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We have created a comprehensive guide to acquiring audit clients for your accounting firm. Most accounting firms already understand the importance of referrals, networking, alumni networks, and maintaining an online presence, so we will be covering commonly unknown and/or misunderstood methods of acquiring audit clients for this post. What you’ll find below:
- 3 highly effective methods of generating audit leads
- Necessary budget to execute each method
- Our recommended roadmap for a full-scale campaign targeting audit clients
3 Highly Effective Methods of Generating Audit Leads
The table below highlights 3 methods of generating leads for audit services broken down by ROI potential, time to break even, and expertise needed to effectively execute a campaign.
Method ROI Potential Time to Break Even Expertise Needed Email Marketing 261% 7 months Low SEO 687% 7 months High Google Ads 310% 1 month Medium
Email Marketing
Email marketing involves sending periodic updates and useful information to a list of email addresses your firm has acquired in the past. Emails to this list should contain highly informative information relevant to those on your email list.
Periodically, your emails will find themselves in the inbox of a potential client actively searching for audit services, and they will have a predefined relationship with your firm due to the trust you have built by sending useful information instead of gimmicky sales emails. That built-up trust will help convert them into a client.
Email lists are built over time from previous clients, networking groups, Google Ads, SEO, and a variety of other means.
Google Ads
Google Ads place your website at the top of Google searches for selected keywords. Keywords are simply queries that a user might type into the Google search box. The equation for a successful Google Ads campaign is:
Proper Keywords + Magnetic Ad Copy + Relevant Landing Page = High Converting Google Ads Campaign
Google Ads allow a firm to directly trade dollars for clients. Tracking is easily done due to Google’s advanced analytics platforms, so firms know exactly how much they are paying to acquire an audit client.
SEO
SEO, short for Search Engine Optimization, entails providing Google and other search engines with the highest quality result to their users’ search queries. In return, Google will boost your website in their rankings, driving more traffic to your website for the targeted audit related keywords.
Keywords with sufficient volume that indicate an intent to hire an audit firm are targeted with highly specific website pages and blog posts. These pages present your firm as a thought leader in your field, which draws clients to work with you.
SEO, while taking time to truly refine and grow, eventually turns into a lead generation machine delivering a constant flow of leads for years to come. Imagine if you ranked #1 for “best audit firm in *your city*”. That is what SEO allows you to accomplish.
Necessary Budget to Execute Each Method
Each method listed above will require a different budget to get started due to the time horizon for breaking even and the general costs associated with each campaign type. The table below breaks each method down by monthly cost and expected investment before reaching the break even point.
Method Monthly Cost Expected Investment Prior to Break Even Email Marketing $50-$2,000 $350-$14,000 Google Ads $2,000-$10,000 $2,000-$10,000 SEO $3,000-$7,000 $21,000-$49,000
Note: Each of these methods can be executed for less money. However, there is a minimum investment required for each method to be done correctly and therefore actually yield results, which is what we included above.
Email Marketing Cost Breakdown
For email marketing, costs are split between the email marketing software, used for creating and delivering emails, and labor for writing and designing each email. In cases where emails have already been collected, the break-even point may occur more quickly and a lower upfront cost may be required before closing a deal.
Our Favorite Email Marketing Platforms
Platform Cost (Base Price, Most Firms Will Need to Upgrade) Active Campaign $49/mo + $33 per 1,000 contacts Hubspot $20/mo + $20 per 1,000 contacts Mailchimp $20/mo + $25 per 1,000 contacts
Google Ads Cost Breakdown
Google Ads, not including a management fee if outsourced to an agency, will cost upwards of $2,000 to ensure adequate market penetration, but this may very slightly depending on the size of the market.
Click Here for a Full Breakdown of Google Ads for Accounting Firms
SEO Cost Breakdown
For SEO to be done correctly, a firm will need to retain an agency or dedicate a large amount of a staff member’s time to the SEO campaign. At its core, SEO involves extensive research to compile high-intent keywords to create content for, and writing and designing website pages designed to match the intent of the chosen keyword.
In our experience, we have never seen an agency perform SEO correctly using a thought leadership model (SEO designed to present the firm as a thought leader in their niche/market) for less than $3,000 per month, and the best agencies are upwards of 6 figures per year to retain.
If a full-time staff member must be hired to manage, in part, SEO, their salary will be at least what would be paid to an agency, and the staff member would not have the same expertise as an agency. If you are looking into an agency, we‘ve included a mini list of the top 5 best accounting firm SEO agencies.
Top 5 Accounting Firm SEO Experts
Number Agency Specialty 1 Focus Digital Small Businesses & Professional Service Providers 2 First Page Sage Small & Medium Sized Businesses 3 SEO Discovery International SEO 4 Straight North Large Financial Institutions 5 CPA Site Solutions Mass Market SEO
For a full list of accounting firm SEO experts, click here.
Our Recommended Roadmap for a Full-Scale Campaign Targeting Audit Clients
By utilizing a combination of email marketing, Google Ads, and SEO, any accounting firm can create an audit lead generation machine. To generate leads initially, unless an email list with qualified prospects has already been established, Google Ads should be launched to drive traffic to a dedicated landing page highlighting reasons to work with your firm for auditing.
Alternatively, if an email list has been established, one may find it beneficial to send 3-4 emails over 2-3 months before launching Google Ads in order to test the landing page before spending money on advertising. The emails should be content-focused with a soft call to action at the end, subtly inviting those who may be interested to continue the conversation.
Regardless of where you begin with Google Ads and email marketing, an SEO campaign should be launched as quickly as resources as available. Once the break-even point has been reached, SEO will yield an ROI growing to several hundred percent and even higher depending on the market and deliver consistent leads for years to come.
If you would like to work with an expert agency to deliver a full campaign including SEO, email marketing, and Google Ads, please don’t hesitate to reach out on our Contact Us page.