SEO for accountants: 10 effective strategies to attract new clients

In this article, we will explore effective SEO strategies specifically tailored for accountants to attract new clients. Having a strong online presence is crucial for accounting firms: by implementing these SEO techniques, you’ll boost your website’s visibility, drive organic traffic, and ultimately grow your client base.

What is SEO for accountants?

SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of optimizing your accounting firm’s website to increase its ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs) when potential customers enter relevant phrases into Google or other search engines.

This is important for several reasons:

1. Firstly, organic traffic generated through SEO is of high quality and has the potential to convert well. When users find your website through organic search results, it means they are actively searching for the products or services you offer. They are already interested and motivated, making them more likely to engage with your content, explore your offers, and ultimately become customers.
2. Additionally, organic traffic has no limits and can continually grow over time. By leveraging SEO, you can create a blog on your website and attract more traffic through informative and engaging articles. A blog provides the opportunity to publish as much content as you want, unlocking the potential for an infinite growth of organic traffic.
3. Another key benefit of SEO is its cost-effectiveness compared to paid sources of traffic like Facebook ads or Google Ads. In short, SEO is a relatively low-cost method of promoting your site.
4. Working on SEO boosts your site’s overall quality. You improve usability, content quality, and more. It’s not just about raising SEO metrics — it’s about making the site more effective as a whole.

Strategy #1: Mastering keywords for SEO success

To optimize your online presence, you must identify the keyword phrases that your target audience uses when searching for accounting and related services. Examples of relevant keywords: “accounting services”, “accounting services in Brooklyn”, “tax planning services near me”. These keywords reflect the specific terms your potential clients are likely to use in their search queries. By incorporating these keywords strategically throughout your website, you can improve your visibility in search engine results and attract qualified traffic to your accounting firm

Let’s take a look at the search results for the keyword “accounting services in Brooklyn.”

Going forward, your goal should be to secure the best possible position for these keywords, thus ensuring that your accounting firm’s website ranks high in Google results and attracts more search traffic.

Your keyword list should be as broad as possible, covering the entire search demand of users and capturing their search intent. Try including keywords for important business regions such as “accountant in Brooklyn” or “accountant on [specific street].” Additionally, incorporate keywords for the various services your business provides, such as “small business accounting”, “hospitality accounting”, “non-profit accounting” and “real estate accounting.”

There are several resources you can use when researching keywords. Standard tools like Google Keyword Planner can help you analyze search volume and competitiveness. Meanwhile, professional tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush offer advanced features for comprehensive keyword research.

Keywords play a crucial role in tracking the effectiveness of your site’s SEO. You can analyze the visibility and positions of your site based on the collected keywords using tools like Seranking and Topvisor. Moreover, keywords are instrumental for further SEO work, as they are inserted into texts, Titles, Descriptions, and used to create an optimal site structure.

By building a robust keyword list and strategically utilizing it throughout your website, you can enhance your visibility in search results, attract targeted traffic, and ensure success of your accounting firm’s SEO efforts.

Strategy #2: Optimize site structure and expand pages

The structure of your website plays a pivotal role in achieving SEO success. As the website owner, it’s essential to create a comprehensive and well-organized structure that caters to the full spectrum of search demand. This can be accomplished by leveraging keyword phrases.

For instance, if you notice that users are searching for “Small business accounting”, it is crucial to create a dedicated page on your site that focuses on this service. By optimizing the resulting page for relevant keywords, you can attract targeted traffic and potentially acquire new clients.

To emphasize the significance of site structure, let’s take a look at a website that has implemented such a strategic approach.

As you can see, this site has created a wide array of pages that target various services and industries. Each page is optimized for specific keywords like “accounting services for real estate” and “accounting services for law firms.” This comprehensive approach maximizes the potential to drive traffic and attract clients from these specific segments.

By expanding the structure of your website and consistently creating new pages that address relevant keyword phrases, you can increase your visibility in search engine results. This comprehensive approach ensures that your site adapts to the diverse needs of your audience.

Strategy #3: Craft magnetic title tags for SEO impact

The Title tag is an essential element of the page code that indicates the title of the page. It holds significant importance for search engines, particularly Google. When properly crafted, the Title tag helps Google understand the content of the page and enables it to display the page for relevant keyword phrases.

The content of the Title tag should include keywords that are relevant to the page’s content. However, it is crucial to ensure that the Title remains readable and user-friendly. For instance, if we consider a group of keywords like “accounting for small business” a SEO-optimized Title for the page could be: “Accounting Services for Small Business in Brooklyn, NY.”

