Wave Organic Growth Opportunities

This play creates a massive directory that decodes cryptic bank statement strings and provides specific bookkeeping categorization advice. It targets users at the exact moment of reconciliation confusion, funneling them into Wave's automated accounting tools.

Example Keywords

• "what is [descriptor] on my bank statement"
• "[descriptor] charge business"
• "how to categorize [merchant] in bookkeeping"
• "[merchant] expense category"

Rationale

Small business owners frequently search for the meaning of ambiguous bank transaction strings. By providing a definitive 'decoder' that links these strings to specific accounting categories, Wave captures high-intent users looking for bookkeeping clarity.

Topical Authority

As a platform that processes millions of bank feed transactions, Wave is uniquely positioned to provide authoritative definitions and categorization rules for financial data.

Internal Data Sources

Utilize anonymized bank-feed transaction descriptors, Wave's internal category taxonomy, and auto-categorization heuristics to provide differentiated, non-generic advice.

Estimated Number of Pages

50,000+ (Covering unique merchant aliases and transaction descriptors)

A comprehensive library of 'how-to' guides for recording complex financial scenarios, providing journal entry examples and reconciliation checklists. This targets the long-tail of accounting queries that competitors often overlook with generic content.

Example Keywords

• "journal entry for [scenario]"
• "how to record [scenario] in accounting"
• "reconcile [scenario] bank deposit"
• "how to account for [scenario] cash basis"

Rationale

Accounting scenarios like handling retainers, chargebacks, or owner draws are common pain points. Providing structured 'recipes' for these entries drives traffic from users who need immediate, practical bookkeeping help.

Topical Authority

Wave's existing depth in accounting education and its core ledger product provide the necessary trust signals to rank for technical bookkeeping procedures.

Internal Data Sources

Leverage Wave's internal accounting logic, support ticket data regarding reconciliation 'stuck points,' and Advisor-reviewed accounting snippets.

Estimated Number of Pages

5,000+ (Covering hundreds of scenarios across different entity types and industries)

This play builds a localized directory for business owners to determine if a vendor payment requires specific tax reporting or classification. It bridges the gap between making a payment and year-end tax compliance.

Example Keywords

• "do I need to issue a 1099 for [service]"
• "is [service] 1099 reportable"
• "contractor vs vendor for [service]"
• "how to track contractor payments for [service]"

Rationale

Compliance is a major driver for small business software adoption. By answering specific reporting questions per service type, Wave can capture users before they choose a payroll or accounting provider.

Topical Authority

Wave's payroll and tax form features give it the credibility to host compliance-heavy content that requires high accuracy and trust.

Internal Data Sources

Use vendor setup workflows, 1099 reporting logic from the product, and support knowledge on common misclassifications.

Estimated Number of Pages

10,000+ (Covering thousands of service types across 50 states)

A troubleshooting directory for payment declines, ACH returns, and chargeback reason codes. It provides immediate resolution playbooks for businesses experiencing friction in getting paid.

Example Keywords

• "decline code [code] meaning"
• "ACH return code [Rxx] meaning"
• "chargeback reason code [code]"
• "how to respond to [reason] chargeback"

Rationale

When a payment fails, business owners search for the specific error code to understand how to fix it. Providing these answers allows Wave to demonstrate its payment processing expertise at a critical moment of need.

Topical Authority

As a payment processor, Wave has direct access to network response codes and the 'evidence' requirements needed to win disputes, making this content highly authoritative.

Internal Data Sources

Incorporate Wave Payments support documentation, decline code definitions, and internal dispute resolution playbooks.

Estimated Number of Pages

2,000+ (Covering hundreds of codes across different payment networks and industries)

This strategy creates localized, service-specific guides on how to price jobs and build quotes. It targets the 'pre-invoice' stage of the business lifecycle to funnel users into Wave's invoicing tools.

Example Keywords

• "how to price [service] [deliverable]"
• "quote template for [service] job"
• "[service] cost in [city]"
• "pricing checklist for [service]"

Rationale

Pricing is one of the hardest tasks for new entrepreneurs. By providing data-backed quoting guides, Wave becomes the first tool they use in their sales workflow.

Topical Authority

Wave's existing 'Freelance Hub' and invoicing product provide a strong foundation for expanding into the 'unit economics' of various service businesses.

Internal Data Sources

Use anonymized invoice line-item patterns, payment schedule best practices, and internal data on common service categories.

Estimated Number of Pages

15,000+ (Covering thousands of services across major metropolitan areas)

Improvements Summary

Expand and refocus Wave’s core commercial pages (/accounting, /pricing, /invoicing) to match high-intent queries and add missing sections seen on top-ranking competitors. Add FAQ blocks with schema, comparison tables, clearer pricing breakdowns, and stronger internal links across product pages, templates/tools, and supporting articles.

Improvements Details

Rebuild /accounting as a category pillar targeting “free online accounting software” and “free online accounting system” with above-the-fold intent match, scannable feature modules, a comparison table, trust/proof, and FAQs + FAQ schema. Rework /pricing for “wave accounting package” and “waveapps pricing” by adding a Free vs Paid table, fees/payment processing details, a Wave Pro section linked to /pro, and FAQs + relevant schema; expand /invoicing with workflow sections, payments info, FAQs, and an invoice templates hub linking back from /tools/invoice-generator. Add consistent cross-links between /accounting, /invoicing, /payments, /receipts, /payroll, and /pricing; publish 6–10 supporting articles (e.g., “best free accounting software for small business”, “accounting software vs spreadsheets”) that link into the pillar pages, while keeping “login/sign in” intent on my.waveapps.com to reduce cannibalization.

Improvements Rationale

Many priority keywords show low traffic share and likely sit in positions ~11–20, so adding intent-matched copy, richer sections, and snippet-ready elements (FAQ/schema, tables) can move pages into the top 10 and improve CTR. Clearer intent separation (product vs pricing vs login) and stronger internal linking from templates/tools and supporting content should increase topical relevance, authority flow, and qualified conversions for high-CPC queries.