Search engine optimization (SEO) has become increasingly important for accountants as search engines continue to play a larger role in B2B purchasing decisions.In this article, I’ll explain why SEO matters for accountants and how you can get started optimising your website for Google. And I’ll also share with you my top tips for improving your SEO strategy and how you can implement them yourself.
What is SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. In short, it refers to how you optimise your web pages so that when someone searches for a topic related to your product or service, your page appears near the top of the results list.But, it’s not just as simple as optimising the website’s content, structure, and code to make it more visible to Google and other search engines. There are 3 separate aspects you need to consider:- First you need to satisfy the ‘platform’ (which in this case is the search engine e.g. Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo). In other words, make sure the ‘technical SEO’ is being looked after. If the crawler bots can’t find your content or read your content, it won’t rank. Therefore, you need to satisfy the search engine algorithms.
- There needs to be demand i.e. people searching for the content. If you do your research, you’ll understand what level of demand there is. However, the level of demand doesn’t have to be large. What if your goal is only to convert a few customers per month?
- Supply – you must satisfy user intent. So, even if you have a low target each month, you must still create content that attracts these potential customers and then converts them into paying customers.
Why is SEO important for Chartered Accountants?
Chartered Accountants face a common challenge when it comes to marketing and advertising. They typically don’t have the budgets that their larger competitors have, so they have to be more strategic in how they allocate their resources.One of the most effective ways for small businesses to market themselves is through search engine optimization (SEO). For an accountancy practice, SEO is the process of optimising your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) for accounting-related keywords.But why is SEO important for them? Here are just 7 reasons:1. SEO is important for accountants, because it helps them to get found online.
Did you know that the primary source of website traffic is often organic traffic? Therefore, the higher your website ranks in Google, the more likely people are to find it. And if people can find your website, they’re more likely to become customers. For example, creating local SEO pages that rank in Google can greatly benefit an accountancy business.2. In addition to attracting more traffic, SEO can help you build trust and credibility with potential customers.
Trust and credibility are critical for any business. They’re what make people choose you over someone else when they need services or products.And SEO is a great way to establish yourself as an authority in your industry. However, establishing a brand as a trusted authority takes patience, effort and commitment. You must provide a valuable, quality product that allows customers to trust you. And if you’re doing that, then you should expect to rank highly in organic search.By ranking high in search engine results, you can attract more traffic to your site. And once you start getting lots of traffic, you can turn those visitors into paying customers!Just remember that when people see your website at the top of the results page, they’ll be more likely to trust that you’re a credible and authoritative source of information.3. If you understand search intent, then you’ll start to understand your customer.
SEO is a good way to find out what prospective clients want and need through analysing organic search queries, keyword research, and using analytics data. These will give you clear signals of search intent and consumer behaviour.For example, if you know that someone searched for “Chartered Accountant Belfast“, then you know that person was interested in finding a chartered accountant in Belfast.Another great way to understand your customer is through SERP analysis. SERPs (search engine results pages) are the results that show up when someone searches for a keyword. These results tell you how well your competitors rank for that particular term.Insights from your website analytics can also help you understand your customer. You can tell which are your most popular pages and deduce the intent behind the search queries with the help of Google Search Console.So if you understand search intent, you’ll start to understand the voice of your customer. And once you do, you’ll be able to deliver relevant content that attracts them to your website.4. Great SEO will improve the User Experience.
User Experience (UX) is the science of designing for human beings. It’s about creating products and services that are easy to use, efficient, effective and enjoyable.The goal is to create experiences that people love using. This includes everything from the way your website looks and feels, to the ease with which users navigate its features.User experience design is all about understanding what makes people tick. Understanding their motivations, emotions and behaviours. And then translating this into a set of rules that guide the creation of great digital products.But ultimately, a good user experience should translate into more conversions.5. Local SEO is the new ‘word of mouth’.
If you rely on word of mouth referrals, I’ve got some bad news for you. You see, nowadays, when people learn about a local business they’re more likely to ‘google’ them than call them. This means you need more than a great looking website. You need great content and a compelling value proposition. Find out how you can optimise your website for local search terms.6. SEO is an investment that keeps on giving back.
Great SEO consultants understand how to deliver value for money. By investing in your website, you are giving your business the chance of long term success. SEO can take time, but when you reach the top of the search rankings the rewards are worth it. Unlike traditional marketing costs, I believe SEO generates the best return on your investment.7. Develop your accountancy brand and become a thought leader.
In order to succeed with SEO, you must create great content that is valuable to your target audience. It’s this content that will get you recognised in the search results. But have you considered how you can reuse this content to invent yourself as a thought leader within the accountancy sector? Developing thought leadership content will not only drive traffic, but also elevate your brand.So, if you’re not already incorporating SEO into your marketing plans, now is the time to start. Implementing these SEO strategies can benefit every accountancy business.Remember, SEO is an ongoing process, so it’s important to keep up with it as your business grows. [link] Fortunately, you can outsource your SEO efforts to skilled professionals who can help your business expand.How does SEO contribute to the growth of an accountancy business?
There are a number of benefits of SEO for accounting firms, but the most important benefit is the growth of your business. So, how does SEO contribute to the growth of business?One of the most important benefits of SEO for accounting firms is increased visibility.
When your website appears higher in SERPs, potential customers are more likely to find and visit your site. And as we know, if you want to reach more customers and increase profits, you need to make sure you are visible online.This can lead to an increase in leads and new customers for your firm.Performing these daily SEO tasks can enhance the online presence of an accountancy business.With the help of SEO, your content reaches your target audience.