Here is an example of a well-optimized Title on an accounting company website: 

In this instance, the Title clearly communicates essential information to both search engines and users. It highlights the specialization (“Small Business Accounting Firm”) and the location (“Chicago, IL”). Additionally, it includes the brand name (“Lewis.cpa”). By incorporating these relevant keywords into the Title, it enhances the visibility and ranking potential of the page in search engine results for queries related to small business accounting services in the Chicago area.

By optimizing the Title tags across your website’s pages with relevant keywords — while maintaining readability — you enhance the chances of your pages being correctly understood by search engines and displayed to the right audience.

Strategy #4: Create compelling SEO-optimized texts

In order to enhance the search engine rankings of your webpages, it is crucial to optimize the content with relevant keyword phrases. Let’s explore the importance of incorporating keywords into your texts effectively.

Take, for example, the “Tax Planning Services” page from Colonial CPA.

In this example, the headline prominently features the main keyword, “tax planning services”. Furthermore, the body text includes phrases such as “tax planning,” “tax planning for business,” and “tax planning for individuals.” By strategically integrating these relevant keywords throughout the content, the webpage becomes more aligned with search queries related to tax planning services.

However, it is essential to ensure that the text remains readable, avoid keyword stuffing (excessive use of keywords) and maintain proper grammar and lexical accuracy. Additionally, the content should be unique to provide value to the readers and avoid duplicate content issues.

To optimize your texts effectively, you can utilize tools like Grammarly to check for grammar and writing clarity, and Copyscape to ensure the uniqueness of your content. These tools assist in refining your texts for optimal readability, accuracy, and search engine optimization.

Strategy #5: Integrate Google Search Console for valuable insights

One of the essential steps in optimizing your website for SEO is to add it to Google Search Console. This powerful tool provides valuable insights into your site’s performance in Google search results.

By adding your accounting firm’s website to Google Search Console, you can access important data about your site’s visibility and keyword rankings. You’ll be able to see which keywords your site appears for in Google search and how many clicks it receives for each keyword. This information helps you understand how your site is performing and identify areas for improvement.

Take a look at the screenshot below to get a glimpse of the Google Search Console report that shows keyword performance:

Google Search Console offers other valuable reports as well. You can monitor whether Google has imposed any manual sanctions on your site, such as penalties related to poor quality content or a problematic link profile. It’s crucial to stay informed about any issues that might impact your site’s visibility and take necessary steps to address them.

Here’s an example screenshot illustrating the Manual Actions report in Google Search Console:

By regularly monitoring and analyzing these reports in Google Search Console, you can gain insights into your site’s performance, make informed SEO decisions, and ensure that your website is optimized for better visibility and higher rankings in Google search results.

Strategy #6: Overcome technical hurdles with SEO optimization

To achieve quality SEO optimization, it is crucial to ensure that your website is free from technical errors that can negatively impact its SEO performance. Common technical errors include slow loading speeds, broken links and duplicate content. Addressing these issues is essential for maintaining a healthy SEO profile.

To check your site for technical errors, you can utilize the Screaming Frog SEO Spider tool, which provides a comprehensive scan of your website and identifies important errors that need to be addressed.

Another critical aspect is optimizing the loading speed of your site. You can assess your site’s loading speed using tools like https://pagespeed.web.dev/. Strive for the best possible loading speed: it is an important ranking factor for Google.

Furthermore, Google Search Console (mentioned earlier) serves as an additional resource for detecting technical errors. It can provide notifications regarding issues such as slow loading speed or problems with indexing. By addressing these issues quickly, you can improve your site’s SEO performance and overall user experience.

Here is an example screenshot of Google Search Console highlighting technical issues for further review and optimization:

By prioritizing technical SEO optimization, you can ensure that your accounting firm’s website operates smoothly, provides a positive user experience, and achieves higher rankings in search engine results.

Strategy #7: Harness the power of schema markup

Implementing schema markup is crucial for improving your website’s ranking and helping search engines like Google better understand its content. Schema markup involves adding structured data to your web pages, providing additional context and relevance to search engines.

By implementing schema markup, you can optimize your site to display rich snippets in search results, which enhances the visibility and click-through rate of your website. This means that potential visitors can see additional information directly in the search results, such as ratings, reviews, and price range, as seen in the example below:

To optimize your site’s schema markup, focus on marking up important data such as articles, company information, customer reviews, and more.

Website owners can explore the various types of schema micro markup by referring to the comprehensive documentation provided by Google.

Additionally, they can use the Google Rich Results Test tool to ensure their markup is correctly implemented and displayed in search results.

Strategy #8: Fuel success with effective SEO blogging

Your blog is an invaluable resource for driving quality and relevant SEO traffic to your website. By regularly publishing informative and engaging articles, you can attract and engage your target audience while establishing your expertise in the accounting industry.

