Grow Your Accounting Business Online With WordPress

The digital information age has not only transformed businesses around the world, it has also created a number of challenges and great opportunities for CPAs.

Online Challenges For Accountants

Certified Public Accountants today must work harder than ever to remain competitive. Not only do they have to participate in the communities and industries they serve, they must also develop an active presence online. This includes having a website and figuring out better ways to grow your business online.

As well as spending money marketing offline, businesses in the accounting industry are also finding that increasingly larger amounts of their marketing budget will need to be delegated to developing and managing a website that will drive prospective clients, engage visitors, outrank the competition in search engines and social media, and help give them wider exposure online.

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

One other problem that accounting businesses face with their websites (as other businesses do for that matter), is that your site has only around thirty seconds to give visitors the information they are looking for or they will go elsewhere.

“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 CPAs

As well as facing a number of challenges, there are also plenty of online opportunities available to accounting companies that are willing to adapt to meet digital economy demands and think strategically in terms of marketing their services better online.

In this article, you will learn about new ways to attract new visitors and create significant improvements in your business results online.

As well as providing practical tips and information on ways to improve your web presence, we also focus on the benefits and advantages of using WordPress to power your accounting or financial services business website or blog.

For more information about the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress Content Management System (CMS), see these articles:

• How A Poorly Built Web Site Can Cost You Business And What To Do About It
• Learn How To Grow Your Small Business With WordPress

Useful Tips For Improving Your Accounting Site

In this section we’ll show you how to improve your accounting website and get better results online. We show you what pages you need, what type of content you need, layout and navigation, etc.

If you need website planning assistance, read this detailed step-by-step guide: How To Plan A Web Site - A Useful Guide For Non-Technical Business Owners

Your Website Pages

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

Products And Services Description Page

It’s essential 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 – business planning, formation, accounting, payroll, financial statement compilation, bookkeeping, forecasting, financing, budgeting, strategic planning, consulting, 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 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 direct them to your appointment booking page.

About Us

This page needs to describe your business and what it stands for, its unique approach, supported community activities, etc.

It’s important to also include any CPA awards, certifications, recognitions, accreditations, associations, publications, etc., that can be used to promote the company and set it above the competition.

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

Team Profile Page

Are you searching for quicker, simpler and cost-effective ways to sell more products or services online? Then something you can do, is help prospects get to know you and your business better.

Your business needs to be relatable. One great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your employees or team members. It should include a photo and a mini bio. Since most visitors won’t be well-versed in accounting terms your bio 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 so your prospective clients can follow individual team members on their social pages.

On this page, don’t be afraid to humanize your team members with personal stories, hobbies, etc., but make sure to outline your team member’s expertise, why they are an asset to your team, and more importantly, how they can help add value to your clients’ business.

(Add a page that introduces your team members to prospective new clients. Screenshot source: deepsky.com)

If you need help how to easily create and add an easy-to-update list directory of staff members in a WordPress site with no coding skills required, refer to this step-by-step tutorial: How To Easily Add A Simple Employee List On Your WordPress Site

We’re Hiring

This is a listing of career opportunities available within the organization. This page should include type of training provided, employee benefits, advancement opportunities, etc. You can include information such as the job outlook and new career opportunities in the accounting industry.

Include also a positions available section in this page. If there are no positions currently available, consider inviting people to return periodically to this page, join your newsletter, follow your social pages, etc.

Testimonials And Case Studies

Client reviews and case studies are a great way to show prospective clients the benefits of doing business with your organization. Adding a page with reviews from clients and case studies also helps your accounting or financial services business to provide visitors social proof online.

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

We have created a detailed article on using client testimonials and client reviews get better results online. Go here to learn more about this: Learn How To Turn More Visitors Into Qualified Leads With Powerful Testimonials

Contact Us Page

A clean contact page is absolutely necessary.

Your contact page should provide:

• Name
• Your physical location
• Telephone number
• Facsimile
• Email address
• Google Map and directions
• Web address
• Contact form
• Request for information – who to contact
• Links to social media pages
• Chat

If your business services different locations you should make that clear when displaying the address and contact information.

Consider also including a few links for commonly-asked questions, main pages, special offers, helpdesk, newsletter, blog, etc.

Add A Blog Section

A blog can be a powerful business marketing tool. Many blogging platforms typically comprise of a content management system that allows you to easily promote your business by publishing content such as industry events, product updates, useful information, informative posts, promotional videos, webinars, etc.

If you already have an established accounting website, then consider adding a WordPress-driven blog to promote your services.

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

Something few people know about, is that an expertly configured WordPress site can turn your web presence into an automated traffic machine that can help begin attracting a stream of new targeted traffic to your web site, simply by adding new content to your website on a regular basis.

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

Go here to learn more: Web Traffic Blueprint – Discover How To Drive More Website Traffic For Your Business With WordPress

Legal Info Pages

It’s vitally important to ensure they have a website that complies will all legal requirements online, not just for establishing credibility with prospective clients, but also to ensure that you are not breaking laws or regulations wherever your business is located.

Adding some or all of the following legal pages to your accounting website will help keep you out of legal hot water with most regulatory authorities, third-party service providers, and other potential legal threats or inconveniences:

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

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

Improving The Content On Your Site

In today’s globally competitive economy, the practice of content marketing has become one of the key differentiators for businesses that sell similar products or provide similar services.

By committing to providing great content with useful information and tips, you will get your readers sharing your content and coming back for more information. Using content is the most effective way to educate site visitors and prospects about your business and about doing business with your organization.

For example, for an accounting business, topics can include the following:

• How balance sheets work
• Understanding profit & loss statements
• Duties and legal responsibilities of company directors
• Presenting accounts for fundraising activities
• Business cashflow planning tips
• Maximizing business insurance cover
• Risk protection
• Tips on structuring a self-managed retirement fund
• Things to look for when … (e.g. purchasing vs leasing, setting up payroll systems, etc.)

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

Remember to include keywords in your content that your readers 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 website or blog, save money creating useful content that will add value to 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 To Improve Visitor Experience

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

Adding RSS Feeds

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds can help to improve visitor engagement and UX in a number of different ways.

If you provide valuable content, other businesses will want to syndicate your content.

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
• Can be shared and picked up by other sites online
• Feeds allow for subscribing
• A feed provides links back to your content
• Feeds can be submitted to RSS directories
• RSS provides multiple ways for readers to receive your content (e.g. read the content on their mobile device using different applications)
• RSS is built into WordPress

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

To find RSS feeds with loads of useful content for your website, search online for relevant government departments and key industry bodies.

Below we have listed a few feeds containing useful information that 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

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

Add Downloadable Checklists

Adding checklists and forms to your site is a great way to increase visitor engagement and add value to your audience. They can give them step-by-step instructions and resources to perform tasks. Forms and checklists are great planning tools.

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

• How To Set Up A Business
• Rental Property Checklist
• Not-For-Profit Activity Checklist
• Disclosure Requirements
• Individual Tax Checklist
• Capital Gains Tax Checklist
• Income Tax Variation Forms

Add Other Tools

Providing useful online tools and applications for businesses can help increase visitor engagement and add significant value to your target audience. Calculators, such as loan and tax calculators, are popular tools for accounting websites. Other tools could include time cards, and retirement and interest calculators.

In the next section of this guide, we take a look at a number of online tools you can use in your accounting or financial services site using WordPress plugins and themes that can improve search engine optimization, increase user engagement and drive more visitors to your business.

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This is the end of part one.

Click here to access Part Two:

• Your Accounting Website – WordPress Plugins That Improve SEO, Increase User Engagement And Increase Web Traffic Generation

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