Our clients get up to 38 free CPE credits!

During busy season, it’s all about wading through client work.

But once things die down and you’ve had a chance to rest, it will be the perfect time to take some CPE courses.

One challenge of these courses is their cost. It’s not always easy to come up with a couple hundred dollars to fulfill this requirement.

But now, you can get up to 38 CPE credits for free, and get a 30% discount on any of dozens of courses, all just for having a CPA web site from CPA Site Solutions.

Choose a Free CPE Course – On Us

When you’re a CPA Site Solutions client, you get to choose a free CPE course – with up to 38 credits and a value of $277.95.

The user-friendly course includes these helpful features:

• Place-saving so you can progress at your own pace without losing your spot.
• Both online and PDF formats.
• Move around in the course with minimal clicks.
• Full text searching in both online and PDF versions.

Course topics are varied and cover the following:

• Essential Legal Concepts with Tax Analysis
• Complete Guide to Estate and Gift Taxation
• The Ultimate Guide to Retirement Planning from a Tax Perspective
• Business Taxation
• Family Tax Planning
• Dozens more

Added Bonus: 30% Off Each Course – for Life

As a CPA Site Solutions client, you get a coupon code entitling you to 30% off each course you choose. (Click here to see a course listing.) That’s a value of up to $92 – and it’s yours to claim as often as you like.

Even if you decide to terminate our service for whatever reason, you keep the coupon code.

Completing CPE courses is a requirement as a CPA – so you might as well save money doing it.

To get your coupon code giving you 30% off and to claim your free course, give us a call at 1-800-896-4500, or email support@cpasitesolutions.com.

Stand out from the crowd with an online review.

Once you get your CPA website up and running, what’s your next move?

Is it to get started with social media – communicating with your clients through Facebook and Twitter?

Yes, social media is an increasingly important way to stay in touch… But before you get active socially, you should put some effort in to obtaining online reviews.

A recent survey by LocalBright.com revealed that 55% of U.S. consumers place more trust in a local business that has positive online reviews, and two-thirds of respondents put as much faith in online reviews as they do in word-of-mouth recommendations.

This means that online reviews are massively effective in establishing the trustworthiness of your firm. Of course, being trustworthy is critical for all businesses, but it’s especially so for those in the financial services industry.

What Is an Online Review?

The easiest way to get started with reviews is to go through Google.

When you register with Google Places, you automatically get a Google Place Page. That’s where your clients write reviews of your firm.

Here’s an example of a Place Page:

The review is circled in red at the bottom.

Top 5 Ways to Get Reviews Politely

You might be uncomfortable asking your clients to write reviews of your services. Here are some tips for how you can ask without being pushy…

1. Put a link on the home page of your website to your Place Page. Name the link something catchy, such as “Thanks for reviewing our firm!”
2. When you deliver completed tax returns this busy season, include a line in the cover letter asking for a review, and direct them to your home page.
3. Send an email blast through our Email Marketing System thanking clients for their business and asking for a review. The benefit of this approach is that it allows you to include a link right in the email, which ups the chance that your clients will follow through.
4. Put a link to your Place Page in your email signature.
5. Consider giving clients an incentive to review your firm, such as a 5% off coupon.

Remember: the more reviews, the better, even if they aren’t all favorable.

Check in on Your Place Page Regularly

No one wants to hear complaints about their business – but if someone leaves a negative review, see that as an opportunity to learn about your clients’ needs, their tolerance levels, and their pain points.

Follow up with complaints on your Place Page, too. Get in touch with folks who write negative reviews and learn how you can improve the relationship. It just might lead to a stellar review in the future.

First a Website, Then Online Reviews

Your first marketing move should be to get a website. If you need one, give us a try! We offer the first 60 days free.

Your second marketing move should be to ask your clients to write online reviews. This is an often-overlooked way to quickly establish yourself as an honest, trustworthy business.

In the enormous playing field that is the World Wide Web, this kind of promotion is not just a nicety, but also a necessity.

To get your Google Place Page up and running, sign up for our Local SEO Service. We can help your business rise through the ranks of the search engines.

Brian O'Connell, President

In website design, color is critical. It has a powerful effect on your audience’s psychology, and it can help establish the brand for your firm.

Why does this matter? Because your website is your most important marketing tool. You want your visitors to get an immediate sense of who you are as a firm – and color achieves this in the blink of an eye.

When potential clients see your personality clearly and quickly, it forms your Unique Selling Proposition – or what makes you stand out from your competitors and persuade prospects to sign up with you.

But how do you know which colors project what image?

In this post, I’d like to discuss the meaning conveyed by different colors so you can decide whether your current CPA website design is in line with the personality of your company.

What Colors Mean

Here’s an overview of what various colors “mean” on an unconscious level:

Red – passion, danger, excitement, action

Blue – trustworthiness, success, power, professionalism

Green – money, health, nurturing, friendly

Orange – creativity, fun, affordability, youth

Grey – neutrality, indifference, reserved

White - purity, cleanliness, simplicity

What Image Do You Want to Project?

