Why should clients select you over another accountant? Is it your area(s) of expertise? Years in the field? Overall client experience? While all of these components should factor into a client’s choice, it ultimately comes down to perception. How current and prospective clients perceive your firm, whether accurate or not, determines your overall success. And, the first step in creating the right perception is showing up. This is where your online presence comes in.
You’ve heard the lingo – Google, SEO, PPC, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube. What does it all mean and how are you supposed to run an accounting firm while building an online presence? Before you default back to Yellow Page ads, download the free Definitive Guide to Online Marketing for Accountants from CPA Site Solutions.
Short on time? We’ve listed some key highlights below:
It all starts with your firm’s website. Your website is the foundation for your firm’s online presence. Consider it your virtual office. Use your website to showcase what makes your business unique, and include photos of your friendly staff. It should convey how you want clients to feel when they walk through your door.
But inviting images alone aren’t enough; usability is just as essential. If a client opened your door only to see a wall it wouldn’t take long for them to turnaround and leave. The same is true for visitors to your website. If it’s not obvious where visitors should go for the information they need they will not take time to look around. Chances are they won’t go beyond your homepage.
What’s the biggest website mistake accountants make?
There are a few, but failure to update and attempt to do-it-yourself without the right experience are among the top. Just as you continually update your firm’s space to reflect change (think articles about new regulations or highlighting new staff) you need to ensure your website does the same. Websites have a lot of moving parts and sometimes it’s best to rely on the professionals.
Once you have a website how do you drive traffic? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC). Thanks to Google, consumers have answers at their fingertips which is exactly where your firm needs to be. SEO is an organic way to ensure your firm is among the top search results. This is critical because 85% of people do not look beyond the first 10 results. As with most things in life worth having, there’s much that goes into SEO and it’s not a quick fix.
Want a more immediate return? PPC may be for you. Unlike organic SEO, which is free, PPC is a form of paid advertising. When a consumer searches under specific keywords findings include “AdWords”. These look like other search results, but AdWords are actually paid advertisements. And, unlike traditional advertising that charges you ahead of time, with PPC you only pay when someone actually clicks on your ad.
Online presence is a huge part of marketing your practice. The Definitive Guide walks you through the process of creating a successful online presence for your accounting practice. This easy-to-follow resource breaks down key factors involved in website creation, search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising (PPC), and social media management. In addition to providing examples, each section delves into how individual elements help your practice, key decisions to consider, and pitfalls to avoid. Download your complimentary copy of CPA Site Solutions’ Definitive Guide to Online Marketing for Accountants and start building a successful web presence for your accounting practice today.
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