Grow Your Accounting Business Online With WordPress

Accounting professionals face a number of challenges in today’s web economy, especially when it comes to growing a successful business online.

Online Challenges For CPAs

Accountants today must work harder than ever to remain competitive. Not only do they have to maintain an active presence in the communities and industries their business serves, they must also maintain an active digital presence. This includes having a website and figuring out smarter ways to grow your business online.

As well as investing money in offline marketing activities such as advertising on local newspapers, ads in industry publications and magazines, radio and tv, etc., businesses in the accounting industry are now also finding that increasingly larger amounts of their budget will need to be delegated towards the development and maintenance of a website that can drive leads, engage visitors, outrank the competition in search engines and help to create wider marketing reach online.

This means that your site 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 your site’s needs may change in time and sections will need to be updated frequently. This requires having a well-planned website and content management strategy.

One other problem that accounting businesses face, as all other professions do for that matter, is that they have only about 30 seconds or less to provide users with what they are looking for or they will go away.

“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 Online Economy

As well as facing a number of significant business and technology changes, there are also plenty of online opportunities available for businesses in the accounting sector that can evolve to meet digital demands and think outside the box when it comes to marketing themselves better online.

In this comprehensive guide, you will learn about new opportunities to increase traffic and build more online credibility for your business.

As well as providing useful website improvement tips, we also place special emphasis on the benefits and advantages of 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 platform, see the articles below:

• Why A Poorly Constructed Web Site Can Cost You Money And What To Do About It
• The Complete Guide To Growing Your Small Business Using A WordPress Site

How To Improve Your Accounting Or Financial Services Website

Let’s start by going over some basic stuff. In this section, we’ll look at how to improve your website and get better results online. We will look at what pages your website needs, what content works best, useful tips for improving navigation structure, etc.

If you need additional information about website planning, check out the detailed guide we have written here: A Comprehensive Guide To Web Site Planning For Business Owners

Your Website Pages

Professional websites require some essential pages. Let’s go over these.

Services And Products

It’s essential to include a page that lists your services and products.

Your page should include services such as:

• Business – planning, formation, accounting, payroll, financial statement compilation, book keeping, financing, forecasting, budgeting, strategic planning, consulting, etc.
• Taxation – preparation, planning, reviewing, auditing, advising, problem resolution
• Investment strategies
• Corporate finance
• 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, transfers, etc.
• Lending and leasing

Make sure to list all of the services you provide. Provide your visitors with information that will educate them about the benefits of using these services and why they should book an appointment with you.

About Us

This page needs to describe your business and explain to visitors what it stands for, its unique approach, community involvement, etc.

It’s important to also mention any CPA awards, certifications, recognitions, accreditations, associations, publications, etc., that can be used to promote the company and position it above other competitors.

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

Staff Page

Are you looking for quicker and simpler ways to grow your business online and get visitors to stay longer on your site? Then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for prospects to get to know your business better.

People need to relate to your business. A great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your people. It should include a photo and a brief bio. Since most visitors will not tend to be that 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. It should even include social buttons so your prospective clients can follow your staff members on their social pages.

On this page, don’t be afraid to show the human side of your people with personal stories, hobbies, etc., but make sure to highlight each employee’s expertise and qualifications, 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 image source: deepsky.com)

If you need help how to add a simple team members directory to your website without messing with code, see this step-by-step tutorial: Step-By-Step Tutorial: How To Easily Add A Staff List Directory To Your Site

Job Opportunities Page

This is a listing of career opportunities available within the organization. This page should include type of training provided, benefits, advancement opportunities, etc. You should also include case studies of recruits who have established a solid career path thanks to your firm and information about career opportunities in the accounting and financial services industry.

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

Testimonials

Testimonials and case studies are a great way to show potential clients what type of financial solutions you are capable of implementing to help them solve problems. By adding a page with case studies and client reviews, you are also helping to provide social proof.

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

If you want to learn more using client case studies and reviews go here: Learn How To Improve Your Visitor-To-Lead Conversions With Awesome Testimonials

Contact Us

A clean contact page is absolutely necessary.

