Grow Your Accounting Business Online With WordPress

The digital economy has not only transformed business around the world, it has also created a number of difficult challenges and great opportunities for certified public accountants.

Challenges Accounting & Financial Services Face Online

Certified Public Accountants today must work harder than ever before to remain competitive. Not only do you have to become actively involved in the communities and industries your business serves, you must also maintain an active digital presence. This includes having an effective web presence and learning better ways to market your business online.

As well as spending money advertising offline, you will probably find that in order to compete with other accounting businesses, increasingly larger amounts of their budget will need to be delegated to develop and maintain a website that brings new leads, engages visitors, outperforms the competition in search engines and helps to give your business wider marketing reach online.

This means that your site not only has to look professional, load fast, and your site has to be easy to navigate, but it’s also important to keep in mind that the needs of your website will change in time and some areas will need to be updated frequently. This requires implementing well-developed website and content management strategy.

Another difficult challenge that accounting businesses (and most other professions) face online, is that your site has an average of thirty seconds to help visitors find the information they are looking for or they will leave your site.

“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 Certified Public Accountants

As well as facing many new business and technology changes, there are also loads of online opportunities available for businesses in the accounting profession that can adapt to meet online economy challenges and can think progressively in terms of marketing their business better online.

The guide below will help you uncover new opportunities to drive more traffic and build more online credibility for your accounting or financial services business.

As well as providing useful website improvement tips, we also emphasize the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress Content Management System to power your accounting business website.

To learn more about the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress content management system (CMS), see the articles below:

• Learn How A Poorly Designed Website Can Lose You Money And What To Do About It
• Mastering WordPress – The Small Business Owner’s Guide

Practical Tips To Improve Your Accounting Website

This section will show you how to improve your website and get better results. We show you what pages a financial services site needs, what content works best, suggestions for improving layout and navigation structure, etc.

If you need website planning assistance, go here: A Basic Guide To Web Site Planning For Business Owners

Basic Website Pages

All business websites require several essential web pages. Let’s take a look at the pages your  need and how to structure your accounting website for best results.

Services And Products

You need to include a page that lists your services and any products that you offer.

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

• Business accounting – planning, company formation, general accounting, payroll, preparing financial statements, book keeping, budgeting, forecasting, financing, strategic planning, consulting, etc.
• Taxation – preparation, planning, reviewing, auditing, advice, 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 businesses, transfers, etc.
• Lending and leasing

List all of the services you provide. Provide your visitors with information that will educate them about the benefits of using your services and why they should choose you.

About Us

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

This page should include any accounting awards, accreditations, recognitions, certifications, publications, associations, etc., that could be used to promote the company and set it above the competition.

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

Staff

If you are searching for ideas to grow your business online, then something you can do, is help visitors get to know your business better.

Prospects need to relate to your business. One great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your employees. It should include a photo and a mini biography. Since most visitors will not tend to be familiar with 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 that will allow your prospective clients to follow your team members on their social networks.

On this page, don’t be afraid to show the human side of your people with personal stories, hobbies, etc., but make sure to outline your staff member’s expertise, why they are an asset to your team, and more importantly, how they will help add value to your clients’ business.

(Add a staff description page. Screenshot image source: deepsky.com)

To learn more about how to add an easy-to-manage directory of staff members in your web site using free plugins, see this step-by-step tutorial: Tutorial: Adding An Employee Directory

Career Opportunities

List any career opportunities available within your organization. This page can include training, benefits, opportunities for advancement, etc. You should also include information such as the job outlook and career opportunities in the accounting industry.

Maintain a positions available section in this page. If there are no positions currently available, consider inviting people to return periodically to the page, join your contact list, follow you on social media, etc.

Testimonials

Case studies and reviews from clients are a great way to show prospective clients minimise tax, increase profitability, or grow strategically. By adding a page with case studies and client reviews, you are also helping to provide social proof.

(Add a page to your site with case studies and testimonials. Screenshot image source: pcg-services.com)

We have created a detailed article about using case studies, testimonials and reviews improve your business online. Go here to learn more about this: Learn How To Achieve Better Results Online Using Standout Testimonials

Contact Us

A functional contact page is crucial.

Your contact page should include some or all of the following information:

• Name
• Your address
• Telephone
• Fax
• Email address
• Map
• Website address
• Contact form
• Request for more information – contact details
• Links to social media networks
• Live chat (optional)

If you operate from several areas you want to make this clear when showing the address and contact info.

