example, here are some plugins you can use to improve your site’s search engine optimization:
- All in One SEO – WordPress SEO plugin
- Google XML Sitemaps – WordPress XML sitemap plugin
- 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 things you can do to improve SEO, increase engagement and drive more visitors to your business are to add a forum, newsletters, comments, and social sharing features. Here are some useful WordPress plugins that can help (many of the plugins described below are also free):
- BuddyPress – Use the BuddyPress WordPress plugin to set up and run your own online social network on WordPress.
- bbPress – Set up an online forum on WordPress.
- E-Newsletter – Use E-Newsletter to send professional email newsletters, track results and manage subscribers from your WP dashboard.
- Disqus – Disqus lets you power discussions and helps to increase engagement on your website.
- Floating Social – Use this plugin to add social buttons and features that allow visitors to share your content online to your website or blog.
(You can easily add social sharing to your site using WordPress plugins)
Generate More Leads & Enquiries
Let’s now discuss ways to improve sales and generate more leads and enquiries online.
Adding An Email Newsletter
Adding a newsletter is an excellent way to build a list of subscribers. Adding an email newsletter 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 targeted marketing channel
- It’s a way to provide special products or services to a select audience
- Provides regular opportunities for increasing user interaction
- Provides you with an additional way for readers to share your content
A proven strategy for attracting subscribers is to provide high value content and give users additional items of value for free in exchange for their details. This could be a useful report, tips for handling tax, access to tax calculators, discount coupons, membership access to videos, contests, etc.
Provide Contact Forms
A contact form makes it easy and simple for readers to get in touch with you. Contact forms also let visitors provide feedback, contact specific departments, request a quote, send suggestions for improvements and more.
Contact forms provide a number of benefits and advantages, like:
- Reducing spam
- Automated response
- Gives you control over what is sent to you
- Allows you to keep your email address private
- Can be added to any post or page
- Improves the professional look of your site
- Convenient for site visitors
One of the most popular contact form plugins for WordPress is Contact Form 7.
Contact Form 7
(Contact Form 7 – WordPress Plugin)
This free plugin lets you create and manage multiple contact forms on your pages and posts, customize your forms and the mail contents, add fields, and more.
Contact Form 7 also supports international languages, Ajax-powered submitting, CAPTCHA, Akismet spam filtering and so on.
Something else to consider is adding sections to your contact form so prospective customers can select which department they want to contact. This ensures that contact form requests reach the right person.
Map Integration
Maps help your visitors and clients find you.
Maps are a useful tool for several reasons:
- A map helps to improve local SEO
- Visitors can easily find you
- Display location of events
(Adding a map to your site helps your visitors and customers find you)
Some of the most popular Google Maps plugins for WordPress include:
- Google Maps
- Advanced Google Maps Plugin for WordPress
- WP Google Maps
- Comprehensive Google Map Plugin
WordPress Plugins That Improve Search Engine Optimization, Improve User Engagement And Drive More Visitors
Accounting And Financial Services 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 users. Here are just some of these:
Calculator Pro Calculators
(Calculator Pro Calculators – WordPress Plugin)
This plugin provides a free collection of over 400 calculators. You can embed them into your posts, pages, or sidebars using shortcodes. It supports internationalization
Note: Most of the calculators aren’t focused on accounting, but there are quite a few for:
- Mortgage
- Payments
- Leases
- Equity
- And more
For more details, go here}:
Show Stock Quotes
(Show Stock Quotes – WordPress Plugin)
This plugin lets you add a widget that shows up to 20 different stock quotes per portfolio. You can show as many portfolios as you want.
(Show Stock Quotes WordPress Plugin – Stock Portfolio)
For more details, go here}:
Custom Stock Ticker
(Custom Stock Ticker Plugin For WordPress)
With this plugin you can add custom stock tickers to any sidebar, post or page using shortcodes.
Custom Stock ticker includes loads of customizable ticker. You can choose from built-in themes or customize it yourself. It’s easy to customize it so it matches your website. You can also add custom stocks to specific categories.
Appearance customizations include colours, size, speed, text, and symbols, etc.
For more details, go here}:
Finance Calculator
(Finance Calculator Plugin)
This free calculator allows your visitors to calculate indicative repayments. It’s great for calculating vehicle loans, property, or any other large loan.
(Finance Calculator – WordPress Plugin – Loan Calculator)
This plugin also contains an application form that will send a notification message to a specified email address.
It will show payment protection, calculate 12 to 60 months loans and create a form that can be placed in any page or post.
For more details, go here}:
WP-Invoice
(WP-Invoice)
WP-Invoice lets you send itemized invoices to clients.
This plugin integrates billing into WordPress. You can send out itemized invoices. It also allows you to set up recurring billing. WP-Invoice can be expanded through both free and premium add-ons, like business location, electronic signature, PDF creation, quote creation, checkout forms, and more.
The plugin ties into the WP user management database to keep track of clients and their information, and integrates with PayPal, Authorize.net, Stripe, and several others.
The plugin lets you add custom payments and charges, insert pre-defined line items and discounts, view invoice status and progression, filter and find invoices, see invoice receipts and invoice history, create notification email templates, display 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)
This is a complete business management system that includes accounting management, invoicing, order management, help desk with knowledgebase and support ticket system, client relationship management and many more features.
