PPC For Accountants: How To Grow Your Firm With Search Ads

PPC is one of the most reliable methods to help accountant practices grow their book of clients.

Research suggests that 68% of people start their buying journey with an online search. 

This means that if someone needs an accountant, the first thing they’ll do is search for one online.

Without PPC marketing, your accounting firm risks losing out on more than two-thirds of potential clients.

PPC is particularly effective because it allows your firm to appear at the top of search engine results. 

This means those seeking an accountant are more likely to find your business before they come across your competitors. 

This article walks you through the mechanics of PPC for accountants and provides a step-by-step guide on launching your first campaign.

Why Do Accountants Need PPC Advertising?

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is exactly what the name suggests: You create online ads, and each time a potential customer clicks on one, you're charged for their click. 

Adding PPC advertising to your accounting firm’s marketing plan helps you take advantage of affordable ads that can accurately reach your intended audience.

On top of this, there are two more noteworthy reasons you should consider running PPC campaigns:

✅ Keep pace with modern advertising

In the past, advertising for accountants meant putting up billboards or getting ad space in newspapers or magazines. 

But nowadays, with many people working from home, they might never see your billboards and even longtime newspaper subscribers are canceling their subscriptions.

Instead, they’re spending their time online, where PPC ads pop up throughout the day. 

If your business is still fighting for advertising space in community newspapers that often end up forgotten in dusty mailboxes, then your firm may gradually lose relevance.

✅ Stay ahead of your competitors

Even if you've invested in other digital marketing techniques, such as a great website with strong SEO, your competitors might still have the upper hand.

How PPC Ads Work for Accounting Firms

As we saw in the previous section, PPC ads are billed according to the number of potential customers who click on your ads.

In other words, if no one clicks on your PPC advertisements, then you won’t pay a cent. 

Picture yourself at the heart of Dallas, Texas, leading a small accounting company that specializes in tax compliance for local businesses. 

Instead of following the traditional advertising route or solely relying on SEO, you decide to use PPC advertising to acquire new customers.

After getting familiar with Google Ads, you set up your first campaign using keywords that prospective clients search for,  such as "tax bookkeeping" and "tax accounting Dallas."

You agree to “bid” $2 every time a potential customer clicks on your ad and is sent to your preferred landing page. 

This is what your ad might look like on the search engine results pages:

Local business owners who are worried about taxes will now see your ad whenever they search for your chosen keywords.

How Profitable Is PPC for Accountants?

Accounting firms have a lot to gain from pay-per-click advertisements. Research shows that just over 5 out of every 100 clicks result in paying customers.

This will, of course, vary depending on how well you manage your campaign, and how much profit you earn from each successful conversion. 

If you can run your PPC campaign effectively, you stand to benefit greatly from the potential returns.

Key Advertising Networks for Accounting Firms

While social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube have become popular among businesses, not every brand has found them beneficial.

Choosing the right PPC ad networks depends on your brand and industry. 

Ad networks, or online advertising networks, act as a middleman between advertisers and their prospective clients. 

These networks typically have a hub where users spend time, such as Google or Facebook, and they then offer advertising space to companies, such as accounting firms. 

In general, accounting companies succeed when they set up PPC campaigns on the following ad networks:

💼 Google Ads

As the largest ad network, it spans all web pages accessible through Google and offers accounting firms extensive reach.

This is particularly useful for targeting potential clients who are actively searching for accountants. 

If you’re hoping to connect with small businesses in your region, then this is the perfect ad network for your accounting firm. 

Let’s say a manufacturing company in Michigan needs assistance with accounting and tax planning. 

If you set up a Google Ads campaign with keywords like "manufacturing accounting services Michigan," then your accounting firm might be the first result they see online. 

Here’s a real-life example of an ad like this: 

This increases your odds of being contacted by potential new clients and ultimately growing your business in the Michigan area.

💼 Facebook Ads

This is a great choice for accounting firms that want to connect with individuals. 

For example, suppose an accounting firm specializes in helping individuals remotely manage their accounts to save local costs. 

With Facebook's precise targeting options, firms can show ads to individuals interested in offshore accounting. 

This means they reach people who are actively seeking offshore accounting services. 

Plus, Facebook offers different kinds of PPC services and ad formats, like images and videos, so firms can showcase their expertise in creative ways. 

