In Part 1 of this comprehensive article on ways to improve your accounting business presence online, we provided in-depth information on the following topics:
- Challenges Accountants Face Online
- Online Opportunities For Accounting Services
- How To Improve Your Web Pages
- Improving The Content On Your Site
In this section, we discuss more ways to grow your accounting services business online. Areas covered include:
- Ways Of Improving Web Traffic
- Generate Leads & Enquiries Using WordPress
- Improve SEO, Increase User Engagement And Increase Traffic To Your Website Generation With WordPress Plugins
To learn more about WordPress plugins and themes, see the articles below:
- Adding New Features And Functionality To Your Blog With WP Plugins
- WP For Newbies – An Overview Of WordPress Themes
Grow Your Accounting Website – Improving Your Business Online Using WordPress
Web traffic is a vital part of your business growth. In this section we explore ways to help you improve your web traffic using WordPress.
Optimizing Your Website For SEO
There are lots of ways WordPress can help to optimize your accounting website for search engines:
- Search Engine-Friendly URLs – Set the permalinks to use the title of the posts as the URL of your pages.
- Tags – WordPress lets you choose the keywords that you want search engines to index your article pages (posts) for.
- Post Categories – Create SEO-friendly categories for archiving and organizing your content.
- Post Excerpts – Create the description for your posts that visitors will see in the search engine results.
- Images – title images with keywords for better search results.
- Internal Linking – WordPress has a built-in feature that lets you easily create internal links for faster indexing of your web pages
- Post Notification – Configure your site to automatically notify (ping) other sites and directories the moment a new post is published on your site.
WordPress Plugins That Improve Search Engine Optimization, Improve User Engagement And Generate More Visitors
In addition to the built-in features of WordPress, there are dozens of WordPress plugins that improve your accounting or financial services website’s SEO, increase engagement and drive more web traffic to your website.
For example, you can use the plugins below to improve your SEO:
- All in One SEO – WordPress SEO plugin
- Google XML Sitemaps – WordPress XML sitemap plugin (for search engines)
- WP Tree – WordPress site map plugin (for visitors)
(Use a plugin like Yoast SEO (previously known as WordPress SEO by Yoast) to improve your site’s SEO)
Other things you can do to improve SEO, increase user engagement and drive more visitors to your website are to add a forum, newsletters, comments, and social features. Here are some more fantastic plugins that can help (many of the plugins listed below can be downloaded at no cost):
- BuddyPress – Set up your own online social community on your website, with member profiles, user groups, messaging, activity streams, and more.
- bbPress – This plugin allows you to set up a community forum on your WordPress website.
- E-Newsletter – E-Newsletter lets you send email newsletters, track results and manage subscribers from your WordPress site.
- Disqus – use this plugin to power discussions and helps to increase user engagement on your website or blog.
- Social Media Feather – Use this plugin to add social buttons and features that allow visitors to share your content online on your pages and posts.
(WordPress users can easily add social sharing to their website using free or inexpensive plugins)
Ways To Generate Leads & Enquiries With WordPress-Based Applications
In this section we will discuss how to improve your sales and generate new leads and enquiries online.
Provide An Email Newsletter
Adding an email newsletter is a great way to build a list of subscribers. Adding a newsletter provides many benefits including:
- Sends targeted traffic to your website
- Keeps your business at the forefront of your reader’s minds
- Keeps readers updated
- Provides you with a targeted marketing channel
- Allows you to provide special services or products to a select audience
- Increases interaction
- Provides you with additional ways for subscribers to share your content
An effective way to attract new subscribers to your newsletter is to provide them with valuable content and offer them free gifts in exchange for their personal details. This can be an exclusive guide, tips for handling finances, access to financial calculators, coupons, membership access to courses, contests, etc.
Contact Forms
Contact forms provide an easy and simple way for readers to get in touch with you. Contact forms also allow readers to send feedback, ask questions to specific departments, request quotes, give suggestions and more.
Contact forms provide many benefits, like:
- Reduces spam
- Automated response
- Gives you control over what is sent to you
- Allows you to keep your email address private
- Different forms can be added to any post or page
- Improves the professional look of your site
- More convenient for visitors
A popular contact form plugin for WordPress is Contact Form 7.