(All In One Business Management Application Plugin For WordPress – Client Invoice)
The plugin supports different languages, is fully customizable and provides additional tools such as document management, to do app, 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, track your company’s cash flow and net worth, and lots more.
(iBilling – Accounting and Billing Software WordPress Plugin – Client Invoice)
It 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, it’s best to choose a theme specifically suited for accounting businesses. Here is a list of some of the best accountancy themes available. These themes allow you to have a professional-looking accounting website within minutes and save hundreds to thousands of dollars on the cost of website design.
Accounting Pro
(Accounting Pro – WordPress Theme)
Accounting Pro is an inexpensive turn-key theme developed for accountants and accounting firms. It’s responsive, has a drag-and-drop page-builder, offers several page templates, custom menu features, a content composer (which improves on the standard WordPress editor), a sidebar manager, performs auto resizing for images, and a whole lot more.
Accounting Pro can be customized with premium add-ons.
Go here for more info:
Accountancy
(Accountancy – WordPress Theme)
Accountancy has a variety of styles and layouts to give your accounting website a professional look and feel.
This fully responsive (mobile-friendly) theme includes a custom slider, a featured testimonial, it’s lightweight, search optimized, and loads fast. It provides the features your business needs without bloating your theme. Your purchase price includes free updates and 1 year of support.
Go here for more information:
Accounting
(Accounting Theme For WordPress)
This premium WordPress theme includes a drag-and-drop builder so you can design your website any way you want. The theme also provides unlimited sidebars with custom widgets, four different header types, a custom administration panel, different color schemes, custom slider, 3 blog types, and is responsive (mobile-friendly). Accountancy is a clean-looking, modern and fast loading theme.
More information:
Kathryn
(Kathryn Theme)
Kathryn is built specifically for accounting services. The theme comes with multiple layouts, slider, multiple sidebars, flexible rotator, a variety of color options, is easy to use, inexpensive, SEO friendly, and is responsive. Although this theme could easily suit any profession you want it to, it builds a great looking accounting theme. It includes a license for the Soliloquy plugin and must be purchased separately from the Genesis Framework.
Go here to learn more this theme:
Accounting WordPress Theme
(Accounting WordPress Theme)
This premium theme was built to exude professionalism within the accounting industry. It features authoritative colors and layout elements designed specifically to make your accounting website look professional without 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 services, contact section with consultation requests (downloadable as CSV), testimonials, and a blog.
Go here to learn more about using this WordPress theme:
WP Advocate
(WP Advocate)
This is a corporate theme built specifically for professional service providers such as accountants and attorneys. You can use the theme’s bundled images or upload your own. It includes a custom post type adding employee profiles and can also integrate with BeSpoke profile templates. It’s a clean and fast-loading theme.
To learn more about this WordPress theme, go here:
Divi
(Divi Theme)
This theme is the most flexible theme in Elegant Themes‘ entire theme collection. Divi lets you create a unique, professional website using the page builder or beautiful and unique pre-made layouts. You can modify your layout as much as you need.
Divi’s page builder transforms elements into visual building blocks, allowing you to understand and easily change the structure of their web pages without editing a single line of code.
(Divi Theme For WordPress – Flexible Page Builder)
It has 40 content modules that you can drag and drop anywhere you want. This includes bar counter, blurb, contact form, countdown timer, gallery, login, person, sidebar, tabs, text, fullwidth header, fullwidth portfolio, fullwidth post title, and more.. Divi is fully responsive and completely customizable. Elegant Theme prices start at $69 per year and includes access to over 80 sleek business themes.
Go here for more info:
The Corporation
(The Corporation – WordPress Theme)
The Corporation was developed specifically to make corporate sites look good.
The Corporation has a sleek page-based home page design with a nice slider, blog design, six different different color schemes, multiple page templates that include contact pages, blog feeds, sitemaps, search page, gallery page, and more. Elegant Theme prices start at $69 per year and includes access to over 80 beautifully-designed themes.
Go here to learn more about using this WordPress theme:
Adviser
(Adviser Theme)
This theme was developed specifically to help finance industry professionals build trust with a clean business design. It’s ideal for those that provide services such as investment advice or tax advice. The Adviser theme 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.
More information:
Tax Help
(Tax Help Theme For WordPress)
This premium theme was developed for financial companies, tax and financial advisors, and businesses that offer tax services. It’s designed to showcase your services in a professional way and help build your business reputation. It comes with different blog styles, uses the drag-and-drop visual composer, includes a shortcode builder, the Revolution Slider, and additional custom shortcodes.
Go here for more info:
Finance Business
(Finance Business Theme)
Finance Business was designed specifically for firms that provide any type of financial service including tax help, consulting, finance, corporate, insurance, accounting, loans, and more. This theme includes a custom CMSMasters Visual Content Composer plugin, around 100 shortcodes that includes charts and financial content, the custom drag-and-drop composer, 2 premium sliders, page options, color management features, animated elements, and a lot 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 guide has helped you learn WordPress plugins for improving search engine optimization, increasing user engagement and generating more traffic.
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"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)
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