Internet Marketing for CPAs: Blogging to Attract Leads

Today, even a beautiful, informative website is not enough to attract new leads. Right now your potential clients are searching the internet for quality content in the form of timely, authoritative accounting advice and industry news.

So how do CPAs establish their firm as a local voice of authority? Inbound marketing—a content-driven internet marketing strategy—gives you several platforms to showcase your expertise and improves your search engine ranking (SEO).

One crucial element of effective inbound marketing is blogging. However, your blog should not be a place where you post a few articles and then hope the content ranks in search engines. Blogging is an on-going marketing tool to help meet your firm’s objectives.

Internet marketing for CPAs means meeting company objectives that include

·         delighting your current customers with ongoing, quality accounting advice, which will cause them to endorse your services to friends and family;

·         becoming an invaluable resource for taxpayers in your town;

·         establishing your reputation as an expert; and

·         attracting new customers.

To help accomplish these goals, CPAs must include weekly blogging in their marketing strategy. In this article, you will learn why you must publish high-quality posts every week and how to optimize each post for search engines.

Why CPAs Must Blog

It’s simple: Regular blogging means you are creating new content for search engines to “crawl”. And if you optimize your articles with keywords, you will see not only an increase in traffic but also in qualified visitors.

Content marketing is the solution for today’s marketers, and if your competition isn’t already blogging, they soon will be. So, let’s get started.

Create a List of Keywords

Keywords are words and phrases that people will type into a search engine to find accounting advice in your area. The most effective keywords are long-tailed ones that are two to four words long. Create a hierarchical list of long-tailed keywords that best represent your services or those that will be popular blog topics. Be sure to include your town name, state, or county in some of them.

Here is a sample list to help you get started:

1.       2015 tax preparation

2.       North Carolina tax tips

3.       Dare County accountants

4.       2015 income tax tips

5.       small business accounting advice

6.       Nags Head tax consulting

7.       NC income tax tips

8.       federal income tax preparation

Over time, you will likely revise your list after you study which keywords generate the most web traffic. Install a tracking analytics service, such as Google’s. Google offers a basic analytics service that is free, plus an option for more in-depth features for a fee.

Use your long-tailed keywords in the following ways:

·         Article URLs: For example, instead of publishing a blog post URL such as “www.cpacompany.com/tax-tips,” use specific titles like “www.cpacompany.com/2015-nc-tax-tips.” Separate keyword terms with hyphens, not spaces or underscores.

·         Article Titles: Title your posts with specific terms. For example, use “2015 NC Tax Tips for Small Businesses” instead of “Tax Tips.” Never use obscure, vague, or “clever” titles for the sake of creativity—it is important to be clear, not only for your users but also for search engines.

·         Article Text: Place your keywords in the first or second sentence of each article. Then use the same phrase a couple more times within the page. Be sure that you do not stuff a post with key terms as your content might be identified as “spammy” by search engines.

·         Image Titles:  Title image file names with keywords. For example, instead of using the default image title automatically created by your camera, such as “IMG12345.jpg,” name it “income-tax-tips.jpg.” Also, never leave spaces in your image titles, always separate words with hyphens.

·         Image Tags: If you have a content management website such as WordPress™, make sure that you fill in the “alt” tag option with keywords (up to four words). Alternate tags not only help improve your site’s SEO, these tags describe images to blind users.

·         Meta Data: WordPress makes it easy to insert keywords into your posts’ “meta titles” and “meta descriptions.” The meta description is the descriptive paragraph that appears under individual blog article meta titles in a search query results listing. However, never populate the “meta keywords” field as this meta data is now considered obsolete by Google.

Craft SEO-Friendly Titles

Professionals who blog regularly know that dreaming up new titles can be a challenge. But you not only need a catchy title, you need a search-engine-friendly one. You must ask yourself what your potential clients are looking for on the internet. They are often searching for advice, so title your article accordingly. Here are a few examples:

·         “How to…”

·         “2015 Tax Laws on…”

·         “10 Accounting Tips for…”

Format Articles for the Readers

·         Avoid lengthy paragraphs.

·         Always include relevant images that are neatly aligned with the text.

·         Avoid using industry-specific jargon. Some people will leave your site if your articles are too technical. Plus, most potential clients will not be typing jargon into a search engine.

·         Break up long pages of text with subtitles, horizontal rules, bulleted and numbered lists, images, and/or subtle graphics.

·         Studies show that web users struggle while reading long lines of text. So, instead of stretching text across the full length of a blog page where there is no built-in sidebar, use columns of text like those in a newspaper.

