It is a proven fact that an exceptional content-based approach to digital marketing works for accounting firms.
When compared to promoting high-quality, relevant content to other methods used in search engine optimization, it is a clear winner, both with search engines, and potential new clients. If approached strategically, content marketing for accountants produces sustainable results without blowing your budget.
Planning and implementing the appropriate digital marketing strategy will save you time, money and resources, and prevent deception from schemes that are not successful in generating revenue nor attracting qualified web traffic.
Effective content marketing for accounting firms needs to have a solid base of original, relevant and helpful content in a variety of mediums in order to attract qualified potential clients to your accounting firm.
What is Quality Accounting Firm Content?
The question is: “What is good content for accountant websites?” — that is, content that attracts potential clients, propels your business, and keeps search engines happy. The authority and value of your accounting firm’s website will impact the success of your online marketing activities.
We often are asked about “thin content,” since many accountants have had the term thrown at them in the past, so they are eager to understand what it actually is and if it can impact their accounting firm.
What is “Thin Content?”
“Thin” content is of low quality — it may be considered “superficial” as it fails to provide much, if any value to the readers who come across it. In the case of your accounting firm’s website, perhaps the content lacks the strength to comprehensively describe a specific component of tax preparation or to meet a potential client’s needs. It may lack enough originality to set it apart from another accounting firm’s content a similar topic. (And, if you’ve duplicated or plagiarized content from a different firm’s site, that content will mostly likely be judged as “thin.”)
Doorway Pages
Doorway pages are an array of pages for phrases or keywords that are only slightly different from one another. Devoting one page to each city in a state that you practice in is an example of “thin” content because the content is too similar for each page.
As Matt Cutts of Google said,
“If you were to land on that page, it might look relatively reasonable. But if you were to look at four or five or those pages, you’d quickly see the only difference between them is the city, and that’s something we’d consider a doorway, and not as useful.”
Thin Syndication
Another type of thin content is what’s referred to as “thin syndication.” This is the case when a firm harvests content from somewhere – usually a low-quality website – and then publishes that exact content to their own site. these generic, thin, article-bank pieces are unsuccessful in providing real insight or appeal to potential clients. Vague sites or sites that host content that you did not write yourself can lead to your accounting firm’s website to rank poorly in search engine results, and may possibly violate Google’s guidelines.
How can Thin Content Impact Accountant Websites?
Google exists to map out the world’s digital information and to offer users a search engine with the highest level of indexed content to address the inquiries (s)he initiates. To make this possible, Google reviews and judges a site’s content, and ensures that sites with poor-quality content do not rank well in search results.
Google released their Panda algorithm in 2011, and it has helped them towards that purpose. This algorithm was created to find content low in quality, or “thin content,” on websites and decrease those sites in a search engine’s rankings.
Above all else, we encourage you to become familiar with Google’s Webmaster Guidelines, and learning what practices and tactics are considered unethical. It is commonly referenced that being included in a search engine’s results is a privilege, not a right. The best accounting firm websites adhere to Google’s Best Practices, and they understand the value of quality website content for accountants.
How to Improve Accounting Firm Website Content
What to Do if You Have Thin Content
The easiest road to take if trying to avoid thin content is establishing your digital presence with a unique, client-based strategy that completely addresses the questions potential clients are asking, and also provides significant value to them as well.
If you believe you have thin content on your site, ask yourself how it can be improved to become more meaningful, educational, or distinctive to your potential clients. Start by getting rid of any content that you’ve duplicated from other accounting websites.
Unique, quality web content for accountants is part of the algorithm Google judges quality on. Provide original depth and research. Consider publishing a frequently asked questions page in which recurrent questions that your staff hears from clients are addressed.
We Help Accounting Firms with Effective Content Marketing
At AdInfusion, we are aware that digital marketing campaign is successful because of great content. We can show accountants how to expand their accounting firm’s reach and business through content-based marketing while liberating them from the expensive cycle of depleting resources – including time and money – on tactics that do not produce results.
There is no “top” of Google, but there are many potential clients with problems and concerns that your accounting firm can assist with. When you connect with those qualified clients, the valuable information you can provide them will encourage them to contact your firm for solutions.
There are no tricks or schemes that will credibly increase your rankings in a search engine’s results. “Overnight success” is a myth. If you are unsure about what works and what does not for marketing accounting firms — let’s talk about improving accounting firm marketing with high quality content. Contact us today! 916-798-5707
