A CPA firm website should answer what a prospective client asks before they call: what kinds of clients you serve, what services you offer, whether you are taking new clients this season, how you price, how documents get to you securely, what the deadlines are for getting on your schedule, and who will do the work. Put those facts in plain text on pages you own. That is the marketing. Design is the layout that makes those facts easy to find and easy for search and AI to cite.
Accounting runs on the calendar and on fit. A firm that focuses on farm returns and small businesses wants different clients than a firm that audits nonprofits. The website should say plainly who you serve, so the right people call and the wrong ones do not fill your January voicemail.
Who is reading the site
Accounting firm traffic comes from a few groups.
Individuals and families who need tax help. Their preparer retired, their situation got more complicated, or they are tired of doing it themselves. They search and ask AI things like CPA Iowa City, tax preparer Cedar Rapids taking new clients, or accountant for rental property Davenport.
Farmers and ag operations. Farm returns, depreciation on equipment, cash rent, succession planning. They want someone who knows ag.
Small business owners. Bookkeeping, payroll, sales tax, entity choice, year-end work. They want a steady relationship and fast answers.
Nonprofits, local governments, and businesses needing audits, reviews, or compilations.
People with an IRS or state notice. They want to know if you help with that and how fast.
Iowa firms serving Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, the Quad Cities, and county seats compete the way accounting firms do everywhere: clear fit, clear process, clear calendar.
What the homepage has to say in the first screen
In plain HTML text:
1. Firm name, town, and street address 2. Who you serve: individuals, farms, small businesses, nonprofits, only what is true 3. Core services, in a short line 4. Whether you are accepting new clients, and for which kinds of work 5. Phone, one clear button: Request a consultation / Become a client, and office hours, including tax-season hours
A word on professional rules
Accounting advertising is regulated. State boards of accountancy set rules on who can use the CPA title, how firms describe themselves, and how services are advertised. Tax practitioners also follow IRS rules on advertising and solicitation. Check your board’s current rules and the IRS guidance for tax professionals before you publish.
Some plain habits help:
- Use the CPA title only for licensed people and registered firms, as your board allows
- No promises about refund size, audit outcomes, or savings
- Accurate descriptions of credentials, including enrolled agents and other staff roles
- Clear notes that general articles are informational and do not replace advice on a specific situation
Publish the calendar
This is the section most firms skip, and the one that saves the most phone time.
- Whether you are taking new tax clients this season, and the date you stop
- Your deadline for getting documents in for an on-time return
- How extensions work at your firm
- Tax-season office hours
- When your slower months are, if you want advisory or planning work then
Date this section and update it each year. It answers the most common January question before the phone rings, and it shows search engines and AI a site that is kept current.
Explain engagements and fees
- How a new client starts: consultation, engagement letter, document list
- How you price: flat fee by return type, hourly, monthly for bookkeeping, or a mix
- What changes the price: schedules, rentals, farm returns, multiple states, late documents
- When you give a quote
- Payment terms
You do not have to post every number. Explain the structure. People who read it arrive ready to talk, and AI assistants get a fair answer when someone asks how CPAs usually charge for a farm return.
Explain secure documents
People are rightly careful with tax documents. Say how you handle them.
- Your secure client portal, and how to use it
- What not to send by regular email
- Drop-off options at the office
- How you verify identity before sharing information
- How long you keep records
Keep sensitive information out of your website contact form. Point people to the portal instead.
Service pages that match how people search
- Individual tax preparation: what you handle, what documents to bring
- Farm and agricultural accounting: returns, depreciation, planning, only if real work for you
- Small business tax and accounting: entity returns, year-end, planning
- Bookkeeping and payroll: monthly services, software you work with
- Audits, reviews, and compilations: for nonprofits, local governments, businesses, only if you do them
- IRS and state notices: how you help, what to send you
- Estate, trust, and gift tax returns: only if you prepare them
- Business advisory and succession planning
Each page should explain the service in general terms, who at the firm handles it, and how to start.
Proof that belongs on a URL you own
- A team page with names, credentials, licenses, and the kinds of clients each person focuses on, all accurate
- Photos of your actual office and people
- Reviews on a page you own, as your rules allow, plus a link to Google Business
- Professional memberships you actually hold, named plainly
- Software you work with, so business clients know you fit their setup
A real photo of your office on Main Street tells a farm family they found the right place. A stock photo of a calculator tells them nothing.
The inquiry path is the conversion
A good inquiry form asks for:
- Name, phone, email
- Individual, farm, business, or nonprofit
- Services needed
- Rough size or complexity: number of rentals, employees, entities
- Timing: this season, next year, ongoing
- A note to keep tax details and numbers out of the form
Say how fast you reply, and whether you reply more slowly in March and April. Put the form on its own URL so Google Business posts and AI answers can link to it.
Content that feeds search and AI without theater
Useful posts for a CPA firm read like plain explainers:
- What to bring to your first tax appointment with us
- When we stop taking new clients this season, and why
- Farm equipment and depreciation: questions to ask your preparer, in general terms
- How to use our secure client portal
- What to do if you get an IRS letter
- Bookkeeping basics for a new small business
Keep each post general and informational, with a short line that it does not replace advice for a specific situation. Tax law changes, so date each post and update or retire it as rules shift.
Why the website matters more now
Websites and SEO are changing. They still matter, and they matter more now for accounting firms. Bots now make a large share of web requests. People still hire accountants, and they still look them up first. More and more, ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, and Google’s AI answers decide which firms a person hears about first. Those tools look for clear facts: who you serve, services, credentials, and whether you are taking clients.
Your website should be the source of record. Google Business, professional directories, and referral partners can point back to it. Keep the true services, calendar, and credentials on a domain you own.
Design rules that fit a firm
- Fast on mobile, and readable for all ages
- Click-to-call and a client portal link in the header
- High-contrast text and plain navigation
- Navigation: Who we serve, Services, New clients, Tax season, Client portal, Our team, Contact
- No fake reviews, invented awards, or promises about refunds or audits
- You own the domain, hosting, and content
What Upley does for firms like this
Upley builds and hosts websites for Iowa and Midwest businesses, including professional firms with rules to follow. For a CPA firm that means clear pages on who you serve and what you do, a tax-season calendar that stays current, an honest engagement and fee page, careful contact forms that point to your portal, hosting that stays up for daily crawls, and an easy way to post firm updates. You review everything for compliance before it goes live.
Same Iowa web team that ran Big Ten Web Design, handling design, hosting, and SEO, plus the modern layer so search and AI can find the true file about your firm, services, and calendar.
If your current site lists “tax, accounting, consulting” and nothing else, start with the homepage five facts, a who-we-serve page, and a tax-season calendar. Then build from the inquiry form.
Book 30 minutes: /half-hour-meeting/ Call 319-535-2508 ยท aaron@upley.com Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Quad Cities / Davenport