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Creating a High-Converting Website for a CPA

Maksym Bezorudko / 04.30.20181404

Creating a High-Converting Website for a CPA

In our blog, we have already covered such topics as “how to create an informational website”, “how to start developing a website”, and “which platforms are best for web development.”

Today’s article is all about creating a commercial website the main goal of which is to sell. Let’s see how it works based on the example of the accounting firm website design we have done recently.

Web Design for an Accounting Company: Goals, Objectives, and How to Reach Them

Here are the main goals for the best CPA website design:

  1. Create a nice marketing packaging for the company’s business online to attract potential clients
  2. Provide the necessary, brief information about the company’s service
  3. Finally, increase sales!

These goals bring us to a set of the following conclusions and solutions:

  • If you want to “package” your business right, a generic accounting company website template won’t do because if you want your visitors to convert into customers, your website has got to have:
    a. custom, mobile-ready, responsive design;
    b. well-structured content;
    c. calls-to-action (CTAs) and conversion forms.
  • Do not try to stuff all the information you have onto the website. The information should be brief, logically structured, and conveniently presented. The key sections of your website (the ones that actually lead to user conversion) should be placed up on top of the page. The rest of the information can go down to the footer (the bottom part of your website)
  • For easier navigation, you should create a fixed-position menu
  • Implement the online consultant feature and a clickable phone icon at the top of the web page and down in the footer – to be able to receive calls directly from the website
  • Buttons and UI elements that contain CTA (call-to-action) should be placed in the header, footer, and the fixed-position menu of the website

For CPA websites, the most appropriate CTA buttons would be “schedule an appointment”, “get free consult” and “submit a question”.

  • In the footer, you should provide your address and working hours so that people could be aware. Also, don’t forget to provide the links to your social media accounts
  • Also, to increase the number of internal links on your website, provide the anchor links to each section of your services in the footer

Anchor links are the links that have a keyword or a whole phrase in them, which allows users to preview the information they are about to get before actually clicking on the link.

  • If you want your website to load fast independent of the user’s Internet connection speed and get it ranked higher on Google, you should make sure that the website is in the “green” zone using a tool called Google PageSpeed Insights.

Please note: here’s a comprehensive article on Google PageSpeed Insights we posted on our blog earlier.

A CPA Website Case from Our Portfolio

Enough with the theory – it’s time to get practical! Here’s a recent work of ours – a website for a CPA/accounting company J.K. Whittaker & Associates based in Saint John and regarded as one the top players on the local market.

Quick fact: our work on the user experience for this website has received high praise from the world famous freelance design platform Behance!

Here is a brief overview of the main pages of the website.

  • Homepage

Homepage is the «face» of your website. Your traffic, your image, and the impression your brand leaves on the visitors depend on how pretty this face is. The right thing to do is list all the main services on your main page and explain why the visitors should prefer you to other companies.

Providing the companies you have worked with (especially if there are big names on the list) on the main page could also help make the first impression more positive.

Be sure to list the advantages of working with you and what makes your approach unique and more effective for the client. Ideally, this should be a quick video overview of your company and its services.

  • About Us

Another must-have section for a CPA website. This section will allow your potential clients to learn where you come from, how you started and how you got to where you are now.

Also, the «About us» section is the right place to declare your values and principles as a company. Presenting your team members can’t hurt too - this increases trust and establishes a human connection. Showing photos of your working process and office in general hits the same targets.

Other things to mention: the area covered by your services, certificates, licenses, and other important documents.

  • Services

The services offered by J.K. Whittaker & Associates are divided into 5 categories. If you are planning on doing SEO and getting your website a high ranking on Google search, it is crucial that every type/category of service is placed on a separate landing page.

Please note that the optimal word count for the text content (service description) should be more than 500 words. An ideal description must include the basic info about the service itself, how it is done, various options and additional services (if applicable) each complete with its own description.

You can also list the type of clients you usually work with and areas you specialize in so that these guys could easily identify themselves and react to the marketing message.

One important thing: it’s a common practice to state the price for your services (at least, in the «starting from…» form).

  • Client Reviews and Testimonials

We definitely recommend you to include this section on your CPA website. Everybody does it because it works - people like seeing and reading opinions of their peers and their experience with your brand.

  • Blog or News Section

Relevant news and useful, readable content are great for email marketing. In order to see which types of content perform better, don’t forget to track everything: article views, comments, likes, and other stats.

  • Contacts

Dedicate a special section on your website to contacts - provide all the possible ways of reaching you, including your company’s address, phone, email, social media accounts, messengers, etc. Don’t forget about the «submit your request» form.

Besides the obvious sections we have listed above, there can be other sections depending on the nature of your business:

  1. Financial tools and calculators used by your staff and consultants
  2. Accounting report blanks, calendars, and report periods
  3. «Job Openings» section

Of course, the list is not complete - if you feel like your website and its visitors are going to benefit from a new section not listed above, you should go ahead and do it.

The Best Channels for an Accounting Firm Website Promotion

If you are serious about the website and want steady incoming traffic, which yields orders and paying clients, you’ve got invest in its promotion. Promotion is your number one priority after the website has been launched and the content is all in place.

Typically, an accounting firm website promotion includes:

  • Top-quality, expert content (no filler)
  • Enabling analytics tools (Google Analytics and others)
  • On-page SEO and geo-targeting using webmaster

Make sure your website has «https» protocol before engaging in all those optimization, analytics and SEO activities.

Read more about the «https» protocol in this article.

After your accounting firm website SEO has been completed, you can move on to the next stage of promotion - figuring out the external factors which are influencing the positions of your SEO keywords for accounting on Google.

  • Most bookkeeping firms provide their services in a certain area - that’s why you should add your firm to Google Business directory to get indexed on Google Maps and receive an additional traffic boost.
  • You should start thinking about branding and retention of the future clients - that’s why we recommend you to create a code for attracting audiences for the future remarketing campaigns on Google and social networks (such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram).
  • Contextual advertising should also become your reliable source of incoming search traffic.
  • Crowd marketing is another great promotion tool. With its help, you can find discussions on forums and other websites that feature people asking questions relevant to the nature of your business or serve as an expert in your field replying to such questions. While doing so, you can provide a link to your website where people can learn more about the issue. This brings your quality, motivated customers, increases the traffic, and works great for your SEO!
  • Periodic email blasts to your clients. This way you can always remind them of your existence and also provide useful information like tax optimization, new legislation, remind of the upcoming reports dates, and more.
  • Of course, we can’t forget about social media marketing - it’s a part of your image whether you like it or not. So make sure your social media pages are regularly updated and feature likable posts.
  • Consider posting ads and classifieds promoting services on the local resources - as a part of the marketing campaign.
  • Get feedback from your clients and encourage them to talk about you. It could be anything - from reviews on your website to social media posts to Google Business reviews. As long as it’s positive, any public feedback is good. 

If you want to create your own accounting website with the best CPA website design and website content around, please contact us for a quote and/or consult.

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