It should include some or all of the following information:

• Name
• Location
• Telephone
• Fax
• Contact email address
• Map and directions
• Website URL
• Contact form
• Request for more information – contact details
• Links to social media networks
• Live chat

If your business operates in different locations you want to make this clear when showing your address and contact info.

Consider also including links to an FAQ page, frequently-visited pages, special offers, support page, newsletter, blog, etc.

Add An Accounting Blog

A blog is a very powerful business marketing tool. Blogs typically include a content management system that allows you to promote your business using content such as news and events, product releases, educational articles, opinions and discussions, videos, media presentations, etc.

If you already have an existing site, then consider adding a WordPress-driven 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 delivering you the results you want, then WordPress can serve as both your business website and blog.

Not many people know this, but an expertly configured WordPress site can become an automated traffic machine that will begin to drive targeted traffic to your business, simply by adding regular content to your website.

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

Go here to learn more about this: WordPress Web Site Traffic Blueprint – Discover How To Create An Automated Traffic-Getting Machine

Legal Info Pages

As a professional accountant, ensuring that you have a website that complies will all legal requirements online is extremely important, not just for building credibility with prospective clients, but also to ensure that no laws and regulations are being contravened wherever you provide services to.

Depending on the services and products you provide, adding the following legal pages to your accounting site will help you stay out of legal hot water with most regulatory authorities, third-party service providers, and other potential sources of threats and legal 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
• etc.

If you want to learn more about adding legal pages to your website, refer to this article: How To Add Legal Pages To Your Website

Ways To Improve The Content On Your Site

In today’s fiercely competitive digital economy, the sooner you begin to publish great content on your site, the sooner you will begin to differentiate yourself from your competitors.

By committing to providing great content with useful advice and tips, you will get your visitors sharing your web pages online with others and coming back for more information. Using content is a great way to educate your visitors and prospects about your business and about using your services.

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

• Explanations of balance sheets
• Understanding profit and loss statements
• Duties and legal responsibilities of company directors
• How to present accounts for non-profit activities
• Business cashflow planning advice
• Maximizing business insurance cover
• Risk protection
• Structuring your self-managed retirement fund
• Dos and don’ts of … (e.g. purchasing vs leasing, claiming business expenses, etc.)

You can also create a series of informative articles that will help your readers gain a better understanding of your accounting or financial services, such as finance accounting, small business accounting, tax planning for small business, reducing business debt, financial concepts made simple, etc.

Remember to include the same keywords and terms in your articles that your readers would search for.

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 teach you how to drive more traffic to your web site, save money creating high-quality content that will add value to your site 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 100% FREE!

Improve Visitor Engagement And User Experience

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

Adding RSS Feeds

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds can help to improve your visitor engagement and UX in several ways.

If you provide valuable content, other businesses 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 kept in one place
• Content distribution doesn’t rely on email
• Your feeds can be shared
• Users can subscribe to your RSS feed
• An RSS feed provides links back to your site
• Feeds can be submitted to RSS directories and aggregators
• There are multiple ways your readers can receive your content (e.g. subscribers can read the content on their mobile device using different applications)
• It’s built into WordPress

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

To find useful RSS feeds for your website, search online for finance-related government departments and well-known industry bodies.

Here are some exaples of useful RSS feeds you could 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

(Use RSS feeds to provide your visitors with a better user experience.)

Adding Downloadable Forms And Checklists

Adding checklists and forms to your site is a fantastic way to increase visitor engagement and add value to your visitors. Checklists and forms can provide visitors with step-by-step instructions and resources to perform necessary tasks. They are great business planning tools.

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

• How To Set Up A Business
• Rental Property Worksheet
• Not-For-Profit Governance Checklist
• Disclosure Checklists
• Partnership Tax Checklist
• Self Managed Super Fund Tax Checklist
• Income Tax Variation Forms

Provide Online Tools

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

In part 2, we will be discussing a several WordPress-based tools you can add to your website that can help improve your search engine optimization, improve user engagement and generate more visitors to your business.

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This is the end of part one.

Click here to continue:

• How To Grow An Accounting Web Presence – Part Two

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