Grow Your Accounting Business Online With WordPress

Accountants face many new challenges in today’s digital economy, especially when it comes to growing a successful business presence online.

Challenges Professional Accountants Face Online

Accounting businesses today must work harder than ever to remain competitive. Not only do you have to maintain a strong presence in the communities and industries you serve, you must also maintain a strong presence online. This includes having an effective web presence and learning how to better promote your business online.

In addition to investing money advertising offline on newspapers, ads in industry publications and magazines, radio and television spots, etc., businesses in the accounting industry are also finding that increasingly larger amounts of their marketing budget need to be allocated towards developing and maintaining a website that can drive new clients, engage users, outrank the competition in search engines and help to increase their presence online.

This means that your website not only has to look great, load fast, and your site layout has to be easy to navigate, but it’s also important to keep in mind that the needs of your website may change over time and sections may need to be updated often. This requires the implementation of a well-developed website and content management strategy.

Another problem that accounting businesses face online, and all other professions for that matter, is that your site has only around thirty seconds or less to provide users with what they are looking for or they will go elsewhere to get their needs met.

“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 a number of business and technology changes, there are also plenty of online opportunities available for businesses in the accounting sector that are willing to evolve to meet online economy demands and think strategically in terms of marketing their business better online.

The article below will help you uncover new ways to attract more visitors and create significant improvements in your accounting and financial business presence online.

As well as providing tips and information on cost-effective ways to improve your web presence, we also focus on the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress CMS platform to power your accounting website or blog.

To learn more about the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress content management system, see these articles:

• Learn How A Poorly Designed Website Can Cost You Potential Buyers And What To Do About It
• WordPress And Small Business – The Complete Guide To Growing A Successful Small Business Using A WordPress Blog

Practical Tips For Improving Your Website

In this section we will show you ways to improve your website and get better results online. We show you what web pages you need, what content works best, your navigation structure, etc.

If you need assistance or help planning your accounting website, visit this page: A Basic Guide To Web Site Planning For Non-Technical Business Owners

Your Website Pages

All websites need a number of basic web pages. Let’s review these.

Description Of services And Products

You need to include a page that lists your services or products.

It will include services such as:

• Business – planning, incorporation of companies, general accounting, payroll, preparing financial statements, book keeping, budgeting, forecasting, financing, strategic planning, consulting services, etc.
• Taxation – preparing, planning, reviewing, auditing, advising, 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 a business, transfers, etc.
• Lending and leasing

Make sure to list all of the services you provide, not just the ones you specialize in. Educate your visitors about the benefits of using these services and why they should book an appointment with you.

About Us Page

The ‘About Us’ page should give a description of your business and what it stands for, its unique approach, philanthropy, etc.

It’s important to also mention any professional awards, recognitions, accreditations, certifications, publications, associations, etc., that could be used to promote the company and set it above other competitors.

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

Team Profile

Are you searching for ways to sell more products or services online? Then make it easier for your visitors to get to know, like and trust your business better.

You want prospects to relate to your business. One great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your staff. This page should include a photo and a brief biography. Since most visitors are probably not well-versed in accounting terms it 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 some of your team members on their social networks.

In this page, make sure to highlight each team member’s qualifications, how their skills add value or contribute to the success of your team, and more importantly, how they will help add value to your clients’ business.

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

To learn more about how to add a simple team members directory to your website, see this tutorial: Adding A Staff List Directory In WordPress: Plugin Tutorial

Recruitment

This is a listing of career opportunities within your company. This page would include training offered, employee benefits, professional development, social activities promoted or sponsored by your firm, etc. You can include information such as the job outlook and career opportunities in the accounting and financial services 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, subscribe to your newsletter, follow your social pages, etc.

Testimonials And Case Studies

Reviews from clients and case studies are a great way to show potential clients what it’s like to do business with your firm. Adding a web page with testimonials from past clients and case studies also helps to establish social proof.

(Add a web page with case studies and client reviews. Image source: pcg-services.com)

We have written extensively on using testimonials, case studies and client reviews get better results online. Go here to learn more about this: Learn How To Improve Your Visitor-To-Lead Conversions With Powerful Client Testimonials

Contact Us

Having a clean contact page is crucial.

