Grow Your Accounting Business Online With WordPress

The digital business age has not only revolutionised business worldwide, it has also created significant challenges and great opportunities for businesses in the accountancy profession.

Online Challenges For Accountants

Now, more than ever, accounting firms must work harder and find smarter ways to remain competitive, obtain new business, and retain current clients. Not only do you have to be fully involved in the communities and industries your business serves, you must also maintain an active presence online. This includes having a website and learning how to better market your business services online.

As well as spending money advertising offline on local newspapers, ads in industry publications and magazines, radio and tv, etc., you will probably find (if you haven’t already) that in order to remain competitive, you will need to invest a larger amount of your budget towards the development and management of a website that attracts clients, engages users, outperforms the competition in search engines and social media, and gives your business wider reach online.

This means that your site not only has to look professional, load fast, and your site has to be easy to navigate, but it’s also important to keep in mind that the needs of your website may change in time and some areas may need to be frequently updated. This requires implementing well-planned web and content management strategy.

One other challenge that accounting businesses face with their websites, as most businesses do for that matter, is that your site has around thirty seconds or less to provide visitors 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

Online Opportunities For Accounting Services

As well as facing many challenges, there are also loads of online opportunities available to businesses in the accounting profession that are willing to adapt to meet digital economy demands and can think outside the box in terms of marketing their services better online.

In this guide, you will learn about ways and opportunities to increase web traffic and establish stronger online credibility for your accounting or financial services business.

As well as providing tips and information on cost-effective ways to improve your accounting web presence, we also recommend that you consider using the WordPress platform to power your accounting business website or blog.

For more information about the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress CMS platform, go here:

• Why A Poorly Designed Web Site Can Cost You Business And What To Do About It
• Using A WordPress Site To Grow Your Small Business

Useful Tips For Improving Your Accounting Website

We’ll start first by reviewing the basic information you need. In this section, we’ll look at ways to improve your website and get better results online. We show you what pages your website needs, what type of content you need, suggestions for improving your layout and navigation structure, etc.

If you need specific help with website planning, go here: The Website Planning Process Explained - A Money-Saving Blueprint For Non-Technical Business Owners

Your Website Pages

All business websites need a number of basic pages. Let’s take a look at the pages your  need to have and how to set up your accounting website for best results.

Services Page

You need to include a page that explains your services and products.

This page should include services such as:

• Business accounting – planning, company structures, general accounting, payroll, preparing financial statements, book keeping, financing, forecasting, budgeting, strategic planning, consulting, etc.
• Taxation – preparation, planning, reviewing, auditing, advice, 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.

Who We Are

The ‘About Us’ page should give a description of your business and explain to visitors what it stands for, its unique approach, supported community programs, etc.

Remember to mention any accounting awards, accreditations, recognitions, certifications, publications, associations, etc., that could be used to promote your company and set it above other competitors.

(List all of your awards certifications, accreditations, recognitions, publications, associations, etc. in your About Us page. Screenshot image sourced from: deloitte.com)

Staff Page

Are you looking for simple ideas to sell more products online? Then something you can do, is help your prospective clients get to know, like and trust your organization better.

You want your business to be relatable. A great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your employees. It should include a photo and a mini bio. Since most visitors are probably not well-versed in accounting terms your 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 team members on their social networks.

In this page, don’t be afraid to humanize your team members with personal stories, hobbies, etc., but make sure to outline each 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.

(Add a page that introduces your team members to prospective new clients. Screenshot image source: deepsky.com)

For a detailed step-by-step tutorial about how to add an easy-to-update simple employee directory in your website using free WordPress plugins, go here: How To Add An Employee List Directory: Step-By-Step Tutorial

We’re Hiring

List any career opportunities available within the firm. This page can include training offered, employee benefits, opportunities for advancement, social aspects of working for your firm, etc. You can include 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 the page, subscribe to your contact list, follow your social pages, etc.

Testimonials

Testimonials from past clients and case studies are a great way to show potential clients what type of accounting solutions you can implement to help solve their problems. By adding a page with case studies and reviews from clients, you are also helping to provide social proof.

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

We have written extensively about using case studies, testimonials and reviews to improve your business results online here: How To Improve Your Conversions With More Effective Testimonials

Contact Us

Having a contact page is essential.

