SEO is the most effective technique for generating new leads for an accounting firm online.
“How do I get my website onto page one of Google?”
When we’re talking about websites, or digital marketing for accountants, this question nearly always comes up.
Everyone wants their site on page one of Google for their local area, or even for their city, or state. How do you make that happen for your accounting website?
The answer is Search engine optimization (SEO).
What is SEO?
Recent research has shown that SEO is the most effective technique for generating new leads for an accounting firm.
Put simply, SEO is a discipline focused on optimising your accounting website and the content on your website to enable better rankings in search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing!.
Your website is like any other product. And, like any other product or service, it should be marketed to bring in traffic.
What’s the Importance of SEO for Accounting Firms?
As we stated before, SEO is the most effective technique for generating new leads for your accounting firm. Especially in the increasingly competitive digital marketplace.
A large percentage of prospects are using search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo! to find accounting services. Search engines give people a quick and easy way to find firms and compare services.
To be found online by valuable clients looking for accounting services, you must market your website just like any other product. SEO is the process of marketing your website so you have a better chance of appearing on page one of search results.
After all, less than 1% of users navigate to and click on a search result on the second page of Google.
If your accounting website is not optimised for search, it won’t rank for important search terms and keywords. This means you’re losing traffic and opportunities for new work to your competitors.
High-growth firms implement mature SEO strategies to maximise traffic to their websites and generate qualified leads for the firm.
On-page SEO for accountants
There are two types of SEO techniques. The first is called on-page SEO.
This refers to the ongoing optimisation of your website text and content, images, page titles, meta descriptions, and title tags.
On-page SEO is all about increasing the relevance of your website. In order for your website to rank for specific keywords or search terms in Google, the keywords must be included in your website text, image alt tags, page titles, and so on.
For example, by creating a page that delivers specific, useful and relevant information on a topic, Google will reward your website with favourable search rankings.
When you create a page that is helpful to users with relevant content and keywords, you increase your chances of a respectable ranking.
Off-page SEO for accountants
The first type of SEO is about increasing relevance. This second type of SEO is about increasing authority in search engines.
This is a long-term process that involves link-building, content promotion, improving your Google presence, and generating more Google reviews.
Link-building is one of the most effective SEO techniques to boost your website’s authority in search engines. It’s the practice of securing quality websites that can link back to your site, or a page or blog on your site.
The authority of your website is determined in part by how many other quality sites are linking back to your website. Because every time another website (a quality website!) links back to yours, Google takes this as a vote of confidence. You’ll improve your website’s authority, and greatly improve your ranking.
SEO techniques to get you started
SEO is a highly specialised area of digital marketing. Although there are a few things you can do today to start improving your SEO performance.
Keyword research
You must know what your potential clients are searching for in search engines. Conduct simple research and identify relevant keywords and terms an ideal client would be typing into Google, and that you would want to rank for.
Jump onto a free tool called Ubersuggest, type in a search term (e.g. eCommerce tax accountant Sydney), and identify a list of potential keywords you could use on your website.
Look for keywords with a medium to high monthly search volume and low competition rating. This will make it easier to rank on page one.
Export your list to a spreadsheet and start implementing these keywords across your website text, image alt tags, page titles and headers.
Source inbound links
Are you connected with any industry bodies or organisations? If so, are they able to offer a link back to your website?
Online directories like the Xero Advisors Directory is a good place to start.
Or if you specialise in accounting for construction businesses, Housing Industry Association (HIA) also has a support directory of advisors.
You could also try Bark.com and Clutch.com, although these are not specific to accounting services.
Look for relevant online directories where you can secure a link back to your website from your partner listing.
Produce keyword-rich blog articles
Every firm needs a blog on its website. This is no longer up for debate.
So, arguably the most important pages to optimise on your accounting website are your blog posts. Your posts will, over time, drive the majority of your traffic from search engines.
When it comes to SEO, the types of keywords you use between your blog posts and internal website pages will differ. The keywords you use on your internal pages are focused on industries, locations, and services. Your blog post keywords are educational, focus on a question, a how-to, or important issues in the industry.
Whilst conducting your keyword research, also look for questions your potential clients are typing into search engines.
For example, if clients are asking about which company structure is right for them, produce a blog post answering this question. This will increase your ranking in Google for others seeking the same answer.
Do some research in Ubersuggest to identify high-volume search terms you can turn into blogs. Publish these keyword-rich articles on your website consistently over time and watch your ranking improve and traffic increase.
Attracting traffic through blog posts is a proven way to connect with prospects early in the buying process.
Utilise your social media presence
Search engines are now ranking social media pages. You will now likely see a social media page when searching for a firm or service provider in the search results.
Find out where a majority of your clients are active on social media and set up company profiles on these platforms.
Optimise your company profiles to include relevant information, keywords, links, content, and contact details to influence your social media ranking.
Ensure you are consistently sharing content to your social environments with a link driving traffic back to your website.
One of the most important marketing investments
SEO is, without a doubt, one of the most important investments for marketing an accounting firm.
Investing in a long-term SEO strategy is a core element of your digital marketing. It delivers greater returns than any social media campaign or EDM ever could.
How is your SEO game?
If you search for the services you offer in your local area, does your website appear on page one?
Would you like to know how your website is performing in search engines? Would you like some simple tips and ideas for improving your SEO performance? Click here to get a free SEO audit from the Practice + Pixels SEO specialists.
