Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak to a group of ICAEW accountants about Google and SEO.
(Download PDF copy of Karen’s slides here.)
To be honest, speaking about Google and SEO isn’t always my favourite topic – because there’s the tendency amongst accountants to want the ‘magic wand’, the little tricks and tips that will magically get you five new clients tomorrow, and a hundred by the end of the year.
As with most elements of online marketing, that’s not the way it works.
And if you do manage to find some ‘trick’ to SEO, and you zoom up to the top of Google, it’s very likely that it was a fad or a glitch, and you’ll zoom right off.
The alternative to the tips and tricks of SEO
The best answer, of course, is to have a holistic approach, one that combines your efforts in a variety of places, such as:
- Organic SEO (posting blogs and fresh content regularly)
- Paid SEO (adwords, social media ads, etc)
- Helpful, relevant, useful content for your target market (such as the 27 Content Ideas)
- A good LinkedIn profile, Twitter account, and Google+ page, at a minimum
And all of these must be tied into your website, which is your marketing hub.
Granted, that’s not easy to do.
That’s not the magic wand, the easy tip, the one perhaps everyone was hoping for.
But it’s the one that works.
If you feel like a new website is too much investment or effort for you right now, at least start churning out some content. Try one of our outsourced marketing packages, or hire a marketing intern. I’ve said it many times – I genuinely don’t care if you work with us or someone else….just don’t do nothing.
If you do what you’ve always done….wait what?
My fellow consultant to accountants, Paul Shrimpling, was chairing the day (and I must say he did a stellar job).
One of the things he said really stuck out to me. He asked, “If you do what you’ve always done, what will you get?”
We all rhymed off, “what we’ve always gotten”, like we knew we were supposed to.
“No!” Paul said.
“Because the world moves on. Technology moves on. Your competitors are doing more than you are. So, if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get less. Tweet this!
“If you do what you’ve always done, you get LESS.” – Paul Shrimpling
The day was excellent. I confess I thought I would show up, check my slides a few times, probably have a chance to send emails and finish a few projects.
I didn’t.
There was a buzz about the place, with more younger (and female!) accountants in attendance, and everyone keen to use what they knew to truly grow their practice. There was a good mix of presentations – there were those who work with the accountancy industry, such as myself and Paul and Mark Lee, and to balance the mix there was Martin Clapson of Price Bailey, who announced at the beginning that his talk wouldn’t be as riveting, and then proceeded to rivet us (if that’s a word) by real, practical, down to earth things that they do at Price Bailey.
Well done, ICAEW, and thanks!