For instance, as an accounting firm, you can write articles on topics such as “Tax Deductions for Businesses” or “Tax Deadlines in 2023.” These topics provide valuable information to your readers and can generate organic traffic from individuals searching for related keywords.

One effective technique for finding relevant blog topics is to analyze your competitors. Tools like Semrush allow you to analyze competitor websites — their accounting blogs, in this case — and identify which articles attract significant traffic. By understanding what topics resonate with your target audience, you can create unique and high-quality articles on similar subjects, ensuring your content is better and more valuable.

Here is an example screenshot of a website blog analysis using Semrush:

In the screenshot, you can see that certain topics attract 2,000 or more users per month. By incorporating these topics into your content plan, you can create articles that have the potential to drive substantial traffic to your blog.

Additionally, when it comes to writing blog posts, you can also leverage AI tools such ChatGPT. ChatGPT is an AI language model that can help generate content ideas, provide writing suggestions, and assist you in creating engaging blog posts.

Here is an example of what ChatGPT can do:

By keeping a well-maintained blog, analyzing competitor insights, and leveraging AI tools, you can drive more SEO traffic to your website, establish thought leadership, and attract potential clients in the accounting industry.

Strategy #9: Dominate local SEO with Google My Business

One effective strategy for accountants to increase their online visibility is by leveraging Google My Business. By creating a Google My Business profile for your accounting firm, you can enhance your local SEO efforts and attract additional traffic.

When users search for local accounting services, they often encounter a map in the search results that displays various local companies. These results offer crucial information, including location details and concise descriptions, effectively enhancing the visibility of your firm, even if your website’s SEO ranking is currently low.

To ensure your Google My Business profile ranks high in Google Maps, there are a few key steps to follow. First, make sure to provide complete and accurate information, including your contact details, company description, and working hours. 

Secondly, encourage your happy clients to leave positive reviews about your services, as these reviews can boost your profile’s credibility. Finally, regularly update your profile with new information, such as details about new services, articles, answers to frequently asked questions, and timely responses to both positive and negative feedback.

By optimizing your Google My Business profile, you can improve your local SEO presence and attract more potential clients from your area.

Strategy #10: Build a strong link profile for SEO authority

A crucial factor in search engine rankings is the link profile of a website. The underlying logic is simple: if a site is linked to by other reputable and high-quality websites, search engines like Google will consider it to be valuable and deserving of user attention, resulting in increased visibility in search results.

To kickstart an effective link building strategy, register your site and company in various directories. These directories can include business directories, website directories, and niche directories specifically tailored to accounting organizations. Typically, these directories allow you to include a link to your company’s website, which helps provide valuable backlinks that positively impact your link profile.

By actively seeking out and securing links from reputable directories, you can strengthen your website’s link profile and improve its overall authority and visibility in search engine rankings.

Powers resources to supercharge your accounting SEO

Are you looking to enhance your SEO knowledge and stay up-to-date with the latest strategies and trends? Here are some valuable resources that can help you navigate the world of SEO and improve your online presence:

1. Google's SEO Starter Guide: kick off your SEO journey by exploring Google’s official SEO guide. This comprehensive resource is a must-have for understanding the fundamentals and best practices recommended by the search engine giant itself.
2. Search Engine Journal (SEJ): SEJ is a reputable blog which offers a wealth of SEO news, tips, and interviews. Their informative articles and expert insights will help you keep up with the ever-changing SEO landscape.
3. Neil Patel's Blog: Neil Patel is a renowned digital marketer and his blog is a treasure trove of valuable SEO advice and strategies. Explore his insightful articles to gain valuable insights and practical tips to optimize your website.
4. Competitor Analysis: Study your competitors’ websites using Semrush or other SEO tools. Analyze their traffic sources, top-performing pages, and get inspired by their SEO tactics. This can provide you with fresh ideas for promoting your own accounting website.

These resources will help boost your website’s visibility and attract more clients to your accounting firm.

Wrapping up

Optimizing your accounting firm’s online presence through SEO is crucial for increasing visibility, attracting more clients, and staying ahead of the competition. While each accounting company’s website requires a tailored approach, the strategies outlined in this article provide a solid foundation for success.

Whether you choose to implement these strategies yourself or get help from an SEO specialist or agency, the key is to take action and prioritize your online presence. By investing in SEO, you can unlock the full potential of your website, reach your target audience effectively, and establish your firm as a trusted authority in the accounting industry.

Remember, SEO is an ongoing process that requires continuous monitoring, analysis, and adaptation. With the right SEO strategy in place, your accounting firm can thrive in the digital landscape, attract more clients, and achieve long-term success.