The Accountants’ Guide to Getting More Clients Online

James Dooley: If you are an accountancy firm and you're looking to successfully scale out and grow your accountancy business, this video is for you. We're going to break down the strategies that actually work for lead generation, and the ones you should avoid. Strategy number one is the Google Business Profile. If you already have one, reach out to all existing clients and ask for as many five star reviews as possible. A strong profile generates more leads. You should also build citations, post regularly and upload photos. That is always the first step for generating more local leads.

Kasra Dash: Step number two supports the Google Business Profile. Create dedicated service pages for every individual service you offer, fully SEO optimised. Doing that helps the page rank and increases the chance of your Google Business Profile showing for more keywords. That brings in more phone calls and more enquiries.

James Dooley: If you want more local leads, another option is PPC lead generation through Google or Bing. You target bottom of funnel keywords that bring in enquiries from people ready to take action. The challenge is choosing a good agency. Click fraud exists and you must build a strong negative keyword list so you avoid paying for irrelevant traffic such as job seekers. PPC works, but in the wrong hands it wastes money.

Kasra Dash: After that, you can also use Meta ads on Facebook and Instagram. When someone is scrolling, they may see your advert. You can run lead forms that keep the user on Facebook, although the quality is often lower unless you add more detailed questions. Or you can run conversion ads that send users to your website to fill out your contact form. Both options work.

James Dooley: Another way to grow your lead flow is organic social media. Post regularly on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram. There are many platforms worth using. Reddit and Quora also work well, especially when you answer questions people already have. Organic social is a volume game. You need consistency. Daily or weekly posting schedules work well, especially for platforms like YouTube and Twitter.

Kasra Dash: What are your thoughts on using AI agents or tools to automate posting, for example with N8N? A lot of companies now use automation to crop videos and publish them across different platforms. Another area worth focusing on is AI search. More people are beginning to search on ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Groq. If your brand is not appearing on these platforms, you will miss leads.

James Dooley: If you want more business in your local area, another method is tradespeople websites. Platforms like Checkatrade, Bark, Builder Builder, TrustATrader and Rated People can generate leads. Track your KPIs so you know your return on investment. Look at cost per lead, cost per acquisition and the value of the jobs generated. These platforms can work, and we have comparisons between Checkatrade and Fatrank, Bark and Fatrank, Rated People and Fatrank, and Builder Builder and Fatrank.

Kasra Dash: That brings us to the difference between lead generation companies and tradespeople platforms. You must do due diligence. Make sure the lead generation company has experience in your niche. Have a proper strategy call. Share your budget and the number of leads you want to ensure your KPIs align. Also ask whether the leads are exclusive or shared. Many platforms such as Bark and Checkatrade sell shared leads, and business owners often tell us that it becomes a race to the bottom on price.

James Dooley: If anyone wants more local leads, head to fatrank.com. Our service is commission based. You only pay a finder’s fee on converted jobs. There is nothing to pay per lead. You pay only when you get paid and only once the job has been completed. Visit fatrank.com to check if you qualify.

Kasra Dash: Let’s expand on inbound versus outbound lead generation. I always prefer inbound. The conversion rate is higher. The last stat I saw showed that around 16.1 percent of inbound leads convert into paying customers, compared to around 1.4 percent for outbound leads. The difference is huge. Outbound needs large volume through cold calling, cold email or tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator. It also requires more staff. People think outbound leads are free, but there are still costs for sending emails and for the sales team.

James Dooley: Some people ask if real time leads matter. The answer is yes. Real time leads convert about 63 percent higher. Our internal KPIs showed that responding in under one minute dramatically increases conversions. We used to think five minutes was good, but under one minute performs far better. When a lead comes in, you should call or email immediately to thank them and collect more information.

Kasra Dash: Not every company can respond that fast, and when we choose who to partner with, we look at these details. Some firms go on holiday for five days with no one handling leads. Yet we still deliver the leads. That creates problems. There are many small nuances like this that we check before partnering.

James Dooley: The best thing to do if you want to scale your accountancy business with consistent high quality leads is to fill in the form at fatrank.com. The team will tell you if you are the right fit. If not, they will explain why and give clear next steps.

Kasra Dash: We hope you found these strategies helpful. At Fatrank, we work with chartered accountants, tax accountants, bookkeeping firms and payroll firms. Fill in the form at fatrank.com and we will help you grow your accountancy business with stronger, more consistent leads.