When you operate a service-based business like an accounting firm, people need to know more than just what you do. Even if you’re not a financial services expert, you can probably put together what an accountant is and why you might need one.
Instead, you need to convey why people should work with YOU, specifically, as quickly as possible. That means enhancing not just your visibility on search engines like Google, but your local visibility as well.
Don’t target the largest possible audience. Target the right one – the one made up of people who are likely to become members of your target audience in the first place. Optimized images and videos allow you to do that. These materials don’t just let you quickly rise through the results pages on engines like Google, but they’re also enormously helpful for customer engagement as well. One recent study even indicated that collateral with visuals has a 650% (!) higher engagement level than text-only content.
This directly impacts your ability to attract and retain a local customer base, which in and of itself should always be a top priority.
Understanding the Role of Visuals in Local SEO
In an over-arching sense, visuals play an important role in local SEO in a few different ways, all of which are critically important.
To speak to the mechanics of it all, every image or visual asset you put on your website does have text-based attributes like titles and meta descriptions attached to it. Even if your users can’t see that information, Google can – and there are additional opportunities to get your SEO keywords into your content in an organic, strategic way.
To get a sense of just how important visual content can be to the ways in which people engage with your content, consider the fact that articles with images tend to receive 94% more views than those that are just text alone. The same study revealed that adding a video to your landing page can literally increase conversion rates by about 80%.
From that perspective, simply including visuals at all is enough to make a positive impression. Including locally relevant visuals will take advantage of the fact that most people aren’t just looking for an accountant in a general sense. They’re looking for one that is physically close to their current location.
Visual Local SEO Tactics
Website & Blog Optimization Strategies
As you work to build out your accounting firm’s localized online presence, always use high-resolution images all over your website. Not just on your home page, mind you – but on your appointment booking page, your “About Us” page, your service pages, and more.
Truly, your entire website design should be visually appealing and locally relevant. Capitalize on any opportunity to incorporate local landmarks, make reference to local events, and show off local faces in a visual way.
Whenever you write a post for your accounting blog, integrate local imagery and video content whenever you can. Craft visual content around local stories and community events that people are already paying attention to.
Indeed, leveraging videos is a great way to not just enhance your storytelling capabilities, but your brand personality as well. People are more likely to watch a video than they are to engage with virtually any other type of content, so this is a perfect chance to get someone’s attention and keep it for as long as possible.
As outlined above, be sure to optimize file naming and meta descriptions with location-specific keywords as you work. Do this every single time you upload something new, and you’ll quickly be surprised by the difference it can make.
Directory Listings Optimization Strategies
Directory listings are another perfect opportunity to upload visually engaging images about your accounting firm online. You can showcase your services, your customer support capabilities, your skills, and more – all through compelling and relevant photos and videos.
Just be sure to pay attention to consistent branding. All visual elements should appear the same across all directories. Don’t use different versions of your firm’s logo in different places, for example. You always want to avoid the risk of causing confusion.
Google Business Profile Optimization Strategies
One opportunity that small businesses like accounting firms need to pay more attention to takes the form of your Google Business profile. Treat it as an extension of your website – and one that will show up immediately when someone conducts a search for a business like yours on Google, too.
Always add a variety of high-quality photos that showcase your business. This can help make your profile look as professional as possible, which in and of itself can separate you from your competitors.
Likewise, always upload videos featuring your business, your employees, and more participating in local events. Whenever your satisfied clients leave reviews, encourage them to show off photos while they do.
Social Media Optimization Strategies
As often as you possibly can, you should be creating visually appealing posts that are tailored to your local community on every social networking site that your audience is actively using. That includes Instagram, Facebook, and even YouTube – all of which are perfect outlets for visual storytelling.
Along the same lines, always try to encourage your customers and your community members to engage with your accounting firm by sharing photos and videos about your business. Yes, quality is more important than quantity… but quality goes a long way in this context, too.
According to another recent study, visual content on social media is shared literally 40 times more than any other type of content. So if you want your accounting firm to stand out on sites like Facebook (and you absolutely do), leaning into as much visual content as possible is a great way to give yourself a leg up over your competitors.
Online Advertising Optimization Strategies
As you work to build your accounting firm’s audience, you’ll likely be investing in online advertising. You should absolutely run ads on Google, Facebook, Instagram, and all the other most popular platforms. It’s a great way to get the attention of the people who are most likely to become members of your target audience.
At the same time, you should also see online ads for what they really are: a chance to showcase your location and further establish yourself as a “near me” authority.
Whenever possible (and natural), always use local lingo, landmarks, and other things that are specific to your area. This is especially true in terms of the imagery that you’re using for your ads, for all the reasons outlined above.
Measure and Track Success
Finally, you should always be sure to track engagement metrics on visual content whenever possible. Don’t just pay attention to whether or not people are visiting your accounting firm’s website. Look closely at what they’re doing while they’re there.
Analyze the impact that your visual content is having on the customer journey. Does adding high-quality, locally relevant visuals make it more likely for someone to pick up the phone and give you a call? It should. If it isn’t, you need to ask yourself why so that you can do something about it.
Always pay close attention to the impact that visuals like images and video are having on customer behavior. Based on the type of data you’re collecting over time, adjust your visual content strategies accordingly.
Resist the urge to market his part of the process too complicated. Figure out what is working and do more of that. Figure out what isn’t working and stop doing it. Truly, it doesn’t get much more straightforward than that.
Improve Local Visibility for Your Accounting Firm with Surefire Local
In the end, never forget that your business has an important story to tell. There are a lot of accountants out there in your area who do what you do. Nobody does it quite like how you do it, however, which is the idea that your story should be centered around. Communicating that story visually is a way to make it as effective as possible.
Lean into website and blog optimization strategies like using high-quality, relevant images whenever you can. Don’t neglect directory listings and especially tactics like setting up a Google Business profile. Online advertising, social media – you name it, you should embrace it. You only get one chance to let people know why they should care about your accounting firm, so you need to make it a good one.
At Surefire Local, we want to help small businesses accomplish precisely that by way of our localized online marketing platform. We’re all about helping you establish your online presence by creating local signals across various platforms and profiles, all in the name of making it as easy as possible for new people to find you.
But beyond that, we want to take the guesswork out of local marketing so that you can rest easy knowing that a steady stream of new leads is always headed directly to your door.
If you’d like to find out more information about visual local SEO strategies for accountants, or if you’re just eager to see what an innovative platform like Surefire Local can do to help your business thrive, please don’t delay – contact us today or click here to schedule a Surefire Local demo in your area.