In Part 1 of this article on ways to build your accounting business web presence, we provided in-depth information on the following topics:
- Challenges Accounting And Financial Services Face Online
- Opportunities For Accounting Businesses In The Digital Economy
- Improving Your Website Pages
- Improve Your Web Content
In this section, we continue exploring more ways to grow your accounting services business online. Topics covered include:
- Improving Traffic Using WordPress
- Tips For Generating New Leads & Enquiries Using WordPress-Based Applications
- WordPress Plugins And Themes That Can Help To Improve Search Engine Optimization, Increase User Engagement And Increase Web Traffic Generation
To learn more about WordPress plugins and themes, go here:
- Add New Functionality To Your Site With WP Plugins
- WordPress For Business – An Introduction To Themes
Your Accounting Website – Improve SEO, Increase User Engagement And Increase Web Traffic Generation With WordPress Plugins And Themes
Your web traffic is an important part of your online business growth. This section will help you improve your web traffic using WordPress.
Optimizing Your Website For Search Engines (SEO)
There are many ways WordPress can help to optimize your website for search engines:
- URLs – WordPress lets you set the permalinks to use the title of the posts as the web address of your pages.
- Post Tags – Specify the keywords that you want search engines to index your article pages (posts) for.
- Post Categories – Add categories for your posts and products.
- Post Excerpts – Set descriptions for your posts that search engines will show in their search results.
- 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 on your site
- Pinging – WordPress can be configured to automatically notify other search directories immediately upon publishing new content on your website.
Improving Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Improve User Engagement And Drive More Visitors With WordPress Plugins
In addition to the built-in features of WordPress, the WP community makes available a number of plugins that improve SEO, increase engagement and drive more web traffic 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
- WP Tree – WordPress site map plugin (for visitors)
(Use a plugin like Yoast SEO to improve your 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 more plugins that can help:
- BuddyPress – Use the BuddyPress plugin to set up a social network on your WordPress website, with member profiles, user groups, messaging, activity streams, and more.
- bbPress – Run your own discussion forum on your site.
- E-Newsletter – E-Newsletter allows you to send email newsletters, track results and manage subscribers from your WP dashboard, without a 3rd party subscription.
- Disqus – Disqus lets you power discussions and helps to increase user engagement on your site.
- Floating Social – Use this WordPress plugin to add social buttons and features that allow visitors to share your content online on your website.
(WordPress users can easily add social sharing to their site with WordPress plugins)
How To Generate New Leads & Enquiries
In this section we’ll discuss ways to improve your sales and generate leads and enquiries.
Provide A Newsletter
Adding an email newsletter is an excellent way to build a list of subscribers. Adding a newsletter provides several benefits and advantages, like:
- Sends targeted traffic to your website
- Keeps readers from forgetting about you
- Provides updates
- Provides you with a targeted marketing channel
- Allows you to provide special services or products to a select audience
- Provides new opportunities for improving engaging with your users
- Provides you with additional opportunities for your content to be shared online with other prospective customers
A proven way to attract newsletter subscribers is to provide users with valuable content and offer them a free gift in exchange for their details. This can be an exclusive guide, checklists for handling finances, access to financial calculators, coupons, access to videos, contests, etc.
Add A Contact Form
A contact form makes it easy and simple for prospective customers to get in touch. A contact form also lets users provide feedback, contact specific departments, request quotes, send suggestions for improvements and more.
Contact forms provide several benefits, like:
- Reduces spam
- Set up automated responses
- Giving you control over what is sent to you
- You can keep your email address private
- Different forms can be added to any page or post
- Looks professional
- Convenient for visitors
A popular WordPress contact form plugin is Contact Form 7.
Contact Form 7
(Contact Form 7)
This plugin is easy to install and set up and lets you insert and manage multiple contact forms, customize the form and the mail contents, add fields, and more.
Contact Form 7 supports international languages, Ajax-powered submissions, CAPTCHA, spam filtering and so on.
