Having an online presence is very important for an accountant in the digital age. According to the QuickBooks Accountant Technology Survey, most accountants find that having a website and social media presence helps them grow their business.
That said, merely having an online presence isn’t enough to take full advantage of the internet as an accountant. To grow your client list, strongly consider investing in local SEO for accountants.
What is Local SEO?
Search engine optimization (SEO) involves adjusting the various elements of a website so that it has a better chance of appearing in relevant online search results pages. The content of a given page can influence its ranking in search results. So can technical factors, such as how well a site performs across all types of devices.
Local SEO is a subset of SEO. It helps a site or page appear in relevant search results pages when users perform location-specific searches.
For example, SEO in general may help a website perform well when users search for “accountants,” “how to find an accountant,” etc. Local SEO is more applicable if someone is searching for “accountants near me” or “accountants [insert city/town/region/etc.].”
How Can Accountants Benefit from Local SEO?
Accountants tend to serve clients in their geographic areas. An accountant’s web presence should reflect this.
Benefits local SEO can offer accountants include:
Optimizing SEO Spending
An accountant may need to invest some time and money into the process of optimizing their online presence. Local SEO helps them achieve a high return-on-investment.
Focusing on general SEO when improving a website or online presence may drive more visitors to the site. However, those visitors might come from all over the world. Thus, they might not all be able to become clients of an accountant.
Local SEO, when effective, helps an accountant attract website visitors from their region. Those visitors are much more likely to become paying customers.
Focusing on Local Topics
One element of an SEO strategy may involve posting valuable content on a website. For example, an accountant could offer a blog or vlog with advice for their target audience.
Both federal and state laws can impact the services an accountant offers. With a local SEO strategy, an accountant can focus on providing content that accounts for state laws and local regulations. The content will offer even more value to an audience as a result.
In addition, an accountant’s website and social media profiles could speak to local issues, reflect the local culture, and generally indicate an accountant is a member of the community. Leads may be more inclined to hire an accountant who they know is a genuine neighbor.
Reducing Competition
SEO is always competitive. That said, if you’re an accountant employing a general SEO strategy, you have to compete with every other accountant’s website.
That’s not necessarily the case if you prioritize local SEO. Although you’ll still have competition, it will mainly consist of the websites of other accountants in your region. Limiting your competition in this manner can profoundly simplify the SEO process.
Local SEO for Accountants is an Art and a Science
The above are just some of the ways an accountant can employ a local SEO strategy to grow their business. Just remember, local SEO involves a degree of experimentation. You may have to test various methods and tactics to optimize your web presence.
Doing so is worthwhile. Luckily, you always have the option of coordinating with local SEO professionals. They may help you develop and implement the proper strategy for your business and client base.
Main Street ROI offers local SEO services to accountants and professionals across a wide range of industries.
