The Accounting Firms The Accounting Firms Winning New Clients From Google All Rank Well in Their Own Backyard From Google All Rank Well in Their Own Backyard

Most SEO advice is written for e-commerce brands or national service businesses. Accounting firms operate under different rules — geographically, commercially, and in terms of how clients actually make decisions.

When someone needs a CPA, they're not browsing. They're ready to hire. The search query 'accountant near me' or 'tax CPA in [city]' signals intent that's several steps past the awareness stage. That makes local search one of the highest-ROI channels available to a firm — provided you're visible when those searches happen.

The other difference is trust. Accounting is a relationship business, and proximity matters to clients more than it does in, say, a software purchase. Many clients still want a firm they can drive to. Local SEO captures that preference directly.

There's also a competitive dynamic worth understanding. In most markets, the firms appearing in Google's Map Pack are not the largest firms or the oldest firms — they're the ones with the strongest local signals. That's an opportunity for well-run practices of any size.

Finally, accounting has professional advertising standards that other industries don't. The AICPA's Code of Professional Conduct (Section 1.600) and individual state CPA board rules govern how CPAs can represent their services publicly. This content is educational, not legal or advertising compliance advice — verify your state board's specific requirements before implementing any marketing activity. That said, the local SEO tactics described here (accurate business information, client reviews, location-relevant content) are generally consistent with standard professional advertising guidelines. When in doubt, consult your state CPA society.

Google's local ranking algorithm evaluates three factors for Map Pack placement. Understanding them in plain terms helps you prioritize where to spend time.

1. Relevance

Does your Google Business Profile and website tell Google — clearly and consistently — what services you offer and where you offer them? A profile that lists 'accounting' as its only category is less relevant than one that includes 'tax preparation,' 'bookkeeping,' and 'certified public accountant' as additional categories. Your website content needs to match: a page that specifically mentions the city name alongside the service name is more relevant than a generic services page.

2. Distance

Google estimates the distance between the searcher and your business. You can't control where your office is, but you can control whether Google has accurate location data. An unverified or inconsistently listed address creates confusion that costs you ranking positions. For firms serving clients across a wider area, Google Business Profile's service area settings let you declare the geographic reach of your practice — though proximity to the searcher still plays a role in ranking.

3. Prominence

Prominence reflects how well-known and trusted Google believes your firm to be. This is influenced by the number and quality of your reviews, the authority of links pointing to your website, and how consistently your business information appears across the web. A firm with 40 reviews averaging 4.8 stars will typically outrank a competitor with 6 reviews at 4.2, all else being equal.

These three factors don't operate in isolation — Google weights them differently depending on the query. 'Tax accountant near me' weights distance heavily. 'Best CPA in Chicago' weights prominence more. Building all three signals simultaneously is more effective than optimizing one in isolation.

If you do nothing else in local SEO, get your Google Business Profile (GBP) fully built out and verified. An incomplete profile is one of the most common and most correctable problems we see across accounting firm audits.

Here's what a complete, optimized GBP for an accounting firm includes:

• Primary category: 'Accountant' or 'Certified Public Accountant' — whichever matches your credentials and services most closely
• Secondary categories: Add relevant options like 'Tax Preparation Service,' 'Bookkeeping Service,' or 'Business Management Consultant' as applicable
• Business description: 750 characters max — lead with your primary service and city, not your founding year or firm philosophy
• Services section: List individual services with short descriptions; this feeds into how Google matches your profile to specific queries
• Hours: Keep current, including seasonal adjustments (tax season hours differ from the rest of the year for most practices)
• Photos: Office exterior, interior, and team photos consistently outperform profiles with stock imagery in engagement metrics
• Q&A section: Seed this with questions your prospects actually ask — Google allows business owners to post and answer their own questions
• Posts: Regular GBP posts (deadlines, service announcements, educational content) signal an active, maintained profile

Verification matters. An unverified profile can be edited by anyone and may not rank at full strength. If your profile shows as unverified, make this the first thing you address.

One detail many firms overlook: the GBP name should match your legal business name exactly. Adding keywords to your business name (e.g., 'Smith CPA — Tax Specialists') violates Google's guidelines and can result in listing suspension. Use your actual business name.

Your website needs to speak to geography as clearly as it speaks to your services. Google can't infer that you serve Austin, Texas if your site never mentions Austin, Texas in a meaningful context.