Something to consider is to segment your contact form so visitors can select which department they want to contact. This will help you to get the comment to the right person.
Provide Maps
Adding a map to your website helps your visitors and clients find you.
A map is a great tool for several reasons:
- They increase local SEO
- Visitors can find you more easily and plan their trips better
- Show location of events
(Adding maps to your site helps your visitors and clients find you)
Some of the most popular Google Maps plugins include:
- Google Maps
- Advanced Google Maps Plugin for WordPress
- WP Google Maps
- Comprehensive Google Map Plugin
Improve Search Engine Optimization, Improve User Engagement And Generate More Traffic Using WordPress Plugins And Themes
Accounting And Financial Services – WordPress Plugins
WordPress makes available a number of plugins you can add to your website that will immediately make available a range of practical tools for site visitors. Here are some of the plugins you can choose from:
Calculator Pro Calculators
(Calculator Pro Calculators)
This plugin provides a free collection of over 400 calculators. You can embed them into your posts, pages, or sidebars using shortcodes. Internationalization is supported.
Most of the calculators aren’t focused on accounting, but there are a few you can use for:
- Mortgage
- Payments
- Leases
- Equity
- And more
For more details, go here}:
Show Stock Quotes
(Show Stock Quotes)
With this plugin you get a widget that shows up to 20 different stock quotes per portfolio. You can show as many widgets as you want.
(Show Stock Quotes Plugin – Stock Portfolio)
For more details, go here}:
Custom Stock Ticker
(Custom Stock Ticker Plugin)
This free plugin lets you add a custom stock ticker to any sidebar, post or page using shortcodes.
This plugin offers several customizable ticker. Choose from built-in skins or customize it yourself. It’s easy to customize it so it matches your website. You can also add custom stocks to specific categories.
Customize the appearance by changing colours, speed, text, etc.
For more details, go here}:
Finance Calculator
(Finance Calculator WordPress Plugin)
This free plugin allows your visitors to calculate indicative repayments online. It’s great for calculating vehicle loans, property, or other large loans.
(Finance Calculator Plugin – Loan Calculator)
Finance Calculator 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 – WordPress Plugin)
WP-Invoice is ideal for WordPress business users with clients to bill.
This plugin lets you integrate billing into WordPress. You can send clients itemized invoices. It also allows you to set up recurring billing. It 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 your WP user management database to keep track of clients and their information, and integrates with payment processors like PayPal, Authorize.net, Stripe, 2Checkout, USAePay, and several others.
Plugin features include adding custom payments and charges, creating pre-defined line items and discounts, quickly viewing invoice status and progression, easily filtering and finding invoices, showing invoice receipts and invoice history, creating email notification templates, viewing 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 complete business management solution includes accounting management, invoicing, order management, help desk with support ticket management system, client relationship management and lots more.
(All In One Business Management Application – Invoicing)
All In One Business Management Application 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 For WordPress)
iBilling is a scalable business software that lets you manage customer data and invoicing, tracks your company’s cash flow and net worth, and lots more.
(iBilling – Accounting and Billing Software Plugin For WordPress – Client Invoicing)
iBilling Accounting and Billing Software integrates with several online payment gateways.
For more details, go here}:
Accounting – WordPress Themes
To benefit the most from using WordPress to grow your business online, it’s best to choose a theme specifically for accounting businesses. Below is a list of some of the best accounting themes available. With the themes below you can have a professional accounting website within minutes and save hundreds to thousands of dollars on the cost of website design.
Accounting Pro
(Accounting Pro Theme For WordPress)
This is an inexpensive turn-key theme for accountants and accountancy firms. It’s responsive, has a drag-and-drop page-builder, offers several page templates, custom menu features, a content composer (gives you an improved WordPress editor), a sidebar manager, auto-resized images, and a whole lot more.
You can customize this theme by installing premium add-ons.
For more information, go here:
Accountancy
(Accountancy WP Theme)
This premium theme for WordPress has a variety of built-in styles and layouts that helps make your accounting website look and feel professional.
