3 Ways to Improve Your CPA Firm’s Website

CPAs excel at providing exceptional service once our clients are in the door – but actually getting them in the door is another story.

With the advent of social media and the ever-important search engine rankings, CPAs may find the world of marketing more challenging.

Your company website is your #1 marketing tool.

Think about it – when you need something, what do you do?

You Google it (or at least most people do).

If you click on a website in the search listings and you don’t like what you see or are confused – you bounce. You leave the site, which is what many of your potential customers are doing if your site isn’t up to par.

Let’s say that a potential client lands on your website.

What do they see? Do they know what to “do” once they land?

How to Leverage Google Places for Your CPA Firm

Last time I talked about how to use local search to get your CPA firm better prominence in search engine result pages. I want to take a deeper dive into one of the more useful local search engine optimization tactics: Google Places.

Since Google is the leader in search engine usage (66.4% market share), its best to start your local SEO and marketing tactics with Google Places. Your listing in Google Places will not only provide a quick spot for your potential clients to find you online, but will directly affect your search engine result page ranking and how your firm’s listing appears. So let’s walk through the process to setup a Google Places page for your CPA firm.

Optimizing Your CPA Firm for Local Search

More than 167 million people will shop online this year. Social commerce sales are expected to total $9.2 billion by the end of this year and could climb to $14.25 billion in 2013 and $30 billion in 2015. Consumers are not just shopping for the latest gadget; they’re buying everything from groceries to professional services, including those offered by your CPA firm.

4 Simple Ways to Boost Your Online Presence

It’s important for any CPA firm to have a strong presence online. According to Local Search Usage Study: Bridging the Caps, From Search to Sales, 70% of consumers go online first for local business information. Are potential clients finding your firm? Not only do you want to be easy to find in cyberspace, but you also want to present yourself as an expert and trusted financial advisor. A simple website is a start, but is not enough to give you an edge in today’s competitive environment. In order to find new clients, and keep the ones you already have, focus your efforts on ways to boost your online presence. I have found that even small efforts go a long way toward a more prolific online presence.

Here are four steps to raise your online credibility and widen your client base in the process.

6 SEO Tips for CPAs

Last month we talked about getting started in search engine optimization (SEO) and the importance of having the right tools at your fingertips for SEO. This month I want to focus on six specific tips that you can do right now to increase the ranking of your website in search engine result pages (SERPs). Any one of these tips could be a post on its own, so I’ll stick to a high-level summary.  If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask them in the comments or email me directly. Some of these tips may require a technical solution, so be sure to consult with your webmaster before making any changes if you’re not comfortable doing them yourself.