How can an accountant find clients when referrals stop bringing in new ones? By making sure people can find you without a go-between: through a website where each service is described on its own page. A business owner searches Yandex or Google for "accountant for sole traders" or "catch-up bookkeeping", lands on your page and messages you on Telegram. You keep your referrals, and the website adds people who haven't heard of you yet.
Below is what makes up an accountant's website that brings in enquiries, and how to make sure it gets found in search.
Why referrals alone aren't enough
Referred clients arrive already trusting you, and that's valuable. But this flow of clients has three weak spots:
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You can't switch it on when you want. When you have time for new clients, you can't ask your contacts to recommend someone urgently.
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It comes from one circle. If your first clients own cafés, the next ones will also be in food service, even if other industries interest you more.
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It runs out. Your circle of contacts is finite, and a client who closes their business or hires an in-house accountant takes their referrals with them.
For an accountant who works remotely, finding clients without a website is even harder: clients can be in any city, but your contacts are mostly in yours. Show on the website how you work remotely: how clients pass you their documents, how and when you can be reached, what a month of work looks like. That answers the main question: "How will we work together if we never meet?"
An accounting services website: a page for each service
A business owner isn't searching for "an accountant" but for a solution to their problem: filing their reports, getting neglected books back in order, finding an accountant for a new LLC. A single "Services" page with a long list ranks poorly for searches like these. A separate page for each service answers exactly what people are looking for, which is why it ranks better.
An accounting services website usually has separate pages for:
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Bookkeeping. Separately for sole traders and LLCs, if the terms for them differ.
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Filing reports. For those who only want to hand their reporting over to you.
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Catch-up bookkeeping. For businesses whose books have been neglected, or whose previous accountant left without a proper handover.
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HR records and payroll. For small companies with employees but no HR officer of their own.
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Consultations. For those who want to get to the bottom of a specific question without handing over all their accounting.
On each page, answer the questions a client would ask at a first meeting: what the service includes, what you need from them, how the work is organised, what the price depends on. If you're ready to give a "from" price, do: it saves time for both you and the client.
Who you work for and why you can be trusted
People choose an accountant not only by service but also by experience with similar businesses. A café owner wants to know that you understand food service; an online shop wants to know that you understand how its sales and returns work.
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Legal forms. Who you work with: sole traders, LLCs or both.
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Industries. Trade, food service, services, manufacturing: which ones you know best. For the main ones you can create separate pages: "accountant for cafés", "accountant for online shops".
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Who you are. A photo, your experience, education and the software you use. People trust their finances to a person, not a logo.
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Language. If you work with clients in Russian and Uzbek, say so clearly.
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Who you've worked with. Only the truth, and only with clients' consent. If you can't reveal a name, describe the client without it, for example: "a chain of clothing shops, we've kept their books since they opened". The same goes for reviews: publish them only with permission.
Enquiries and Telegram: no long questionnaires
A business owner who finds you in the evening won't fill in a long questionnaire. Give them two simple options:
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A "Chat on Telegram" button. On every page and on the first screen. For many clients in Uzbekistan, it's the most familiar way to get in touch.
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A short form. Name, phone number, legal form and what they need: bookkeeping, reporting or catch-up work. Clarify the rest when you talk.
Have enquiries from the form sent to you on Telegram, so you see them straight away even if you only check your email once a day. A client who has written to several accountants at once often chooses whoever replied first.
Prepare a template for your first reply: a couple of clarifying questions and when you'll send the price. Then, even on a busy day, the client gets a quick answer and doesn't move on to the next accountant in the search results.
How an accountant can find clients through search and maps
People look for an accountant with searches like "service + city" or "service + type of business": "accounting services Tashkent", "accountant for sole traders", "catch-up bookkeeping", "accountant for a restaurant". Each search like this needs a page where those words appear in the heading and the first paragraph. If your clients also search in Uzbek, make Uzbek versions of the pages.
Search isn't a fast channel: pages climb the rankings gradually, and a lot depends on how many accountants in your city are already promoting themselves. On the other hand, unlike social media posts, a page doesn't demand daily effort from you.
Besides service pages, short articles about how you work can bring in clients from search: how the handover from a previous accountant works, what to prepare for the first meeting, how catch-up bookkeeping is done. Clients ask you these questions in person anyway, so answer them once on the website.
If you have an office, add it to the maps: some clients look for an accountant close to them. We covered how to set up a listing in our checklists for Yandex Business, 2GIS and Google Business Profile. If you see clients at home, check each service's rules on showing your address.
Checklist
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Each service has its own page. Describing what it includes and what you need from the client.
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It's clear who you work for. Sole traders, LLCs, industries: on the homepage and on the service pages.
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There's a photo and an introduction. Your experience, education and the software you use.
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Examples and reviews are published with clients' consent. For an accountant, confidentiality is part of your reputation too.
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The Telegram button is visible on every page. And enquiries from the form reach you on Telegram.
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If you work remotely, that's explained. How to send documents and when you can be reached.
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If you have an office, it's on Yandex Maps and 2GIS. With opening hours and a link to the website.
If you want clients to find you through search, not just through people you know, we can help: we'll build a website with a page for each of your services and take care of search engine promotion. Tell us which services you offer and who for, and we'll suggest a structure for the site.