Lure New Clients to Your Accounting Website by Optimizing Your Brand's Online Indentity
When a potential customer performs a search for a CPA firm, they are mostly searching for a nearby firm. Search results will commonly be useless if they conduct a search on "CPA" or "accounting firm". They will more likely search on a location and a service, such as "Las Vegas Accountant" or "Tampa FL CPA".
The major search engines recognize such local searches. When they detect a local search, they will showcase the local listings on top of the organic listings. These local listings are often significantly more relevant then the organic listings.
Local Directories
There are other local directories such as AT&T Yellowpages, USDirectory, YellowBot, and many others. Many of them may already have a listing for your accounting firm.
The source data for your listings is likely to have originated from an assortment of third-party sources. These directories probably also have variations in your business name, firm location, or phone and fax numbers. This essentially creates multiple representations of your firm on the internet. This decreases the potential of the various local search engines to know which of your listings is the accurate identity.
Updating Your Contact Information
Change your address or phone number and update your CPA website? Unless you have control of your local directory listings, your updated data may never be reflected in the directories. The online directories make every effort to make certain they have accurate data. However, if you were at your previous address for 10 years, then there may be hundreds of websites and directories that display your business at the old address. All that outdated info can influence the major search engines into believing that is the right data.
Going Mobile
In an ever rising mobile world, society is relying on local data more and more. In fact 45% of local searches are performed by people who know the company they are searching for. These people rely on the accuracy of your data and expect to find your current phone number, address and driving directions. They are relying less and less on finding it via your web site.
Taking Control
For these reasons it is important that your company controls and proactively manages your local business identity. The local search platforms will have increased confidence that they have valid and accurate listing data. This also increases the local search engines ability to link other unique content such as customer reviews and social media.
You are able to do this yourself, but it's unlikely you'll want to. It's a LOT of work. It's not hard, but it is toilsome. First, use the major search engines to get hold of all of your existing listings and make sure all the business information is correct. Once that's done search for as many new directories as you can and submit your business to them. Keep careful notes! If your business information changes in the future you'll need to be able to change your directory listings, too.
Many companies have "Local SEO" services that optimize and manage your CPA practice's local listings for you. Your business is submitted to and consistent across lots of directories, including all the main local search platforms. The precise number of directories is different from service to service, but here at my CPA website design firm we submit to more than a hundred different sites. If you change your business details your SEO should also make certain your information is updated in the local directories. A good service ensures existing and new customers alike are able to find your accounting firm.