How Not to Screw Up Your CPA Firm's New Website

With the Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM) Summit coming up, I thought it would be appropriate to touch on CPA firm websites. If you are interested in turning your old website into a great lead generation and marketing tool, read on for some quick do's and don'ts to get you started.

Do ...

• Optimize your site for search engines. There are hundreds of thousands of people searching for various CPA related services on the search engines everyday. You can turn each page of your website into another "fishing line" with strong educational content that addresses the concerns of your prospective clients.
• Collect prospective clients emails. Don’t forget the power of the newsletter as an additional touchpoint with prospects. Trust is a key component in a prospect's decision to work with your firm. An email newsletter can be an easy way to build credibility long after your last meeting or phone call.
• Start a blog. Blogs are great tools for accounting firms to use in their marketing because they accomplish everything from maintaining client relationships to lead generation. For example, each blog post can be sent to relevant clients and prospects to help build trust and a relationship through education. (Plus, they make great e-newsletter content.)

Don't ...

• List vague solutions on the website. Your prospective clients likely know more about their symptoms than the real problems that are keeping them up at night. For example, a client may know that their internal audits are coming back with more irregularites than usual. However, they may not know that your service of "internal control evaluations" means you can fix their problem.
• Base your website on your org chart. It is a common mistake to let internal politics drive the content of your CPA website rather than focusing your audiences’ needs. One way to ensure this does not happen is to invite a client to be part of the Web design planning process to ensure their needs are being met.
• Focus your blog on tax laws. Blogs that are focused toward a sector like construction or manufacturing will be much more relevant and useful than one focused on a broad topic.

This blog post was originally published on the Priority Blog at priorityresults.com/blog. Priority Integrated Marketing is now BlueSpire Strategic Marketing.