It should include the following:

• Name Of Your Organization
• Physical address
• Phone
• Facsimile
• Email address
• Google Map
• Web address
• Contact form
• Request for information – who to contact
• Social media web addresses
• Chat (optional feature)

If you operate from multiple locations you want to make this clear when displaying your address and contact information.

Consider also including links to the most commonly asked questions, useful pages, special offers, support area, newsletter, blog, etc.

Blog

A blog can be a powerful marketing tool for your business. Most blogging platforms typically comprise of a content management system that allows you to easily promote your business by publishing timely content like industry news, product releases, educational articles, informative posts, promotional videos, webinars, etc.

If you already have an existing accounting or financial services website, then consider adding a WordPress-powered blog to promote your business.

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

Something few businesses know about, is that an expertly configured WordPress site can turn your web presence into an automated traffic system that will begin driving a stream of targeted traffic to your website, simply by adding new content on a regular basis to your website.

(WordPress can drive new visitors automatically to your site)

Go here to learn more: Web Traffic Blueprint – Learn How To Automatically Generate More Web Traffic For Your Business

Legal Information

As a professional accountant, having a compliant website is extremely important, not just for building trust and credibility with visitors, but also to ensure that you are not breaching any local, regional and federal laws and regulations wherever your business services clients.

Depending on the services you provide, adding some or all of 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 legal threats and inconveniences:

• Contact Page
• Privacy Policy
• Terms And Conditions
• 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 comprehensive article on adding legal pages to your site. For more info, see this article: Why You Need To Add Legal Pages To Your WordPress Site

Tips On How To Improve Your Web Content

In today’s globally competitive economy, the sooner you begin engaging in the practice of content marketing, the sooner you will begin to differentiate yourself from the competition.

You want to provide great content with advice and tips that will get your visitors sharing your content and coming back for more information. This is the most effective way to educate site visitors and prospective clients about your business and about doing business with you.

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

• Explanations of balance sheets
• Profit and loss statements
• Directors’ duties and legal responsibilities
• Presenting accounts for fundraising activities
• Business cashflow planning tips
• Maximizing business insurance cover
• Protecting revenues
• How to structure a 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 educational articles that will help your your readers understand accounting services, such as finance accounting, business accounting, tax planning for small business, reducing debt, financial concepts made simple, etc.

Remember to use keywords and terms in your content that readers will be searching for.

We recommend subscribing to our Content Marketing Email Training Series. You will receive a comprehensive series of training emails with actionable information that will teach exactly how to drive more traffic to your web site, save money creating useful content for your visitors and grow your business online using content. It’s not only a great course with loads of useful information, it’s also completely FREE!

Ways To Improve User Experience

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

Use RSS Feeds

RSS feeds provide many benefits for your accounting business.

If you provide useful information, other sites may want to syndicate your content.

Some of the benefits of syndicating your content to other websites using RSS feeds, include:

• All of your updates are in one place
• your content distribution doesn’t rely on email
• Your feeds can be shared
• Allows for subscribing
• It provides a way for links to point back to your site
• Your feeds can be submitted to RSS directories
• RSS provides several ways for your readers to receive your content (e.g. view your content on their mobile device using different applications)
• It’s built into WordPress

There are also a number of benefits when it comes to providing valuable 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, visit sites of finance-related government departments and well-known industry bodies.

Below we have listed some exaples of RSS feeds containing useful information that you could add 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 provide your visitors with a better UX.)

Checklists And Forms

Checklists and forms are a fantastic way to increase user engagement, add value to your visitors and set yourself apart from the competition. They can provide users with useful step-by-step instructions and resources to perform tasks. Checklists and forms can also be great planning tools.

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

• How To Set Up A Business
• Negative Gearing Worksheet
• Fundraising Governance Checklist
• Disclosure Checklists
• Individual Tax Checklist
• Capital Gains Tax Checklist
• Income Tax Variation Forms

Online Tools

Providing useful online tools and applications for businesses (or links to these tools) on your website is a great way to increase visitor engagement and add significant value to potential clients. Calculators, such as loan and tax calculators, are useful tools to add to accounting websites. Others would include time cards, and retirement and interest calculators.

In the next section of this guide, we discuss a several WordPress-based tools you can add to your accounting site that can help improve seo, increase user engagement and generate more visitors to your business.

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This is the end of section one of this article on ways to build your accounting business web presence.

Click on this link to continue:

• How To Grow An Accounting Website – Part Two

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