Getting Found: Keyword Research Tips for Tax Prep Companies

The tax preparation business and search traffic is extremely seasonal, but I don’t need to tell you that. With most traffic and sales concentrated in the first few months of the year leading up to March 15th and April 15th. As a small, local tax prep company, strong SEO is crucial for getting your website found by people in your area during this critical tax season rush. Of course, adding in some strategy to pull in some year long commitment business is ideal. By researching and targeting relevant keywords and search queries, you can increase your organic visibility and website traffic year over year. Here are some tips and tools to help with your tax business’ keyword strategy.

Know Your Audience

Personas Before diving into keyword research, it’s important to understand your different audience personas and what their search intents may be around tax preparation services. Some groups to consider:

• Procrastinators – Searching last minute in March/early April with urgent informational queries like “tax preparation near me” and “last minute tax filing”
• Homeowners – Interested in tax deductions and credits related to mortgage interest, property taxes, home improvements, etc.
• Parents – Looking for child tax credits, child care write-offs, getting kids’ taxes filed
• Small Business Owners – Need help organizing expenses/deductions, filing business taxes

Match Keywords to Different Stages of the Customer Journey

From initial broad research queries to final transactional “doing” keywords, search behavior shifts through the customer journey. Be sure to research and target keywords that map to each stage:

Awareness Stage Searches focused on learning more or discovering tax prep options nearby. Usually broad, informational keywords.

Examples:

• tax preparation
• tax accountants near me
• tax filing help

Consideration Stage

More specific searches comparing options, exploring service details, and evaluating providers. Long tail key phrases.

Examples:

• tax prep for small business owners
• certified tax accountants Venice Florida
• tax preparation package pricing

Decision Stage

Product/service focused queries with intent to purchase or transact. Include your brand name.

Examples:

• [Your Company Name] make an appointment
• tax document checklist “H&R Block” [or your company name]
• [Your company name… or] TurboTax discount code

Tools and Techniques for Keyword Research

Now let’s explore some helpful tools and approaches to actually researching and selecting your target keyphrases.

Google Keyword Planner Google’s free Keyword Planner tool lets you see monthly search volume data for keywords to help prioritize ones with sufficient search interest. Filter by location to see local numbers.

Google Related Searches and Autocomplete Type a broad seed keyword like “tax preparation” into Google and review the autocomplete suggestions and related searches at the bottom to find more specific long tail versions.

Analyze Competitor Content

See what keyphrases competitors rank for by using tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Moz Keyword Explorer. Target gaps where they may be missing variants.

Leverage Google Trends Look for seasonality trends around tax keywords in your area and identify rising related topics so you can create content ahead of spikes.

Optimize Landing Pages for Keyword Relevance Once you’ve researched your target keywords, ensure they are reflected appropriately on your site and landing pages through title tags, headers, content, URL, etc. But don’t over-optimize at the expense of quality content.

Monitor Performance

Use Google Analytics, Search Console, and rank tracking software to measure how your optimized pages perform for each keyword over time. Refine your targets as needed.

Keyword research certainly takes some ongoing effort, but it pays off by earning your tax business more qualified website traffic during crunch time tax season. Following these tips will keep your local SEO strategy focused squarely on the needs of Sarasota area tax filers. Over time, you’ll organically convert more of those valuable visitors into customers for your services.