Exhibit A
Tax Preparers work in Rockford
Rockford has a steady base of tax preparation work. National chains sit along the State Street and East State corridors, and a long tail of independent preparers and enrolled agents works out of offices on the west side, in Loves Park and in the older neighbourhoods around the river. Much of the demand is seasonal and local: people search for a preparer near their home or workplace, and they search in the weeks before the filing deadline. The paid search market around tax terms in Rockford is contested by the chains, which keeps cost per click high through the winter and drops it after April. That leaves organic and AI search results as the place where an independent practice can be found without bidding against a franchise budget.
