Grow Your Accounting Business Online With WordPress

Accountants today face a growing number of challenges thanks to the online economy.

Online Challenges For Accountants

Certified Public Accountants today must work harder than ever to remain in business. Not only do you have to become more involved in the communities and industries your business serves, you must also develop and maintain an active presence online. This includes having an effective website and learning how to better market your business online.

As well as spending money advertising offline on local newspapers, ads in industry publications and magazines, radio and tv spots, etc., you will probably find that in order to compete with other web-marketing savvy accounting businesses, increasingly larger amounts of their marketing budget will need to be directed towards developing and managing a website that brings new clients, engages users, outranks the competition in search engines and helps to increase your marketing exposure online.

This means that your website not only has to look professional, 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 will need to be updated frequently. This requires a sound web and content management strategy in place.

One other problem that accounting firms (and most other professions) face online, is that they have an average of thirty seconds or less to help visitors find the information 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

Online Opportunities For Accounting Services

As well as facing significant challenges, there are also loads of online opportunities available to accounting businesses that can adapt to meet digital demands and who can think strategically in terms of marketing their business better online.

In this detailed guide, you will learn ways to increase traffic and establish stronger online credibility for your business.

As well as providing useful website improvement tips, we also recommend that you consider using the WordPress Content Management System to power your accounting website or blog.

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

• Why A Poorly Constructed Website Can Cost You Business And What To Do About It
• Everything You Need To Know To Grow A Successful Small Business Using A WordPress Site

How To Improve Your Accounting Website

This section looks at ways to improve your accounting website and get better results. We show you what web pages you need, what type of content works best for accounting websites, ways to improve your site’s layout and navigation structure, etc.

If you need assistance or help planning your accounting or financial services website, visit this page: The Website Planning Process: A Useful Blueprint For Non-Technical Business Owners

Ways To Improve Your Website Pages

All websites require a number of basic web pages. Let’s review the pages your  need to have and how to set up your website for best results.

Description Of Services

It’s essential to include a page that describes your products or services.

Your page should include all the services you offer, such as:

• Business accounting – business planning, company formation, general accounting, payroll, financial statement compilation, bookkeeping, forecasting, financing, budgeting, strategic planning, consulting services, etc.
• Taxation – preparation, planning, reviewing, auditing, advice, 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 what your services do and why they should book an appointment.

About Us Page

This page should give a description of your business and what it stands for, its unique approach, community projects, etc.

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

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

Staff Page

If you are searching for quicker, easier and cost-effective ways to sell more products online and increase user interaction on your site, then help prospects get to know, like and trust your business better.

You want people 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 bio. Since most visitors are probably not familiar with 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 also include social buttons so your site visitors can follow individual staff members on their social networks.

On this page, make sure to outline your team member’s experience, why they are an asset to your team, and more importantly, how they can help add value to your clients’ business.

(Make sure to add a ‘meet the team’ page. Screenshot source: deepsky.com)

If you need help how to add an easy-to-update simple team directory in your site without coding skills, go here: WordPress Plugin Tutorial: How To Add A Staff Directory To WordPress

Career Opportunities

This is a listing of career opportunities within the firm. This page can include training, employee benefits, advancement opportunities, etc. You can also include stories of trainees who have worked their way up in your company and information such as the job outlook and new career opportunities in the accounting industry.

Also include 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 updates list, follow you on social media, etc.

Case Studies

Reviews from clients and case studies are a great way to show potential clients what kind of solutions you can implement to help them solve their problems. By adding a page with testimonials from previous clients and case studies, you will also help to are also providing potential clients with social proof.

(Add a page with reviews from clients and case studies. Screenshot image source: pcg-services.com)

We have written extensively on using testimonials, case studies and user reviews improve your business online. Go here to learn more about this: Learn How To Turn More Visitors Into Qualified Prospects Using Highly Effective Testimonials

Contact Page

Having a functional contact page is essential.