·         Use text bolding for emphasis only. If you bold large sections of an article, you will lose the power to highlight a particular idea.

·         Unless you are formatting poetry or short quotes, never center-align large sections of text.

·         Limit text colors and font sizes. Stick with your site's predefined formatting theme.

More Blogging Tips

1.       Promote one keyword phrase in each article. Don’t attempt to stuff an article with three different long-tailed keywords.    

3.       Make sure that your blog articles contain 500 to 600 words.

4.       Use unique, relevant images and graphics.

5.       Include a call-to-action link in each article that takes visitors to a page on your website where they supply their contact information in exchange for a valuable content download such as a free whitepaper, eBook, or training video.

6.       Share your articles through your social media accounts.

7.       Encourage comments and always post timely replies.

With time, CPA firms will witness an increase in web traffic and lead conversions when they combine blogging with other inbound marketing efforts, such as social media interaction, email newsletters, and content offers.

Need help getting started with inbound marketing for CPAs? Contact the experts at 855-372-8392.

We look forward to helping our customers CREATE leads, CONNECT with customers, and GROW their business.

Real Estate Marketing: Blogging on the Rise

A recent study released by LinkedIn showed that 87% of content marketers are using social media platforms as part of their marketing tactics. Of those marketers, 91% prefer LinkedIn over its competitors.  Twitter and Facebook account for 85% and 81%, respectively. Real estate agents, in particular, see social media as an affordable platform to increase their visibility in the market, deliver improved customer service, and provide timely feedback and customer engagement. But there are other marketing tactics to consider.

Just behind social media, articles on websites (81%), and email newsletters (80%), blogging is making strides. Despite its affordability, businesses disregarded blogging as an effective tool just a few years ago. Today, blogging is seen as a sufficient development and marketing tool for most businesses, including real estate. There are a number of reasons for the increase in blog activity, and these are just a few:

• Blogs are now highly regarded as credible sources of news, insight, and information.

• Blogs do exceedingly well in internet search engines, thereby increasing traffic to your website.

• Blogs can be used to develop relationships with prospective homebuyers and sellers as well as nurture existing relationships with current customers.

• Blogs are more apt to be shared socially. As aforementioned, 87% of content marketers are using social media to gain recognition. Blog sharing through these channels will, not surprisingly, increase the amount of influence you have in your market.

• Real estate agents are creating leads and gaining customers as a result of blogging.

For your blog to be effective, you will need to gain an audience by establishing a reputation of expertise and developing content that will drive potential customers to your website.  Perhaps you’re wondering what kind of content will attract this attention. The most important thing to focus on is the customer.

Real estate agents are in the business of helping people buy and sell their homes, and this process comes with a lot of questions. By providing content that will suffice as answers to your customers’ concerns, you will develop authority and a voice in your market. You may also consider using blogging as a means to show your knowledge of the real estate market, the current housing trends, as well as real estate and mortgage news updates.

If you’re interested in blogging but don’t know where to begin, Paveya’s experts can help.  If you plan to start a blog or already have an existing one, we have a few helpful tips to consider:

1. Be consistent.  People tend to follow blogs similarly to the way they watch the news or read their favorite newspaper or magazine. They want information that they can rely on and in a timely fashion. If your posting becomes erratic, people may forget to follow you. To prevent this from happening, schedule your blogs to post on a specific timeline.  Consistency proves your sincerity towards your blogging and your business.
2. Format your blog in a professional manner. Providing a clear format—one that includes headlines, short paragraphs, bullet points, and images—will give your readers a chance to skim the content. Poor formatting will likely turn readers away.
3. Be precise. Write on specific topics and avoid ambiguity and general references. Your customers want explicit answers to their questions.
4. Develop unique content. If you find information that you want to share, be sure to site your sources. However, your goal should be to establish a voice of expertise in your subject matter, so original content is best.

For additional blogging and real estate marketing tips, contact Paveya at 855-372-8392.

We look forward to helping our customers CREATE leads, CONNECT with customers, and GROW their business.

Internet Marketing for CPAs: SEO Tips

Gone are the days when passing out brochures or promotional items, sending holiday greeting cards through the post office, or throwing a customer appreciation party will bring new customers into your office. Even a website is not enough. Today, potential clients are searching the internet for quality content and connecting with social media friends to find the best CPA in their town. So, to attract qualified customers, CPAs must embrace inbound marketing, a content-driven internet marketing strategy, or risk being trumped by the competition.

