Grow Your Accounting Business Online With WordPress

The digital business age has not only transformed business worldwide, it has also created a number of challenges and great opportunities for CPAs.

Online Challenges For Certified Public Accountants

Accounting businesses today must work harder than ever to remain in business. Not only do you have to actively participate in the communities and industries your business serves, you must also develop and maintain an active presence online. This includes having an effective web presence and learning how to better promote your business online.

In addition to spending dollars in offline marketing activities, businesses in the accounting industry are now also finding that increasingly larger amounts of their budget need to be delegated to develop and maintain a website that will attract new prospective clients, engage visitors, outperform the competition in search engines and social media, and help create wider exposure online.

This means that your website not only has to look great, your web pages have to be fast-loading, and your website has to be easy to navigate, but even more importantly, the needs of the website will change in time and some aspects will need to be updated frequently. This requires implementing well-planned website and content management strategy.

Another challenge that CPAs face with their websites (as do most professions for that matter), is that they have an average of thirty seconds to provide users what they are looking for or they will go elsewhere to find what they need.

“Websites have evolved into central information hubs where service information is still present but enhanced with web portals, hyperlinks to state and federal sites, and a variety of free tools.”

Michael Alter, http://www.accountingweb.com/technology/accounting-software/tips-for-improving-your-website

Opportunities For Accountants In The Online Economy

As well as facing significant challenges, there are also loads of online opportunities available for businesses in the accounting industry that are willing to evolve to meet the challenges of the online economy and think outside the box about improving their online marketing skills.

In this article, you will discover opportunities to source more accounts and establish stronger online credibility for your business.

As well as providing general website improvement tips, we also recommend that you consider using the WordPress Content Management System (CMS) to power your accounting website.

To learn more about the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress Content Management System (CMS), go here:

• Why A Poorly Built Website Can Cost You Money And What To Do About It
• An Online Guide To Growing A Small Business Using WordPress

Practical Tips To Improve Your Accounting Site

Let’s start by covering some basic stuff. In this section, we’ll look at how to improve your website and get better results. We show you what web pages you need, what content you need, ways of improving your layout and navigation structure, etc.

If you need assistance or help planning your accounting website, check out the guide we have written here: Planning A Web Site: A Basic Blueprint For Non-Technical Business Owners

Basic Website Pages

All websites require some basic web pages. Let’s discuss these.

Products And Services

You need a page that describes your products and services.

It will include services such as:

• Business accounting – business planning, formation, general accounting, payroll, preparing financial statements, book keeping, forecasting, budgeting, financing, strategic planning, consulting services, etc.
• Taxation – preparation, planning, reviewing, auditing, advising, problem resolution
• Investment strategies
• Corporate accounting
• Wealth creation
• Superannuation/retirement plan (401k) advice
• Audit risk assessment and assurance
• Quickbooks – setup, training, tune up, and support
• Specialist services – mergers, acquisitions, information technology, secretarial, rentals, trusts, fiduciary accounting, succession planning, selling a business, asset transfers, etc.
• Lending and leasing

Make sure to list all of the services you provide, not just the ones you specialize in. Provide your visitors with information that will educate them about the benefits of using your services and direct them to your appointment booking page.

About Us

The ‘About Us’ page needs to describe your business and explain to visitors what it stands for, its unique approach, sponsored community programs, etc.

It should mention any awards, accreditations, recognitions, certifications, publications, associations, etc., that can be used to promote your company and set it above your competitors.

(List all of your awards accreditations, certifications, recognitions, associations, publications, etc. in your About page. Image source: deloitte.com)

Core Team

If you are searching for ways to grow your business online, then something you can do, is help prospects get to know, like and trust you, your team and your organization better.

You want people to relate to your business. One great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your team. This page should include a photo and a mini biography. Since most visitors will not tend to be well-versed in accounting terms your bio descriptions should tell who they are and what their specialties are. You may also want to explain what those specialties mean. This page should even include social buttons that will allow your site visitors to follow selected staff members on their social pages.

In this page, make sure to outline each person’s expertise, how they add value or contribute to the success of your team, and more importantly, how they will help add value to your clients’ business.

(Make sure to add a team profile page. Screenshot image source: deepsky.com)

To learn more about how to easily add a simple team members directory in your site using free plugins, see this step-by-step tutorial: How To Easily Add An Employee Directory To Your Site

Work With Us

This is a listing of career opportunities within the organization. This page could include training provided, employee benefits, advancement opportunities, social aspects of working for your organization, etc. You can include stories of recruits who have worked their way up in your firm and information such as the job outlook and upcoming career opportunities in the accounting industry.

Also include a positions available section in your page. If there are no positions currently available, consider inviting people to return periodically to this page, subscribe to your updates list, follow your social pages, etc.

Case Studies & Testimonials

Reviews from clients and case studies are a great way to show potential clients what type of financial solutions you are capable of implementing to help them solve problems. By adding a page with case studies and client reviews, you are also helping to establish social proof.

(Add a page with client reviews and case studies. Screenshot image source: pcg-services.com)

If you want to learn more about using testimonials, case studies and reviews, refer to this article: Learn How To Improve Your Sales Conversions With Knockout Testimonials

Contact Page

A contact page is absolutely necessary.

It should include the following:

• Company Name
• Location
• Phone
• Fax
• Email
• Google Map
• Web URL
• Contact form
• Request for information – contact details
• Social media links
• Live Chat/Skype (optional feature)

If your business operates in different locations you want to make that clear when showing your address and contact information.

Consider also including links to an FAQ page, main pages, special offers, support page, newsletter, blog, etc.

