Grow Your Accounting Business Online With WordPress
Accounting professionals today face significant challenges.
Challenges Accountants Face Online
Today, more than ever, accountancy firms must work harder to remain competitive, find new business, and keep their current business. Not only do you have to maintain a strong presence in the communities and industries your business serves, you must also develop and maintain a strong presence online. This includes having a website and searching for smarter ways to promote your business services online.
In addition to investing dollars 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 assign a larger portion of your marketing budget towards the development and maintenance of a website that will drive prospective clients, engage users, outperform the competition in search engines and help you create a wider degree of marketing reach online.
This means that your site not only has to look great, your web pages have to load fast, 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 implementing sound website and content management strategy.
One other difficult challenge that accounting businesses face, as most businesses do for that matter, is that you have an average of thirty seconds to help users find what they need or they will find what they are looking for elsewhere.
“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 a number of business and technology changes, there are also many online opportunities available for accounting firms that can evolve to meet digital economy demands and think strategically about marketing themselves better online.
In this article, you will learn ways to increase traffic and improve your business results online.
As well as providing general website improvement tips, we also recommend that you consider using WordPress to power your accounting or financial services website or blog.
To learn more about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress, go here:
- Learn Why A Poorly Constructed Web Site Can Lose You Customers
- The Small Business Owner’s Guide To Understanding WordPress
Tips To Improve Your Website
This section covers ways to improve your accounting website and get better results. We show you what pages an accounting website needs, what type of content works best, tips for improving layout and navigation structure, etc.
If you need website planning assistance, go here: A Cost-Saving Guide To Website Planning For Business Owners
Essential Web Pages
All business websites need some basic pages. Let’s take a look at these.
Description Of Products And Services
You need to include a page that explains your services and any products that you offer.
Your page will include all the services you offer, such as:
- Business – planning, company structures, general accounting, payroll, preparing financial statements, book keeping, forecasting, financing, budgeting, strategic planning, consulting services, etc.
- Taxation – preparing, 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, transfers, etc.
- Lending and leasing
Make sure to list all of the services you provide. Educate your visitors about the benefits of using these services and why they should book an appointment.
About Us Page
The ‘About Us’ page should give a description of your business and explain to visitors what it stands for, its unique approach, philanthropical programs, etc.
Remember to list any awards, certifications, recognitions, accreditations, publications, associations, etc., that can be used to promote the company and set it above the competition.
(List all of your awards accreditations, recognitions, certifications, associations, publications, etc. in your About Us page. Screenshot image sourced from: deloitte.com)
Team
If you are looking for quicker, easier and cheaper ideas to grow your business online or get people to stay longer on your site, then something you can do, is help prospective clients get to know, like and trust your organization better.
Your business needs to be relatable. One great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your staff members. It should include a photo and a brief bio. Since most visitors are probably not 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. It should even include social buttons that will allow your visitors to follow your staff members on their social networks.
In this page, don’t be afraid to humanize your people with personal stories, hobbies, etc., but make sure to outline your staff member’s experience, 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 employees to prospective new clients. Screenshot image source: deepsky.com)
If you need help how to easily add a list directory of employees to your web site using free WordPress plugins, see this step-by-step tutorial: Tutorial: Adding A Staff List Directory
Work For Us
This is a listing of career opportunities within the firm. This page should include training offered, employee benefits, advancement opportunities, etc. You can include information about additional career opportunities in the accounting and financial services 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 newsletter, follow you on social media, etc.
Case Studies
Case studies and client reviews are a great way to show potential clients what it’s like to do business with your firm. Adding a web page with reviews from clients and case studies also provides prospective clients with social proof online.
(Add a page to your site with case studies and reviews from clients. Screenshot image source: pcg-services.com)
We have written extensively on using testimonials, case studies and user reviews get better results online. You can learn more about this here: Learn How To Improve Your Sales Conversions With Effective Testimonials
Contact Page
Having a functional contact page is crucial.
It should include the following:
- Name
- Your physical address
- Phone number
- Facsimile
- Contact email address
- Map
- Website address
- Contact form
- Name of person to contact
- Links to social media profiles
- Live chat
If your business services different areas you should make this clear when showing the address and contact info.
Consider also including links to an FAQ page, main pages, special offers, support page, newsletter, blog, etc.
Add An Accounting Or Financial Services Blog Section
A blog can be a powerful business marketing tool. Most blogging platforms are built around a content management system that allows you to promote your business by publishing timely content such as company announcements, product updates, training articles and tutorials, informative posts, how-to videos, webinars, etc.
