Some accountants have all the leads and new business enquiries they can handle, want or need. Others want more business and I regularly see questions from such accountants on facebook and other online platforms. They want to know what works best (for others) so they can decide where to invest their time, effort and maybe even some money.,
Some of the accountants I work with also ask similar questions and, in response, I always make two key observations:
1 – What works best for someone else doesn’t guarantee it’s the right choice for you unless you’re sure you seek the same types of clients, offer the same services, deliver them in the same way, charge the same sort of fees and so on.
2 – Wherever you promote your services, bear in mind that your adverts, posts, comments and marketing generally are likely to lead people to your website. Even the most effective marketing in the world may then be rendered worthless if your website doesn’t effectively convert initial interest into enquiries from the type of clients you really want.
A good website, of itself, will rarely attract or generate leads and clients. First you have to get people to visit the site, That’s not the issue for this week’s blog post. Instead I offer you 25 ways in which your website may be working against you.
This is commonly at least part of the reason you are not attracting the business you want. It could be that your website is giving a poor impression, discouraging your target audience and suggesting that you, your style and approach are out-of-date.
I offer my advice without fear or favour and from an entirely independent and objective perspective as I do not offer website design or copywriting services.
Let’s start by remembering that your website needs to appeal to your key target audiences which may include:
- Prospective clients who are simply searching online for someone to help them
- Anyone who wants to check you out – they could be prospective clients, competitors, networking connections, possible collaborators, referrers, Linkedin connections or journalists. They already know the name of your firm or your name, perhaps through personal introductions, your social media activity, your networking, your Linkedin profile or your other marketing and branding efforts
- Potential new staff, partners or suppliers – who might just be searching online or who might know of you/your firm and want to learn more before getting in touch or proceeding further.
I have categorised the 25 most common mistakes I see under four key headings: Messaging, Missing elements, Design flaws and problems with your calls to action.
To be fair, plenty of successful accountants have websites that may make some or all of the 25 mistakes listed below. But I would argue that this does NOT prove the points are irrelevant, Simply that, in some situations some of the points may be less crucial than they are for the majority.
And, what no one will never know is, how much MORE business those (apparently) successful accountants could be attracting if they were to resolve the mistakes set out below.
Message mistakes
1 – Bland, generic statements and assertions that could be on any accountant’s website. What about YOUR values and YOUR distinct approach, focus and expertise?
2 – Typos, poor grammar and/or poor English
3 – Not specifying who should most want to appoint you – beyond ‘anyone’ who needs an accountant. Being clear as regards your specialisms, ideal clients, preferred work style and fees may mean fewer time wasters and more ideal prospective clients getting in touch.
Stuff that is missing
4 – Hiding your name and/or that of key members of your team and their expertise, interests and focus. You may not want to do this but you are competing with many firms who, by sharing such information, invariably appear more open and attractive.
5 – One or more welcoming, smiling and suitably ‘professional’ headshot photo(s) of you and any other key contacts at the firm. Again, you are probably competing with other accountants that have such photos on their websites and, thus invariably seem more attractive than those that have no such photos.
6 – What makes you different and special as compared with other accountants? Your experience, background, style, approach, preferences and anything else about you that makes you stand out positively from other accountants, and which may positively influence your ideal target clients. How else do you think people choose who to appoint?
7 – Being clear who should NOT think about appointing you. Do you want just ‘anyone’ who is looking for accounting or tax services to get in touch?
8 – Testimonials and recommendations that will provide strangers with some comfort that you are as good as your website claims you to be in serving clients like them
9 – Where are you based? Locations are useful for SEO purposes and also to help prospective visitors find your office. Transport and parking details can be helpful too.
Design flaws
10 – Slow to load pages – risking visitors giving up
11 – Absence of key message to grab attention of your target audiences when they first arrive at your site
12 – Use of interchangeable stock images of ‘accountants’ and failing to show who YOU are.
13 – Website doesn’t look good on mobile and tablet devices (when was the last time you checked?)
14 – An out of date blog – your designer insisted on this but it’s out of date and rarely updated. The intention may have been that a regularly updated blog would be good for SEO but if the blog is left to fester it’s of no such value and risks giving a negative impression to anyone browsing your website.
15 – Too much clutter and tools that don’t help get visitors of your site to do what you want them to do. (Some old-fashioned sites still contain a link for ‘news’. Who goes to an accountant’s website for news?)
16 – Single strip of content down the middle of the screen
17 – Tiny default font size that reduces the prospect of visitors trying to read it
18 – Confusing menu structure – probably with too many options on it. Check too that your key services are listed, especially if these have evolved since the website was first built for you.
18 – Too many pages that don’t help your target visitor know if you’re the right accountant for them
20 – Social media buttons that you were told you NEED to include but which probably work against you if you are not posting regular relevant content to the social media platforms concerned. A ‘twitter’ (vs ‘X’) link also evidences you don’t keep things up to date.
21 – Too much generic SEO focused content – which is only relevant to people who don’t already know (of) you – and which simply attracts visitor numbers that make your website designer happy, despite most of them not being your target audience.
Problems with your calls to action
22 – Too many pages that do not link directly to a name and a phone number or any other way to get in touch with you. What’s the point of all those pages if not to prompt action?
23 – Requiring all visitors to complete a form if they want to get in touch. (At least tell them if they will be sent a copy of the form). If you won’t you let them email (or even phone) you because too many time wasters may do this, then perhaps you should look to better focus the messages on your website!
24 – Requiring all email messages to be sent to a generic email address that starts with admin@ (or worse, sales@) rather than with someone’s NAME
25 – Failure to include ONE phone number at the top right of the screen (which has become the default place that we expect to see it)
