Wonder if anyone benefits from a website

[erchess]

I wonder if anyone benefits in their business from a website and if so where you get it how much it costs and how it benefits you.

[geekgirldany]

I have a website. I've had several that said the information about my services and myself on my website help them decide to call me. I recently got a call last week from a fellow about QuickBooks. He said he found me through Google. I am listed at the top of most the major search engines for QuickBooks, payroll, and bookkeeping services for my local area. I am on the second page for tax services.

I actually design websites. I would not pay over $1,000 to $2000. for a site. Then again the price can depend on where you are located. You do get what you pay for but I think you can get a good looking website for around $1,000. Anything higher and you are looking at custom design work which does cost more. Look at the designers portfolio. Web 2.0 is very in now. So vibrant colors and larger fonts help get your message across. I think most accountants have websites that list either minimum information on their services or way to much, show a bunch of financial calculators, and can be very plain.

The websites now need to capture the users attention and keep them there. I am thinking of adding a blog to my website to keep it updated with tax news. Its good to keep a website updated frequently. Helps in the search engine results.

I apologize if I was a little long but in my view that is what you should look for in a website.

I hope this helped some

[ChEAr$]

nary a bite at first

from my web site.

Back in 1996 when NAEA came out with an 85$ special I enthusiastically designed mine and it was posted. Well, I did get one call but he never made an appointment.
At least I had the prestige, being the only tax person in my metro area to have one.

I paid a couple of years fees, then stopped, and finally about 4 years later they (NAEA) took it
down. By then of course I had saved the web page and had posted it for free on my Bellsouth
page.
But you won't find it now.

Just my three cents worth.

[sea-tax]

It is not just about having a web-site , but rather placing that web-site in areas of info space where by potential clients will see it. This year my firms contracted with a company which will see to getting you exposure on search engines. This was a great benefit and we feel lead to approximately 175 new clients being added this year alone.

[Gretel]

Seatax, who are you working with and how much do you pay?

[sea-tax]

Seatax, who are you working with and how much do you pay?

A local Internet/ Computer Guru- of sorts. Supposedly in order for your website to get hits you need to have the pages titled a certain way. I would suggest you call a local internet and web page guru in your area and they should be able to handle the rest. Not sure on the price as I do not pay the bills , but $75 an hour sticks out in my mind.
Sorry I can't be of more help , when it comes to computers and billing I leave it to my staff as I am not an expert in either. That is why I have these people and pay them well.

[geekgirldany]

That is what I did to my website. I optimized it for the search engines. Like I said I did not do well for tax prep. For some reason I just can not get it to the top. I've made the search terms very local. So it is specific to my city I live in like "bookkeeping in my city state". The more specific you are the better.

[equinecpa]

I designed and maintain my own website. I get a lot of business from it but I have a niche - I have specialized in serving the equine industry. I get clients from across the country - I'd say at least 50% if not more of my clients came to me from my website.

The cost of the domain and hosting is next to nothing (maybe $50.00 per year?).

Carolyn

[jeff501]

I don't have a website but have had people call me who looked up "tax preparers" with a google or yahoo search by city. This past season I got two new clients who had just recently moved to town and used Yahoo to find someone locally and they found me this way.

To see what would show up, I went to Yahoo and typed in "tax preparer" with my city and state and found my office information.

[Beth]

Tax Website-- and FREE

I have one and get some clients each year. Better yet, I show up in the top 3 in my communitites in Yahoo and Google. My practice is pretty much seasonal and smaller.

You can gt a free site from Microsoft :

http://smallbusiness.officelive.com/

Pretty decent reports and tools to build with not a lot of wen knowledge needed. Allows you to have email in your domeain nama as well.

[taxfun]

Our web site

We have had a web site for a long time (can't remember when). We regard it as a defensive measure. Like another post, if you type in our town for a cpa of tax preparer, we come up quickly.However, we have not gotten many e-mail messages from our site. It is a presence, for those who might look.

I designed our site with Microsoft Publisher 1997 so it is dated, but it works. I tend to think that for most folks it is only a starting point.... then people get personal references from friends and neighbors.

[erchess]

Does anyone have a website with any of these functions?

Clients can upload and send to you documents that are on their computer

Clients can fill out and print or send you your organizer?

People can send you email without learning your addy unless you respond?

Would these features facilitate one's provision of services to folks who live too far away for us to meet them in person?

[veritas]

We mainly use

our website to transfer files through a secure whatever you call it.

[Lion]

Website

I bought a website through ProSystem fx when I purchased their software late last year. I'd had the .biz version of my name for a long time, but never did much with it other than having email. Then, the .com version became affordable last summer. I knew I didn't have time to get it up and running while evaluating software before tax season, so I bought a ready-made but infinitely alterable site. I think it's Execusite who builds/maintains it via Profx. Cost a bunch, maybe $895, and is half that much through ATX. But, I love it. I can point and click to change anything. I can post my own content. Their newsletters change automatically the first of every month. Again, I can check or uncheck to use specific pieces. I find that when people hear about me, they then google or whatever to see if I have a website so they can read about me. (I've had people get my name from the NAEA site or QB and then go to my website and then call me.) Gradually, I'm updating the pages with my own material instead of the boilerplate it came with. But, that boilerplate let me get online immediately. In fact, the Profx salesman actually filled out my site, so it was up without me lifting a finger. Then, as I had time, I worked with it. What I like best is that if a client calls with a question when I'm busy or their appointment isn't until weeks later, I can send them to my site to read a newsletter I post from the Execusite archives or I copy and paste from my own stuff to let the client do some preliminary reading until I have time to address their concern. They have a little cheat sheet of html, for the formatting I want to do. I'm very happy with it and will probably renew without much concern about the price.

[AZ-Tax]

Website productive for me

My website list testimonials, tax facts and my tax organizer forms. In AZ our medical exps pass through to our Arizona Sch A regardless what amount of any qualifies for deduction for the Fed so I have an article about Medical exps on my website. For me my website serves 2 main purposes: Clients can access my tax organizer w/o me having to email it to them and they can check out my credentials.

I have a question for you EA's. I was planning on obtaining my EA this year. Would it be wise to post a jpeg or gif of my EA certificate on my website?