Grow Your Accounting Business Online With WordPress

This article focuses on helping accountants and financial service professionals grow their business online and contains useful information on ways to improve the effectiveness of your accounting or finance-related web presence.

Grow Your Accounting Business Online With WordPress

How To Grow Your Accounting Business OnlineAccounting professionals today face difficult challenges brought about by the digital economy.

Challenges Accountants Face Online

Now, more than ever, accountancy firms must work harder to stand out from the crowd, obtain new clients, and retain current business. Not only do they have to maintain a strong presence in the communities and industries their business serves, they must also maintain an active presence online. This includes having a website and figuring out smarter ways to promote your business online.

As well as investing money advertising offline on newspapers, ads in industry publications and magazines, radio and television spots, etc., you will probably find that in order to remain competitive, you will need to allocate a greater portion of your marketing budget towards the development and maintenance of a website that drives new prospective clients, engages users, outperforms the competition in search engines and helps you create wider marketing reach online.

This means that your site not only has to look professional, your pages have to be fast-loading, and your site has to be easy to navigate, but even more importantly, your site’s needs will change in time and sections may need to be frequently updated. This requires a well-developed web and content management strategy.

Another challenge that accountants face online (as other professions do for that matter), is that you have only about 30 seconds to give users what they need 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 Certified Public Accountants

As well as facing many new challenges, there are also plenty of online opportunities available for accounting firms that are willing to adapt to meet the challenges of the online economy and think strategically in terms of marketing themselves better online.

In this detailed guide, you will learn about ways to source new potential clients and establish stronger online credibility for your business.

Info

As well as providing practical tips and information on ways to improve your web presence, we also place special emphasis on the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress CMS platform to power your accounting or financial services website.

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

Useful Tips To Improve Your Website

We’ll start first by covering the basics. In this section, we’ll look at how to improve your website and get better results. We will look at what web pages you need, what type of content works best, ways of improving layout and navigation, etc.

If you need website planning assistance, go here: A Cost-Saving Guide To Website Planning For Business Owners

Your Website Pages

Professional websites require several essential pages. Let’s review these.

Description Of Services

You need a page that describes your products or services.

It should include services such as:

  • Business – business planning, company structures, accounting, payroll, financial statement compilation, book keeping, forecasting, financing, budgeting, strategic planning, consulting services, etc.
  • Taxation – preparation, 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

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 direct them to your contact or appointment booking page.

Who We Are

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

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

List all of your business awards accreditations, recognitions, certifications, associations, publications, etc. in your About page

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

Core Team

Are you searching for inexpensive ideas to sell more products or services online? Then make it easier for your visitors to get to know you, your team and your organization better.

Prospective clients need to relate to your business. A great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your team members. This page should include a photo and a mini bio. Since most visitors won’t be that well-versed in 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 visitors to follow selected staff members on their social pages.

In this page, make sure to highlight your staff member’s expertise and qualifications, why they are an invaluable asset to your team, and more importantly, how they will help add value to your clients’ business.

Make sure to add a page that introduces your staff members to prospective new clients

(Make sure to add a page that introduces your employees to prospective new clients. Image source: deepsky.com)

If you need help how to create and add a simple team members directory to your website using a free WP plugin, refer to this step-by-step tutorial: Plugin Tutorial: Adding A Staff List Directory

Career Opportunities

This is a listing of career opportunities within your firm. This page should include type of training provided, benefits, professional development, social activities sponsored by your organization, etc. You can also include case studies of trainees who have risen within your firm and information about upcoming 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 the page, subscribe to your newsletter, follow your social pages, etc.

Case Studies & Testimonials

Testimonials from previous clients and case studies are a great way to show prospective clients what type of solutions you will implement to help them solve their problems. By adding a page with reviews from clients and case studies, you are also helping to provide potential clients with social proof online.

Add a web page with client reviews and case studies

(Add a page to your site with case studies and client reviews. Image sourced from: pcg-services.com)

We have written a comprehensive article on using case studies, testimonials and reviews improve your business online. For more details, go here: Discover How To Turn More Visitors Into Qualified Leads Using Effective Client Testimonials

Contact Us Page

A contact page is crucial.

It should include the following:

  • Company Name
  • Location
  • Phone
  • Facsimile number
  • Email address
  • Map
  • Web URL
  • Contact form
  • Name of person to contact
  • Links to social media pages
  • Live chat feature (optional feature)

If your business operates in multiple locations you should make that clear when showing your address and contact information.

