Estimated reading time: 5 minutes, 30 seconds.
The landing page of your ecommerce site is the first impression for potential clients. It’s estimated that you have less than five seconds to get their attention before they go elsewhere.
Visitors will make a quick judgement about whether you are right for them, so you want to ensure that:
- Your page looks good – simple and sophisticated.
- Your services are easy to find, quick to read, and attractive to your target audience.
- You display proof of your qualifications and expertise.
- You demonstrate how you’ve helped others in a similar situation.
These are called trust signals, and they’re what all visitors to your site will be looking for. If they don’t find them, or have to search too hard, they’ll hit that back button.
In this guide to creating your own landing page, you’ll find advice on:
Table of Contents
- Demonstrating your expertise and value
- Planning your landing page
- Get clear on who they are
- Get clear on who you are (and who you’re not)
- List your services
- What is your firm’s point of difference?
- Be explicit and specific about the software you use
- Demonstrate your skills and experience
- Include a call to action
- Making your landing page visible and accessible
- Having one page per service offering or category
- Working on your Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Don’t forget to evolve and improve…
- Next in the Series…
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Demonstrating your expertise and value
When considering what to include on your page, think about how you can demonstrate your expertise and value to a business in a succinct, aesthetic way.
Consider the following:
- What can you do for a seller beyond preparing accounts and filing tax returns?
- What is your point of difference?
- What key benefits will clients get from working with you, specifically? Can you prove it with testimonials and case studies?
Think about the wider impacts on their business when working with you.
Try to frame it less about you and what you do, and more towards how they will be positively affected.
Planning your landing page
When thinking about how you can help an ecommerce seller, put yourself in their shoes. What will they be looking for, and value above anything else in an accounting partner?
Here are some thought-starters to form your target audience and what they will care about.
- Get clear on who they are
Where do they sell? Think platform, country, region – and where do they trade? Across borders?
- Get clear on who you are (and who you’re not)
What kind of sellers can you and your firm support? Can you advise them on selling overseas and the taxes that come with it? Do you engage them remotely, or stick to specific areas?
Find your niche and stick to it.
Dig deep and specialize so you can offer your clients a comprehensive service. You’re more likely to earn and retain longer-term, lucrative clients this way than by broadening your skills but sticking to the shallows.
- List your services
Make a clear list of everything you can offer. You’ll want to display this somewhere on your site that’s easy to find.
This might include bookkeeping and weekly payroll, handling tax requirements in multiple countries, advising on inventory management, assessing profitability of channels or products, developing strategic plans, producing historical accounts and advice on selling a business.
Include services that demonstrate your knowledge of ecommerce and the potential pain points you can help with.
- What is your firm’s point of difference?
Be clear and succinct about what makes your firm stand out. Perhaps its years of experience, tech proficiency, qualifications, strategy, or first class service? Make it count and better yet, have the testimonials and proof to back it up.
- Be explicit and specific about the software you use
Sellers may be comfortable with certain accounting software partners, just like you are. It’s best to show which you use, as well as any favorite apps and integrations too.
This is particularly important if you include paid subscriptions in your service pricing, as it helps customers understand what they are investing in.
In fact, it’s something we recommend that sellers ask accountants when finding their perfect fit.
- Demonstrate your skills and experience
Speaking of proof, saying you’re that awesome at something and showing that you are, are two very different things.
By taking the time to collect and display testimonials, and to write more detailed case studies, you can contextualize your offering and let your work speak for itself.
This is crucial today. Accountants are less transactional than they used to be, and your clients may be looking for a longer-term, more integrated partnership. Clients will likely take more time considering their options.
- Include a call to action
Don’t let visitors leave your website without inviting them to take the next step! For example, booking in for a free consultation. You might have a button that takes them straight to a booking link or your email address.
A contact form with a few questions is a good idea – you can request details such as where they sell and what they are hoping to achieve through engaging an ecommerce accountant.
This will help you tailor your interactions with them right out of the gate.
Making your landing page visible and accessible
Just as important as the text on your page is whether it shows up in search results, and how easy it is to navigate.
You can improve these by:
- Having one page per service offering or category
This helps people navigate your site easily and it also helps search engines figure out what you do and who might want to find you.
For example, if you specialize in Amazon and Shopify, we recommend having separate pages:
Short, simple URLs make for neat searches and optimal search results.
- Working on your Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Taking it to the next level, we have a dedicated resource to improving SEO specifically on accountant websites.
This comprehensive guide takes you as deep into SEO as you want to go, from the basics and the topline content best practice, right into the nuts and bolts of your website.
Search engines look at a variety of different signals on your site, so having control over what is seen and ranked could have a huge impact on where you show up on the search results pages.
You can pay for ads, but if you nail SEO, you’ll have longer-term results for free.
Don’t forget to evolve and improve…
This guide is just a starting point.
After talking with ecommerce sellers and clients, you will learn what is important to them, their key challenges and how you can provide the most value.
You can use these insights to update your web pages and attract your dream clients.
The steps, in summary:
- Step 1: Set up your web pages, one for each area of your expertise.
- Step 2: Include a list of your services and how you’ll add value to your clients.
- Step 3: Ask your clients for testimonials and whether you can feature them in a case study.
- Step 4: Read our guide to SEO and work on optimizing your site.
You can also check out our guide to finding an accountant for sellers, to see our suggestions for them in their search.
Next in the Series…
In the final part of our series on Growing Your Accounting Practice, we take you through some tips to finding the perfect designer for your accounting website.