In this OWN IT Live Chat we were joined by Sandi Smith Leyva, CPA, CMA, MBA and founder of Accountant’s Accelerator. Sandi spent a full hour with us answering questions and sharing her tips for how to improve your website to get more business. These slides summarize some of the main ideas presented. You can read the full Live Chat Recap at this link. https://www.ownit.com/communities/ownit/posts/763974

1. Live Chat Recap:
Use Your Website To Boost
Your Online Leads
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2. Live Chat Recap: Use Your Website To Boost
Your Online Leads
In this OWN IT Live Chat we
were joined by Sandi Smith
Leyva, CPA, CMA, MBA and
founder of Accountant’s
Accelerator. Sandi spent a full
h o u r w i t h u s a n s w e r i n g
questions and sharing her tips
for how to improve your
website to get more business.

3. In our first accountant
live chat of 2016,
Sandi also shared her
easy-to-implement
organic SEO tips to
boost your rankings.
Live Chat Recap: Use Your Website To Boost
Your Online Leads

4. These slides summarize
some of the main ideas
presented. You can read the
full Live Chat Recap at this
link.
h t t p s : / / w w w . o w n i t . c o m /
communities/ownit/posts/763974
Live Chat Recap: Use Your Website To Boost
Your Online Leads

5. You absolutely CAN get leads from your website.
“The best example I’ve seen is when a huge
franchise contacted one of my accounting clients.
Totally cold contact from the website we built for
him. He closed them, definitely six figures per
year, and never looked back.”
Is it practical for an accountant or small
business to expect leads from their websites?

6. “I’ve also had a couple people tell me they
got so many leads they hired employees
ahead of their plan. That’s a good problem to
have. So you really should expect to get leads
from your site, but you do need to do some
things to get your site producing for you.”
Is it practical for an accountant or small
business to expect leads from their websites?

7. There are dozens of different ways to get clients.
You should use the less expensive marketing
channels first. An obvious one is referrals.
Maximize referrals as much as you can (without
bugging your clients, of course) then go on to
use the next least expensive channel.
Why should a small business focus on their
website and not other channels of marketing?

8. Once you’ve decided to use a Website as
a marketing channel, invest in it. Don’t
just set it up and check it off your list. It’s
an ongoing asset that needs to be
maintained and marketed in and of itself.
Why should a small business focus on their
website and not other channels of marketing?

9. Sandi recommends preparing a marketing plan to
help you decide on which channels you want to
invest in. “Websites are almost always a good
investment, not just for lead generation but as an
online brochure demonstrating thought leadership
and expertise, and simply a place to send people
that have basic questions and want to find out
more.“
Why should a small business focus on their
website and not other channels of marketing?

10. 1) Hiring an Unqualified Relative to do the
Website
What’s the biggest mistake
people make with their websites?

11. 1) Hiring an Unqualified Relative to do the
Website
When it turns out badly, it becomes awkward to
get someone else to clean up the mess. And the
business loses out on thousands of dollars or more
in sales and opportunities.
What are the biggest mistakes
people make with their websites?

12. 2) Building The Website Yourself
What are the biggest mistakes
people make with their websites?

13. 2) Building The Website Yourself
Are you trying to open your own web design
company? If not, it’s really better to leave
the website building to experts.
What are the biggest mistakes
people make with their websites?

14. “In the 1990s I would have said you can
build your own, but not today. The
learning curve is just too high and the
potential businesses losses are too great
to be amateurish about this incredibly
important asset.”
What are the biggest mistakes
people make with their websites?

15. • Caffeine Factor
The 5 Cs of Website
Development

16. • Caffeine Factor
• Credibility Builders
The 5 Cs of Website
Development

17. • Caffeine Factor
• Credibility Builders
• Calls To Action
The 5 Cs of Website
Development

18. • Caffeine Factor
• Credibility Builders
• Calls To Action
• Charm the Search Engines
The 5 Cs of Website
Development

19. • Caffeine Factor
• Credibility Builders
• Calls To Action
• Charm the Search Engines
• Crowd Control
The 5 Cs of Website
Development

20. You have only a few seconds for your web
visitor to decide whether they want to stick
around, so you have to put the best thing
about you front and center on your home
page. You just may not get a second chance
if your best thing is buried at the end of
your About page.
Caffeine

21. It might be your QuickBooks Advanced
ProAdvisor Certifications. It might be that you
were in the Top 100 ProAdvisors. It might be
an award, or exceptional quality or your
unique approach or niche. Somehow, you
need to communicate what clients love best
about you right there on your home page.
Caffeine

22. With most businesses, especially accounting firms and
other professional services firms, you need to build trust
with your prospect before they become clients. Anything
that you can put on your site to do that is a plus. These
include credentials, certifications, awards, memberships
to local groups like the Chamber, your Better Business
Bureau logo if you’re a member, a privacy policy, return/
refund policies, and client testimonials, to name a few.
Credibility Builders

23. It’s your website. You should be in charge of
driving the behavior you want from the
visitor. That may be to call you, buy
something, or sign up for your list. All of
these are calls to action. You should have a
call to action at the bottom of just about
every page.
Calls To Action

24. SEO stands for search engine
optimization. You can actually
do things to your site’s code and
content so that it ranks higher.
Charm The Search Engines

25. The first thing you need to do is figure out your
best keywords: what people looking for your
services or product would enter into a search
engine to find you. Once you do that you need
to edit your Title Tags. Having good Title Tags
is the most important part of organic SEO.
Charm The Search Engines

26. Start with your city and state. Then add your top
products and services. Here are some examples.
Dallas, TX CPA firm
St. Louis, MO Home Health Care Agency
Then put your business name last.
Site Title Tags

27. The key here is to use RELEVANT
Keywords in the page titles, and
then use those same words on
your website pages.
Keywords

28. This is what to do outside
your site to bring traffic to
you.
Crowd Control

29. The gist of this tip is to think of other web
sites where you can have a profile listing that
links back to your site. Certainly, all your
social media accounts count. To pick just one,
doing YouTube videos can make all the
difference in the world for your site’s rankings.
Crowd Control

30. Here is a list of ideas for sites to link from to get your juices flowing:
• Google Places
• Angie’s list
• Yelp
• Manta
• Your Chamber of Commerce
• BBB
• Thumbtack
• Elance for service businesses
• EBay for some retail stores
• Amazon in some cases
• Any specialty directory
• A business license website
• A vendor’s website where you are a reseller or retailer
Crowd Control

31. FIND MORE INFORMATION on OWN IT
• Visit OWNIT.com for the full Live Chat recap
including additional information and links.
• Check out the rest of our helpful series.
• Join the Network Dedicated to Small
Business Success.
• Connect with thousands of small business
owners like you with our free app.

32. https://www.ownit.com/communities/ownit/posts/763974
Get more information for your small business on OWN IT.

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