Are People Really Using Search Engines To Find CPAs?
How long does it take you to convert a prospect into a
paying client? What does that conversion process
cost? What's the lifetime value of your typical client?
Those are tough questions, but they need to be
asked. What's more, they need to be answered! When
most firms sort through the information like this to
make a decision about creating a website, another
question frequently asked is, "Are people really using
search engines to find CPAs?" It's a logical question,
and it has a very logical, although not entirely concise,
answer.
The answer is yes--but. If you research the
terms "CPA" and "accountant" on a few of the keyword
research sites, you'll find that - yes - people are in fact
using search engines to research these terms.
According to one source, "CPA" gets just under 500
searches a day, while "accountant" gets about 700
searches. But those are pretty generic terms. (Here
comes that "but.") It isn't likely you'll be found by a
prospect who simply enters "CPA" into Google. Your
best prospects will be typing something to the effect
of "CPA New York City" or the reverse, "New York City
CPA."
Local terms get lower search counts than more
generic terms. So, while people are searching for
these keyphrases, they are doing so in smaller
volumes. What's more, those volumes will
dramatically change depending on which city
is "attached" to the term "CPA."
Here are several examples of monthly search totals
reported by a very basic keyword research tool from
Overture/Yahoo!. Please keep in mind that search
counts can vary almost daily, so numbers given today
will increase and decrease over time.
·
Denver CPA - 647
·
New York CPA - 563
·
San Diego CPA - 242
·
Dallas CPA - 180
·
Los Angeles CPA - 171
·
Boston CPA - 102
·
San Francisco CPA - 100
·
Chicago CPA - 76
In answer to our original question, "Are people really
using search engines to find CPAs," the answer is
yes--and you need to be one of the ones they find!
