In Part One of this article on ways to grow your accounting web presence, we provided many practical tips and suggestions on the following areas:
- Online Challenges For Accountants
- Online Opportunities For Professional Accountants
- Basic Website Pages
- Tips On How To Improve The Content On Your Site
In this section, we discuss more ways to grow your accounting services business online. Topics covered below include:
- Improve Traffic Using WordPress
- Generate Leads & Enquiries With WordPress-Based Applications
- Improve Search Engine Optimization, Improve User Engagement And Generate More Visitors To Your Website Using Plugins & Themes
To learn more about WordPress plugins and themes, go here:
How To Improve Website Traffic
Web traffic is an integral part of your business growth. In this section, we explore ways to improve search engine optimization, improve user engagement and increase web traffic generation using WordPress plugins and themes.
Optimizing Your Website For Search Engines
There are many ways that WordPress helps optimize your website for search engines:
- URLs – Set the permalinks to use the title of the post.
- Post Tags – Choose the keywords that you want your articles to be indexed by in the search engines.
- Post Categories – Create search engine-friendly categories for your posts and products.
- Post Excerpts – WordPress lets you compose descriptions for your posts that search engines will show.
- Images – add search-optimized titles to your images for better search engine results.
- Content Linking – WordPress has a built-in feature that allows you to easily link internal content
- Pinging – Set up your site to automatically notify other sites and directories immediately upon publishing a new post on your site.
WordPress Plugins For Improving Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Better User Engagement And Traffic Generation
In addition to the built-in features of WordPress, the WP developer community makes available many plugins that improve SEO, increase user engagement and drive more web traffic to your business.
For example, here are some plugins you can use to improve your SEO:
- 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 to improve your SEO)
Other ways to improve SEO, increase user engagement and drive more traffic to your website are to add a forum, newsletters, commenting, and social features. Here are some more fantastic WordPress plugins that can help (many of the plugins listed below are also free):
- BuddyPress – Use the BuddyPress plugin to set up and manage your own online social network on your WordPress website, with member profiles, user groups, activity streams, messaging, and more.
- bbPress – This free WordPress plugin can be used to set up a discussion forum on your website.
- E-Newsletter – This plugin lets you send email newsletters, track results and manage subscribers from your WP dashboard, without requiring a third party subscription.
- Disqus – Disqus lets you power discussions and helps to increase engagement on your website or blog.
- Social Media Feather – Use this plugin to add powerful social sharing features to your pages and posts.
(WordPress users can easily add social sharing features to their site using WordPress plugins)
Generate Leads & Enquiries With WordPress
Let’s now discuss ways to improve sales and generate leads and enquiries.
Providing A Newsletter
Adding an email newsletter is a great way to build a list of subscribers. Adding newsletters] provides many benefits including:
- Sends targeted traffic to your website
- Keeps readers from forgetting about you
- Keeps readers updated
- Provides you with a targeted marketing channel
- Allows you to offer special services or products to a select audience
- Provides regular opportunities for improving user engagement
- Provides other ways for subscribers to share your content
An effective strategy for attracting new subscribers to your email newsletter is to provide high value information and give users free gifts or bonus items in exchange for their personal details. This could be a guide, checklists for handling tax, access to financial calculators, coupons, access to subscriber-only content, contests, etc.
Contact Forms
A contact form provides an easy and simple way for readers to get in touch. Contact forms also allow visitors to report issues, ask questions to specific departments, ask for a quote, and more.
A contact form provides several benefits and advantages, like:
- Reduces spam
- Automated response
- Giving you control over what is sent to you
- You can keep your email address private
- They can be added to any page or post
- Looks professional
- Is convenient for visitors
One of the most popular contact form plugins is Contact Form 7.
Contact Form 7
(Contact Form 7 Plugin)
Contact Form 7 is easy to install and configure and allows you to insert multiple contact forms, customize the form and the email contents, add fields, and more.
Contact Form 7 supports international languages, Ajax-powered submitting, CAPTCHA, Akismet spam filtering and so on.
Something to consider is to segment your contact form so users can select which department they want to contact. This helps visitors get the comment to the right person.
Provide A Map
Adding maps helps your visitors and clients find you.
Adding maps (e.g. Google Maps) to your WordPress site also provides a number of benefits, such as:
- They improve local SEO
- Helps visitors find your office easily
- Displays location of events
(Adding a map to your website helps your visitors and clients 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 And Themes That Can Help To Improve Your Search Engine Optimization, Increase User Engagement And Generate More Visitors
Financial Plugins For WordPress
WordPress lets you add a number of plugins to your website that will immediately add a range of practical tools for visitors. Here are some of these plugins:
Calculator Pro Calculators
(Calculator Pro Calculators Plugin)
This plugin provides a free collection of over 400 calculators. You can embed these into your posts, pages, or sidebars using shortcodes. The plugin also supports internationalization
Note: Most of them aren’t focused specifically on accounting, but there are quite a few for:
- Interest rate
- Rate of return
- Tax
- Equity
- And more
For more details, go here}:
Show Stock Quotes
(Show Stock Quotes Plugin)
This plugin gives you a widget that shows up to 20 different stock quotes per portfolio. You can display as many widgets as you want.
(Show Stock Quotes – Stock Portfolio)
For more details, go here}:
Custom Stock Ticker
(Custom Stock Ticker Plugin For WordPress)
With this plugin you can place a custom stock ticker on any sidebar, page or post using shortcodes.
The plugin comes with a number of customizable ticker. Choose from built-in themes or customize it yourself. It’s easy to customize it so it matches your site. You can also add custom stocks to individual categories.
Appearance customizations include size, symbols, colours, etc.
