Market your Accounting Firm Online
Whether you’re a start-up with a small budget or simply want to get your name out there without breaking the bank, it’s more than possible to market your accountancy firm on a budget. The trick is to create and stick to a strategy. So here are some tried and tested ways to market your accounting firm online in an affordable way.
Make the Most of SEO
There are two main digital marketing methods – PPC and SEO. While the former is all about bidding for keywords and requires a rather substantial budget at times, the latter can increase business visibility without emptying your pockets. It’s a long-term strategy, but if you’re consistent you can start to see great results.
Here are some SEO tips for accountants to consider.
- Keyword Optimise Your WebsiteÂ
Google is looking to present the most relevant content to consumers. It’s therefore vital that your site is well-optimised so that your content appears for specific search terms. One of the best ways to do this is to conduct thorough keyword research. This will help you to understand what terms competitors are using, what people are searching for in order to find your content and the questions people want answering. From there, you can start to place keywords in prominent places such as title tags, H1 tags and sparingly throughout the rest of your content. Remember, you don’t want to keyword cram as this looks spammy and could lead to a site penalty.
Top tip for marketers: Think about creating keyword-rich FAQ content that answers consumer questions. This can be easily picked up by search engines and might help you land a Featured Snippets spot. Also known as Position 0, these snippets appear above the rest of the search engine results and can be used to catapult your brand into the spotlight.
- Understand Ranking FactorsÂ
Simple tweaks can improve your search engine rankings. But to make those tweaks it’s essential to understand Google ranking factors. For example, the search engine giant prioritises the overall consumer experience. Therefore, you need to make sure your site loads as quickly as possible. This means fixing broken links, optimising images for the web and making sure you’ve no forms that are slowing down the load times. You should also make sure that all of your pages have an adequate amount of content. Remember, Google is looking to deliver content that will satisfy the consumer, and it’s, therefore, best to fill out your pages adequately. Remember, the more content on a page, the more natural keyword opportunities you’ll have.
Top tip for marketers: There are over 200 ranking factors. Familiarise yourself with the primary ones, as the more you know what Google expects, the more you’ll be able to tailor your content effectively. Many of the changes you might need to make are cheap, easy and don’t take up much time.
Start a BlogÂ
Another affordable way to promote your accountancy business on a budget and improve your SEO efforts is to start a blog. A blog will allow you to showcase your expertise and stand out as an industry thought leader. Think about what your consumers are asking and try to create content of value that they can read and feel educated by.
Content writing for accountancy firms is also a great way to create location-specific posts which can help with local SEO efforts. Include plenty of location-specific keywords and phrases (based on research) and share snippets of posts across social media in order to garner the attention of local followers.
Top tip for marketers: As well as creating long-form articles about a specific topic, you could also create question and answer content about your company, interview team members or even hold interviews with former clients to help other people learn about your services.
Another thing you can do is to create a guest blogging strategy. By blogging for top sites in return for a link, you can organically boost your company profile. Google also loves links from sites of authority and will be inclined to push you up the search rankings if you manage to associate your company with many high-end sites.
- Encourage ReviewsÂ
Did you know that 70% of people read between one and six reviews before making any kind of purchasing decision online? The review culture is huge. So for this reason, it’s a really good idea to encourage people to leave reviews after using your services. You should then share these online via your Google Business Profile, on social media or via your website. Social proof shows Google that people like what you do, and also gives other consumers the confidence to use your company.
Build Your Social Media Presence
As well as working on your SEO efforts, it’s vital to build your social media presence if you want to boost brand awareness and improve lead generation. Firstly, know where your audience spends time online as this will ensure you post to the right channels. Also, know your audience demographic and location as this will help you to work out when they’re most active online. Armed with this information you can then schedule your posts to ensure they’re seen by the optimum number of people. When you’re posting on social channels, check out what works and what doesn’t by analysing engagement rates, comments and using social listening tools to get an idea of company sentiment in a digital environment.
Top tip for marketers: When building your social media presence, know that different people like different things. While LinkedIn consumers love long-form content, Instagram is ideal for short-form video content. Tailor your approach to match the needs and demands of consumers.
If you’re looking to market your accounting firm online contact our accountancy marketing experts at Whitefish Marketing, we offer a range of services from SEO for accountants, website design, email marketing and much more – all tailored to the needs of your accountancy business.
