Improve Your Visibility on the Internet
When I speak to accountants about improving their visibility on the Internet, I often begin with a discussion on making their websites more attractive to search engines. One of my favorite tips for accountants is to do a search for the terms you would use to describe your own website, including the geographic location. So, if you're based in St. Louis and specialize in tax preparation, search "St. Louis tax preparation," or "St. Louis tax CPA," or "St. Louis efile tax" – whatever you think best describes your practice. That's the first step.
Next, see where your firm's website ranks and note that information. Now, take a look at the firms that are coming up high in the search – the firms that appear on the first couple of pages of the search results. Examine those websites and try to determine what they’re doing that gets them to the top of the rankings. Maybe they present links to the latest news items that might interest their clients. Maybe they have downloadable tools for visitors, such as tax organizers or year-end planning checklists. Maybe they offer whitepapers or opportunities to send questions to members of the firm. These are the types of things that generate traffic and keep the site looking busy to the search engines.
Next, see where your firm's website ranks and note that information. Now, take a look at the firms that are coming up high in the search – the firms that appear on the first couple of pages of the search results. Examine those websites and try to determine what they’re doing that gets them to the top of the rankings. Maybe they present links to the latest news items that might interest their clients. Maybe they have downloadable tools for visitors, such as tax organizers or year-end planning checklists. Maybe they offer whitepapers or opportunities to send questions to members of the firm. These are the types of things that generate traffic and keep the site looking busy to the search engines.
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Gail Perry is Publisher at Sift Media US, Inc. and oversees the content on the Sift websites, AccountingWEB.com and GoingConcern.com. She has been the editor-in-chief at Sift Media US since 2007, overseeing the content on AccountingWEB.
Perry is a CPA and a former senior tax accountant with Big Four firm Deloitte. She maintains a small tax practice, she is a personal finance instructor, and the author of thirty books, including Surviving Financial Downsizing: A Practical Guide to Living Well on Less Income (Adams Media); QuickBooks on Demand (Que); Excel 2007 Macros Made Easy (McGraw Hill); The Complete Idiot's Guide to Doing Your Income Taxes (Alpha/MacMillan); and, most recently, Mint.com for Dummies (John Wiley & Sons). In addition, she is a former columnist for the Indianapolis Star and Indianapolis News daily newspapers.
Perry is a nationally recognized speaker who advises public accountants on using Internet tools to improve their accounting practices. She also taught a college-level introductory accounting class and was on staff at the Indiana CPA Society as a computer applications instructor. For five years, she was a contributing editor for Accounting Today magazine before taking over the helm at AccountingWEB.
Perry is a graduate of Indiana University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She returned to school to study accounting at Illinois State University, passed the CPA exam (in one sitting!), and worked for Deloitte in the Chicago tax department.
Gail has been named one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Accounting by CPA Practice Advisor magazine and the American Society of Women Accountants.
Perry is a CPA and a former senior tax accountant with Big Four firm Deloitte. She maintains a small tax practice, she is a personal finance instructor, and the author of thirty books, including Surviving Financial Downsizing: A Practical Guide to Living Well on Less Income (Adams Media); QuickBooks on Demand (Que); Excel 2007 Macros Made Easy (McGraw Hill); The Complete Idiot's Guide to Doing Your Income Taxes (Alpha/MacMillan); and, most recently, Mint.com for Dummies (John Wiley & Sons). In addition, she is a former columnist for the Indianapolis Star and Indianapolis News daily newspapers.
Perry is a nationally recognized speaker who advises public accountants on using Internet tools to improve their accounting practices. She also taught a college-level introductory accounting class and was on staff at the Indiana CPA Society as a computer applications instructor. For five years, she was a contributing editor for Accounting Today magazine before taking over the helm at AccountingWEB.
Perry is a graduate of Indiana University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She returned to school to study accounting at Illinois State University, passed the CPA exam (in one sitting!), and worked for Deloitte in the Chicago tax department.
Gail has been named one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Accounting by CPA Practice Advisor magazine and the American Society of Women Accountants.
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