Local SEO for Accountants
When it comes to SEO for accountants, many firms get so lost in tweaking landing pages, updating title tags and analysing their Core Web Vitals for fast loading speeds, that they totally sideline local SEO. This is a real shame considering that local SEO techniques can boost brand awareness in specific regions and draw in new business from people who live nearby. This local audience, attracted to you by where you’re based, can then become a loyal fanbase, relying on your services whenever they need accountancy advice.
So, with all this in mind, a local SEO strategy for accountants is highly advisable. Here’s a handy guide to set you off on the right foot.
What’s Local SEO Vs SEO?
“But we’ve been doing SEO.” Yes, you probably have and that’s great. However, there’s quite a big difference between local SEO and traditional seo for accounting firms. With regards to traditional SEO, your goal is to rank well based on keyword phrases. This requires significant research and an understanding of search data. But location doesn’t matter. You’re not trying to target any region in particular and your keywords can be broad. With traditional SEO, ongoing content is the core focus. The more blogs and articles you produce, the more keyword opportunities will arise. You should also have some sort of link building strategy to help get links back to your site from reputable sources. This, in turn, will boost your digital reputation.
Traditional SEO isn’t easy. It’s hard to rank for common keywords as they have huge amounts of traffic and high click-through rates. Therefore, SEO experts spend a long time looking for long-tail keywords that might be less popular in terms of searches but have higher conversion rates due to their specific nature. As searchers are usually looking to find a solution, SEOs try to answer broad questions in their content to ensure it’s as searchable as possible.
Local SEO differs in many ways. For this strategy, your main goal is to rank at the top of search results in your local market. The location should be your focus and research should be around forming Local SEO keyword phrases that’ll boost your rankings. People searching locally are usually looking for a specific kind of business – just like yours – and may want to source you on the map in order to access your services in person. Local SEO terms also tend not to be as competitive as more general terms, particularly if you’re one of the only accountancy firms in the area. With local SEO, you can also use many off-site tactics to reel in your audience.
And if you’re still wondering why local SEO is necessary. Here are some stats for you:
- Roughly 97% of people who use online searches look for local businesses.
- ‘Near me’ searches have increased more than 500% in the past few years.
- 78% of local searches on mobile result in an offline purchase.
- 62% of consumers will disregard a business if they can’t find them online.
- 30% of all Google mobile searches are related to location.
Local SEO is therefore extremely important. But what can you do to raise your local profile?
#1 Create and Optimise a Google Business Profile
Digital marketing for accounting firms is a must. And Local SEO should be part of this strategy. The first thing you should do (if you haven’t already) is to create and optimise a Google Business Profile. This is a free tool that can greatly help to improve your online presence for local searches. When someone searches your firm’s name, a profile, called a knowledge panel, will pop up with your firm’s information like address, phone number and website URL.
By creating a Google Business Profile, you have the opportunity to appear for searches like ‘accounting firm near me’. Once such a search is conducted, the Google 3-pack will appear. These are three results deemed to be the most relevant. And it’s your job to nail one of those spots. To do this, make sure all business information is correct and that you’ve included pictures of your business. As a good reputation will get you far these days, you should also showcase reviews on your Google Business Profile. Taking advantage of the ‘post’ feature is also a must. This allows you to promote blog posts, sale announcements, events and more. Clients not only need to find you, they also need to read more about your company and decide if you’re a good fit for their requirements. The more information you provide them with, the easier this will be.
#2 Build Your Local Citations
Everything you do online must be consistent as this helps to build trust and credibility. When building online citations (a mention of your firm and its information), it’s really important that details about your firm are correct including address, phone number, opening hours, and so on. If your business appears consistently across the web, people will see you as they conduct their research and your local rankings are likely to be boosted.
Areas to build your local citations include:
- Yahoo Local
- Yellow Pages
- Apple Maps
- Bing
- Google Business Profile
Building citations can take time, but it’s worth it for improved visibility. Get more brand mentions by going to sites where you think your business can be listed and entering information manually. If this is too laborious, think about using citation building services to speed up the process. Before using such services, however, make sure they have the right information about your firm. This is crucial considering 68% of consumers say they would stop using a local business if they found incorrect information in local directories. And 80% of consumers lose trust in local businesses if they see incorrect or inconsistent contact details or business names online.
#3 Make the Most of Reviews
Reviews let you know what you’re doing well as an accountancy firm, and can often provide constructive feedback. Reviews can also build trust, generate more sales and result in higher rankings. This is because Google is looking to present reputable content and if your brand is constantly being praised, it’ll be seen as a good option for a local SEO search. Reviews greatly impact the way people view your brand too. In 2021, 77% of consumers ‘always’ or ‘regularly’ read them when browsing for local businesses.
Setting up an online review funnel is therefore a crucial part of any local SEO strategy. As an accountancy firm, encourage consumers to leave the reviews you want by creating a hassle-free procedure and sending out reminders when necessary. Reviews can be left via Google, Facebook and the Better Business Bureau.
#4 Create Location-Specific Pages
One of the best ways to boost local SEO traffic is to create location-specific landing pages for each of your services. For example ‘bookkeeping in Maidstone, Kent.’ This appeals to people in a specific region and can be optimised with plenty of local SEO keywords. Therefore when people in the area make a search they will likely be directed to your page. Use keyword research to fuel your landing page construction and titles. Make sure that each page has a minimum of 350 words including location-based keywords so that Google views it as valuable content. Sparse pages tend to rank more poorly as they’re considered not as informative.
#5 Create Content with a Local Focus
If you want to increase brand awareness in a specific region, it’s a good idea to create content with a local focus. You could write about your own accountants and how their specialist services can help local clients, you could create accountancy guides and blogs directly tailored to people in your area, you could mention any local events such as recruitment drives and how you’re involved, and maybe even partner with other relevant businesses from the area – a legal firm for example – to create mutually beneficial content. Use location-based keywords throughout, particularly in titles and meta data. You should also use location hashtags on social media if you share your content to platforms such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram as this will create further buzz.
As well as posting to your own sites and social pages, you might also want to write guest blogs for local sources including articles for your local newspaper as this will improve your link building strategy while getting your brand name out in specific regions.
If you’re looking for local SEO assistance, speak to Whitefish Marketing today.
