In Part 1 of this step-by-step guide on ways to improve your accounting business online, we covered the following areas:
- Challenges Accountants Face Online
- Opportunities For Accountants In The Web Economy
- Improving Your Website Pages
- Improving Your Web Content
In this section, we will continue exploring more ways to grow your accounting business online. Areas covered below include:
- Improve Traffic With WordPress
- Tips For Generating Leads & Enquiries
- WordPress Plugins That Improve SEO, Increase User Engagement And Increase Traffic Generation
For more information about WordPress plugins and themes, see these articles:
- Add New Features And Functionality To Your WordPress Web Site With Plugins
- WordPress For Beginners – An Overview Of Themes
Grow Your Accounting Website – Improve SEO, Increase User Engagement And Generate More Visitors With Plugins
Your web traffic is a vital part of your business growth. This section will help you improve your web traffic.
Optimizing Your Site For SEO
There are so many ways that WordPress helps improve SEO:
- Search Engine-Friendly URLs – WordPress lets you set the permalinks to use the title of the posts as the URL of your pages.
- Post Tags – WordPress lets you specify the keywords that you want search engines to index your posts for.
- Post Categories – Create search engine-friendly categories for keeping your content organized and easy to find.
- Post Excerpts – Create the description for your posts that will display in search results.
- Images – add search-optimized titles to your images for better search results.
- Internal Content Linking – WordPress provides a built-in feature that lets you easily create internal links for better indexing of your web pages
- Post Notification – Set up your WordPress site to automatically notify (ping) other sites and directories immediately upon publishing new content on your site.
WordPress Plugins That Can Help To Improve Search Engine Optimization, Increase User Engagement And Generate More Traffic
In addition to the built-in features of WordPress, there are also a number of plugins that will improve SEO, increase user engagement and drive more web traffic to your business.
Here are some plugins you can use to improve your website’s search engine optimization:
- Yoast SEO – WordPress SEO plugin
- Google XML Sitemaps – WordPress sitemap plugin (for search engines)
- WP Tree – WordPress site map plugin
(A plugin like Yoast SEO can improve your SEO)
Other WordPress plugins you can use to improve your website’s SEO, increase user engagement and drive more traffic to your website are to add a forum, newsletters, commenting, and social sharing. Here are some plugins that can help (many of the plugins listed below can be downloaded at no cost):
- BuddyPress – This plugin lets you set up and manage your own social network on WordPress.
- bbPress – Set up your own forum on your WordPress site.
- E-Newsletter – Send professional email newsletters, track results and manage subscribers from your WordPress site.
- Disqus – Disqus lets you power discussions and increases engagement on your site.
- Social Media Feather – Easily add social buttons and features that allow visitors to share your content online to your website.
(WordPress users can easily add social features to their site using free or inexpensive plugins)
Generate New Leads & Enquiries
In this section we’ll discuss how to improve sales and generate leads and enquiries.
Providing A Newsletter
Providing an email newsletter is an excellent way to retain and grow your readership. Adding email newsletters] provides many benefits and advantages including:
- Drives targeted traffic to your website
- Keeps readers from forgetting about you
- Provides updates
- Provides a highly targeted marketing channel
- It’s a way to provide special products or services to a select audience
- Provides new opportunities for improving interaction
- Provides other ways for subscribers to share your content
An effective strategy for getting visitors to subscribe to your newsletter is to provide them with valuable information and offer them a free gift in exchange for their personal details. This could be a special report, checklists for handling finances, access to tax calculators, discount coupons, access to videos, contests, etc.
Add Contact Forms
A contact form provides an easy and simple way for prospective clients to get in touch. Users can send feedback, contact specific departments, ask for quotes, and more.
Contact forms provide many benefits and advantages, like:
- Reduces spam
- Set up automated responses
- Giving you control over what is sent to you
- Allows you to keep your email address private
- They can be added to any post or page
- Improves the professional look of your website
- Is convenient for site visitors
One of the most popular contact form plugins is Contact Form 7.
Contact Form 7
(Contact Form 7)
Contact Form 7 is easy to install and configure and allows you to insert and manage multiple contact forms, customize your forms and the email contents, add fields, and more.
The plugin also supports international languages, Ajax-powered submitting, CAPTCHA, Akismet spam filtering and so on.
Another option to consider is to add sections to your contact form so prospects can select the topic they are contacting you about. This ensures that contact form requests reach the right person.
Map Integration
Maps help your visitors and customers find you.