Effective inbound marketing starts with a website that is optimized for search engines (SEO). In this article, you will learn the basics of SEO that will benefit any CPA firm.

CPA Marketers

As a CPA, part of your job is marketing, and your ultimate marketing goals are

·         to delight your current customers with ongoing, quality accounting advice, which will cause them to endorse your services to friends;

·         to become an invaluable resource for taxpayers in your town;

·         to establish your reputation as an expert; and

·         to attract new customers.

To accomplish this, CPAs must begin by examining the performance of their website. If your website is not listed in the top pages of search queries related to your niche industry, many potential clients will not recognize you as a voice of authority or they might not even know that you exist.

Keywords

Keywords are words and phrases that people will type into a search engines to find your services. For example, use long-tailed keywords in:

·         Page URLs: Instead of publishing a page URL such as “cpacompany.com/services”, use titles like “cpacompany.com/tax-consulting” or “cpacompany.com/accounting-services”. Publish separate pages for each of your CPA services and populate it lightly with keyword phrases. Keep in mind that must people will not use CPA-specific jargon to search for your services, so, unless you are targeting industry professional, remove it.

·         Page Titles: Title your pages with brief, specific words. For example, use “Small Business Accounting” instead of “Accounting."

·         Page Text

·         Images:  file names and “alt” ta."

Quality Content

Social Media

Social media for CPAs? Absolutely. If you post insightful and useful tips for your followers, you can expect to pick up new clients with time. Interact with your followers. Use this potentially wide-reaching platform to answer accounting questions and offer tax tips. Headlines such as “10 Common Tax Mistakes to Avoid”, “5 Changes to Tax Laws Every Business Owner Must Know”, or “Tax Exemptions for Homeowners” will keep your users tuned in.

Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing begins with a website that is optimized for search engines (SEO), a social media campaign that engages followers, and a blog populated with high-quality content.

Blogging

Some CPAs dismiss marketing as a waste and believe that you just need to do a great job for clients or have lunch with a few possible referral sources and awesome new clients will consistently appear over time.  Their fear of the unknown world of marketing and potentially wasting money prevents them from being open-minded and even trying to understand its value.

The “Definers:” Other accountants choose to define marketing as whatever feels most comfortable for them.

“Marketing is a brochure.”

“Marketing is a website.”

“Promotional items are marketing.”

“Marketing is advertising.”

Accountants with this mindset will “check the box” that they have done “marketing” and made the proper investment.  What the “Definers” haven’t done is check out what their marketing-savvy competitors are doing to grow and even win over their clients!  The fear factor prevents these professionals from taking a hard look at what’s going on around them and embracing current marketing strategies to compete.

FEAR OF FAILURE

You didn’t enter in the CPA profession to write creative blogs, build engaged audiences on social media, speak to the media as an authority or shoot videos for your firm’s website.  Another reality check –> whether you like it or not, marketing is part of your job!  The fear of not being good at particular forms of marketing is often accepted as an excuse, and these professionals – including Partners – are granted passes to not participate.

But what if your competitors push their CPAs out of their comfort zones?  What if they mandate participation in marketing and provide training to their professionals from day one on the job?  You may not see the impact of “no marketing” immediately, but over a period of time your firm will find it very challenging to win substantial new clients.  You and your firm will be left behind.

If your firm has been paralyzed in some way by a fear of marketing, don’t try to make up for lost time in an ad-hoc, random and frenzied fashion.  Hire or consult with an experienced marketing specialist who will be able to relate and understand the dynamics at play and develop strategies and programs to get your accounting firm on the right track.  It’s never too late to conquer your marketing fears! 

Real Estate Marketing: Best Strategies for 2014

According to Forbes, the real estate market continues to make strides this year. There has been a 38% surge on new home sales since last year, and as of June, sales hit a five-year high. While the market continues to recover this year, real estate agents are seeking out new ways to market their homes and attract new business. Below are some tips for agents to consider as they coordinate their marketing strategies heading into 2014.

Get mobile friendly

Recent studies have concluded that SEO is going to take on big changes in the coming months, the biggest of which will include mobile searching. If your website is not already optimized for mobile searches, this should be your first priority. In this day and age, nearly everyone has a smartphone, and it is estimated that over 50% of web users are searching with that device. Moreover, 61% of those mobile searchers who land on non-optimized sites will immediately leave the page and return to Google.  In turn, this means that Google will begin prioritizing mobile-optimized sites in search results. It also means that sites that may have otherwise ranked highly for keywords or inbound links will actually get demoted for not having mobile-friendly compatibility.

