SEO Guides, Tips & More!

When considering a new website design, many marketing directors generally will use this opportunity to focus entirely on the visual design of the site. While a good looking website is important, it is also important not to overlook other important elements. These include fresh content, flexible functionality, and most important, strategically placed conversions. Accounting marketing professionals often “forget” that the firm’s website can be used as a sales tool to generate additional opportunities for the firm. Remember, clients and prospects are coming to your site (in part) to get information. To take advantage of these opportunities requires a website that is not only visually stunning, but practical, engaging, and information-rich as well. Beyond having quality information, there are other considerations that need to be made about location, positioning, and timing of presentation. To help accounting marketing professionals identify opportunities with their website, we have provided some tips to get the process moving below.

The Home Page

The homepage is often the most important page on the site because it generally gets the most traffic. For this reason, many companies often “cram” as much information as possible about any number of topics. The hope is that as people view the page, they will find something of interest and be encouraged to explore further. The problem is that the more information you stuff on the homepage, the less likely the user is to remember it. When it comes to home pages, less is definitely more. Simplifying and prioritizing what you put on your home page is key. Ask yourself, what audience are you appealing to? What type of content will engage them and keep them on the site? The more focused and targeted content you can deliver, the greater the chances your targeted audience will stay engaged on the website.

If your firm has a blog, including a link to your blog and current posts is a great way to share fresh, relevant, and timely content. Ask your visitor to do something or a call-to-action. The purpose of your homepage isn’t for the user to look at and then just leave. By including a call-to-action, you are ensuring an experience with your site, company, and brand, which is the whole point of your website!

Visual Content

This includes the use of pictures, images, graphics, infographics, and videos. While these elements can’t make up for weak content, they certainly help make the content that you do have more appealing. Plus, people rarely take the time to read copy on your site word for word and most will click away from a page if it is just loaded with large amounts of text. Using visual content will encourage visitors to stay and read what you have written, help break up large chunks of text, and likely give you a greater return on your content investment.

Photographs and images that are relevant to your industry show the visitor what you offer and help them more deeply understand the services offered. Including professional photos of your team in action or professional headshots will help clients connect and feel comfortable on the site.

Adding interactive content like infographics and videos is also important to the content marketing strategy. Ideally, these should be visually engaging, discuss subject matter that is appealing to your clients, and support the other content across your website and social channels. As an added bonus, they are more likely to be viewed and shared, which in turn will keep people on your site longer, drive traffic, and increase your website visibility in the search results. Again, the key is including visual content that will highlight and call attention to what your firm has to offer potential clients.

Content Timing

Timing is crucial when it comes to content marketing and the sales cycle. Let’s face it: for the most part, accounting is deadline-driven. This means that there are certain times of the year when you should be talking about a specific topic relevant to the target audience. For example, pushing content related to benefit plan audits in July or August makes little sense when the deadline for submission is July 31^st (for plans with a calendar year end). It is quite unlikely that a prospect will be searching for that service at such a time. It makes more sense to focus on other services during this time period.

So not only is engaging content important, but also the timing of when the content is delivered. Remember, you want to deliver the most relevant information at the most opportune time for your prospects. To be effective with website marketing, it is essential to have a sense of the sales cycle for the core services and deliver relevant messaging.

Content Accessibility

What are the best ways to reach your prospects? Have a simple, easy-to-use navigation system that leads users to the information they are searching for. Make it easy and quick to find content on your site. Include products/services pages that let customers know what you have to offer them. Detailed, but concise descriptions of what your firm brings to the table will be helpful. Back up what you say by including a testimonial/case study page showing the success of companies that you have served in the past. Updating this page regularly will show visitors your authority and expertise is current. Offer whitepapers, case studies, free samples, and trials as a way to interact with prospective clients before they are ready to buy.

Contact Us

Hopefully we have given you some things to think about when it comes to content and a website redesign. If you have questions about your firm’s current site or your firm is looking at a designing a new website, let us know.