The practical approach is to build dedicated landing pages for your primary service areas. Each page targets a specific combination of service and location — 'tax preparation in [city],' 'small business CPA [city],' 'bookkeeping services [city].' These aren't placeholder pages; they should include:

• The city name and surrounding neighborhood or county references used naturally in the copy
• Information specific to that market (local business types you serve, any relevant local tax context)
• A Google Map embed showing your office location relative to the area
• Local schema markup (LocalBusiness type with geo coordinates and service area)
• A clear call to action tied to that location

How many location pages you need depends on your service radius. A single-office firm serving one metro area typically starts with one well-developed city page and expands to nearby suburb pages as authority builds. A multi-location firm needs a distinct page — and ideally a distinct GBP — for each office location.

Keyword examples that reflect real search behavior in this category:

• 'CPA near me' (highest volume, heavily proximity-weighted)
• 'accountant in [city name]'
• 'tax preparation [city]'
• 'small business accountant [city or neighborhood]'
• 'QuickBooks accountant [city]' (software-specific queries show strong commercial intent)
• 'estate tax CPA [city]' (service-specific + location = high-intent, lower competition)

Service-specific plus location-specific combinations tend to have lower competition and higher conversion rates than broad 'accountant near me' queries. They're also where a mid-sized firm can compete effectively against larger practices that dominate the generic terms.

Reviews serve two distinct purposes in local SEO, and it's worth understanding both.

First, they're a ranking signal. Google uses review count, average rating, and review recency to assess prominence. A profile with consistent, recent reviews signals an active, trusted business. In our experience working with accounting firms, review velocity matters — a sudden burst of reviews followed by months of silence looks less natural than a steady stream of one or two per month.

Second, reviews are a conversion tool. Many prospects who find your firm through a local search will read your reviews before calling. For an accounting firm, where the client is trusting you with sensitive financial information, reviews carry more weight than they might for a commodity purchase. A 4.9-star profile with 35 reviews converts at a meaningfully higher rate than a 4.1-star profile with 8 reviews, all else being equal.

Practical considerations for review generation in accounting:

• Timing matters: Ask for reviews shortly after a positive interaction — after a successful tax filing, after onboarding a new business client, after resolving a complex issue
• Make it easy: Send a direct link to your GBP review page; every additional step reduces follow-through
• Don't incentivize reviews: The FTC's Endorsement Guides prohibit incentivized reviews without disclosure, and Google's policies prohibit them outright. Request reviews authentically. This is general guidance — verify current FTC and Google policies directly.
• Respond to every review: Responses to both positive and negative reviews demonstrate engagement and professionalism. Keep responses brief, warm, and non-defensive

If a negative review raises a concern that could touch on confidentiality — a client discussing their own financial situation in a public review, for example — respond carefully. Acknowledge the concern without confirming or denying any client relationship. When in doubt, consult with your state CPA board or professional liability insurer on response protocols.

For a deeper treatment of review strategy and online reputation management, see our accountant SEO resource hub.

Citations are any online mention of your firm's name, address, and phone number (NAP). They appear in directories like Yelp, Yellow Pages, Bing Places, Apple Maps, local chamber of commerce listings, and industry directories like the AICPA member finder.

Google cross-references these citations to verify that your business information is consistent and legitimate. Inconsistencies — a suite number listed on your website but not in Yelp, a phone number that changed two years ago still appearing in old directories — create conflicting signals that can suppress your local rankings.

A citation audit typically involves:

1. Identifying all existing listings across major directories
2. Checking each for NAP accuracy against your current, canonical business information
3. Correcting any discrepancies
4. Building listings in high-authority directories where you're missing

Priority directories for accounting firms include: Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Apple Maps, Yelp, Yellow Pages, FindAccountingTax.com, CPAdirectory.com, and your state CPA society's member directory. Local chamber membership often includes a directory listing as well — a frequently overlooked citation source.

This work isn't exciting, but in our experience it's often the fastest path to measurable ranking improvement for firms that haven't addressed it. If your NAP data is inconsistent across the web, fixing it is a higher priority than creating new content.

One practical note: decide on a canonical format for your business name, address, and phone number — including punctuation and abbreviations — and use it everywhere, consistently. 'Suite 200' and 'Ste. 200' are technically different strings. That level of precision matters in citation building.