Utilize Social Media

Most businesses have jumped on board with social media because they acknowledge these outlets as effective and efficient tools. Having both the ability to reach a wide audience and be cost-effective, social media serves as a platform to increase your audience and market your business. With so many social media sites available, it’s important that you focus on the ones that will gain you the most ground.  If you’re looking to connect with other agents or business professionals, LinkedIn would be a good option for you. There are over one billion monthly active users on Facebook and Twitter alone, so you will likely find it easy to reach your clientele there.  And if you’re looking to show off your listings using social media, perhaps your best option would be Pinterest. The primary purpose for Pinterest is the sharing of images, so its unique appeal may be best suited for real estate agents.

Whatever stage you take to in the social media world, it is imperative that you increase your presence there. Social media is expected to take on more of a role in SEO. According to studies, Facebook and Twitter, among other social media sites, are already influencing SEO results.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising

Perhaps the greatest benefit of pay-per-click (PPC) advertisements is that you can get your site in front of home buyers at the exact moment they’re searching for listings. Unlike organic search results, these PPC ads give you more control over when and how your ads show up. Because you tell the search engine what keywords to use, which geographic areas to target, and what your ads will say, you are essentially paying for the specific type of traffic that you want.

Videos

Statistics show that 90% of home buyers begin their search for a new home on the Internet, and as a result of these Internet home searches, 62% of these people walk through a home that they viewed online. With such a heavy emphasis on Internet real estate searches, real estate agents who want to convert those interested parties into real home buyers need to improve their online presence. Videos are a great way to do that. It has become increasingly popular to provide virtual tours of your homes as it allows potential buyers to search for their dream home without having to physically be there. This, of course, benefits you as the agent as well for that very same reason.

Most Effective Marketing Strategies

Over the years, real estate agents have used a multitude of tactics to build their business and market their listings. With the rapid changes in SEO and the increasing usage of Internet searches, agents will have to continue to adapt. Heading into 2014, real estate agents should focus on making their website mobile-friendly, increasing their presence on social media, utilizing pay-per-click advertisements when necessary, and providing videos/virtual tours of their market listings.

If you have any questions about how you can improve your marketing strategies in this growing real estate market, Paveya can help. We have a team of experts in web design and development, SEO, social media, and mobile marketing who understand the real estate industry and have been helping real estate businesses large and small take their business to the next level. Call us at 855-372-8392.

We look forward to helping our customers CREATE leads, CONNECT with customers, and GROW their business.

Real Estate Internet Marketing: 5 Video Topics to Attract Buyers

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) says that 90% of home buyers use the internet to research properties. Before 2013, customers considered photos helpful but now video dominates real estate marketing. The NAR also states only 3% of agents put their listings on YouTube™. With the help of video editing software and video sharing websites such as YouTube or Vimeo™, real estate agents must leverage this highly effective marketing tool or risk being trumped by their competition.

This article will help you generate ideas for producing real estate marketing videos. Quality video content will help establish you as an authority in your niche market and present your listings in a more comprehensive and convenient way for web viewers.

Topic 1: Property Listings

Gone are the days when website text and photos held the attention of a potential buyer. The most effective marketing for property listings are the one to three minute videos that guide a perspective buyer around the exterior and grounds and through each room. This approach allows visitors to experience the flow and charm of the property. Typically, your videos will feature you talking about the appeal of the home, special features, and the neighborhood, which can be added during the video editing stage.

Topic 2: Open House Exclusives

Open house events provide an ideal platform to focus on a home’s appeal to potential buyers. In your videos, include a tour of the home’s interior and add clips of people seeing a particular room for the first time or gazing out a window to take in the view. Capture people enjoying the property. For example, use shots of someone walking through the lawn; a family gathered on a porch; or a child jumping onto a tree swing. Experiment with interesting angles such as ground-level and bird’s eye perspectives, both inside the house and outside.

This is also a perfect opportunity to store up clips of real people admiring your properties and interacting with you, all of which you can use in future promotional videos.

Topic 3: Agent Profiles

Agent profile videos can be produced in different ways but these usually feature an agent talking about their education, certifications, passion for the real estate industry, and their personal connection to the community in which they work. Whatever you decide to discuss, keep agent videos short—no longer then one minute. Avoid producing a video of just your face—include clips of you interacting with clients at one of your listings. It is best to use real situations with voiceovers that explain, for example, your real estate experience; staged clips of a scripted conversion will look fake and come across somewhat disingenuous.

Topic 4: Client Interviews

Interview a customer who has experienced a particularly successful transaction through your agency. Ask the customer to describe the experience from beginning to end. Here are some questions that you can ask to get the conversion moving.