You should also include links to an FAQ page, main pages, special offers, support page, newsletter opt-in form, blog, etc.

Add A Blog

A blog is a very powerful marketing tool for your business. Most blogging platforms typically include a content management system that is simple to use and allows you to promote your business by publishing timely content such as announcements, product releases, educational information, informative posts, promotional videos, infographics, etc.

If you already have an accounting website, then consider adding a WordPress-powered blog to promote your business.

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

Very few people know that an expertly configured WordPress site can turn into an automated traffic machine that can begin to deliver new targeted traffic to your web site, simply by adding new content on a regular basis to your website.

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

For more details, go here: Web Traffic Blueprint – Learn How To Turn Your WordPress Web Site Into An Automated Traffic Machine

Legal Information

It’s vitally important to ensure they have a website that complies will all legal requirements online, not just for building credibility with visitors, but also to ensure that you are not breaking any laws and regulations wherever you provide services to.

Depending on what services you provide, adding the legal pages below to your accounting or financial services website will help you stay out of legal hot water with most regulatory authorities, third-party service providers, and other potential legal threats or inconveniences:

• Contact Page
• Privacy Statement
• Terms Of Use
• Website Disclaimer
• Affiliate Agreement
• Anti-Spam Policy
• Compensation Disclosure
• DMCA Notice
• Earnings Disclaimer
• External Linking Policy
• Financial 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: Why You Need To Add Legal Pages To Your Website

Ways To Improve The Content On Your Website

In today’s ultra competitive global economy, the sooner you begin to engage in the practice of content marketing, the quicker you will begin to differentiate yourself from competing businesses.

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

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

• Explanations of balance sheets
• Overlooked tax deductions
• Duties and legal responsibilities of company directors
• Presenting accounts for non-profit activities
• Cashflow planning
• Business insurance
• Protecting revenues
• Structuring a self-managed retirement fund
• Do’s and don’ts of … (e.g. purchasing insurance, setting up payroll systems, etc.)

You can also create a series of educational articles that will help your your readers gain a better understanding of your accounting services, such as finance accounting, tax accounting, business auditing, reducing debt, understanding financial concepts, etc.

Remember to include the same keywords and terminology in your articles that prospective clients will be searching for online.

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 web site, save money creating high-quality content for your site visitors and grow your business online using content marketing strategies. It’s not only a great course with loads of useful information, it’s also completely FREE!

Improve Visitor Engagement And User Experience

Improving website user experience (known as UX) will help keep visitors coming back and using your site. This section will show you ways you can improve your visitor engagement and UX.

Adding RSS Feeds

RSS feeds provide plenty of benefits for your website.

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

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

• All of your updates are in one place
• Doesn’t rely on email
• RSS feeds can be shared online
• RSS feeds allow users to subscribe
• It provides a way for external links to point back to your content
• RSS feeds can be submitted to RSS directories and aggregator services
• There are multiple ways your readers can receive your content (e.g. subscribers can view the content on their mobile device using different applications)
• It’s built into WordPress

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

You can find many useful RSS feeds for your website by searching online for tax-related government departments or well-known industry bodies.

For example, here are examples of useful RSS feeds you could consider adding to your 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

(Adding RSS feeds can help to improve your accounting website’s user experience.)

Provide Online Checklists And Forms

Adding checklists and forms to your site is a fantastic way to increase visitor engagement and add value to your visitors. Checklists and forms can provide visitors with useful instructions and resources to complete necessary tasks. Checklists and forms can also be great business planning tools.

You can provide a range of online or downloadable forms and checklists covering areas such as:

• How To Set Up A Business
• Negative Gearing Worksheet
• Non-Profit Activity Checklist
• Disclosure Checklists
• Company Tax Checklist
• Self Managed Super Fund Tax Checklist
• Income Tax Variation Forms

Add Unique Tools

Providing useful tools and applications for businesses is a great way to increase visitor engagement and add significant value to potential clients. Calculators, such as loan and tax calculators, are popular tools for accounting websites. Other tools would include time cards, and retirement and interest calculators.

In the next section of this guide, we look at a number of online tools you can use in your website using WordPress plugins and themes that can help improve your seo, improve user engagement and drive more visitors to your business.

***

This is the end of part 1.

Click on this link to read the rest of this guide:

• A Complete Step-By-Step Guide To Growing Your Accounting Or Financial Services Web Presence – Part Two

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

***

***

***