Grow Your Accounting Business Online With WordPress
The digital information age has not only transformed business globally, it has also created a growing number of challenges and opportunities for the accounting and financial services profession.
Challenges Accountants Face Online
Certified Public Accountants today must work harder than ever to remain competitive. Not only do you have to participate in the communities and industries you serve, you must also develop and maintain a strong digital presence. This includes having an effective website and searching for better ways to market your business online.
In addition to investing money in offline marketing activities such as advertising on newspapers, ads in industry publications and magazines, radio and tv, etc., you will probably find that in order to compete, increasingly larger amounts of their marketing budget need to be allocated to develop and manage a website that drives new prospective clients, engages visitors, outranks the competition in search engines and social media, and helps you gain a wider amount of reach online.
This means that your website not only has to look great, your pages have to be fast-loading, and be easy to navigate, but even more importantly, your site’s needs will change in time and sections may need to be updated often. This requires having a sound website and content management strategy.
Another problem that accounting firms face with their websites (as most professions do for that matter), is that your site has only about 30 seconds to provide users with 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 Accounting Businesses In The Digital Economy
As well as facing a number of significant challenges, there are also loads of online opportunities available to accounting businesses that are willing to evolve to meet online challenges and can think outside the box in terms of marketing their services better online.
This guide will help you uncover new ways and opportunities to attract new accounts and improve your business presence online.
As well as providing practical tips and information on ways to improve your accounting website, we also recommend that you consider using WordPress to power your accounting or financial services business website or blog.
To learn more about the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress Content Management System, go here:
- Learn Why A Poorly Built Web Site Can Cost You Business And What To Do About It
- How To Grow Your Small Business With WordPress
Practical Tips For Improving Your Website
In this section we will show you ways to improve your website and get better results. We will look at what web pages you need, what content you need, layout and navigation, etc.
If you need assistance or help planning your accounting or financial services website, check out the detailed guide we have written here: The Web Site Planning Process - A Money-Saving Guide For Business Owners
Your Web Pages
Professional websites need several essential web pages. Let’s review the pages your need and how to structure your accounting or financial services website for best results.
Services And Products Page
It’s essential to have a page that lists your services and any products that you offer.
It should include services such as:
- Business – planning, company formation, general accounting, payroll, preparing financial statements, book keeping, forecasting, budgeting, financing, 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 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 direct them to your appointment booking page.
About Us
The ‘About Us’ page should give a description of your business and what it stands for, its unique approach, supported community activities, etc.
This page should include any awards, recognitions, accreditations, certifications, publications, associations, etc., that you can use to promote your company and set it above the competition.
(List all of your professional awards recognitions, certifications, accreditations, publications, associations, etc. in the About Us page. Screenshot image sourced from: deloitte.com)
Staff Page
Are you looking for inexpensive ways to sell more products or services online or increase user interaction with your site? Then one of the things you can do, is help your prospective clients get to know you and your business better.
Prospective clients need to relate to your business. One great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your team. This page should include a photo and a mini bio. Since most visitors are probably not that well-versed in accounting terms your bio descriptions should tell who they are and what their specialties are. You may also want to explain what those specialties mean. It should even include social buttons that will allow your site visitors to follow your team members on their social networks.
In this page, make sure to outline your person’s expertise, why they are an invaluable asset to your team, and more importantly, how they can help add value to your clients’ business.
(Add a ‘meet the team’ page. Image sourced from: deepsky.com)
We have created a detailed tutorial on how to easily create and add a directory of employees or team members in a WordPress site using free WP plugins here: How To Easily Add A Staff Directory To Your Site: Plugin Tutorial
We’re Hiring
This is a listing of career opportunities within your firm. It should include training provided, benefits, professional development, etc. It should include information about career opportunities in the accounting industry.
Maintain 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 updates list, follow you on social media, etc.
Case Studies & Testimonials
Case studies and client reviews are a great way to show prospective clients businesses minimise tax, increase profitability, or grow strategically. By adding a page with testimonials and case studies, you are also helping to will also be establishing social proof online.
(Add a page to your site with reviews from clients and case studies. Image sourced from: pcg-services.com)
We have written extensively on using case studies, testimonials and reviews to improve your business results online. To learn more about this go here: All You Need To Know To Get Better Results Online With Effective Testimonials
Contact Page
A contact page is crucial.
It should provide visitors with the following information:
- Name Of Your Organization
- Your physical address
- Telephone
- Facsimile
- Contact email address
- Google Map and directions
- Web URL
- Contact form
- Name of person to contact
- Social media links
- Interactive chat
If your business operates from different locations you will want to make this clear when displaying the address and contact information.