To use this knowledge about color’s effect on our psychology, you might consider taking a few minutes to determine what personality you want to project.

Are you the strictly serious firm that serves mostly corporate clients? If so, blue with grey accents is a good choice.

Are you a more youthful, creative firm? You could benefit from an orange design with white accents.

Are you a no-holds-barred firm that specializes in tax relief and audit representation? Red is an excellent color for you.

Here Are Some Examples…

1. A nice color scheme for a sole proprietor who targets smaller clients is green and white, as shown below in Design 343.

Design 343 in green projects friendliness and healthiness - perfect for a sole proprietor.

2. Firms who want to be known for their big personalities and no-nonsense approach might want to pick a red design like 436.

Design 436 in red is bold and active - just the right image for a firm focusing on IRS audit representation.

3. For a conservative firm that wants to be known for its by-the-books professionalism, a design like 379 in blue gets the right image across.

Design 379 in blue is just right for the more traditional firm serving businesses and wealthier clients.

Need a Better Color for Your Website?

If you think your current website design is projecting the wrong image, just switch it! A new design is absolutely free and can be up and running within 2 business days.

Check out our Design Portfolio to find a style and color palette to suit your firm’s personality. Then give us a call at 1-800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com to request the change.

If you’re in the market for a CPA website, give us a try and enjoy our risk-free 60-day trial.

Effective websites follow a simple formula.

What is a “successful” CPA website?

Given that over 75% of people looking for a local service provider conduct their search online, the measure of a successful website is how well that site attracts prospects and then compels them to contact you once they visit.

Obviously, some CPA websites are more attractive and compelling than others – making them more successful.

So how do they do it? What sets them apart?

Surprisingly, there’s actually a formula for successful websites:

Effective Design + SEO Content + Persuasive Copy = Website Success

Effective Design

Less is more. When it comes to website design, you want to keep it clean. The less cluttered your home page – and the more intuitive your navigation - the more effective your design will be.

Pleasing graphics. A few well-placed images help your website feel more personal and give your readers a great first impression.

Consistent fonts and colors. You want your “visual system” to be consistent so that your message is easily conveyed. Only two or three fonts should be used, and they should complement one another. Likewise, colors should be part of the same palette.

SEO Content

SEO – or Search Engine Optimization – is a process that makes your website show up near the top of the search results for particular keywords.

When it comes to optimizing your web pages, it’s all about keywords and content.

Keywords. Use one of the free keyword tools – like Google’s – to find the keywords and keyphrases that best relate to what you do. Once you’ve figured that out, make sure you add keywords to the meta tags, headlines, and text on each page.

Content. In SEO terms, bigger sites are better, and sites with regularly updated content are better still. This is one reason why we recommend blogging. A website with an active blog stands to fare much better in the search engines than one with static content. (You get bonus points for using your keywords and keyphrases in your blog posts!)

Persuasive Copy

Have you ever heard of “direct-response writing”? You may not know it by name, but you’ve definitely read it – and maybe even been influenced by it.

Direct-response writing is persuasive and compelling, and it leads you to take a specific action. Publishers Clearing House uses this type of writing, as do many nonprofits that send fund-raising letters.

You may not like to be on the receiving end of direct-response letters, but the fact is, they work.

Persuasive or direct-response writing uses pain points, descriptive headlines, bulleted lists, and calls to action as part of its mix. Readers get sucked in, scan the copy, and then take action - whether it’s sending in money or clicking a button.

CPA websites usually focus on persuading readers to contact the site’s owner to set up an appointment. Theoretically, a majority of the pages on an accounting website could end with a link to the contact page.

Is Your Website As Successful As It Could Be?

With so many websites out there, it’s not hard to find examples of not-so-effective websites.

How about yours? Does it employ all three elements of the “success formula” to attract prospects and convince them to set up a meeting?

If not, don’t despair. If you’re a CPA Site Solutions client, it’s easy to improve your site.

If you think your design isn’t as clean and pleasing as possible, switch to a new design at any time and for no additional fee. Check out our Design Portfolio for one you like better, and then give us a call at 1-800-896-4500. We’ll move your site over to the new design within one business day.

If you’re looking for improved rankings in the search results, first spend some time learning your keywords and keyphrases. Then make sure they’re placed in the meta tags and copy of your web pages. And give blogging a try. Just a post a month can really help your SEO.

Finally, if the copy on your site is flat and uninviting, consider rewriting it to be more dynamic. And add a call to action at the end of each page – starting with the home page.

If you don’t have time to edit or write your own copy, consider our Custom Copywriting Service. Our writers are trained specifically in SEO and persuasive writing. With their help, you can have new copy on your site within two weeks and with only 1 hour of your time.

If you’re not a client, try us out free for 60 days – and apply the success formula to your firm’s website.