There’s no trick or magic behind SEO. It’s actually quite simple. However, it does take time and effort.First you have to research your target market. You need to understand what your prospects want. What are their pain points? Do you offer the product or service that they are demanding? How compelling is your value proposition? How do you compare to your competition?Next, you need to create high quality content that your potential customers find valuable. By following your content strategy and implementing SEO techniques, you can be sure to reach your target audience.Your target audience = qualified leads?
If you’ve done your research and created content that meets your prospects’ expectations, what happens? Aren’t they more likely to convert? SEO helps you to bring ‘better’ traffic to your site. Better doesn’t necessarily mean more. But what SEO should do is bring more of the right audience to your site. We call these visitors ‘qualified leads’. That’s because we expect them to be interested in what you offer.Understanding why engagement is the new SEO can help an accountancy business attract more clients.But, conversions don’t happen by themselves. Can SEO help your conversion rate?
This is where an SEO copywriter can make their money. You’ve done your homework. You’re driving qualified leads to your site. Now, you want to generate more leads or drive sales.Can SEO really improve your conversion rate? Yes, is the short answer. This is where you need a mixture of skills and not every SEO consultant has them. Once you grab someone’s attention, you need to tell them a compelling story. You need to persuade them that your business is right for them.How do you do that? You craft the message on the page to sell. But, you do it in a way that seems natural and familiar to the prospect. Good sales talk to the individual. It’s personal. SEO can help you develop that narrative because you’ll understand what the person needs and wants most. And luckily, your company offers the solution.Another benefit of SEO is improved brand awareness.
As your website appears more often in search results, potential customers will become more familiar with your brand.To understand this further, you need to think about human behaviour. If someone is researching a purchase, how many different searches do they perform? Do you think they change their search criteria? In other words, the more keywords your website ranks for, and the higher your site ranks, the more familiar your ‘brand’ is going to be to them.Therefore, good SEO can lead to higher brand recognition, which can drive more customers and sales.If you are continually ranking high for your target keywords, does that create trust and credibility?
Just like with brand awareness, SEO can help build trust and credibility amongst your target audience. If you are creating content that they find valuable and you are always ranking near the top of the SERPs, then you will gain trust. If you think about it, it’s hard to reach the top. So, any company that is on page 1 of Google must be a serious business. And those businesses at the top must be even better? If you want to be taken seriously, you need to be competing for those top few spots.Which leads nicely into ‘competition’.
Who are your competitors? What are they doing? How long have they been doing it? Established brands are going to be hard to compete against, but it’s not impossible. And in fact, depending on the niche, you can outrank established global brands. You just need to target the right keywords and understand the search intent behind them. Given time, it’s possible to outrank even your biggest competitors using SEO.SEO is an investment that can generate long term value.
By now you should understand that you must take SEO seriously if you want long term success. By following a clear SEO strategy and creating great content you will continue to see results year after year.Are you looking for ways to improve your accounting firm’s marketing?
Highly.Digital offers SEO services specifically designed to help accounting firms grow their businesses.Some of the benefits of SEO include increased website traffic, higher quality leads and better conversion rates. It can also help you build brand awareness and establish your firm as an authority in your industryWith the help of Highly.Digital, you can get the most out of your website and improve your online visibility.Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you improve your firm’s SEO and attract more potential clients.How to improve the ranking of your accountancy website
Optimising your accountancy website for SEO can be a complex task, but there are a few simple steps you can take to get started.Start by creating compelling content
The best way to attract attention from the search engines and potential clients is to create compelling content. This can include blog posts, infographics, eBooks, and more. The key is to create content that is interesting, informative, and matches search intent.One of your long term goals for SEO should be to create ‘plenty’ of relevant content. No one can say for sure how much content. But, it’s good for your brand to be publishing good content that’s relevant to your audience at regular intervals.Always write original content. You can share and curate other brands’ content on your social media channels, but never repost a full article to your website.When writing articles for your website, always keep in mind that people read online content differently than they read print material. Therefore, try to write short paragraphs and avoid long sentences.If you’re not sure where to start with SEO for your accountancy website, consider working with a qualified SEO consultant. They can help develop and implement an effective SEO strategy for you.Use descriptive titles and meta tags
Your title tags and meta descriptions are two of the most important elements of your website when it comes to SEO. These are the first things that potential visitors will see when your site appears in SERPs, so it’s important to make them count.Your title tags should be concise and to the point, including relevant keywords for your accounting services. Meta descriptions should provide a brief summary of your website’s content, again using relevant keywords.Keep in mind that both title tags and meta descriptions are limited to a certain number of characters, so you’ll need to be concise.Include descriptive meta tags in every page. Meta tags help search engines understand what the page is about. They should contain keywords and descriptions which match the content of the page.Include relevant keywords on your website
As we mentioned before, keywords are an important part of SEO. When creating content for your website, be sure to include relevant keywords throughout. However, it’s important to use keywords and phrases properly.It’s important that you treat your customers with respect. This means creating content for them and not for search engines. In other words, use keywords and phrases naturally throughout your content.Don’t overlook the technical aspects of SEO
There are a few key fundamentals to check first.- Does your site have an XML sitemap? This makes it easier for search engines to crawl your website.
- Check your page speed. Make sure that your website loads fast. Users who visit your website will leave if they encounter any problems while loading the site. If you use images and videos, make sure that they load quickly.
- Make sure to add alt text to images. Not only is this a legal requirement (for accessibility purposes) it also helps search engines to understand the context of the image.
- Have you checked your internal link structure? Linking to other articles or pages on your website is a good way to improve the user experience.