Contact Form 7
(Contact Form 7 WordPress Plugin)
This free plugin allows you to create multiple contact forms into any post or page, customize your form and the email contents, add fields, and more.
Contact Form 7 supports international languages, Ajax-powered submissions, CAPTCHA, spam filtering and so on.
Another option to consider is adding sections to your contact form so users can select which department they want to contact. This ensures that visitors get the comment to the right person.
Adding A Map
A map helps your visitors and customers find you.
Adding maps (e.g. Google Maps) to your site also provides visitors with many benefits, such as:
- A map increases local SEO
- Helps visitors find your office easily
- Shows location of events
(Adding a map 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
Improve SEO, Improve User Engagement And Drive More Web Traffic With Plugins & Themes
Financial Plugins For WordPress
WordPress lets you add a number of plugins to your accounting website that will immediately make available a range of practical tools for site visitors. Here are just some of these plugins:
Calculator Pro Calculators
(Calculator Pro Calculators Plugin)
This plugin provides a free collection of 400+ calculators that you can provide to users on your website and embed into your posts, pages, or sidebars using shortcodes. Internationalization is supported.
Most of them aren’t focused specifically on accounting, but there are a few you can use for:
- 401k
- Rate of return
- CD
- Credit
- And many more
For more details, go here}:
Show Stock Quotes
(Show Stock Quotes Plugin)
With this plugin you get a widget that displays up to 20 different stock quotes per portfolio. You can show as many portfolios as you like.
(Show Stock Quotes – WordPress Plugin – Stock Portfolio)
For more details, go here}:
Custom Stock Ticker
(Custom Stock Ticker)
With this plugin you can add a custom stock ticker to any sidebar, page or post with shortcodes.
The plugin includes loads of customizable ticker. You can choose from built-in themes or customize these yourself. It’s easy to customize it so it matches your website. You can also add custom stocks to individual categories.
Customize the appearance by changing colors, speed, symbols, etc.
For more details, go here}:
Finance Calculator
(Finance Calculator Plugin)
This free plugin allows your visitors to calculate indicative repayments. This is a useful tool for calculating car loans, property loans, or other large loans.
(Finance Calculator – Loan Calculators)
Finance Calculator also contains an application form that will send a message to the email address you specify.
Other features of this plugin include showing payment protection, calculating 12 to 60 months loans and creating a form that can be placed in any page or post.
For more details, go here}:
WP-Invoice
(WP-Invoice Plugin For WordPress)
WP-Invoice is ideal for WordPress users with clients to bill.
WP-Invoice integrates billing into WordPress. You can send itemized invoices, set up recurring billing and expand functionality with free and premium add-ons, like business location, electronic signature, PDF creation, quote creation, 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 payment processors like PayPal, Authorize.net, Stripe, 2Checkout, PayPal Payments Pro, and others.
WP-Invoice lets you add custom payments and charges, add pre-defined line items and discounts, quickly view invoice status and progression, filter and find invoices, show invoice receipts and invoice history, create notification e-mail templates, view reports (collected vs uncollected invoices, ten 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 Plugin For WordPress)
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 lots more.
(All In One Business Management Application Plugin – Client Invoicing)
All In One Business Management Application supports international languages, is fully customizable and provides powerful 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 WordPress Plugin)
iBilling is a scalable business software that lets you manage client data and invoicing, tracks your company’s cash flow and net worth, send single-click payment reminders and payment confirmations, and lots more.
(iBilling – Accounting and Billing Software Plugin – Invoice)
iBilling Accounting and Billing Software integrates with several payment gateways.
For more details, go here}:
WordPress Themes
To get the best features and professional look for your website, it’s best to choose a theme specifically suited for accounting. Here is a look at some of the best accountancy themes available. These themes allow you to have a professional accounting website within minutes and save hundreds to thousands of dollars on the cost of web design.
Accounting Pro
(Accounting Pro Theme)
This premium theme is a turn-key theme for accountants and accountancy firms. It’s a responsive theme with a drag-and-drop page-builder, has 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 lots more.
