Grow Your Accounting Business Online With WordPress

The web economy has not only transformed the way business is done worldwide, it has also created new challenges and great opportunities for accounting and financial services businesses.

Online Challenges For The Accounting & Financial Services Profession

CPAs today must work harder than ever to remain competitive. Not only do you have to participate in the communities and industries your business serves, you must also develop an active presence online. This includes having a website and learning how to better promote your business services online.

In addition to spending money in offline marketing activities like advertising on newspapers, ads in industry publications and magazines, radio and tv spots, etc., businesses in the accounting industry are now finding that increasingly larger amounts of their marketing budget will need to be assigned to develop and manage a website that will attract prospects, engage visitors, outperform the competition in search engines and help to increase their marketing exposure online.

This means that your website not only has to look professional, your web pages have to load fast, and your site has to be easy to navigate, but even more importantly, the needs of your website may change in time and sections may need to be frequently updated. This requires a well-developed website and content management strategy in place.

Another difficult challenge that accounting organizations (and most other professions) face, is that you have an average of thirty seconds to give users the information they are looking for or they will go away.

“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

Online Opportunities For Accounting Services

As well as facing a number of significant challenges, there are also many online opportunities available to accounting companies that are willing to adapt to meet the challenges of the online economy and can think strategically about marketing themselves better online.

In this comprehensive guide, you will learn new ways to increase traffic and establish online credibility for your accounting or financial services 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 or financial services website.

For more information about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress, see the articles below:

• Discover Why A Poorly Designed Website Can Cost You Prospective Buyers
• Understanding WordPress – The Small Business Owner’s Guide

Useful Tips For Improving Your Accounting Website

In this section we will start with the basics and show you ways to improve your accounting website and get better results. We will look at what web pages you need, what content you need, navigation structure, etc.

If you need assistance or help planning your accounting website, read this detailed step-by-step guide: How To Plan A Web Site - A Money-Saving Guide For Business Owners

Your Web Pages

All websites need a number of essential web pages. Let’s take a look at these.

Products And Services

You need a page that explains your services and any products that you offer.

Your page will include all the products and services you offer, such as:

• Business – business planning, company formation, accounting, payroll, preparing financial statements, book keeping, forecasting, financing, budgeting, strategic planning, consulting services, etc.
• Taxation – preparation, planning, reviewing, auditing, advice, problem resolution
• Investment strategies
• Corporate finance
• 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, transfers, etc.
• Lending and leasing

Make sure to list all of the services you provide. Provide your visitors with information that will educate them about the benefits of using these services and direct them to your appointment booking page.

Who We Are

This page should give a description of your business and what it stands for, its unique approach, causes supported, etc.

Remember to list any awards, recognitions, accreditations, certifications, associations, publications, etc., that you can use to promote your company and set it above the competition.

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

Meet Your Staff

If you are looking for cost-effective ways to grow your business online or get people to stay longer on your site, then something you can do, is make it easier for your visitors to get to know, like and trust you and your business better.

You want prospects to relate to your business. A great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your staff members. This page should include a photo and a mini bio. Since most visitors won’t be that 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 also include social buttons so your visitors can follow some of your team members on their social pages.

In this page, don’t be afraid to show the human side of your people with personal stories, hobbies, etc., but make sure to highlight each person’s experience, why they are an invaluable asset to your team, and more importantly, how they will help add value to your clients’ business.

(Add a page that introduces your employees or team members to prospective new clients. Image source: deepsky.com)

To learn more about how to add an easy-to-maintain simple staff directory in your website using a free WP plugin, go here: Adding A Staff List Directory To Your Site

Job Opportunities

List any career opportunities within your company. This page should include training provided, benefits, advancement opportunities, social aspects of working with your organization, etc. You should also include information about upcoming career opportunities in the accounting and financial services industry.

Maintain 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 newsletter, follow your social pages, etc.

Case Studies & Testimonials

Case studies and reviews from clients are a great way to show prospective clients what type of solutions you are capable of implementing to help them solve their problems. Adding a web page with case studies and testimonials also helps your accounting or financial services business to establish social proof.

(Add a web page with reviews from clients and case studies. Screenshot source: pcg-services.com)

We have written extensively about using testimonials and client reviews here: Learn How To Turn More Visitors Into Qualified Leads With Compelling Client Testimonials

Contact Us

Having a functional contact page is crucial.

It should provide some or all of the following information about your firm:

• Business Name
• Physical location
• Phone
• Facsimile number
• Email
• Map and directions
• Website URL
• Contact form
• Name of person to contact
• Social media links
• Online Chat/Skype

If your business services several areas you will want to make that clear when showing the address and contact info.