It should provide:

• Business Name
• Physical location
• Telephone
• Fax
• Email
• Google Map
• Web address
• Contact form
• Name of person to contact
• Links to social media pages
• Live chat

If your business services different locations you want to make this clear when displaying the address and contact info.

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

Blog Section

A blog can be a very powerful marketing tool. Blogs are built around a content management system that is easy to use and allows you to promote your business by publishing content like company announcements, company updates, training information, opinions on current topics, how-to videos, webinars, etc.

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

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

Very few businesses know that WordPress can turn your web presence into an automated traffic machine that can instantly begin driving web traffic to your site, simply by publishing new content on a regular basis to your website.

(An expertly configured WordPress site can drive traffic automatically to your site)

Learn more here: Web Traffic Blueprint – How To Turn Your WordPress Site Into An Automated Traffic Machine

Legal Info Pages

Having a website that complies will all legal requirements online is really important, not just for establishing trust and credibility with visitors, but also to ensure that you are not breaching laws and regulations wherever your business is located.

Depending on the products and services you provide, adding the following legal pages to your site will help keep you out of legal hot water with most regulatory authorities, third-party service providers (e.g. Google), and other potential sources of threats and legal inconveniences:

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

To learn more about adding legal pages to your website, refer to this article: The Importance Of Adding Legal Pages To Your WordPress Site

Ways To Improve The Content On Your Site

In today’s globally competitive economy, content generosity has become one of the key differentiators for businesses.

You will want to provide great content with advice and tips that will get your readers to share your content online and come back for more information. This is a great way to educate your 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
• Directors’ duties and legal responsibilities
• Presenting accounts for non-profit activities
• Cashflow planning tips
• Business insurance
• Risk protection
• Structuring a 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 prospective clients gain a better understanding of your services, such as software accounting, small business accounting, tax planning for small business, reducing business debt, understanding accounting concepts, etc.

Remember to use the same keywords in your articles that your prospective clients would search for online.

We recommend subscribing to our Content Marketing Email Training Series. You will receive a comprehensive series of training emails with easy-to-digest information and practical tips that will show you 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. It’s not only a great course with loads of useful information, it’s also 100% FREE!

Tips For Improving User Experience

Improving your user experience (often 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

RSS feeds can help to improve your visitor engagement and UX in a number of different ways.

If you provide valuable information, 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 in one place
• Doesn’t rely on email
• Your feeds can be shared
• Users can subscribe to your RSS feed
• An RSS feed provides a way for links to point back to your content
• Feeds can be submitted to RSS directories
• There are various ways readers can receive your content (e.g. users can view your content on their mobile device using different applications)
• RSS is built into WordPress

There are also a number of benefits when it comes to providing information on your site from other websites, such as the fact that you don’t have to write, manage or update the content.

You can find RSS feeds with useful content for your website by visiting sites of relevant government departments and well-known industry bodies.

Below we have listed some exaples of feeds you could consider adding to your accounting 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

(Use RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds to improve your accounting website’s user experience.)

Checklists And Forms

Checklists and forms are a fantastic way to increase user engagement and add value to your audience. Forms and checklists can provide users with useful instructions and resources to complete a task. Forms and checklists are great business planning tools.

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

• How To Set Up A Business
• Rental Property Checklist
• Non-Profit Governance Checklist
• Disclosure Checklists
• Company Tax Checklist
• Capital Gains Tax Checklist
• Income Tax Variation Forms

Online Tools

Providing useful tools 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 useful tools you can add to accounting websites. Other tools could include time cards, or retirement and interest calculators.

In the next section, we take a look at a number of online tools you can use in your website using WordPress plugins and themes that improve your search engine optimization, increase user engagement and generate more traffic to your business.

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This is the end of part 1.

To keep reading, click this link:

• Your Accounting Website – WordPress Plugins That Can Help Improve Search Engine Optimization, Increase User Engagement And Increase Traffic Generation

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