In addition to this, it offers features like comments and likes, so firms can engage directly with potential clients and build trust with them.

💼 LinkedIn Ads

LinkedIn is particularly effective for business-to-business (B2B) marketing, making it suitable for accounting firms that primarily serve corporate clients or businesses. 

By targeting specific industries or companies, firms can tailor their ads to appeal to businesses in need of their accounting services.

Moreover, LinkedIn is ideal for targeting executives and decision-makers, making it an even more valuable platform for accounting firms.

For example, when targeting clients such as corporations or nonprofit organizations, accounting firms can utilize LinkedIn's precise targeting options. 

These options allow firms to reach individuals based on factors such as job title, industry, company size, and seniority level.

This ensures that ads are shown to relevant professionals who may require accounting solutions.

Launching Your First PPC Campaign

Now that you have an understanding of how PPC for accountants works, let’s find out how you should set up your first campaign. 

To illustrate this, let’s use a fictional accounting firm, called Venture Accounting Services (VAS), which specializes in services for startups and entrepreneurs. 

Let’s pretend that you’re the CEO of this business. Your website is high quality but it’s not bringing in enough traffic or conversions. 

You decide to launch a PPC campaign to generate more conversions. 

These are the steps you need to take to set up your first PPC campaign: 

1. Define campaign goals

Be specific about your goals so you have something to measure your results against. 

The website, which was launched 6 months ago, is currently attracting around 150 users each month, and of these, only 5 are converting. 

For an established accounting firm, these aren’t bad results. However, considering the cost of having set up the website, you’re worried about your company’s ROI. 

You set a goal to achieve a click-through rate (CTR) of 5% in your PPC campaign, aiming to double the number of users visiting your website each month to 300. 

Since PPC can target users who are already looking for accounting services, you believe that this will inadvertently increase the conversion rate. 

2. Choose the right platform

Next, you need to decide which ad network is most suited for your particular business. 

As mentioned earlier, we recommend that accountants use Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and LinkedIn Ads. 

Given the conservative nature of your brand, you decide Facebook may not resonate with your target audience. 

However, LinkedIn seems promising as startups often frequent the platform for networking opportunities.

3. Set a budget

Now you know your goals and you’ve selected an ad network, you can review your finances and choose an appropriate budget. 

You should consider factors such as your overall marketing budget, the competitiveness of your industry, and the potential ROI you expect from your campaign.

Start by determining how much you're willing to invest in your PPC campaign on a monthly or quarterly basis. 

Then, divide this budget across different ad groups or campaigns within Google Ads to ensure optimal allocation of funds.

The amount you’re willing to spend will depend on your cost per click (CPC). This is the price you pay each time someone clicks on your ad.

CPC can vary depending on factors such as keyword competitiveness, ad quality, and industry trends. 

It's essential to monitor your CPC closely to ensure that your budget aligns with your campaign objectives and financial constraints.

Here’s a useful diagram that explains this:

Ad groups allow you to organize your campaigns effectively and target different audience segments with tailored messaging. 

It also allows you to apply different budgets to different keywords and ad groups.

For VAS, you decide that you can spend $2,000 on PPC campaigns over the next quarter. 

With this budget in mind, you can set specific limits for each ad group based on the performance and priority of keywords within them. 

This ensures that your CPC aligns with your overall budget allocation.

4. Do keyword research

It’s finally time to start setting up your campaign. The first step is to select keywords that connect you with your target audience. 

Here’s an example of a Google Ad displayed on the search engine results pages: 

Since startup founders often prefer in-person meetings, you decide to target users who are based in the same area.

There are many paid-for tools you can use to do keyword research, such as: 

🚀 Ahrefs: Lite package of $99, Enterprise package of $999. 

🚀 SEMRush: Pro plan for $129, Business play for $499. 

Since you’re using Google Ads, you decide to use their free, built-in keyword tool, known as Google Keyword Planner. 

You assess these keywords based on your niche and the different ad groups you want to target, and then you’ll want to craft compelling ad copy that resonates with your target audience.

5. Design ads

You have a matter of seconds to connect with prospective clients. If they resonate with your ad, they will click on it. If they don’t, they will scroll right past it.

By following the two guidelines below, you can ensure that you achieve this:

📝 Add a clear call to action (CTA)

Make sure your Google Search ads contain a clear call to action (CTA) that aligns with your landing page. 

