One of the questions I get with the most consistency from tax and accounting professionals is: How can I generate more leads?
For established firms, it can be a question of generating better leads than the ones they’re currently receiving. For new firms, it tends to be about generating any leads at all to help launch their business.
But whether I’m talking to an established or new firm my answer is always the same: focus on Google.
Google is the unquestioned behemoth of all things search. The vast majority of searchers are going to pop on over to Google and type in something like…
“best accountant near me”
“bookkeeping services”
“Chicago tax planner”
And they’re going to trust the results that Google provides them. Your next amazing customer is out there, looking for Google to tell them who is trustworthy (and who isn’t). Whose content is valuable with consistency (and whose isn’t). It’s your job to get visible to those leads. To drop a line in the Google search stream and start to fish.
But how do you start fishing?
In my last note, I went over the recent Google leak from May where over 14,000 ranking factors and 2,500 documents were exposed. (Send me a reply, and I’ll forward you that email if you want it.)
This leak represents an unprecedented treasure trove of information to sift through and glean from. As a follow-up to that note, I want to touch on two of the most important ranking factors that I didn’t cover. These factors are unique because, unlike so many things with ranking on Google, they are quite knowable and in your control. They are…
Time
Consistency
In the decade I’ve worked in the tax and accounting space I’ve talked to and worked with a wide variety of professionals. I can safely tell you that the most successful tax and accounting professionals I’ve worked with are those who allow their marketing efforts time to develop and mature.
Consistency (and not chasing every shiny new object) is a key to success in business (and life, yes?). Patience and persistence with the right strategy and team can yield amazing marketing results. I’ve seen it happen over and over again.
Compared to paid advertising, where you’re giving money to Google to be on page one, ranking organically on Google, for free, is not an overnight thing.
If it were, then we wouldn’t trust the results Google gives us because the system would be too easily gamed and manipulated. (Think about that.)
You’ve got to play the game the right way, be consistent, and eventually, you will find yourself on page one of Google.
How your website is built is a core and critical factor in getting there. Whether or not you have a Google Business Profile properly built and optimized, with reviews, is another core and critical factor.
And holding the time and consistency pillars of SEO (search engine optimization) is whether you have the patience and persistence to ride the wave out of digital anonymity to page one dominance.
Choose the slow and steady road, and prosper.
