Christy Pinheiro EA

Question: My problem with the internet marketing is that it's hard to tell how many clients it brings you. Is internet advertising really worth it for a tax professional?

I believe that Adwords is probably the most effective advertising that a tax preparer can use-- and it's cheap and easy. Anyone can set up their own Adwords account-- it's simple--you don't need to pay someone to do it for you (although I will admit that I have set up Adwords accounts for some tax pro friends of mine who were computer illiterate).

The big issue with using Adwords is usually the tax professional's website-- NOT the ad. If you pay for internet advertising, your website better be on-point. What I mean is that the website should be clean and have your phone number and other contact information clearly on the website. And a picture and company bio really help, too.

Now, when internet shoppers click on an Adowrds link, they usually peruse your website for only a a minute or two. And then they will call. If you don't have a live human being answering the phone, then that internet customer usually goes on to the next internet ad.

This fact pattern isn't the same for referrals-- a referral will often leave a message on an answering machine, or wait a few days-- because they were referred by a family member or a friend.

But an internet ad referral usually won't try very hard to get ahold of the preparer. In order to get the most out of internet advertising, you need to have a live person answering the phone (even if it's just a virtual secretary) and your website has to be clean and have your contact information clearly stated. Also, if you ad states that you have some sort of specialty, like estate taxes, the website should have a dedicated page that explains your specialized expertise.