You should also include links to an FAQ section, useful pages, special offers, support page, newsletter, blog, etc.

Add An Accounting Or Financial Services Blog Section

A blog can be a very powerful marketing tool for your business. Most blogging platforms typically include a content management system that allows you to easily promote your business using timely content like company announcements, product releases, training articles, discussions on current topics, videos, webinars, etc.

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

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

Useful Information

Something few businesses know about, is that an expertly configured WordPress site can turn your web presence into an automated traffic system that will attract an ongoing stream of web traffic to your website, simply by adding regular content to your website.

An expertly configured WordPress site can automate your traffic generation

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

For more details: Website Traffic Blueprint – How To Attract More Website Visitors For Your Business Using WordPress

Legal Information Pages

It’s really important for accounting organizations to have a website that complies will all legal requirements online, not just for building trust with prospective clients, but also to ensure that you are not contravening laws or regulations in whichever region you provide services to.

Depending on the products and services you provide, adding the following legal pages to your accounting or financial services site will help keep you out of legal hot water with most regulatory authorities, third-party service providers, and other potential sources of legal threats and 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/Health Disclaimers
  • Refund Policy
  • Video/Audio Terms
  • etc.

Go here if you want to learn more adding legal pages to your website: How To Add Legal Pages To Your WordPress Site

How To Improve Your Content

In today’s globally competitive economy, the willingness to deliver valuable content to visitors free of charge 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 advice and tips, you will get your visitors sharing your content and coming back for more. Content marketing is the most effective way to inform and teach site visitors and prospects about your business.

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

  • Explanations of balance sheets
  • Understanding profit and loss statements
  • Directors’ duties and legal responsibilities
  • How to present accounts for non-profit activities
  • Business cashflow planning tips
  • Maximizing business insurance cover
  • Risk prevention
  • How to structure your self-managed retirement fund
  • Do’s and don’ts of … (e.g. purchasing vs leasing, 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 accounting services, such as finance accounting, small business accounting, using office accounting software, reducing business debt, understanding financial conventions, etc.

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

Important Info

We recommend subscribing to our Content Marketing Email Training Series. You will receive a comprehensive series of training emails with actionable information that will show exactly how to drive more traffic to your website or blog, save money creating high-quality 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!

Improve Visitor Engagement And User Experience

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

RSS Feeds – Content Syndication

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds provide plenty of benefits for your business.

If you provide valuable information, other sites may want to syndicate your content.

Some of the benefits of syndicating your content to other businesses using RSS feeds, include:

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

There are also benefits to providing information on your site from other sites, 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, visit sites of tax-related government departments or respected industry bodies.

Below we have listed some useful RSS feeds you may want to consider adding to your site:

Using RSS feeds can help to improve your website's user experience.

(RSS feeds can help to improve your accounting website’s UX.)

Checklists And Forms

Checklists and forms are a fantastic way to increase user engagement, add value to your readers and provide something unique. Forms and checklists can provide visitors with useful step-by-step instructions and resources to perform necessary tasks. Checklists and forms are great business planning tools.

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

  • How To Set Up A Business
  • Negative Gearing Checklist
  • Not-For-Profit Activity Checklist
  • Disclosure Requirements
  • Company Tax Checklist
  • Self Managed Super Fund Tax Checklist
  • Income Tax Variation Forms
Online Tools

Providing unique online tools, gadgets and applications for businesses (or links to these tools) is a great way to increase visitor engagement and add significant value to your target audience. Calculators, such as loan and tax calculators, are great tools to add to accounting websites. Other tools can include time cards, and retirement and interest calculators.

In the next section, we will look at a several online tools you can use in your website using WordPress plugins and themes that improve your seo, improve user engagement and generate more web traffic to your business.

How To Build And Grow An Accounting Or Financial Services Website With WordPress

***

This is the end of part one of this article on ways to build your accounting web presence.

To continue, click this link:

Useful Tips

Subscribe To Our Site And Get Notified When New Tutorials Get Published!

***

***

"I am beyond impressed with what you have put together. I can tell that you put a ton of hard work into building what you have. You have the absolute best content on WordPress I have ever seen!" - Robert T. Jillie

***

Originally published as Grow Your Accounting Business Online With WordPress.