Exhibit A
Accountants work in St Louis
St Louis accounting demand spreads across a wide metro, from single owner bookkeeping practices to multi partner firms serving small businesses in the county. Searches for tax preparation, payroll and small business accounting cluster around the filing calendar and around new business formation, which stays steady across the region. The firms competing for those searches range from national chains with storefronts to owner operators working from home offices in the inner suburbs. Paid search in this trade in St Louis is concentrated on tax season terms, where cost per click rises sharply in the weeks before filing deadlines. Franchises bid hardest on the seasonal terms, while independent firms pick up the year round bookkeeping and advisory searches that carry less competition.
