Grow Your Accounting Business Online With WordPress

Accountants today face growing challenges.

Challenges Accounting Services Face Online

Certified Public Accountants today must work harder than ever to remain in business. Not only do they have to become actively involved in the communities and industries their business serves, they must also develop and maintain an active presence online. This includes having an effective website and searching for better ways to market your business online.

In addition to investing dollars advertising offline on newspapers, ads in industry publications and magazines, radio and television spots, etc., you will probably find (if you haven’t already) that in order to remain competitive, increasingly larger amounts of their budget will need to be directed towards the development and management of a website that drives prospects, engages users, outranks the competition in search engines and social media, and helps you create wider reach online.

This means that your site not only has to look great, your web pages have to load fast, and your website has to be easy to navigate, but even more importantly, the needs of your website may change over time and some aspects may need to be updated often. This requires the implementation of a well-planned web and content management strategy.

Another problem that accounting firms face online (as most businesses do for that matter), is that they have only around 30 seconds to help users find the information they are searching 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 many new challenges, there are also loads of online opportunities available to businesses in the accounting profession that can adapt to meet the demands of the online economy and who can think strategically when it comes to marketing their business services better online.

In this article, you will discover new opportunities to source new business and build more online credibility for your business.

As well as providing useful website improvement tips, we also recommend that you consider using the WordPress platform to power your accounting business website.

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

• How A Poorly Built Website Can Cost You Money And What To Do About It
• Using WordPress To Grow A Successful Small Business Online

Practical Tips For Improving Your Accounting Site

In this section we will start with the basics and show you how to improve your accounting website and get better results. We will look at what pages your website needs, what content works best for accounting websites, navigation structure, etc.

If you need assistance or help planning your website, read this article: The Website Planning Process: A Comprehensive Primer For Business Owners

Basic Web Pages

All business websites need a number of essential pages. Let’s take a look at the pages your  need and how to structure your accounting or financial services website for best results.

Services Description Page

It’s essential to include a page that describes your services and products.

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

• Business accounting – planning, company structures, general accounting, payroll, financial statement compilation, book keeping, budgeting, financing, forecasting, strategic planning, consulting, etc.
• Taxation – preparation, planning, reviewing, auditing, advising, 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 businesses, 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 these services and why they should choose you.

About Us Page

This page should give a description of your business and what your business stands for, its unique approach, philanthropical programs, etc.

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

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

Staff

If you are searching for ideas to sell more products or services online and increase user interaction on your site, then one of the things you can do, is help your visitors get to know, like and trust you, your team and your organization better.

You want your business to be relatable. One great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your staff members. This page should include a photo and a brief biography. Since most visitors will not tend to be familiar with accounting terms your descriptions should tell who they are and what their specialties are. It should also 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, don’t be afraid to show the human side of your team members with personal stories, hobbies, etc., but make sure to outline each employee’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 team profile page. Image source: deepsky.com)

We have created a detailed tutorial on how to easily add an easy-to-maintain directory of employees to a WordPress site using free WordPress plugins here: How To Create A Simple Staff Directory In Your WordPress Site With No Coding Skills

We’re Hiring

List any career opportunities available within the company. It could include type of training provided, employee benefits, advancement opportunities, social aspects of working for your firm, etc. You can also include information about new career opportunities in the accounting 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 contact list, follow you on social media, etc.

Testimonials & Case Studies

Testimonials from previous clients and case studies are a great way to show prospective clients what type of solutions you are capable of implementing to help solve their problems. By adding a page with case studies and testimonials from past clients, you are also helping to establish social proof.

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

We have written a comprehensive article about using testimonials, case studies and client reviews to grow your business online. To learn more about this go here: How To Turn More Visitors Into Prospects Using Standout Customer Testimonials

Contact Us Page

Having a clean contact page is crucial.

Your contact page should provide visitors with the following:

• Name Of Your Organization
• Physical address
• Telephone number
• Fax
• Email address
• Map and directions
• Website URL
• Contact form
• Name of person to contact
• Links to social media networks
• Chat/Skype (optional feature)

If your business services multiple locations you will want to make that clear when displaying the address and contact info.

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

Add An Accounting Blog

A blog is a 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 using timely content like announcements, product releases, educational articles and tutorials, opinions and discussions, promotional videos, webinars, etc.

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

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

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

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

Go here to learn more: WordPress Website Traffic Blueprint – A Complete Guide To Increasing Your Web Visitors Automatically

Legal Information Pages

Having a compliant website is really important, not just for establishing trust and credibility with visitors, but also to ensure that no laws or regulations are being breached wherever your do business in.

Adding some or all of the legal pages below to your site will help you stay out of trouble with most regulatory authorities, third-party service providers, and other potential legal threats and inconveniences:

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

We have written a detailed article about adding legal pages to your site here: What You Need To Know About Adding Legal Pages To Your WordPress Site

Tips On How To Improve The Content On Your Website

In today’s ultra competitive global economy, the sooner you begin engaging in the practice of content marketing, the quicker you will begin to see results and differentiate yourself from your competitors.

You want to provide great content with advice and tips that will get your readers sharing your web pages with others and coming back for more information. Publishing content is the most effective way to inform and educate site visitors and prospective clients about your business and about doing business with your firm.

For example, for an accounting business, topics can cover:

• How balance sheets work
• Overlooked tax deductions
• Directors’ duties and legal responsibilities
• How to present accounts for non-profit activities
• Cashflow planning
• Maximizing business insurance cover
• Protecting revenues
• How to structure your self-managed retirement fund
• Things to look for when … (e.g. purchasing insurance, claiming business expenses, etc.)

You can also create a series of educational articles that will help your your readers understand your accounting services, such as forensic accounting, business accounting, tax planning for small business, reducing business debt, financial concepts made simple, etc.

Remember to use specific keywords in your content that your prospective clients would search for online.

We recommend subscribing to our Content Marketing Email Training Series. You will receive a comprehensive series of training emails with actionable information that will teach exactly 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. It’s not only a great course with loads of useful information, it’s also completely FREE!

Tips For Improving Visitor Engagement And User Experience

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

Add RSS Feeds

RSS feeds provide many benefits for your site.

If you provide valuable information, other businesses 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 in one place
• Content distribution doesn’t rely on email
• Can be shared
• RSS feeds allow users to subscribe
• A feed provides a way for links to point back to your content
• Feeds can be submitted to RSS directories
• RSS provides a number of ways for readers to receive your content (e.g. subscribers can view your content on their mobile device using feed readers)
• It’s built into WordPress

There are also a number of benefits to providing content on 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 useful content just visit sites of finance-related government departments or industry bodies.

Here are examples of useful RSS feeds you may want to add 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

(RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds can help to improve your accounting site’s user experience.)

Adding Checklists

Checklists and forms are a great way to help increase visitor engagement, add value to your readers and set yourself apart from the competition. They can provide users with step-by-step instructions and resources to complete a necessary task. Checklists and forms can also be great business planning tools.

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

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

Other Tools

Providing unique online tools, gadgets and applications for businesses on your website is a great way to increase visitor engagement and add significant value to potential clients. Calculators, such as loan and tax calculators, are some of the most popular tools for accounting websites. Other applications would include time cards, and retirement and interest calculators.

In the next section, we look at a several WordPress-based tools you can use in your accounting or financial services website that improve your seo, increase user engagement and drive more web traffic to your business.

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This is the end of section 1 of this step-by-step article on ways to build your accounting business web presence.

Click on this link to access Part Two:

• How To Build And Grow Your Accounting Business Online – Part Two

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