Integrating maps, such as Google Maps, with your website also provides users with a number of benefits, such as:
- They improve local SEO
- Visitors can easily find you
- Displays location of events
(Maps help your visitors and customers find you)
Popular map plugins include:
- Google Maps
- Advanced Google Maps Plugin for WordPress
- WP Google Maps
- Comprehensive Google Map Plugin
Improving SEO, Improve User Engagement And Increase Traffic Generation With Plugins And Themes
WordPress Plugins
WordPress provides a number of plugins you can add to your accounting site to immediately add a range of practical tools for visitors. Here are some of the plugins you can choose from:
Calculator Pro Calculators
(Calculator Pro Calculators Plugin For WordPress)
This plugin provides a free collection of over 400 calculators. You can embed them into your posts, pages, or sidebars using shortcodes. Internationalization is supported.
Most of them aren’t focused specifically on accounting, but there are a few you can use for:
- 401k
- Rate of return
- Leases
- Equity
- And more
For more details, go here}:
Show Stock Quotes
(Show Stock Quotes Plugin)
This free plugin gives you a widget that displays a number of different stock quotes per portfolio. You can show as many widgets as you want.
(Show Stock Quotes – Stock Portfolio)
For more details, go here}:
Custom Stock Ticker
(Custom Stock Ticker – WordPress Plugin)
This plugin lets you place a custom stock ticker on any post, page or sidebar using shortcodes.
Custom Stock ticker offers several customizable features. Choose from built-in skins or customize it yourself. It’s easy to customize it so it matches your site. You can also add custom stocks to individual categories.
Customize the appearance by changing colors, speed, symbols, etc.
For more details, go here}:
Finance Calculator
(Finance Calculator Plugin)
This free plugin allows your visitors to calculate indicative repayments. It’s great for calculating repayments on vehicle loans, property loans, or any other large loan.
(Finance Calculator Plugin For WordPress – Loan Calculators)
This plugin also contains an application form that sends a notification message to the email address you specify.
Other features of this plugin include displaying payment protection, calculating 12 to 60 months loans and creating forms that can be placed in any page or post.
For more details, go here}:
WP-Invoice
(WP-Invoice – WordPress Plugin)
WP-Invoice lets WordPress blog owners send itemized invoices to their clients.
This plugin integrates billing into WordPress. You can send clients itemized invoices. It also allows you to set up recurring billing. It can be expanded through both free and premium add-ons that let you manage locations, accept electronic signatures from clients, create PDF invoices, provide quotes, create single-page checkout forms, and more.
The plugin ties into WP’s user management database to keep track of clients and their information, and integrates with payment processors like PayPal, Authorize.net, Stripe, and others.
The plugin gives you the ability to add custom payments and charges, create pre-defined line items and discounts, quickly view invoice status and progression, easily filter and find invoices, see invoice receipts and invoice history, create email notification templates, view reports (collected vs uncollected invoices, valuable clients and top grossing line items), and more.
For more details, go here}:
All In One Business Management Application
(All In One Business Management Application Plugin For WordPress)
This is a complete business management system that includes accounting management, invoicing, order management, helpdesk with knowledgebase and ticketing system, CRM and many more features.
(All In One Business Management Application – Invoicing)
All In One Business Management Application supports different languages, is fully customizable and provides powerful tools like document management, to do app, and more.
For more details, go here}:
iBilling – Accounting And Billing Software
(iBilling – Accounting and Billing Software – WordPress Plugin)
iBilling is a scalable business software that lets you manage client data and invoices, track your company’s cash flow and net worth, and lots more.
(iBilling – Accounting and Billing Software Plugin For WordPress – Invoice)
iBilling lets you get paid faster online by integrating with several payment gateways.
For more details, go here}:
Accounting WordPress Themes
To benefit the most from using WordPress to grow your business online, we recommend choosing a theme specifically for accounting. Here is a list of some of the best WordPress themes available for accounting. With the themes listed below you can have a professional accounting website within minutes.
Accounting Pro
(Accounting Pro Theme For WordPress)
This premium WordPress theme is an inexpensive turn-key theme for accountants and accountancy firms. It’s responsive, has a drag-and-drop page-builder, has several page templates, custom menu features, a content composer (which improves on the standard WordPress editor), a sidebar manager, performs auto resizing for images, and a whole lot more.
Accounting Pro can be expanded by installing premium add-ons.
For more details, go here:
Accountancy
(Accountancy – WordPress Theme)
Accountancy offers a variety of built-in styles and layouts to help give your accounting site a professional look and feel.
