</div>isive Change, Decisive Achievement

Aligning a Website with Company Goals and Client Needs

The Challenge

When I started working at a Minnesota-based CPA firm, it was immediately apparent that the website needed thorough revision. Dated visuals were just a small portion of the changes the website required.

Platform wasn’t user-friendly or accessible

The website infrastructure was difficult for the non-initiated to use. Any substantial website changes had to go through the developer directly. Content that needed frequent updates, like job postings, had to be coded in HTML every single time. Small changes frequently led to broken code.

Lead generation was non-existent.

Form submissions for the ‘Contact Us’ website page went to a WordPress plugin module, where they remained forgotten and stale. Even worse — there was no link to opt-in for email communications anywhere on the website.

Content bloat made navigation a nightmare

Broken links and outdated content was everywhere. There were nearly 200 pages on the website – many had not been updated in decades. It was too much for the small marketing team to manage realistically. Even employees struggled to find where content lived on the website.

The Tactics

Established Goals and Target Audience

After a comprehensive audit of the existing site, I led a cross-functional internal process to identify where the website failed to meet our needs. We identified and implemented marketing personas, consolidating our personas to the five most important demographics.

Moved to Gutenberg in WordPress

The company needed a website that could easily be edited and updated. Transitioning to the Gutenberg editor in WordPress was the best solution. Gutenberg’s block-based allows users to build complex layouts with ease, making it accessible even for those with minimal technical skills. The editor’s advanced features allows for website customization without needing extensive HTML knowledge.

Created Marketing Funnel via HubSpot

With the old system for tracking and storing leads clearly broken, we transitioned to HubSpot. This gave us the ability to automatically store lead information, segment contacts, and track interactions all in one place. Contact forms were created to automatically route to the appropriate employee, streamlining communication and response times.

Streamlined Content

Reducing clutter and improving navigation was a critical need. We recreated the navigation menu from scratch, focusing on the needs of our marketing personas. The old menu was difficult to access on mobile devices — the new design ensured a seamless browsing experience.

After an analysis of our website analytics, pages with low engagement and views were either consolidated or eliminated, reducing clutter and removing redundancy.

The Impact

Before

After

Hierarchy and Structure Added to Service Pages

Service Pages are the most frequently visited pages on the website, meriting special attention. Continuity was an important consideration. All service pages now have the following hierarchy:

  • Hero image and introduction captures attention and provides an overview.

  • Highlight of key services showcases core offerings. Gone are needlessly wordy descriptions and exhaustive lists of every product — succinct summaries are in.

  • Contact forms for easy inquiries and communication are now a prominent feature. These route directly to the employee best equipped to assist. Contacts are now stored, segmented, and tracked via HubSpot.

  • Thought leadership section features articles, insights, and industry commentary. These are filtered directly by content relating to the service line.

  • Team roster introduces the individuals working in the department, from the Partner group to the client delivery team.

Lead Generation Strategy

Signing up for email communications is now the most prominent feature on the website footer. Contacts are also able to choose the communication topics they wish to receive.

Creation of Landing Pages for Personas

All persona pages were created with a specific hierarchy:

  • Hero image and introduction captures attention and provides an overview.

  • An audience highlight to let our personas see themselves in our client base.

  • Highlight of key services lines to speak specifically to how we serve that segment.

  • Membership list that shows our audience strong connections to trade associations and groups in their industries.

  • Team roster introduces the individuals who specializing in working with that key persona.