Today on the Rules of Thumb blog from MoneyThumb we are going to clear up any confusion you may have about SEO in general and show you what local SEO efforts can do for your small accounting firm. If you don't know anything about SEO, (search engine optimization,) never fear. It is not as hard or technically challenging as you might think. SEO is the efforts put in to make sure you rank on search engines. Local SEO simply comes down to being found by people using a search engine such as Google and adding their location in their search terms.
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If you are a small local accounting firm looking to grow your business, you want to be found on Google when someone enters a search for an accountant in your area. Over the last few years, local SEO has become much more important in the overall picture, because people normally search for what they need using local keywords in their searches, whereas years ago it was common just to type in your need, leaving off any location preferences.
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This is how it works. A small business owner in Orlando, Florida, for instance, will be looking for an accountant based in Orlando. Thus, it's crucial for CPAs and accountants to rank prominently in local search results. In this case, "Orlando Accountants," or "Orlando CPAs."
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Your first task for local SEO is to list your business location so you will begin to show up on Google Maps. Once you register with Google as a business and your listing start to show up on Google Maps, potential clients will be able to find your location easily, along with your phone number, photos, a link to your website, your address with directions, and other pertinent information.
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Getting started is really easy and takes about five minutes. Log in with a Gmail email account. Enter the details about your business, including your Web site URL. You will then need to verify that you are the business owner. Make sure your listing is complete and accurate. It is important to ensure that your business location is entered correctly on the map so users can find you easily. You can drag the map marker to your exact business location. You can include images and videos to help your listing stand out. This will help your ranking when Google crawls and indexes your Web site.
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There are several other pertinent steps to local SEO. To really be a runner in the race you need Reviews and Testimonials on your Google listing. Google uses reviews and feedback to improve search results. On your new Google Business page, users can review your business and make you stand out further in the search results. Google also is surfacing reviews from third parties including Yelp, CitySearch, and InsiderPages. Encourage your current clients to review your business on your Google Page and these other Web sites.
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Also, even if you use local SEO to boost the rankings of your accounting firm website, it still is very important to continue to optimize your Web site. You can do this by building links that go to your Web site, submitting your site to all the major search engines, and submitting your site to directories in order to gradually bring up your ranking.
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Another great way to make sure local SEO is being implemented for your small accounting firm is by blogging and using your location as keywords. For instance, you will write blog posts that include the words "accountant Orlando" several times, but naturally, in your text. This helps with both local SEO and SEO in general.
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As you can see, there are several ways to have local people find your small accounting firm on Google and other search engines. But even if the only advice you take from today's Rules of Thumb blog post is to add your business to Google Maps, you are way ahead of small accounting firms in your area who disregard this one easy element that will help you rank locally in search engines.
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