MARKETING MATTERS

SEO basics for financial services firms

BY DAVID R. PETERS, CPA

The way we shop has changed. No

longer do we travel around from store to store looking for the perfect birthday gift. We simply go to Amazon. No longer do we call a restaurant to order take out. We simply use GrubHub. We book airline flights, pay our bills and even schedule our doctor’s appointments online. We are very comfortable with doing things with as little human interaction as possible. In fact, we seem to prefer it.

So why do so many financial services firms allow their clients to do so little online?

While it is true that nearly every accountant, attorney and insurance agent has a website, too often they show only the barest of facts. If you don’t believe me, try doing a Google search for “accounting firm.” Many of the search results will be businesses that will only list a name, address, phone number and the services they offer. Indeed, these websites are little more than electronic versions of a business card. To a prospective client, there is very little differentiation between one accountant and another. After all, what insights can they really glean when all they know is that you do “tax preparation for individuals and small businesses?”

When I have posed this question in the past to CPAs, many tell me how most of their new clients come from referrals, and that accounting is a relationship business. I do not want to discount the importance of referral-based business or client relationships, but it’s important to realize that a website can be a powerful way for attracting new clients that you may not be able to reach with your current client base.

The numbers speak for themselves. According to Comscore.com, we average more than 12 billion searches per month in the United States. And the Search Engine Journal website says 93 percent of online experiences begin with a search engine. The key to reaching the clients you can’t see is making your website easy to find and a tool for building connections. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the marketing term for doing this. It involves making focused efforts to ensure your website shows up when relevant key words are searched for by potential clients.

SEO might sound expensive and complicated. It doesn’t have to be, but it does take persistence and effort. Generally, the more popular your website is and the more relevant content you have, the higher your site will rank in unpaid search results. Paid ads will always appear first, but the more you build up a content library that is useful to target clients, the higher you will be in the unpaid search results and the more findable you become. For example, if your practice targets small businesses, you might consider blogging about small business tax credits, succession planning or key employee life insurance. Such topics would naturally be attractive to your target clients. You can also build your website’s popularity by providing helpful tools and resources for your clients. For example, telling a client what he/ she might need to bring for a tax planning meeting can be insightful for the client and lessen the amount of time you spend chasing down documents. You could provide the opportunity to make appointments online or tell them unique aspects of your approach. The key is to think about what your clients would find valuable and then help them differentiate you from everyone else. To do this, however, you must offer insightful information about yourself. Simply putting a phone number on your site is not enough. Keep in mind that if a potential client wants to call you, they will probably get your number from their search engine. But if they are clicking around your website, they probably aren’t ready to talk yet! Make sure your site provides them with information that meets their needs and makes them want to call you.

A word of caution: Building strong website content is not something that is simply done once. Nothing will kill an SEO strategy faster than out-of-date content and broken links. New content that consistently appears on the website is necessary for implementing a successful SEO strategy. Just like any lasting relationship, it takes time to develop a connection with clients you can’t see. It does pay off in the long run, though. In the meantime, just remember — financial services are built on relationships, whether you can see the client or not. n

DAVID PETERS, CPA, is the strategic relationship manager and financial advisor for Carroll Financial Inc., in Charlotte, N.C. He is also an adjunct professor in accounting, insurance and ethics, a doctoral student in financial planning and sits on the Disclosures Editorial Task Force.

dpeters@carrollfinancial.com connect.vscpa.com/DavidPeters www.carrollfinancial.com

The information discussed herein is general in nature and provided for informational purposes only. There is no guarantee as to its accuracy or completeness. Nothing in this article constitutes an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy any type of securities. Registered Representative of and securities offered through Cetera Advisors Network, LLC, Member SIPC/FINRA. Advisory services offered through Carroll Financial Associates, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor. Carroll Financial and Cetera Advisors Network, LLC are not affiliated.