Where Did All the SEO Traffic Go?

A small business owner opens ChatGPT and types:

“Best CPA near me for growing startups.”
“What should bookkeeping cost per month for a software company?”
“CPA who helps with R&D credits and exit planning?”

They’re not using Google the way they used to.
They’re looking for recommendations. Citations. Answers.

And the firms showing up in these AI-powered search results?
They’ve backfilled the right content — FAQ pages, blog posts, rich reviews, and expertise signals.

The rest? They’re invisible.

This is the new reality:
If you want your tax or accounting firm to be mentioned, recommended, and chosen in AI search, you need to create content that AI tools can cite, reference, and trust.

The AI-Search Content Checklist for CPA & EA Firms

Here’s exactly what you need to show up in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI-powered search experience.

1. Client-Facing FAQs (AI Loves Q&A)

AI tools like ChatGPT love structured, topic-based Q&A.

If you want to show up when someone asks:

“Do I need to issue 1099s if I pay freelancers via Venmo?”
“What are the tax deadlines for S Corps in California?”
“Is an EA or CPA better for back taxes?”

You need those exact questions and answers on your site.

Pro Tip: Publish FAQ libraries organized by niche — “Business Owner FAQs,” “Investor FAQs,” “IRS Problems,” etc.

2. Niche Landing Pages That Signal Relevance

Don’t just have a “Services” page. Instead, create:

• “Startup Bookkeeping and CFO Services in Orange County”
  
• “Tax Planning for High-Earning Dual-Income Households”
  
• “IRS Audit Support for Real Estate Professionals”
  

These signal to AI search engines that you're a match for high-intent queries with niche-specific needs.

3. Thought Leadership (Not Brochures)

AI tools cite pages with real expertise, not just “we offer X services.”

Winning examples:

• “How We Helped a SaaS Founder Cut Their Tax Bill by $82,000”
  
• “5 Triggers That Tell You It’s Time to Hire a Virtual CFO”
  
• “What Business Owners Miss When They DIY Payroll Taxes”
  

This content tells both search engines and prospects: “We’ve done this. We get it.”

4. High-Quality, Keyword-Rich Reviews

Reviews are one of the top data sources for AI-powered recommendations.

Your firm should be actively building reviews on:

• Google Business Profile
  
• LinkedIn Recommendations
  
• TaxBuzz ← a trusted review site used specifically for tax and accounting professionals.
  

Why TaxBuzz matters:
ChatGPT and Perplexity often scan TaxBuzz to verify niche credibility. A profile there with strong reviews mentioning your specialties (R&D, crypto tax, resolution, etc.) can boost your visibility across AI platforms.

Pro Tip: When asking for reviews, prompt clients to mention what you helped them with. ("Our firm saved $12K using an R&D strategy from [Your Name, EA].”)

5. Founder Expertise That Can Be Quoted

AI search likes named experts. So if you want to be cited in an answer, give the bots a name.

• Publish blog posts or quotes under your name
  
• Include a “Founder’s POV” or “Insights from [Name]” section on your site
  
• Contribute to external sources (LinkedIn articles, HARO quotes, TaxBuzz expert Q&As)
  

When AI says:

“According to Jane Smith, CPA based in Irvine…”

That’s you winning visibility.

6. Schema Markup + Skimmable Copy = AI Visibility

Your site must be bot-friendly and buyer-friendly.

That means:

• Clear H1/H2 structure
  
• Bullet points instead of long paragraphs
  
• Structured data / schema markup (for FAQs, services, locations)
  

Why it matters: AI tools like Google SGE and Perplexity pull structured snippets. If your copy is clear and your code is tagged, you get surfaced more often.

7. Consistency Across the Web

AI tools crawl your entire presence — not just your website.

So make sure your:

• Firm name, phone, address, and niche are consistent across Google Maps, Yelp, Clutch, and TaxBuzz
  
• Niche keywords (e.g., “SaaS CPA,” “crypto tax expert,” “real estate investor accountant”) show up across pages and profiles
  

AI Doesn’t Care About Your Logo — It Cares About Your Content

The firm with the nicest branding doesn’t win.
The firm that answers the question best, with trust signals and expertise markers, gets the citation.

That’s how AI search is changing everything. And it’s happening now.

Want Help Showing Up in AI Search?

CountingWorks is already using this exact playbook for hundreds of CPA and EA firms:

✅ Publishing unique blog and FAQ content per firm
✅ Creating niche-specific landing pages
✅ Structuring pages with schema markup
✅ Optimizing TaxBuzz profiles
✅ Writing high-converting, human copy that makes AI (and real people) choose you

The result: Our clients don’t just rank — they get cited, trusted, and hired.

👉 If you want to make sure your firm stays the leader in your market, let’s talk. We’ll show you what’s missing — and build the content engine that puts you back in control.