One of the key elements to getting clients is making sure they can find you online. Just because they do a search for CPA firms, doesn’t mean your firm will be the first thing they see … it might not even make it to the first search page. This is why SEO for CPAs is so important.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a way to push your firm closer and closer to the front page of any search engine. Ideally, you want to be able to be the No. 1 result, and in that instance, SEO for CPAs is even more important. Chances are, your potential clients are going to click on the first or second link. That’s why your firm needs to be there.
In order to get your firm’s website to rank highly, you need to really hit a few crucial elements. To really crush your competition, these tips on SEO for CPAs will really help you gain an advantage.
It All Starts with What’s on Your Site
As the saying goes, content is king. The content on your website is a reflection of your firm and what you do. It could also be what’s holding your site back.
When it comes to SEO for CPAs, search engines such as Google look for websites that show knowledge of what it is you say you do. The quality of your content will push your site higher.
It also helps to update your site frequently, which means you need to add blog posts that let prospective clients know what it is you do. The blog posts can also be used by your firm to give helpful tips to people, if for nothing else but to show them you know what you’re doing. The American Institute of CPAs has a great guide on how best to write blog posts for CPAs.
With SEO for CPAs, Think About Overall Quality of Your Website
Think for a second about your web surfing habits. You click the link for a website and it doesn’t load within a few seconds. What do you do? Do you stay and let the site load or do you go elsewhere? Chances are, just like a majority of Americans, you’ve already lost interest.
Search engines take the overall load time of your website into consideration. If it takes longer than three seconds for your website to load, most people will leave. In fact, 40 percent of people abandon a website that takes longer than three seconds to load and 47 percent expect your website to load in two seconds or less.
Your website should probably take about 1.5 seconds or less to load. The longer it takes, the worse you’ll do in search engine ratings.
Keep Social Media in Mind
Of course, using social media as a CPA is slightly more difficult than average businesses just because of the nature of what your firm does. However, social media can still help when it comes to SEO for CPAs. Plus, it helps to make more people aware of your firm.
It’s not hyperbole to say there are billions of people who use social media every day. In fact, Facebook alone has close to two billion users, with Twitter hovering around 700 million. This isn’t even including the number of professionals who use LinkedIn.
According to a Wolters Kluwer survey in 2015, social media use by accountants continues to rise every year, and it has become more and more important for many reasons. So, while you have to make sure you’re not posting things you shouldn’t, using social media is a crucial element when it comes to SEO.
Don’t Underestimate the Value of Good Tags
Did you know that only the first 65-70 characters of page titles show in search results, depending on the search engine? That’s why it’s important to keep your titles short and descriptive.
Of course, this mostly has to do with the blog posts you’re putting on your website, but it could include the pages of your website as well. Each page needs a unique page title and meta description. This information is used by search engines to help rank your page. Those two bits of information are really important when it comes to search engine results, so make sure they are clear, concise, and to the point.
Make Sure You Focus on the Right Audience
Everything on your website should be hyper-focused on the clients you want. Every blog post, every page on your website, even what you post on social media – everything should gear toward your prospective client base.
But what’s the best way to do that? You’re going to need to come up with specific keywords for the clients you want and use them throughout your website. When search engines look through your website, they pick up any keywords you might have and use those in your search results. So, if someone were to search for “CPAs in Maryland,” you would want to make sure “CPAs in Maryland” is a keyword phrase throughout your website. If so, someone doing that search might find your site ranked highly.
In general, keep in mind anything your prospective clients might search, and use those keywords all throughout your site.
Let Us Help Guide You
We understand that there is a lot to take in when it comes to SEO for CPAs. It’s entirely possible you don’t have the time, energy, or manpower to do it effectively. Hiring a marketing team to join your staff might not be in your budget. Before throwing your hands in the air and giving up, let us help you on your journey.
At New North, we help CPA firms like yours figure out where they are on their path and guide you through the process of bringing in more leads, at the same time saving you money by not having to hire a staff marketing person. With our proven Marketing Growth Guideposts, you can rest easy knowing your firm is in good hands.
If you’re ready to take the next step to grow your firm, contact us today for a free, no-hassle conversation. We’re here to help and we’re happy to guide you to your goals.