This should guide users from the ad to the desired action you’d like them to take on your landing page. 

For example, you could use phrases like “get in touch now” or “explore our services.” Here’s an example of a CTA that encourages users to call the accounting firm: 

📝 Include ad extensions

Ad extensions complement the CTA by providing additional details hyperlinked to useful landing pages. 

These may include a pricing list or a direct link to contact your offices through their preferred calling app.

Here’s an example that highlights "case studies" and links to the experiences of happy customers:

When writing ad extensions, try to showcase enticing information about your business to capture potential customers' interest. 

For example, you could highlight monthly webinars on startup accounting or a downloadable guide on tax deductions for new businesses.

📝 Highlight your unique selling proposition

What sets VAS apart from other accounting firms? 

Maybe it's your long history of working with startups and entrepreneurs—showing how an experienced accounting firm’s services can support a new business.

When you design your ad, you need to make sure that your unique selling proposition is highlighted in the copy and call-to-action extensions. 

This shows startup founders that you know what you’re doing, and they can trust you with their new company.

6. Prepare landing pages

A good ad will grab users' attention and encourage them to click through to your landing page. 

But that's only part of the challenge. The next step is getting them to convert, and your landing pages play an important role in making that happen.

Here’s an example of one company’s landing page that has both trust signals, a clear CTA, and visual appeal: 

The second section of their landing page is dedicated to client testimonials, which make use of original graphics and videos.

Have a look at this example, which has an easy-to-understand navigation bar at the top of its landing page: 

7. Set up and launch the campaign

📋 Define parameters: Select your target audience parameters, such as location, demographics, and interests, to ensure your ads are shown to the most relevant users. 

Once everything has been set up, you’re ready to launch your campaign. 

After the success of your initial campaign, you're eager to set up new campaigns for the next quarter. 

However, this time, you're looking to explore more advanced PPC techniques: 

8. Monitor and optimize

Setting up a PPC campaign is a complex task. While it's a skill you can acquire, mastering it takes time and practice.

Just as clients trust you with their accounting needs, you can entrust PPC.io with your pay-per-click advertising.

Our PPC management services are based on decades of experience, and we can set up and optimize PPC campaigns that drive results for accountants.

Get in touch with us today to get a free audit and kickstart your company’s entry into the world of PPC advertising.

Advanced PPC Techniques for Accountants

You can now reach out to users who have previously visited your website.

Using Google Ads, you can retarget these users with tailored ads when they search for related keywords, increasing the likelihood of conversion. 

Google remarketing ads are a powerful tool for re-engaging with users who have previously visited your website.

Since they’ve already shown an interest in your business, you can now capitalize on this by extending special offers, effectively nudging them toward making a purchase. 

PPC specialists often use Google remarketing ads because of their effectiveness.

1️⃣ Remarketing lists for Google search ads (RLSA)

You can now reach out to users who have previously visited your website.

Using Google Ads, you can retarget these users with tailored ads when they search for related keywords, increasing the likelihood of conversion. 

Google remarketing ads are a powerful tool for re-engaging with users who have previously visited your website.

Since they’ve already shown an interest in your business, you can now capitalize on this by extending special offers, effectively nudging them toward making a purchase. 

PPC specialists often use Google remarketing ads because of their effectiveness.

2️⃣ AI-driven bid management and machine learning

Bid management can be one of the most challenging aspects of running PPC campaigns. 

If handled incorrectly, it can lead to inefficient spending and missed opportunities for top ad placements. 

However, with the integration of AI-driven bid management and machine learning algorithms, you can automate and optimize your bidding strategies in real time.

This will help you make sure your ads are shown to the right audience at the right time, maximizing ROI and campaign performance.

Let’s say you're using keywords related to "startup accounting services Silicon Valley". 

This ensures that your ads are more likely to win the bid, increasing the likelihood of your ad being shown.

Get a Specialist to Take Care Of It

Setting up a PPC campaign is a complex task. While it's a skill you can acquire, mastering it takes time and practice.

Just as clients trust you with their accounting needs, you can entrust PPC.io with your pay-per-click advertising.

Our PPC management services are based on decades of experience, and we can set up and optimize PPC campaigns that drive results for accountants.

Get in touch with us today to get a free audit and kickstart your company’s entry into the world of PPC advertising.