This mobile-friendly theme includes a custom slider, a featured testimonial section, it’s lightweight, search optimized, and fast loading. Accountancy provides the features you need without bloating your theme. Free updates and one year of support is included in the price.
To learn more about using this WordPress theme, visit this site:
Accounting
(Accounting Theme)
This theme includes a drag-and-drop builder that allows you to design your site any way you want. It also provides unlimited sidebars and custom widgets, four different header types, a custom administration panel, four color schemes, a custom slider, three different blog types, and is fully responsive (mobile-friendly). It is a clean-looking, modern and fast-to-load theme.
More info:
Kathryn
(Kathryn Theme)
This one is built specifically for accounting services. The theme allows you to use WordPress as a true content management system and comes with multiple layouts, slider, multiple sidebars, a variety of color options, is easy to use, inexpensive, search optimized, and is mobile-friendly. Although it could easily suit any profession, it builds a great looking accounting theme. It includes a license for the Soliloquy responsive slider plugin and is a separate purchase from the Genesis Framework.
More information:
Accounting WordPress Theme
(Accounting WordPress Theme)
This premium theme for WordPress was developed to exude professionalism within the accounting industry. Every color, layout element, icon, menu item, page structure, call-to-action, etc., was specifically designed to make your accounting business website look professional while not looking dull. It’s a turn-key installation but you can still modify it if you want. It’s mobile-friendly and includes pages for your accounting services, contact details section with consultation requests (downloadable as CSV), testimonials section, and a blog.
Go here for more info:
WP Advocate
(WP Advocate WordPress Theme)
This is a free corporate theme specifically designed for professional service providers such as accountants and attorneys. Use the bundled images or upload your own. It includes a custom post type adding employee profiles. It will also integrate with BeSpoke profile templates. It’s clean and loads fast.
More info:
Divi
(Divi Theme)
Divi is the most flexible theme in Elegant Themes‘ entire collection of WordPress themes. You can create any kind of professional website you want using the page builder or beautiful pre-made layouts. You can modify your layout as much as you need.
Divi’s page builder transforms web elements into visual building blocks, allowing anyone to understand and easily change the structure of their pages without editing a single line of code.
(Divi WP Theme – Flexible Page Builder)
It comes with 40 content modules that you can drag and drop anywhere you want. These modules include audio player, blog, circle counter, divider, image, login, person, shop, testimonial, video slider, fullwidth image, fullwidth portfolio, fullwidth post title, and more.. Divi is mobile-friendly and fully customizable. Prices start at $69 per year and includes access to all beautifully-designed themes.
More info:
The Corporation
(The Corporation WP Theme)
This premium theme for WordPress from Elegant Themes was specifically created to create great-looking corporate websites.
The Corporation has a sleek page-based home page design with a nice slider, blog design, six different color schemes, multiple page templates that include contact pages, blog feeds, sitemaps, search page, gallery page, and more. Themes start at $69 per year and includes full access to 80+ beautifully-designed themes.
More information:
Adviser
(Adviser Theme)
This premium theme for WordPress was specifically developed to help finance professionals build trust with a clean business design. It’s ideal for those that provide services such as investing or tax advice. The Adviser theme includes a recruitment page with hiring announcements and where to send applications, lease calculator, multiple shortcodes and widgets, and the drag-and-drop visual composer..
More information:
Tax Help
(Tax Help – WordPress Theme)
This premium theme was designed for financial companies, tax and finance advisors, and businesses that offer tax services. This theme is designed to showcase your services professionally to help build your professional reputation. It provides different blog styles, uses a drag-and-drop visual composer, includes a shortcode builder, the Revolution Slider, and additional custom shortcodes.
Visit the theme website to learn more about using this WordPress theme:
Finance Business
(Finance Business Theme)
This theme was specifically developed for organizations that provide financial services including consulting, tax help, insurance, finance, corporate, accounting, loans, and more. It includes a custom CMSMasters Visual Content Composer plugin. It also has around 100 shortcodes that includes charts and financial content. It also includes the custom drag-and-drop composer, two premium sliders, page options, color management, animated elements, and a lot more.
More info:
Avada
(Avada Finance WordPress Theme)
Avada is a fully responsive and versatile multipurpose theme that lets you easily build, configure, and run any kind of website you want without touching code, including a website for an accounting or finance-related organization.
To learn more about the Avada theme for WordPress, go here: Avada
Hopefully, this guide has helped you learn how to improve SEO, improve user engagement and generate more traffic using plugins.
Subscribe below to receive 101+ useful WordPress tips that will help you grow your business …
***
"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)
***