Add An Accounting Or Financial Services Blog Section

A blog is a very powerful marketing tool for your business. Many blogging platforms typically include a content management system that allows you to promote your business by publishing timely content like announcements, company updates, educational information, opinions on current topics, videos, infographics, etc.

If you already have an accounting or financial services site, then consider adding a WordPress-driven blog to promote your company.

If you don’t have a website yet, or your existing website is hard to manage or not giving you the results you want, then WordPress can be used both as your business website and blog.

Something few people know about, is that WordPress can turn your web presence into an automated traffic-generation system that will begin driving an ongoing stream of targeted traffic to your site, simply by adding content on a regular basis to your website.

(An expertly configured WordPress site can generate new traffic automatically to your website)

Go here to learn more about this: Web Site Traffic Blueprint – A Complete Guide To Increasing Your Web Visitors Automatically Using WordPress

Legal Pages

It’s important to make sure they have a website that complies will all legal requirements online, not just for establishing trust and credibility with prospective clients, but also to ensure that you are not breaching laws and regulations in whichever area you service.

Depending on the services you provide, adding the following legal pages to your site will help you stay out of trouble with most regulatory authorities, third-party service providers, and other potential sources of legal threats and inconveniences:

• Contact Us
• Privacy Policy
• Terms And Conditions
• Website Disclaimer
• Affiliate Agreement
• Anti-Spam Policy
• Compensation Disclosure
• DMCA Notice
• Earnings Disclaimer
• External Linking Policy
• Financial/Health Disclaimers
• Refund Policy
• Video/Audio Terms
• etc.

We have written a detailed article about adding legal pages to your site. Go here to learn more about this: Why You Need To Add Legal Pages To Your Site

Tips On How To Improve The Content On Your Site

In today’s fiercely competitive online economy, the sooner you begin engaging in the practice of content marketing, the quicker you will begin to differentiate yourself from your competitors.

You will want to provide great content with information and tips that will get your readers to share your web pages with others and come back for more. Using content is a great way to inform and educate your visitors and prospective clients about your business and about using your services.

For example, topics for an accounting or financial services business can cover:

• Explanations of balance sheets
• Profit and loss statements
• Duties and legal responsibilities of company directors
• Presenting accounts for fundraising activities
• Cashflow planning
• Maximizing business insurance cover
• Risk protection
• How to structure a self-managed retirement fund
• Things to look for when … (e.g. purchasing vs leasing, claiming business expenses, etc.)

You can also create a series of informative articles that will help your prospective clients understand accounting services, such as software accounting, tax accounting, tax planning for small business, reducing debt, understanding accounting conventions, etc.

Remember to include keywords and terms in your content that your readers would search for.

We recommend subscribing to our Content Marketing Email Training Series. You will receive regular training emails with actionable information that will teach you how to drive more traffic to your website, save money creating high-quality content that will add value to your site visitors and grow your business online using content. It’s not only a great course with loads of useful information, it’s also 100% FREE!

Improve Visitor Engagement And User Experience

Improving user experience (generally referred to as UX) helps keep visitors coming back and engaging with your site. This section will show you ways you can improve your visitor engagement and user experience.

RSS Feeds

RSS feeds can help to improve your visitor engagement and user experience in a number of different ways.

If you provide information that adds value to others, other sites will want to syndicate your content to their visitors.

Some of the benefits of syndicating your content to other businesses using RSS feeds, include:

• All of your updates are in one place
• Doesn’t rely on email
• Feeds can be shared and picked up by other sites online
• RSS feeds allow users to subscribe
• An RSS feed provides a way for links to point back to your site
• Your feeds can be submitted to RSS directories
• There are a number of ways your readers can receive your content (e.g. users can view your content on their mobile device using feed readers)
• It’s built into WordPress

There are also benefits when it comes to adding syndicated content to your website from other sites, such as the fact that you don’t have to write, manage or update the content.

To find RSS feeds with loads of useful content just search online for finance-related government departments or respected industry bodies.

Here are examples of useful RSS feeds you could consider adding to your accounting website:

• Taxation Policy Center: http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/press/rss.cfm
• Australian Taxation Office: https://www.ato.gov.au/RSS-news-feeds.aspx
• Canada Revenue Agency: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/rssfeeds/
• UK HM Revenue and Customs: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/rss/rss.htm
• South Africa Revenue Service: http://www.sars.gov.za/Pages/RSS-Feeds.aspx

(Using RSS feeds can help to improve your accounting website’s UX.)

Adding Downloadable Forms

Adding checklists and forms to your site is a great way to help increase user engagement, add value to your visitors and provide something unique. Checklists and forms can provide users with useful step-by-step instructions and resources to complete tasks. Forms and checklists are great planning tools.

You can provide a range of checklists and forms covering topics such as:

• How To Set Up A Company
• Rental Property Checklist
• Non-Profit Activity Checklist
• Disclosure Requirements
• Company Tax Checklist
• Trust Tax Checklist
• Income Tax Variation Forms

Add Other Tools

Providing useful tools, gadgets and applications for businesses on your website can help increase visitor engagement and significantly add value to your potential clients. Calculators, such as loan and tax calculators, are some of the most popular tools for accounting websites. Others can include time cards, or retirement and interest calculators.

In the next section, we will look at a several WordPress plugins and themes you can use in your site that improve your seo, improve user engagement and drive more web traffic to your business.

***

This is the end of section 1.

To view the rest of this guide, click this link:

• Online Business Tips For CPAs – WordPress Plugins & Themes For Improving SEO, Better User Engagement And Generating More Web Traffic

Subscribe Using The Form Below And Get Notified Of New WordPress Tutorials!

***

***

***