It includes a custom slider, a featured testimonial section, and more. It’s lightweight, search optimized, loads fast, and fully responsive. It provides the flexibility you need without bloating your theme with features you don’t need. Your purchase includes free updates and one year of support.
More information:
Accounting
(Accounting – WordPress Theme)
This theme includes a drag-and-drop builder that allows you to design your site any way you want. It also provides unlimited sidebars and custom widgets, four different types of headers, a custom admin panel, four color schemes, custom slider, three different blog types, and is responsive (mobile-friendly). It looks clean and modern and loads fast.
More information:
Kathryn
(Kathryn Theme For WordPress)
This premium theme for WordPress was designed specifically for accounting services. It comes with multiple layouts, slider, multiple sidebars, a variety of color options, is easy to use, inexpensive, SEO friendly, and is fully responsive. Although it can easily fit any profession, it builds a great looking accounting theme. It includes a license for the Soliloquy WordPress slider plugin and is a separate purchase from the Genesis Framework.
For more information, go here:
Accounting WordPress Theme
(Accounting WordPress Theme)
This premium theme was created with the idea of professionalism within the accounting industry. It features an authoritative color scheme and elements specifically designed to help 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 and includes pages for your accounting services, contact section with consultation requests (downloadable as a CSV file), testimonials, and a blog.
Go here to learn more about using this theme:
WP Advocate
(WP Advocate)
This is a free corporate theme designed 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 for employee profiles and can also integrate with BeSpoke profile templates. It’s a clean-looking and fast-loading theme.
More information:
Divi
(Divi Theme)
This is one of the most flexible themes in Elegant Themes‘ entire collection of WordPress themes. You can create a unique, professional website using its page builder or pre-made layouts. You can modify your layout to your heart’s content.
Divi’s page builder transforms web elements into visual building blocks, allowing you to understand and easily change the structure of their pages without touching code.
(Divi Theme – Flexible Page Builder)
It comes with 40 content modules that you can drag and drop anywhere you want. These include audio player, blog, code, email optin, filterable portfolio, number counter, post title, pricing table, social media follow, video slider, fullwidth image, fullwidth portfolio, fullwidth post title, and more.. It is mobile-friendly and completely customizable. Elegant Theme prices start at $69 per year and includes full access to over 80 themes.
Go here for more details:
The Corporation
(The Corporation Theme)
This theme was specifically developed to make corporate sites look great.
It has a sleek page-based home page design with a eye-catching slider. It also has a blog design and features that toggle on and off. It comes with 6 color schemes. It also comes with multiple page templates that include contact pages, blog feeds, sitemaps, search page, gallery page, and more. Theme prices start at $69 per year and includes full access to 80+ stunning themes.
More info:
Adviser
(Adviser Theme For WordPress)
This premium WordPress theme was built to help finance industry professionals build trust through clean design. It’s perfect for businesses that provide services like investing advice or tax advice. The theme includes a recruitment page with hiring announcements and where to send applications, a built-in lease calculator, multiple shortcodes and widgets, and a drag-and-drop visual composer..
For more information, go here:
Tax Help
(Tax Help Theme)
Tax Help WordPress Theme was specifically designed for financial companies, tax and financial advisors, and those that offer tax services. This theme is designed to showcase your services professionally and help build your business reputation. It comes with a range of blog styles, uses the drag-and-drop visual composer, includes a shortcode builder, the Revolution Slider, and many custom shortcodes.
More information:
Finance Business
(Finance Business Theme)
Finance Business was specifically built for organizations that provide any type of financial service including tax help, consulting, finance, insurance, corporate, accounting, loans, and more. Finance Business includes a custom CMSMasters Visual Content Composer plugin. It also has around one hundred shortcodes that includes charts and financial content. It also includes a custom drag-and-drop composer, two premium sliders, page options, color management features, animations, and a lot more.
For more details, go here:
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 how to improve SEO, increase user engagement and generate more visitors using plugins and themes.
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