For more details, go here}:
Finance Calculator
(Finance Calculator)
This free calculator allows your visitors to calculate indicative repayments online. This is a useful financial tool for automotive loans, property loans, or other large loans.
(Finance Calculator Plugin For WordPress – Loan Calculator)
This plugin also contains an application form that will send a notification message to the email address you specify.
It will display 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 – WordPress Plugin)
WP-Invoice is ideal for WordPress users with clients to bill.
This plugin lets you integrate billing into WordPress. You can send itemized invoices, set up recurring billing and expand functionality with free and premium add-ons that let you manage business, accept electronic signatures from clients, create PDF versions of invoices, provide quotes, create single-page checkout forms, and more.
The plugin ties into WP’s user management database to keep track of your clients and their information, and integrates with PayPal, Authorize.net, Stripe, 2Checkout, USAePay, and others.
Plugin features include adding custom payments and charges, adding pre-defined line items and discounts, quickly viewing invoice status and progression, filtering and finding invoices, showing invoice receipts and invoice history, creating e-mail notification templates, displaying reports (collected vs uncollected invoices, 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 complete business management system includes accounting management, invoicing, order management, help desk with ticket management system, client relationship management and lots more.
(All In One Business Management Application Plugin – Invoicing)
All In One Business Management Application supports international 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)
iBilling is a scalable business software that lets you manage customer data and invoicing, tracks your company’s net worth and cash flow, send single-click payment reminders and payment confirmations, and lots more.
(iBilling – Accounting and Billing Software – WordPress Plugin – Invoice)
iBilling integrates with several online payment gateways.
For more details, go here}:
Accounting And Financial Services Themes For WordPress
To benefit the most from using WordPress, we recommend choosing a theme specifically suited for accounting. Here is a look at some of the best accountancy themes available. With these themes you can own a professional-looking 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 premium theme is a 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-resizing for images, and lots more.
You can easily customize Accounting Pro using premium add-ons.
For more information, go here:
Accountancy
(Accountancy WP Theme)
Accountancy comes in a variety of built-in styles and layouts to help give your accounting site a professional look and feel.
It includes a custom slider, a featured testimonial section, and more. It’s lightweight, search engine optimized, fast loading, and is responsive. It provides what you need without bloating your theme with features you don’t need. The price includes free updates and one year of support.
For more information, go here:
Accounting
(Accounting)
This premium WordPress theme includes a drag-and-drop builder that allows you to design your site any way you want. The theme also provides unlimited sidebars and custom widgets, four different header types, a custom administration panel, different color schemes, a custom slider, three different blog types, and is responsive (mobile-friendly). It is a clean-looking, modern and fast loading theme.
For more information, go here:
Kathryn
(Kathryn Theme For WordPress)
This one is a child theme for the Genesis Framework that’s built for accountants. Kathryn comes with a slider, multiple layouts, multiple sidebars, various colors, is easy to use, inexpensive, SEO friendly, 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.
More info:
Accounting WordPress Theme
(Accounting WordPress Theme – WordPress Theme)
This theme was developed with the idea of professionalism within the accounting industry. It features authoritative colors and layout elements designed specifically 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 fully responsive (mobile-friendly) and includes pages for your accounting services, contact details section with consultation requests (downloadable as CSV), testimonials, and a blog.
To learn more about about using this theme, visit the theme website:
WP Advocate
(WP Advocate)
This is a corporate theme developed specifically for professional service providers such as accountants and attorneys. Use the theme’s bundled images or upload your own. It includes a custom post type for employee profiles. It will also integrate with BeSpoke profile templates. It’s a clean and fast-loading theme.
Go here for more info:
Divi
(Divi Theme For WordPress)
Divi is the most flexible theme in Elegant Themes‘ entire theme collection. Divi lets you create a professional website using the page builder or beautiful pre-made layouts. You can change your layout to your heart’s content.
Divi’s page builder transforms elements into visual building blocks, allowing anyone to understand and edit the structure of their pages without touching code.
(Divi WP Theme – Page Builder)
Divi comes with 40 content modules that you can drag and drop anywhere you want. This includes modules such as multiple layouts, a slider, you can place pricing tables, testimonials, call-to-action, and lots more. Divi is responsive and completely customizable. Prices start at $69 per year and includes access to over 80 beautifully-designed themes.
To learn more about this WordPress theme, go here:
The Corporation
(The Corporation WP Theme)
This premium theme from Elegant Themes was specifically designed to create good-looking corporate sites.
It has a page-based home page design with a prominent slider, blog design, 6 unique color schemes, 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 access to over 80 beautifully-designed themes.
More info:
Adviser
(Adviser Theme)
This premium WordPress theme was built specifically to help finance professionals build trust online through clean design. It’s perfect for those that provide services such as investing or tax advice. Adviser includes a recruitment page with hiring announcements and where to send applications, lease calculator, multiple shortcodes and widgets, and the drag-and-drop visual composer..
Go here to learn more about this theme:
Tax Help
(Tax Help Theme For WordPress)
This premium theme for WordPress was specifically developed for financial organizations, tax and finance advisors, and those offering tax assistance. Tax Help is designed to showcase your services professionally and help build your professional reputation. It comes with a range of blog styles, uses the drag-and-drop visual composer, includes a shortcode builder, the Revolution Slider, and additional custom shortcodes.
Go here for more details:
Finance Business
(Finance Business Theme)
Finance Business Theme was specifically designed for organizations that provide any type of financial service such as consulting, tax help, corporate, finance, insurance, accounting, loans, and more. Finance Business includes a custom CMSMasters Visual Content Composer plugin, around one hundred shortcodes that let you add charts and financial content, the custom drag-and-drop composer, two 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 SEO, increasing user engagement and traffic generation.
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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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