Accounting Pro can be customized using premium add-ons.
To learn more about this theme, visit this website:
Accountancy
(Accountancy)
This theme offers a variety of styles and layouts to help 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. Free updates and 1 year of support is included in your purchase.
Go here to learn more about this WordPress theme:
Accounting
(Accounting)
This premium theme includes a drag-and-drop builder that allows you to design your website any way you want. The theme also has 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). It looks clean and modern and is fast to load.
More info:
Kathryn
(Kathryn Theme For WordPress)
This premium theme for WordPress was built specifically for accounting businesses. It has a slider, multiple layouts, multiple sidebars, widgetized home page, flexible rotator, call to action boxes, author boxes for single or multiple bloggers, a variety of color options, is easy to use, SEO friendly, and is fully responsive (mobile-friendly). Although it could easily suit any profession you like, 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 theme was developed with the idea of professionalism within the accounting industry. It features an authoritative color scheme and elements specifically designed to help 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 mobile-friendly and includes pages for your accounting services, contact form section with consultation requests (downloadable as a CSV file), testimonials, and a blog.
More information:
WP Advocate
(WP Advocate Theme For WordPress)
WP Advocate is a corporate theme developed specifically for professionals such as accountants and attorneys. Use the theme’s bundled images or upload your own. WP Advocate includes a custom post type for staff profiles and can also integrate with BeSpoke profile templates. It’s a clean-looking and fast-loading theme.
Go here to learn more this theme:
Divi
(Divi)
This premium theme is one of the most flexible themes in Elegant Themes‘ entire collection of WordPress themes. You can create a unique, professional website using the page builder or beautiful and unique pre-made layouts. You can change your layout to your heart’s content.
The builder transforms web elements into visual building blocks, allowing anyone to understand and easily change the structure of their web pages without editing code.
(Divi WordPress Theme – Flexible Page Builder)
It has 40 content modules that you can drag and drop anywhere you want. These modules include multiple layouts, a slider, you can place pricing tables, testimonials, call-to-action, and lots more. It is fully responsive and fully customizable. Themes start at $69 per year and includes access to over 80 sleek business themes.
More information:
The Corporation
(The Corporation – WordPress Theme)
This premium theme from Elegant Themes was created specifically to make corporate websites look good.
This theme has a sleek and professional page-based home page design with a prominent, flashy slider. It also has a blog design and features that toggle on and off. It comes with 6 color schemes. It also has multiple page templates that include contact pages, blog feeds, sitemaps, search page, gallery page, and more. Prices start at $69 per year and includes full access to over 80 themes.
More information:
Adviser
(Adviser WP Theme)
This one was built specifically to help professionals in the financial industry to build trust online through clean web design. It’s ideal for businesses that provide services such as investing advice or tax help. The Adviser theme includes a recruitment page with hiring announcements and where to send applications. It also includes a 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 theme was specifically designed for financial organizations, tax and finance advisors, and those that offer tax services. Tax Help is designed to showcase your services in a professional way to help grow your professional reputation. It provides a range of blog styles, uses the drag-and-drop visual composer, includes a shortcode builder, the Revolution Slider, and many custom shortcodes.
Visit this website to learn more about this WordPress theme:
Finance Business
(Finance Business WP Theme)
This theme was designed for organizations that provide any type of financial service such as consulting, tax help, corporate, finance, insurance, loans, accounting, and more. This theme includes a custom CMSMasters Visual Content Composer plugin, around one hundred shortcodes that let you add charts and financial content, custom drag-and-drop composer, two premium sliders, page options, color management, 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
We hope that you have found this guide on WordPress plugins for improving SEO, better user engagement and traffic generation helpful.
Subscribe below to receive 101+ useful WordPress tips that will help you grow your business …
***
"I love the way your email series "Infinite Web Content Creation Training Series" is documented and presented. It is very absorbing and captivating. The links and tutorials are interesting and educational. This has motivated me to rewrite my content following the concepts I am learning from the email series." - Mani Raju, www.fortuneinewaste.com
***