By their nature, accountants often eschew promoting themselves and their services. For years we were told it was ethically improper to promote ourselves, but in the present day, it’s very common for accountants to take the lead in self-promotion. If you want new business, it’s imperative that you find ways to get your name in front of potential clients so that you can compete in today’s market.
First, consider how you locate someone to perform a service. Your first step is to determine what type of work you want done, figure out the key words that you should search for, and then head to the computer or mobile device and search for those key words. You might need someone nearby, so you’ll include your city in your search criteria, but if you’re looking for a service that doesn’t require an in-person connection, you could be search the entire country or even beyond our borders for the person with the specific skills you need.
Now flip that scenario because you are the person you want potential clients to find in their search. Here are some techniques you can employ to make sure you show up in the search results.
- Think of the key words that best describe the services you offer. This might include words and phrases like Sales tax, Nexus, Out-of-State tax, Taxation of online sales, E-commerce taxation, Use tax, Multistate tax, State and local tax, and so on.
- Using a key word search tool (see sidebar), enter the key words you thought of and see what other key words people search for when looking for your words. This will give you a great idea of all of the terms that people use when they want to find a state and local tax professional.
- Fill your website with the key words and phrases that you discovered in the above step. The more you use these words and phrases on your website, including in page titles and metatags, the more likely you will come up in search queries.
- Populate your site with links and have other sites link to you. Inbound and outbound links improve your search ranking.
- Drive people to your site using social media tools. Posting interesting information on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn as well as sites like Reddit, Pinterest, Google+, and others will attract the attention of people who use these sites. For example, if you’re looking for clients who have Etsy shops, start populating the Internet with links to a page of tips you have created for Etsy shop owners.
- Make sure the information on your website is current and that you make it easy for customers to contact you.
- As you generate clients and business from your Internet activity, ask new clients for brief testimonials that you can post on your website. Seeing that others have discovered you and are satisfied will provide more reasons for future customers to request your services.
Once you start using Internet tools to expand your client base, you’ll see what works best for you and can focus your attention on those areas.
Sidebar: Sites that Provide Keyword Search Assistance
Internet Marketing Ninjas: www.internetmarketingninjas.com
Majestic: https://majestic.com
SEOBook: www.seobook.com/keyword-tools/seobook/
WordTracker: www.wordtracker.com
Keyword Discovery: www.keyworddiscovery.com/search.html
Ubersuggest: www.ubersuggest.org
SEMRush: www.semrush.com
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Tags: Automation, Sales Tax
