Apply These 10 Pointers to Find CPA Clientele Utilizing Accountant Websites

Accountants come in all sizes and stripes - with some focusing on individual tax returns, others on business leadership such as CFO services, and others still on smaller-segment fields such as the equine industry.

One undeniable truth binds them all together: regardless of how broad-based or specialized their business, they need to obtain a clientele, or they will go under. This hurts not only you, but the entire community. Irrespective of how competent or client-centered an accounting professional is - without enough customers to provide revenue and keep the lights on, his company will go under.

Therefore, one of the first and most important question any accountant can ask is, How do I get my clients?

The best way is with serious accountant websites.

The internet is today what the yellow pages was a few decades ago. These days, you have to have an online presence, or your marketing efforts will fall flat.

This won't change in the future, either. With thousands of students studying accounting, coupled with one of the most challenging of economies, finding clients is becoming a very competitive endeavor. Having a website will remain critical.

Here are 10 tips for how to use accounting websites to find accounting clients:

1. Make sure your website looks professional. These days, it is extremely easy to create a website. Plenty of options exist for you to not only get a web address, but also pick a professional design that's targeted exclusively to the clients you want to attract.

2. Don't try to do it yourself - use a web designer. While your strength is with numbers, a professional web designer knows how to make your site look great and run smoothly.

The key to designing accountant websites is to keep visitors on your site once they are there. To that end, your site should be both lovely to look at and chock full of helpful info.

3. Don't overlook the importance of social media sites for getting the word out. This isn't as much of a hassle as you may have heard, although the more energy you put into it the better your results will be. The simple act - which takes all of half an hour - of creating profiles on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn is enough to gain exposure.

The king of social media right now is Facebook. Start there. Make a personal profile first, and then mock up a simple "fan" page for your accounting firm. Ask your friends and current clients to "like" your page and you're on your way. You can use these sites to send out advertisements about business deals and reminders about tax season.

4. Links are vital to generating traffic - so, on your website, be sure to post links to your social media pages. When folks see your website and approve of it, it'll be easy for them to click on your social media link. This will help you get even more traffic. A "like me on Facebook" or "follow me on Twitter" link will expose you to even more potential clients.

5. Post links to the websites of your notable clients. People judge you by the clients that have hired you, so brag a little about who trusts your work.

6. Useful websites for generating leads are online merchant sites such as eBay and Craigslist. Sites like these, along with other, similar ones, see mega numbers of visitors, and when you advertise in their classified section, your visibility goes through the roof. Normally, there is no charge to list services; advertising with these sites will expand your reach to well outside your local client base.

7. Don't forget about ads in the newspaper that include your web address, which still work well for local clients. Getting people to click on links and visit accountant websites is a lot easier than getting them to drive accross town to visit or even just pick up the phone and call. Take a look at your local papers. You might be able to also get in their online edition, where you could either be listed in their "marketplace" or be featured in a banner ad. Where possible try to concentrate your ads in business and financial sections and include a tag line that will entice business owners to call. Look into websites for publications in surrounding towns that are a reasonable driving distance for potential clients.

8. Hike it up a notch; look for websites that advertise specifically for accountants. Accountant-Finder.com, for example, is just one of many sites that provide potential clients with a starting place to find you.

9. Bid system and lead generating websites such as adknowledge.com are plentiful online. Use them the right way - as part of your overall marketing efforts - and you could see some nice results.

10. Lastly, make it a point to find the veterans in your field. Ask how they find clients, and then mimic them. There's no point in reinventing the wheel. Using Internet resources such as Websites 4 Accountants is a great way to learn new tricks and tips that can greatly improve your lead generation, which will then increase your sales.

Folks who tell you it's simple to obtain prospects and grow a prosperous CPA practice are, unfortunately, not telling the whole story. However, when you use a quality CPA website as your starting point, your marketing can be very successful - and more than worth the hard work.

Kenny Marshall is a marketing consultant and one-time VP of CPASiteSolutions.com. His area of expertise is marketing small firms by taking advantage of good quality accountant websites. While using social networking websites and SEO forms the basis of his methodology he also stresses the importance of good, old fashioned networking and excellent customer service in helping CPA firms build their customer bases.