Project overview
Website and SEO Case Study for Local Accounting Firm
Guildford Accounting came to Targeted SEO for a combined website and SEO strategy designed to improve local search visibility and generate more relevant enquiries from organic search.
The project involved designing and developing a new search-optimised WordPress website, improving the structure of the site, creating and optimising content, supporting local SEO, improving Google Business Profile visibility, and building a stronger long-term foundation for search growth.
The campaign helped Guildford Accounting become highly visible for competitive local accountancy searches, including “accountant Guildford”, “accountants Guildford”, “Guildford accountants” and “accountants in Guildford”. The website also built broader visibility across tax, bookkeeping, VAT, capital gains tax and self-assessment searches.
During the active campaign period, the website grew from 35 organic keywords to 1,063 organic keywords, with organic traffic increasing by 409%.
The Challenge
The original strategy was built around improving local visibility and increasing enquiries from the website.
Guildford Accounting needed a stronger website, clearer content and a more structured approach to SEO. The proposal set out a plan to redesign and redevelop the website, launch it, and support the new site with monthly SEO work.
The challenge was to create a website that could compete in a local accountancy market where several firms were targeting similar searches.
The campaign needed to focus on:
- Local SEO for area accountancy searches
- A clearer website structure
- Stronger service pages
- Improved Google Business Profile visibility
- Useful content targeted towards small businesses and tax
- Ongoing website support and technical SEO
- Content writing, optimisation and publishing
- Long-term, stable, organic visibility.
The website also needed more personality. Accountancy websites can often feel generic, which makes it harder for users to understand why they should choose one firm over another. Part of the strategy was therefore to make the website more engaging and more aligned with the Guildford Accounting brand.
Our Work
Combined Website & SEO Strategy
For Guildford Accounting, we recommended a combined website and SEO management approach. This meant the website design, development, content and SEO strategy were not treated as separate projects. They were planned together.
The strategy included:
- Designing and developing a new search-optimised WordPress website
- Improving technical SEO foundations
- Creating and optimising service page content
- Supporting local SEO visibility
- Optimising Google Business Profile signals
- Providing ongoing website support
- Using SEO software to monitor search performance
- Creating a content strategy around relevant accountancy, tax and business topics
- Improving trust and authority through off-site SEO where appropriate.
This created a practical framework for improving search performance over time.
Search-Optimised Website Design & Development
The first stage was to redesign and redevelop the website. The new website needed to be more engaging, more professional and easier for users to navigate. It also needed to be built with SEO in mind from the start.
This included improving the structure of the site, planning service pages, creating clearer calls to action, and making sure the website could support ongoing content growth.
A search-optimised website matters because SEO is not only about rankings. The website needs to help users take action once they arrive. For Guildford Accounting, this meant making it easier for potential clients to understand the firm’s services and get in touch. The new website gave the campaign a stronger platform to build from.
Local SEO for Guildford Accountants
Local SEO was central to the campaign. The website needed to be visible for local accountancy searches in Guildford. Given the name of the business, this made our work slightly more straight forward. Our local SEO work included building local landing pages for the wider area across the county. At time of publishing this case study, the website had strong rankings for some of the most important local accountancy searches in Guildford.
These are highly relevant rankings for a local accountancy firm because they match the way potential clients search when they are looking for an accountant in the Guildford area.
The presence of local pack and review features is also important. For local professional services, users often compare businesses directly from the search results before clicking through to a website. Strong visibility in these areas helps improve trust and increases the chance of users engaging with the business.
Service Page & Content Optimisation
The SEO campaign also focused on broader service-led visibility. As the website developed, Guildford Accounting began building visibility across a wider range of accountancy and tax-related searches. This is important because accountancy SEO should not rely on one page or one keyword. A stronger accountancy website needs to build visibility across multiple services and client needs.
The content strategy helped the website expand beyond local homepage rankings and appear for more specific searches related to tax, bookkeeping, VAT, payroll and landlord accounting.
AI SEO & Search Feature Visibility
A useful part of this case study is the site’s visibility in modern search features. The SEO software export showed 37 AI Overview appearances across tracked keywords. These included tax and accounting-related searches such as capital gains tax, VAT, rental income and tax relief queries.
This matters because search is changing. Accountancy firms are not only competing for traditional organic rankings. They are also competing to be understood, referenced and surfaced in AI-assisted search results.
AI SEO relies on clear, useful and well-structured content. The website’s visibility in AI Overview results suggests that its content was being interpreted by search systems across a wider set of tax and accountancy topics.
The results
Accountancy SEO Performance Results
Guildford Accounting worked with Targeted SEO from August 2023 until October 2025. During that period, the campaign focused on building a stronger website, improving local SEO visibility, expanding service-led content and creating a more useful search asset for the business.
At the start of the campaign, SEO software recorded the website ranking for 35 organic keywords. By October 2025, this had increased to 1,063 organic keywords.
This represents a 2,937% increase in organic keyword visibility during the active campaign period. This data shows the website became a much stronger organic search asset during the SEO campaign.
The most important improvement was the growth in organic keyword visibility. The site moved from a very small keyword footprint to ranking for over 1,000 organic keywords by the end of the active campaign.
This matters because local SEO for accountants is not only about ranking for one phrase such as “accountant in [location]”. A stronger website should also appear across related searches for tax, bookkeeping, VAT, self-assessment, payroll, capital gains tax, rental income and other accountancy topics.
By October 2025, Guildford Accounting had built a broader search footprint across both local and service-led queries. The campaign also helped improve the website’s authority signals, with SEO software recording growth from 17 backlinks to 190 backlinks during the same period.
Search Visibility Beyond the Active Campaign
The website continued to retain visibility after the active campaign ended. This is worth noting because SEO work often has a longer shelf life than the period in which it is delivered. A well-structured website, improved service pages, optimised content and stronger authority signals can continue to support visibility after a campaign ends.
For Guildford Accounting, the later performance data suggested that the foundations built during the campaign continued to provide value beyond October 2025.
Key outcomes from the campaign included:
- A new search-optimised WordPress website
- Improved website structure and user journey
- Ongoing website management, hosting and technical support
- Local SEO strategy for Guildford accountancy searches
- Google Business Profile optimisation support
- Service page optimisation
- SEO content planning, writing, editing, optimisation and publishing
- Growth from 35 to 1,063 organic keywords during the active campaign
- 2,937% increase in organic keyword visibility
- 409% increase in organic traffic
- 178% increase in traffic value
- Broader visibility across tax, VAT, bookkeeping, payroll and capital gains tax searches
- A stronger long-term organic search asset for the business
What Made This Project Successful?
The success of this project came from combining website design and SEO from the start. Rather than treating the website as a standalone design project, the new site was created as the foundation for organic search growth. The structure, pages, content and technical setup all supported the wider SEO strategy.
For a local accountancy firm, this is particularly important. The website needs to rank for local searches, build trust quickly, explain services clearly and give potential clients a reason to get in touch.
The campaign also shows how SEO can build over time. At the start of the project, the website had limited organic keyword visibility. By October 2025, it had developed a much broader search footprint across local and service-led accountancy searches.
This made the website a more valuable long-term asset for Guildford Accounting.
Need SEO and web design for accountants?
A good accountancy website should explain your services clearly, build trust, support local search visibility and turn relevant visitors into enquiries.
At Targeted SEO, we help accountants and accountancy firms build SEO-led websites designed for long-term organic growth. Our work combines WordPress web design, technical SEO, local SEO, content strategy and writing, on-page optimisation, reporting and ongoing website support.
Get in touch to book your free SEO discovery meeting.
You may be interested in our SEO case study for an outsourced finance function.