If you already have an established accounting website, then consider adding a WordPress blog to promote your organization.
If you don’t have a website yet, or your existing accounting or financial services site is very hard to manage or not delivering you the results you want, then WordPress can act both as your website and blog.
Very few people know that an expertly configured WordPress site can turn your web presence into an automated traffic machine that will begin to deliver new targeted traffic to your business, simply by publishing new content on a consistent basis to your website.
(WordPress can generate new traffic automatically to your site)
If you are interested in learning more here: WordPress Web Site Traffic Blueprint – A Complete Guide To Growing Your Traffic Automatically With WordPress
Legal Info Pages
It’s vitally important for accounting and financial services companies to have a compliant website, not just for building credibility with prospective clients, but also to ensure that you are not contravening any laws or regulations wherever you service clients.
Depending on the services you provide, adding the following legal pages to your website will help you stay out of legal hot water with most regulatory authorities, third-party service providers (e.g. Facebook), and other potential sources of threats and legal inconveniences:
- Contact Us
- Privacy Statement
- Terms And Conditions Of Use
- Website Disclaimer
- Affiliate Agreement
- Anti-Spam Policy
- Compensation Disclosure
- DMCA Notice
- Earnings Disclaimer
- External Linking Policy
- Financial Disclaimers
- Refund Policy
- Video/Audio Terms
- and others
We have written a comprehensive article about adding legal pages to your site. For more details, go here: How To Add Legal Pages To Your Website
Ways To Improve The Content On Your Site
In today’s ultra competitive online economy, the sooner you begin engaging in the practice of content marketing, the quicker you will begin to differentiate yourself from your competitors.
By committing to providing great content with advice and tips, you will get your readers sharing your content and coming back for more information. This is the most effective way to inform and teach site visitors and prospects about your business.
For example, for an accounting or financial services business, topics could cover:
- Explanations of balance sheets
- Understanding profit and loss statements
- Directors’ duties and legal responsibilities
- Presenting accounts for fundraising activities
- Cashflow planning advice
- Business insurance
- Risk protection
- Tips on structuring a self-managed retirement fund
- Things to look for when … (e.g. purchasing insurance, claiming business expenses, etc.)
You can also create a series of informative articles that will help your readers gain a better understanding of your services, such as finance accounting, business accounting, business budgeting, reducing business debt, understanding financial concepts, etc.
Remember to include keywords and terms in your content that your prospective clients will be searching for online.
We recommend subscribing to our Content Marketing Email Training Series. You will receive regular 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 marketing strategies. It’s not only a great course with loads of useful information, it’s also 100% FREE!
Tips For Improving Visitor Experience
Improving your 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.
RSS Feeds – Content Syndication
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds can help to improve visitor engagement and user experience in several ways.
If you provide information that adds value to others, other businesses may 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 content updates are kept in one place
- Content distribution doesn’t rely on email
- Your feeds can be shared online
- Allows users to subscribe
- A feed provides a way for links to point back to your site
- RSS feeds can be submitted to RSS directories and aggregators
- RSS provides several ways for your readers to receive your content (e.g. view your content on their mobile device using a feed reader)
- It’s built into WordPress
There are also a number of benefits when it comes to providing great content 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 just search online for tax-related government departments and well-known industry bodies.
Here are examples of feeds you may want to add to your accounting 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 (Really Simple Syndication) feeds to improve your website’s UX.)
Provide Downloadable Checklists And Forms
Adding checklists and forms to your site is a fantastic way to increase user engagement and add value to your audience. Checklists and forms can provide visitors with useful step-by-step instructions and resources to get necessary tasks performed. Checklists and forms can also be great business planning tools.
Forms and checklists can include areas such as:
- How To Set Up A Business
- Negative Gearing Worksheet
- Non-Profit Governance Checklist
- Disclosure Requirements
- Company Tax Checklist
- Capital Gains Tax Checklist
- Income Tax Variation Forms
Other Tools
Providing unique tools, gadgets and applications for businesses on your website can help increase visitor engagement and add significant value to users. Calculators, such as loan and tax calculators, are useful tools to add to accounting websites. Other applications could include time cards, or retirement and interest calculators.
In part two of this detailed article, we look at a several online tools you can add to your site using WordPress plugins that can help to improve seo, improve user engagement and drive more web traffic to your business.
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This is the end of part one of this guide on ways to build your accounting business web presence.
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"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)
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