Does SEO still matter today if you want to grow an accounting firm? How is AI impacting search? What should I be doing to adapt and stay ahead?
I hear questions like this every day, so let’s dive deeper into what’s actually going on right now with search and how user behavior is changing.
I’m going to break down how search has shifted, how AI is affecting things and actionable steps you can take today to make sure you’re visible to prospective clients.
No time to read the whole post? Watch the video instead: https://youtu.be/uXBe3BejuXo
Search Has Changed. Here’s How.
For years, the main focus of online marketing was organic search, and the path was pretty linear.
- People went to Google or their search engine of choice.
- They typed in their question.
- They landed on a site.
Today, users have a lot more options.
Sure, they still have Google, but they also have social media and AI platforms like ChatGPT and Claude.
People are using a variety of channels to get answers to their questions and discover new brands.
Neil Patel recently shared data from a survey that aimed to understand how buyers now discover brands.
Here’s what they found:
Source: Neilpatel.com
Based on these results, social media is the leading channel where people are discovering brands. Friends are right behind it. Then traditional search, and then LLMs right behind that.
What does this mean for your accounting firm?
Social media is absolutely important. It’s how people discover you.
But you need to expand beyond that.
Let’s take a closer look at how to do that.
How to Rethink Your Accounting Firm’s Content
Because online visibility and discovery are more complex, we need to take a step back and rethink how we’re creating content, its purpose, and how we’re distributing it.
Here are a few things to consider when rethinking your firm’s content.
What questions are clients asking? Are you answering them?
We know that social media is a leading way people discover brands organically online, but it can be more than just a way for people to “randomly” find your firm.
Yes, you should be taking advantage of engagement trends, but it’s equally important to think about whether you’re answering questions that potential clients may have so that your social posts show up when your prospects are searching.
One way to find what questions are driving traffic to your socials is through Google Search Console. With Google Search Console’s update, you can now add your social media accounts and track what’s getting clicks.
This gives you a bigger and clearer picture of potential clients, their pain points and their questions.
Some of those questions may be:
- How does a business switch CPA firms?
- When does a business need a fractional CFO?
- How much should I be prepared to spend on outsourcing accounting costs?
The goal is to be the one showing up to answer questions like these so that your firm can get found on social media, AI search, and other places people are looking for answers.
Are you factoring AI searches into your strategy?
Speaking of AI search, are you factoring this into your current strategy? Many people are using this channel to discover brands.
How can you take advantage of this growing trend?
It helps to understand how they work.
AI platforms pull information from a variety of sources. This could be your website, your Google reviews, your LinkedIn or other social platforms, articles you’ve contributed to, podcasts you’ve been on, events you’ve spoken at, etc. They’re looking at all of this information to deliver succinct results.
Now, this could look like something very specific. For example, “Hey, I am a dental practice and I’m looking for a new CPA to help with tax planning. Who is the best CPA?”
If your firm serves dental practices and you’re known for this, you may get pulled into the results. But the key is to make sure you have strong connections here. For example, your LinkedIn posts mention you serving dental practices, you’re speaking at events for dental practice owners or you’re making appearances on podcasts geared towards practice owners.
Now, you not only want to show up in these types of general results, but you also want to show up when someone asks something even more specific, like “Hey, how much should I pay my accountant?”
Content that answers this question is great for something like social media, but you can also create answer-first content for your blog or YouTube.
The main takeaway here is that AI must have context when it comes to understanding who you are and who you serve.
Is your firm clear about these two things? Often, the answer is “no.”
- The website says one thing. Maybe it mentions serving small business owners.
- The partner profiles on LinkedIn talk about being a partner and serving high net worth individuals
- The bios on social media point back to the website, but they don’t say anything about their specialty.
A situation like this sends conflicting signals, and AI never really gets the context to recommend you in the first place.
So, I would start here. Get really clear about who you serve and the service you provide them. This way, AI can say, “Okay, I understand exactly who this person is, who they serve and the services they provide.”
Are you feeding AI enough context about your firm?
Once AI has basic context about you and your firm, you can start feeding it more to solidify your trustworthiness and credibility.
This could be your website, but it could also be your social media accounts, podcasts you’re on and even events that you speak at.
All of these things can give context to AI.
Some questions you want to be feeding AI and giving answers to are things like:
- Who is this service designed for?
- What problems does it solve?
- How much does this typically cost?
Another great question to focus on is: Who is this service not a good fit for? Maybe there are businesses below a certain threshold of revenue that you don’t want to serve. Let’s call that out. Same with characteristics. If there are certain characteristics that make you not a good fit, call them out, too.
Be upfront. The more information you can feed AI, the better the chances of you actually showing up to the right people.
It’s All About Picking Themes and Distributing Them
Now, some of you may be thinking, “Hey, I have to be in a lot of places at once creating a lot of content.”
But ultimately, the key is to pick themes and foundations, and then distribute them.
Let’s say that you’re focused on the question, “How much should your dental practice pay for outsourced accounting?”
You could answer this in a blog on your website, a post across your social media platforms or an answer on Reddit. You could even weave this answer into a talk during a podcast interview.
Focus on distributing one theme, and then you can move on to the next theme. If you have multiple partners, you can tackle different themes together.
The Takeaway
Search is changing, whether we like it or not. If you want to stay ahead and grow your accounting firm, you need to be open to adapting to these changes.
Because even the best traditional SEO strategy isn’t delivering the same level of results today. Search hasn’t disappeared by any means, but clicks are down. People are getting information in different ways.
Branching out, leveraging social media, and giving context to AI search through your content online can help you get found wherever your potential clients are searching for answers.