1.       What initially brought you to my website?

2.       What convinced you to do business with me?

3.       What attracted you to this community?

4.       What do you love most about your new home?

5.       Explain why you will recommend my real estate services to your family and friends?

If you are interviewing a buyer, be sure to add clips of the home, grounds, neighborhood, and the client enjoying their new home.

Interview videos require a bit of creative editing but it will be well worth your time.

Topic 5: Community Highlights

Videos are vital for developers and realtors who want to promote a community lifestyle. Compile video clips of amenities such as community walking paths, ponds, swimming pools, and playgrounds, plus nearby schools and shopping centers. Add shots of real people enjoying the community as this will send a powerful message to potential buyers.

Want to read more about marketing with video? Get our realtor’s video marketing eBook by clicking here.

Need help optimizing your videos for search engines, Paveya is ready to help. Call us at 855-372-8392.

We look forward to helping our customers CREATE leads, CONNECT with customers, and GROW their business.

Inbound Marketing: How to Develop Your Buyer Personas

For successful inbound marketing, it’s important to develop buyer personas. Why? Well, first ask yourself if you are aware of who your ideal prospects are and how you can reach them. Do you know their challenges, needs, and goals? You shouldn’t just have an idea of your target audience, you should also be aware of their personality traits.  What affects them when they’re making purchasing decisions? These are important things to consider because developing buyer personas will greatly enhance your ability to market your audience.

So what exactly is a buyer persona?

It is a representation of your ideal customer that’s based on real data and educational speculation about customer demographics, behavior patterns, motivations, and goals. They are semi-fictional characters that are meant to represent your dream customer. These characters should display the following:

• Common behavior patterns
• Shared pain points (both professional and personal)
• Universal goals, wishes, and dreams
• General demographic and biographic information

Buyer personas are not:

• A target market
• A professional role
• A specific real person or people group
• Affected by changes in technology
• Just fluff

What goes into a buyer persona?

You will need to develop detailed descriptions about each buyer persona and include a profile checklist, including:

• Name
• Job title or role—What is their position and seniority?
• Company/Organization
• Goals—What are they trying to achieve?
• Challenges—What stands in the way of their goals?
• Watering holes/hang-out spots
• Personal background
• Shopping preferences
• Demographic information

Once you’ve created a profile for your buyer persona, you can identify their needs. The profile(s) are the perfect outline. Now you can ask yourself—what problems are they trying to solve? What information are they looking for? What current trends are influencing their success?

How do you create a buyer persona?

First, you have to do a little digging. You can begin with some research of your existing customer base to identify the most common buyers of your product or service. It’s important to note that you probably have several types of buyers, and that’s okay, but you need to create a new buyer persona for each of them. You can find this information through:

• Interviews with current customers
• Research and surveys
• Form fields on your landing page
• Talking with your sales team

Integrating your Personas

Once you’ve built your personas, you can use this information to tailor your content. You know who your customers are and what they need, and now you can enrich your marketing strategies to best reach that audience. Focus on that research that told you where they shop, what influences their purchasing decisions, where they hang out, what their preferences are, and what challenges them. Maybe you need to increase your online presence through social media. Are your customers on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or LinkedIn? Wherever they are, be seen there. Perhaps they’re searching the web for how-to’s and tips. Make sure you’re blogging to meet those needs or providing that information on your website.

After you’ve completed this process, you should have a better understanding of who you’re trying to reach and how to better reach them.

If you have any questions about buyer personas or inbound marketing, Paveya is ready to help. Call us at 855-372-8392.

We look forward to helping our customers CREATE leads, CONNECT with customers, and GROW their business.

WordPress Version 3.7: Automatic Version Updates

The first release (RC) candidate of version 3.7.1—a version of the software that is functional but not quite ready to be released to the consumer market—has been made available by WordPress.

WordPress is now encouraging developers to participate in beta testing the RC, but only on non-production sites, and then post any problems on the WordPress support forums. The new version is planned for an official release next week.

So what does this mean for WordPress site owners? Although there aren’t any new mind-blowing features to report, this update introduces these important—and convenient—functions:

• automatic background updates for security
• automatic minor releases (like updating from 3.7 to 3.7.1)

Note that the automated updates will not include major releases, which will still need to be manually installed by your web developer.

Need help installing the latest version of WordPress for your website? Let the pros at Paveya help, call us at 855-372-8392.

We look forward to helping our customers CREATE leads, CONNECT with customers, and GROW their business.