Genuine query - Accountant seeking customers - what method is best?

[ZoeMarciniak 10]

Thank you Marx. I had not spotted that. My husband designed the site and I will see if there is anything he can do.

 

I guess with more work will come more investment in these things. Also, an idea of what I feel my clients will want to see will change over time with each new client I get. So far, the clients I have are getting the info they need.

 

This thread is very useful for me, as I can keep coming back to it for development ideas.

 

Thank you all!!!

[Accountant 10]

Hi Zoe,

 

There are no 'Calls to Action' on any page other than the 'Contact Us' page. It would be good if you had your contact details on every page, and also some links to your 'contact us' throughout the text of all your pages, i.e. add the sentence, 'Click here to make an online enquiry today' or 'Click here if you would like more information' and make these words link to your 'Contact us' page. You will basically be prompting people to get in touch there and then if they have read enough.

 

You should also add some kind of privacy statement to your 'Contact us' page stating you will not spam your customers or share their details with third parties (if this is the case). This will add trust and credibility.

 

I would probably not put your prices on the site either, as people will probably base their decision on your price as opposed to your level of service.

 

You should also any USP's you have in bold, different font/colour, etc on the 'Home' page so that they stand out and add value to a customer (i.e. give them a reason to get in touch with you).

 

Bullet point your services on the 'Home' page and link to the relevant service page, making it easier for customers to find the information they are looking for.

 

I have also PM'd you with an idea to generate clients.

 

Hope all this helps, and I wish you good luck.

[ZoeMarciniak 10]

Thanks, Accountant - I like the idea of putting contact details on more pages and the links to services.

 

Re the pricelist - I am now confused as to whether it should be there or not - I have been on some other company sites and they like to have a theme of "clarity" and show their prices. I did a little research and compared what people are charging and then came up with the price list. I will consider removing this. Part of me thinks that having the pricelist there assists in decision making, but then not having one might dissuade someone from approaching if they know they can see prices elsewhere and they know they would have to contact me to find my prices out.

[Accountant 10]

Glad I could be of some help Zoe.

 

With regards to the price list, I think is a personal choice. If you think you are competitive in price (which I'm sure you are) then that's fine, otherwise, I don't think it's a bad idea for someone to have to call you to find out your price, as you can engage with them in a conversation and then sell yourself.

 

Also, you could add a note on the 'Home' page stating you are competitive in pricing and that people should call you to find out by how much!! This could be one of your USP's to add the 'Home' page.

 

I also PM'd you a separate idea on how to generate clients, and hope that made sense as well.

 

Thanks.

[ZoeMarciniak 10]

Hello all

 

Many thanks for your input above.

 

I am now looking at ways to expand my audience and was wondering if any of you had tried writing editorials in free magazines or elsewhere. Does anyone have any tips on what has worked and what hasn't worked in the past.

 

Regards

 

Zoe

[Accountant 10]

Hi Zoe,

 

I notice you've added 'calls to actions' to all the pages. Well done.

 

With regards to magazine articles, what I think would work better for you is if you created your own 'blog' and wrote your articles on their.

 

There are a number of platforms that allow you to create a free blog, e.g. Google, WordPress, etc.

 

The blog can serve a number of purposes:

 

1) It can help widen your audience (like you have mentioned)

 

2) It will allow your users to interact with you and comment on what you are writing

 

3) You can also add maybe one link in the articles you write, which links back to your own website, which in turn can help you with the link building activities for your own website.

 

Hope this helps and good luck.

[Arrr Sez I 10]

Haven't read the other posts but you need a professional wordpress theme Zoe. They're so cheap nowadays there's no reason not to have one in place from the get go. You can install it in like 5 minutes.

[Gleadly 11]

I like the site however, in my opinion, the top banner could do with brightening up a little.

 

The Latest HMRC News links should open in a new window. The reason for this is that if they close that page, your page will still be there.

 

Nice site though. Clean and simple.

[ZoeMarciniak 10]

Thank you, Gleadly. I am considering removing the HMRC thing though as they are a bit "negative" - ie ("HMRC clamps down on this..." "HMRC fines that..." - it all seems a bit doom and gloom). At first I thought it would be good to have an "active" site with updates, but I think I would like to have a different thread running down the site - but I have not found any good ones that I like - any suggestions anyone?

 

My web designer is about to refine the HMRC side banner as they appear on some pages and not on others. They are also about to update with a "blog" I have written about Self Assessment. The deadline is looming for sole traders and I think it might be timely to have a reminder about what steps they should be taking in order to file on time and how to avoid penalties.

[snoopjiggy 10]

Hi Zoe

 

Have a look on here for some business type themes. There are some really stunning ones that you can use to give that Ooomph that you require.

 

http://themeforest.net/

 

Most are fairly simple to use also.

 

Cheers

[Gleadly 11]

Thank you, Gleadly. I am considering removing the HMRC thing though as they are a bit "negative" - ie ("HMRC clamps down on this..." "HMRC fines that..." - it all seems a bit doom and gloom). At first I thought it would be good to have an "active" site with updates, but I think I would like to have a different thread running down the site - but I have not found any good ones that I like - any suggestions anyone?

 

My web designer is about to refine the HMRC side banner as they appear on some pages and not on others. They are also about to update with a "blog" I have written about Self Assessment. The deadline is looming for sole traders and I think it might be timely to have a reminder about what steps they should be taking in order to file on time and how to avoid penalties.

 

 

I thought the Latest HMRC News was good as it emphasised that you should not fiddle your tax returns thus a good business plug. Should open in a new window, though.

[ZoeMarciniak 10]

OK. Good feedback. I guess that solves trying to find another web-feed! Thanks again.