5 Tips to Help Your Website Attract More Clients

Marketing your accounting practice online is essential for client communication and sustained growth, yet many firms are still not using the most basic tool to its full potential: their website.
People expect you to have a useful website, and how well it performs depends on many variables. In addition to attracting more business, your website can serve to retain existing clients, as well as a resource for financial, tax, and business information and overall thought leadership.
Think of your website as a constant window that allows your clients and prospects to explore your business any time. This is your business card, your handshake, your first meeting.
How can you use your site to attract new clients? To answer this question, you must first know how many new prospects turned into clients from initially first visiting your site. Measuring this traffic can be done in a few ways:

• Create a contact page on your website that allows visitors to submit a request for information.
• Add a newsletter sign-up form on your website allowing visitors to register for your newsletter using their email address and contact information.
• Ask new contacts where they first learned about your business. Keeping track of where your new business comes from will help you focus your resources on the most productive prospect stream. Some may say they found you via your website while others come from word-of-mouth, advertising, driving by your business, etc.

Ok, now ask yourself: Are your prospects able to find you online? What search terms would they use to find a new accountant? These search terms will help you improve your website. Try out the logical search terms. Does your firm show up on page one of the results? Page 2? Page 3? etc.
There are also proactive measures you can take to make your website more visible. The search terms (keywords) should be prevalent in your website. These keywords should be used in your page titles and in the text on each page.
For example, if it is common for people to search for your business using “CPA in Hometown USA,” your website home page should include “CPA in Hometown USA.” Make sure your keyword section contains all the logical search terms.
Is there room for improvement to your website? Consider these five essential tips for creating a website that will produce new engagements for your services:

1. Ease of navigation. Your site should be easy to navigate with captivating content. If visitors struggle to navigate your site, they will leave.
2. Quality content. Content on your site should be timely and relevant. Clients and prospects are interested in how you can help serve their tax, accounting, and business needs.
3. Optimize your website for search engines. Your website should be reviewed for search engine optimization (SEO) annually. SEO changes constantly. Let your annual review include a search for the newest SEO techniques.
4. Promote, promote, promote. Talk to your clients and prospects about visiting your website for information. Get their feedback. Add your web address to your business cards, brochures, mailers, etc. (You’d be surprised how many firms don’t do this.) Use social media, print marketing, and email to direct people to your website. Add your website to local business listings and directories.
5. Update your site regularly. Your website will always be in a state of evolution. Schedule regular updates and add meaningful content. Refresh text to make sure it is current. Post articles that would be of interest to your clients and prospects – articles that may move them to call you with questions – such as news about a 529 college savings plan, tax shelters, retirement planning, etc.

Look, your website is a living brochure that must be consistently fed fresh relevant content and regularly monitored for its performance. It serves as the virtual gateway to your business – it makes a first, last, and lasting impression. If you wish to improve your website’s performance, it is up to you to consider these tips and make your site more attractive for prospects, clients, and search engines.

What Young Accountants Know That You Don’t

I recently spoke with graduates from some of the top accounting programs in the country to find out all the latest accounting best practices that your new, digitally savvy competitors have been learning to help level the playing field.
While there was much to glean from their perspective, there were five key things that recent accounting graduates know about growing a successful practice that you don’t ... but should!
The Client Search Begins Online
When it comes to attracting potential new clients, the strategic focus has largely shifted to Google search results. Consumers today first turn to Google to begin most B2B and B2C transactions. The look and content of your practice’s website matters, too – potential new clients are actively comparing your practice to others (welcome to the world of multi-tab browsing). The top accounting programs now preach the importance of a sleek-looking website, listings on popular review sites like Angie’s List, and directory listings with the accounting packages you work with (for example: QuickBooks' find an accountant search) to aid your Google search ranking.
When it comes to being found, you need to make sure you’re up to date on Local Search tactics – they are different than general SEO best practices. The easiest way to get started is to create a Google Plus page for your accounting practice. These listings come up on Google searches first, before webpage listings.
Emphasize Helpfulness
Today’s customers expect service, even before they actually begin a business relationship. Your website should have free, helpful resources and some informative guides or white papers. A recent KoMarketing study of customers searching for new business services found that nearly 40 percent claimed such resources, and info-rich guides were a “must-have” for them to consider selecting a business.
Clients Perceive Expertise Through Social Media
Today’s clients increasingly associate social media presence with expertise for businesses. You don’t need to post every day, but every few days share some industry news or a business accomplishment. Social media accounts have taken on the role of word-of-mouth referrals (several people your client knows already “like” your Facebook page). Social media also has created a new, powerful consumer mindset of “social proof." This relates to associating competence with a high number of social followers. For example, if you have 200 Twitter followers or Facebook “likes," the customer will perceive that your practice is better than another practice that only has 50 Twitter followers or Facebook “likes."
Decisions Are Made by Younger Members of the Business
According to a March 2015 study by Google, more than 50 percent of all B2B researchers are millennials. When considering your potential client profile, keep in mind that these days, it’s likely that a young millennial is presenting his boss with his top three recommendations. You need to appeal to those millennials by having a modern-looking website and demonstrated expertise (social media, testimonials, and extracurricular accreditations).
Pitch Your Skillset Beyond Taxes
The top accounting schools and programs all push the message of diversifying your practice, both to expand business opportunities and to bolster your core practice (perceived expertise and superiority). Without taking any extra classes, most accountants are already equipped to add several new offerings to their practice’s repertoire: competitive business analysis, business budgeting and forecasting, investor due diligence, exit and succession planning, and a great deal more. Go for it!
Small businesses still find in-person events like conferences to be the best way to investigate new business opportunities. Even the most advanced, innovative accounting programs agree that when it comes to attracting small business clients, in-person events such as industry conferences remain paramount. Try to attend at least one conference a year to actually meet potential new clients, and to showcase your practice.