You should also include links to commonly-asked questions, frequently-visited pages, special offers, support area, newsletter opt-in form, blog, etc.

Add A Blog Section

A blog can be a powerful marketing tool. Many blogging platforms typically comprise of a content management system that allows you to easily promote your business using content such as news and events, updates, training articles, opinions and discussions, videos, webinars, etc.

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

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

Very few businesses know that an expertly configured WordPress site can turn into an automated traffic system that can instantly begin to deliver web traffic to your business, simply by adding content to your website on a regular basis.

(An expertly configured WordPress site can automate your traffic generation)

Go here to learn more about this: Website Traffic Blueprint – A Complete Guide To Getting More Web Visitors For Your Business Automatically

Legal Information

It’s vital to make sure they have a compliant website, not just for establishing credibility with prospective clients, but also to ensure that no local, regional and federal laws and regulations are being breached in whatever region you do business in.

Adding the following legal pages to your accounting or financial services site will help keep you out of legal hot water with most regulatory authorities, third-party service providers (e.g. Google), and other potential legal threats or inconveniences:

• Contact Page
• Privacy Statement
• Terms And Conditions
• Website Disclaimer
• Affiliate Agreement
• Anti-Spam Policy
• Compensation Disclosure
• DMCA Notice
• Earnings Disclaimer
• External Links Policy
• Health/Financial Disclaimers
• Refund Policy
• Video/Audio Terms
• and others

Go here for a detailed article on adding legal pages to your website: How To Add Legal Pages To Your WordPress Site

Improving Your Content

In today’s highly competitive digital economy, the earlier you begin to engage in the practice of content marketing, the faster you will begin to differentiate yourself from the competition.

Providing great content with information and tips will get your readers to share your web pages online with others and come back for more. Using content is the most effective way to inform and educate site visitors and prospective clients about your business.

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

• How balance sheets work
• Profit and loss statements
• Duties and legal responsibilities of company directors
• Presenting accounts for fundraising activities
• Cashflow planning
• Maximizing business insurance cover
• Protecting revenues
• How to structure a self-managed retirement fund
• Do’s and don’ts of … (e.g. purchasing vs leasing, setting up payroll systems, etc.)

You can also create a series of informative articles that will help your readers understand your accounting or financial services, such as software accounting, business accounting, business auditing, reducing debt, financial concepts made simple, etc.

Remember to use specific keywords and terminology in your content that your readers will be searching for.

We recommend subscribing to our Content Marketing Email Training Series. You will receive regular training emails with actionable information and practical tips that will teach you how to drive more traffic to your site, save money creating high-quality content for your 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!

Improving User Experience

Improving your user experience (often referred to as UX) will help keep visitors coming back and using your site. This section will show you different ways to improve visitor engagement and UX.

Syndicating Content - RSS Feeds

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds can help to improve your visitor engagement and UX in many ways.

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

Some of the benefits of having other businesses syndicate your content, include:

• All of your content updates are kept in one place
• Content distribution doesn’t rely on email
• Feeds can be shared online
• Feeds allow users to subscribe
• A feed provides a way for external links to point back to your site
• Your feeds can be submitted to RSS directories and aggregators
• There are various ways your readers can receive your content (e.g. subscribers can view the content on their mobile device using feed readers)
• It’s built into WordPress

There are also a number of benefits to providing valuable information on your site 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 relevant government departments and well-known industry bodies.

Below we have listed a few feeds you may want to add to your accounting site:

• 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

(Use RSS feeds to provide your visitors with a better user experience.)

Adding Forms And Checklists

Adding checklists and forms to your site is a fantastic way to help increase visitor engagement and add value to your visitors. Forms and checklists can provide visitors with useful instructions and resources to perform tasks. Forms and checklists are also great planning tools.

You can provide online or downloadable checklists and forms (or links to these) covering a range of areas such as:

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

Add Unique Tools

Providing unique online tools and applications for businesses (or links to these tools) on your website can help increase visitor engagement and add significant value to users. Calculators, such as loan and tax calculators, are popular tools for accounting websites. Other applications would include time cards, or retirement and interest calculators.

In part 2 of this guide, we take a look at a number of online tools you can use in your accounting site using WordPress plugins and themes that improve your search engine optimization, improve user engagement and drive more traffic to your business.

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This is the end of section one.

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• Grow Your Accounting Website – Improving SEO, Increase User Engagement And Increase Web Traffic Generation Using Plugins

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