For accounting firms, securing local clients is crucial for the sustainability and growth of their practice. While time-honoured marketing strategies such as word-of-mouth referrals and printed advertisements remain valuable, the advent of the digital age calls for a more innovative approach. This article delves into impactful local SEO techniques to enhance your practice’s online visibility. By implementing these local SEO strategies, you can effectively connect with potential clients in your area, ultimately broadening your clientele and reinforcing your professional presence in your locality.
How does local SEO work?
Local SEO works by helping Google identify the geographical location of your business and the services it provides. Additionally, it can enhance the perception of your business as being reputable and popular. These elements contribute to improved rankings when users conduct relevant searches.
In determining the ranking of businesses on Google Maps and within the ‘local pack’ (see the section Optimise your Google Business Profile below, for more information about what the ‘local pack’ is), Google evaluates three primary criteria:
- Relevance: The degree to which the business aligns with the user’s search intent.
- Distance: The proximity of the business to the user’s likely search location.
- Prominence: The level of recognition and positive reviews associated with the business.
Conversely, when assessing webpages in standard search results, Google takes into account factors such as:
- Relevance: The extent to which your webpage corresponds to the user’s search query.
- Quality: The usefulness and reliability of your content.
- Usability: The overall performance of your webpage, which includes aspects like loading speed and mobile compatibility.
Enhancing your accounting practice with local SEO
Local SEO refers to the optimisation of search strategies for local-based queries. Potential clients are searching for terms like “accountants near me” to avail of accounting services which are local to them. Search engines like Google handle these local queries differently than broader searches, such as “best accountants.” Effective local SEO can significantly improve search visibility for businesses with physical locations.
Search engines use a variety of local signals—including content, social media profiles, links, and citations—to rank businesses in local searches. By utilising local SEO, accountants can attract nearby clients who are actively looking for their services.
For instance, a small accounting firm with a well-designed website may initially struggle to attract clients. The firm could see improved rankings by adopting local SEO practices—such as creating a properly optimised Google Business profile, listing the business in local and accounting-specific directories, and encouraging positive client reviews. Within a few months, this could potentially place the practice among the top three search results for accountants in the area.
Tips for implementing local SEO in accounting practices
Follow these simple strategies to optimise your accounting website for local SEO.
1. Identify relevant local keywords
Conducting comprehensive keyword research is essential for attracting business to your practice. Use resources such as Google Keyword Planner, customer feedback, and competitor research to create a list of relevant local keywords.
Focus on terms that include geographic locations or specific bookkeeping services such as ‘bookkeeping services in Leeds’. Prioritise keywords by search volume and relevancy and regularly update your keyword strategy to keep pace with market trends and evolving search behaviours.
2. Optimise website content
Enhancing your website’s content is essential for local SEO. Begin by featuring your location prominently in your homepage’s title and content. Include your practice’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) to assist search engines in confirming your details.
Create separate pages for each location if your practice serves multiple geographic areas. Additionally, ensure that all locations are added to your Google My Business listing to improve visibility in local searches.
3. Maintain accurate NAP (name, address and phone number) citations
Your NAP must be consistent and accurate across all online platforms, including business directories and social media. Inconsistencies in your information can negatively impact your search rankings.
Consider using tools like SEMrush’s Listing Management tool to check and manage NAP citations. Review your online presence for errors, ensuring your business information is up-to-date and correctly displayed.
4. Gather relevant backlinks
To improve how easily your website appears in search engine results, it’s essential to accumulate high-quality and trustworthy backlinks. (A backlink is a link to your website from another reputable website.) Search engines like Google and Bing evaluate links from reputable websites within the accountancy sector and mentions in local news outlets and directory listings.
These factors contribute to determining your practice’s reputation and visibility online. Investing time in obtaining backlinks from partners, local media, and online directories can significantly benefit your search engine ranking.
5. Ask for reviews
Online reviews are crucial in influencing your business’s position in search results. For instance, Google favours businesses that promptly respond to reviews, signalling that the company values client feedback.