You should also include links to an FAQ section, frequently-visited pages, special offers, support area, newsletter opt-in form, blog, etc.
Add An Accounting Blog Section
A blog can be a very powerful marketing tool. Blogs are built around a content management system that allows you to promote your business using timely content such as industry events, product releases, educational information, opinions on current topics, videos, media presentations, etc.
If you already have an established website, then consider adding a WordPress blog to promote your business.
If you don’t have a website yet, or your existing accounting website is hard to keep updated with new content or not giving you the results you want, then WordPress can be used both as your website and blog.
Something few people know about, is that WordPress can become an automated traffic machine that will begin attracting targeted visitors to your business, simply by publishing content to your website on a regular basis.
(WordPress can automate your traffic generation)
If you would like to learn more here: Web Traffic Blueprint – Discover How To Turn Your WordPress Site Into A Traffic Machine
Legal Information Pages
It’s vitally important for accounting firms to have a compliant website, not just for building credibility with prospective clients, but also to ensure that no laws or regulations are being broken wherever your do business in.
Adding some or all of the following legal pages to your accounting or financial services website will help you stay out of trouble with most regulatory authorities, third-party service providers (e.g. Facebook), and other potential legal threats or inconveniences:
- Contact Page
- Privacy Statement
- Terms And Conditions 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
- and others
We have written a detailed article on adding legal pages to your site. Go here to learn more about this: What You Need To Know About Adding Legal Pages To Your Site
Tips For Improving The Content On Your Site
In today’s ultra competitive digital economy, the earlier you begin engaging in the practice of content marketing, the quicker you will begin to differentiate yourself from your competitors.
You will want to provide great content with information and tips that will get your visitors to share your web pages and come back for more. Content marketing is the most effective way to educate your visitors and prospective clients about your business and about doing business with your company.
For example, topics for an accounting or financial services business can include the following:
- Explanations of balance sheets
- Overlooked tax deductions
- Directors’ duties and legal responsibilities
- How to present accounts for fundraising activities
- Business cashflow planning
- Maximizing business insurance cover
- Risk prevention
- Tips on structuring your self-managed retirement fund
- Dos and don’ts of … (e.g. purchasing insurance, claiming business expenses, etc.)
You can also create a series of informative articles that will help your your readers gain a better understanding of your accounting or financial services, such as finance accounting, small business accounting, using office accounting software, reducing debt, understanding financial conventions, etc.
Remember to use the same keywords in your content that prospective clients will be searching for.
We recommend subscribing to our Content Marketing Email Training Series. You will receive regular training emails with actionable information and practical tips that will teach exactly how to drive more traffic to your web site, save money creating high-quality content for your visitors and grow your business online using content marketing. It’s not only a great course with loads of useful information, it’s also completely FREE!
Tips For Improving Visitor Experience
Improving user experience (known as UX) helps to keep visitors coming back and engaging with your site. This section will show you ways you can improve your visitor engagement and user experience.
Syndicating Content With RSS Feeds
Using RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds can help to improve visitor engagement and user experience in many ways.
If you provide information that adds value to others, other businesses will want to syndicate your content to their visitors.
Some of the benefits of syndicating your content to other businesses using RSS feeds, include:
- All of your updates are in one place
- Content distribution doesn’t rely on email
- Your feed can be shared online
- RSS feeds allow for subscribing
- It provides a way for external links to point back to your site
- Feeds can be submitted to RSS directories and aggregators
- RSS provides several ways for your readers to receive your content (e.g. subscribers can view your content on their mobile device using a feed reader)
- It’s built into WordPress
There are also a number of benefits to adding syndicated content to your website from other sites, such as the fact that you don’t have to write, manage or update the content.
You can find RSS feeds with loads of useful content by searching online for relevant government departments and industry bodies.
Below we have listed some feeds containing useful information that you may want to consider adding to your 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
(Add RSS feeds to improve your accounting website’s UX.)
Checklists & Forms
Checklists and forms are a great way to help increase user engagement, add value to your audience and provide something unique. Checklists and forms can give them step-by-step instructions and resources to perform tasks. Checklists and forms are great business planning tools.
Forms and checklists can address areas such as:
- How To Set Up A Business
- Rental Property Worksheet
- Fundraising Activity Checklist
- Disclosure Checklists
- Sole Trader Tax Checklist
- Trust 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 value to your target audience. Calculators, such as loan and tax calculators, are great tools you can add to accounting websites. Other applications would include time cards, and retirement and interest calculators.
In part two of this detailed guide, we will be discussing a several online tools you can use in your accounting or financial services website using WordPress plugins that can help to improve your seo, improve user engagement and drive more traffic to your business.
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"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)
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