One powerful method for attracting web traffic that exceedingly few accountants exploit is writing and submitting articles. Content distribution is free, but you’ll have to commit time in the process. Be it time spent networking on social media or cash on search engine optimization or paid search advertising on Google we all have to pay to promote our accounting websites one way or another, but it’s certainly cheap and persuasive if you’re willing to keep it up.
Getting started is very easy. The first step in becoming an article author is submitting articles to article directories. First… find something to write about. Choose a subject that will attract your prospects and you’ll maximize the probability of attracting good traffic to your site in addition to giving your website a boost in the search engines.
You might not fancy yourself an author, but writing an article does not need to be difficult. Most blog owners prefer shorter posts. Blog articles can be as few as 300 words and still get picked up. The key to writing a good article is sticking to subjects you know and love.
One great trick is to write an article as if you’re writing a letter to a friend. Make it personal, informative, and/or amusing. If you don’t have the time to write articles yourself let somebody else do it for you. Websites like mTurk and oDesk are full of eager young writers who will be willing to write something you can put your name to.
There are two important benefits to article distribution…
1. Position Yourself as an Expert
By publishing online articles you are visibly positioning yourself as an accounting “maven”, or expert.People are impressed when you get published, and over time they begin to look for you and think of you as an authority in your industry.
2. Backlinks
Article sites allow you to write a short blurb to introduce yourself to readers and you can include a link to your website. Search engines use these links to determine the importance, and therefore the ranking, of your website in relation to certain keywords, and these links can also drive traffic to your site.
You do not need to write a masterpiece. What’s important is VALUE. This is what publishers look for. They want articles that their followers will find genuinely useful. They want meaningful ideas and information. As long as you run spell check and you’re saying something worth hearing most publishers will be happy to add your content to their site.
Be patient. Write several articles and submit them to multiple article submission services to get started. It can take a long time to get noticed, and nobody needs a flash in the pan writer.
There’s an online service called Google Alerts you can use to track your article titles and identify people using your content. When you find people using your stuff contact them, thank them, offer them more, and you’ll have used the article to leverage a relationship with a potential future publisher. Making friends is the real name of the game in publishing. Becoming an online author requires you to network in very much the same way you network for accounting clients. In the long run you’re looking to become an invited guest author.
Yes, this is a ton of work, and without beating around the bush, there are no guarantees that you’ll be contacted by an Accounting Today editor. But even if all you do is bring in a number of back links your accounting website will benefit in the search engines, earn some visitors, and in the long run lure new clients into your practice.
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