Regularly monitoring your business listings for reviews is essential. Motivating customers to share positive feedback can boost the visibility of your listing. Consider sharing a link to your reviews page in client emails or posting it on social media to motivate clients to provide feedback.
6. Localising website landing pages
Developing focused landing pages with content specifically designed for various geographic regions can significantly enhance your visibility in local search results. You can foster deeper engagement and substantially improve your search performance by carefully selecting and targeting relevant local keywords and addressing potential clients’ distinct needs and interests in those particular areas. This strategic approach attracts a more relevant audience and helps establish your reputation as a local authority in your industry.
7. Optimise your Google Business Profile
When users perform local searches, they frequently encounter a “local pack” on the search engine results page (SERP), showcasing a map and information about local businesses. To increase the likelihood of appearing in this local pack, it’s essential to complete your Google Business Profile and Bing Places listing thoroughly. A fully optimised profile enhances your chances of being noticed by individuals searching for local service suppliers.
8. Refine your on-page SEO
On-page SEO focuses on improving your content’s relevance and visibility through high-quality writing, strategic keyword selection, and optimised headings. It holds significant importance in local search engine marketing by enhancing elements directly within your accounting website, going beyond external factors like backlinks.
A well-executed on-page SEO strategy can elevate your search engine rankings and help you engage more effectively with your target audience. Integrating a well-planned combination of keywords within your content and meta tags can significantly enhance the visibility of your accounting firm. This approach will help you draw a more specific audience, thereby elevating your standing in local search outcomes, particularly within the local pack.
9. Monitor local listings
Securing local business listings is essential for any firm seeking to maintain an accurate online presence. Continuous monitoring and managing these listings are vital to ensure potential clients can easily access correct and up-to-date information about your services.
To effectively manage this, regularly scan the interface of your listing tools to identify any inaccurate or inconsistent details. Promptly addressing discrepancies is crucial to avoid misleading potential clients and adversely affecting your local search rankings.
Establish a consistent schedule—such as a monthly review—to check, update, and correct your listings. This routine helps prevent the accumulation of errors and preserves the integrity of your local SEO strategies.
10. Track results and keep optimising
For accountancy practices, maintaining and improving local SEO search rankings involves continuous monitoring and optimisation. Local search rankings can change frequently due to algorithm updates, competitive movements, and shifts in consumer behaviour.
Assess the effectiveness of your local SEO initiatives and pinpoint improvement areas; tracking your results is essential. Several analyses can be performed, but three metrics stand out as particularly significant:
Rankings
The search engine results displayed on Google are tailored to the searcher’s previous activity. To gain insight into your actual rankings, utilise a tool like Google Search Console (formerly Google Webmaster Tools).
Regular check-ins at least once a month will help you stay updated. To conduct a more thorough data analysis, it may be advisable to utilise a premium tool that tracks your Google Business Profile and webpages, automatically providing automatically refreshed ranking data from all your SEO initiatives.
Traffic
Google Analytics is one of the best tools for tracking traffic to your website. You can analyse overall site traffic, the performance of individual pages, and the percentage of visitors from Google searches. Review your traffic reports monthly to identify any long-term trends that may inform your strategy.
Conversions
A conversion represents a specific action you want your prospects to take, such as contacting you for a promotional offer. Google Analytics allows you to track different types of conversions, including both phone and web conversions. It also helps identify which services drive the most conversions and highlights the highest and lowest conversion rates of web pages.
Conclusion
Optimising your local SEO is an ongoing journey that necessitates constant adaptation to the evolving digital landscape and a thorough understanding of your target audience’s needs. By implementing the strategies outlined above, from conducting effective keyword research and creating high-quality content to analysing competitors and engaging with your local community, you can strategically align your firm to achieve success in the competitive landscape of accounting services.
Investing in local SEO is not merely about enhancing search engine rankings; it’s also about fostering connections with your community, building lasting client relationships, and ensuring the sustainable growth of your practice.
As you refine your local SEO approach, remember that digital marketing can transform how clients discover and engage with your services. Your accounting firm can thrive in today’s digital-first environment with a consistent commitment to local SEO. Need help to implement local SEO on your website? Reach out to us; we can help you boost your online presence and generate leads.