It should include the following:

• Name
• Street address of premises
• Phone number
• Fax
• Email address
• Map
• Website URL
• Contact form
• Contact name
• Social media URLs
• Online Chat/Skype (optional)

If your business services different areas you should make this clear when showing the address and contact information.

Consider also including links to an FAQ section, main pages, special offers, support area, newsletter opt-in form, blog, etc.

Add An Accounting Or Financial Services Blog Section

A blog can be a powerful marketing tool. Blogs typically comprise of a content management system that is simple to use and allows you to promote your business by publishing content such as industry events, company updates, educational information, opinions and discussions, videos, webinars, etc.

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

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

You are probably not aware of this, but an expertly configured WordPress site can turn into an automated traffic-generation system that will deliver targeted visitors to your web site, simply by adding regular content to your site.

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

For more info, see this article: Web Traffic Blueprint – Learn How To Turn Your WordPress Blog Into A Traffic Machine

Legal Information

It’s vital to ensure they have a compliant website, not just for building trust with prospective clients, but also to ensure that no laws and regulations are being contravened wherever you provide services to.

Adding the legal pages below to your accounting website will help keep you out of trouble with most regulatory authorities, third-party service providers (e.g. Google), and other potential sources of legal threats and inconveniences:

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

We have written a comprehensive article on adding legal pages to your website. Go here to learn more: How To Add Legal Pages To Your WordPress Site

Improving The Content On Your Website

In today’s fiercely competitive global economy, the earlier you begin to publish great content on your site, the faster you will begin to differentiate yourself from the competition.

Providing great content with useful advice and tips will get your visitors sharing your content online and coming back for more information. This is the most effective way to educate site visitors and prospective clients about your business.

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

• Explanations of balance sheets
• Understanding profit & loss statements
• Duties and legal responsibilities of company directors
• Presenting accounts for non-profit activities
• Cashflow planning
• Business insurance
• Risk protection
• Tips on structuring your self-managed retirement fund
• Things to look for when … (e.g. purchasing vs leasing, claiming business expenses, etc.)

You can also create a series of educational articles that will help your your readers understand your accounting or financial services, such as finance accounting, small business accounting, tips on using business accounting software, reducing debt, understanding accounting concepts, etc.

Remember to use the same keywords in your content that your readers will be searching for online.

We recommend subscribing to our Content Marketing Email Training Series. You will receive a comprehensive series of training emails with actionable information and practical tips that will show you how to drive more traffic to your web site, save money creating useful content for your 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!

Ways Of Improving Visitor Engagement And User Experience

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

Syndicating Content - RSS Feeds

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds can help to improve visitor engagement and user experience 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
• your content distribution doesn’t rely on email
• RSS feeds can be shared
• RSS feeds allow users to subscribe
• It provides a way for links to point back to your site
• Your feeds can be submitted to RSS directories and aggregator services
• RSS provides a number of ways for your readers to receive your content (e.g. subscribers can read the content on their mobile device using different applications)
• It’s built into WordPress

There are also benefits when it comes to providing great information on your website from other sites, such as the fact that you don’t have to write, manage or update the content.

You can find many useful RSS feeds by visiting sites of relevant government departments or key industry bodies.

For example, here are examples of feeds you may want to add 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

(Add RSS feeds to provide your visitors with a better UX.)

Provide Forms & Checklists

Adding checklists and forms to your site is a great way to increase user engagement and add value to your readers. Checklists and forms can provide useful instructions and resources to complete necessary tasks. Checklists and forms are also great planning tools.

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

• How To Set Up A Business
• Rental Property Worksheet
• Non-Profit Governance Checklist
• Disclosure Requirements
• Sole Trader Tax Checklist
• Capital Gains Tax Checklist
• Income Tax Variation Forms

Online Tools

Providing useful tools, gadgets and applications for businesses (or links to these tools) is a great way to increase visitor engagement and add value to your potential clients. Calculators, such as loan and tax calculators, are some of the most popular tools for accounting websites. Others could include time cards, or retirement and interest calculators.

In the next section of this guide, we discuss a number of WordPress plugins you can add to your site that improve search engine optimization, increase user engagement and generate more web traffic to your business.

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This is the end of section 1.

To continue, click here:

• How To Grow Your Accounting Or Financial Services Web Presence With WordPress – Part 2

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