Accounting Firms’ GEO Strategy Starts With Website Ownership

Accounting firms can’t reshape service pages for generative search if a vendor controls the site structure, domain or content. Before rewriting pages to answer prospective clients’ questions, firms need to know they can make those changes—and preserve the links, forms and traffic the existing site supports.

That’s the practical prerequisite behind Becky Livingston’s advice in “From SEO to GEO: The Next Evolution of Search for Accounting Firms.” Livingston recommends organizing important service pages around the questions clients ask, while maintaining accessible websites and useful, reliable information. The content work can begin quickly, but only if the firm has enough control to make it.

A restricted template or vendor-run site builder may limit changes to headings, page layout, new sections and URLs. In that case, website ownership is a practical first step: it determines whether the firm can improve its pages and whether it can move its content without losing useful parts of the current site.

Check who controls the site

Start with four questions. Can the firm change page structure and addresses, as well as edit text? Can it export pages, posts, images and files in a format that can move to another site? Does the firm control the domain registrar account and its DNS settings? Are analytics and Google Search Console accounts held under firm credentials, with outside vendors added as users?

A “yes” to all four means the firm has the basic access needed to revise its pages. If any answer is no, resolve the gap or plan a move to a site the firm controls before beginning a broad rewrite. Otherwise, improvements may depend on a vendor’s tools, permissions or willingness to make changes. Control also helps the firm keep access to its content and measurement data if its provider changes.

Record what the current site does

Website moves create avoidable problems when teams rely on memory instead of documenting the existing setup. Before changing anything, build a spreadsheet that captures the site’s pages, connections and measurement tools. That record gives the people building the replacement site a usable brief and helps the firm check the finished work.

• List every live URL. Export the sitemap or crawl the site. Include older blog posts and landing pages, not just the pages visible in the main navigation. Some may still attract visits.
• Map client destinations. Record each link to a client portal, file exchange, electronic signature service, scheduling tool or payment page, along with its destination.
• Document forms. For each intake, contact or engagement form, note its location, the information it collects and who receives the submission—or where it is stored.
• Track external listings. Inventory the firm’s Google Business Profile and directory listings, including the precise website address each one uses. Location pages deserve particular attention.
• Note measurement tools. Record the analytics property, tag manager container and any tracking codes used for advertising or call tracking.
• Identify high-value pages. Use analytics to find the pages that generate the most visits and inquiries. Protect these first during the transition.

This inventory shows where a migration could interrupt a client’s next step, from finding a local office to submitting an inquiry or paying a bill. It also makes it easier to assign responsibility for rebuilding each connection.

Use launch day to verify the handoff

Schedule the switch for a quieter period, and keep the existing site available until the replacement has been reviewed and approved. On launch day, compare the new site against the inventory rather than depending on someone to remember every address and feature.

• Redirect changed addresses. Set a 301 redirect from each old URL to its new equivalent, then check the results against the complete URL list.
• Submit every form. Confirm that submissions arrive in the right place and that all expected fields are included.
• Follow each client link. Test portal, file exchange, scheduling, signature and payment links to confirm they reach the intended service.
• Correct external listings. Update directory and Google Business Profile links if the relevant site addresses have changed.
• Check analytics. Confirm that the new site is recording visits under the firm’s analytics setup.
• Review speed and mobile use. Load the most visited pages on a phone and run a speed test.
• Submit the sitemap. Send the new sitemap through Google Search Console so search engines can discover the revised structure. Google’s instructions are available here.

Checks should continue after launch. Watch Google Search Console for errors and track whether form submissions fall. A clean launch doesn’t guarantee that every problem will show up immediately, so the first few weeks are part of the handoff.

Then reshape service pages

Once the firm controls the site and has protected its working connections, it can focus on GEO. Start with one important service page. Explain what the service includes, who it suits, when a client might need it and how the process works. Use clear headings and direct answers, then apply the same approach to other priority pages.

The rewrite is where the firm’s visibility work happens. Ownership gives the firm the ability to make those changes, measure how the site performs and adapt the pages as client questions evolve.

Jonny Martin is the founder of Built Mighty, a Seattle WordPress and WooCommerce agency, and MightyMigrate, its migration service.