EY growth playbook

Change the webcast template to output a live Event with eventAttendanceMode online, the correct UTC start and end times taken from the page's own date fields, eventStatus, a free offer, EY as organizer and the CPE credits in the description; switch to a recording type only after the live session ends. Validate with Google's rich results test and re-submit the webcast pages.

Live, correctly timed event data is what search and assistants use to list upcoming events; for CPE, the live session is the product, so the listing drives registrations directly.

[ ] @type Event while upcoming; recording type after the end time
[ ] startDate and endDate from the page UTC fields
[ ] eventAttendanceMode online, location VirtualLocation with the page URL
[ ] eventStatus scheduled
[ ] offers: free
[ ] organizer Ernst & Young LLP
[ ] CPE credits and field of study in the description
[ ] Rich results test passes
[ ] Events sitemap lists all upcoming webcasts

• Daylight-saving errors

  Always derive UTC from the stored page fields, never from text.

• Rich results not guaranteed

  Correct data still helps assistants and calendars.

• Your websiteWebcast pages (all 24 scheduled for October and November 2026, checked October 20, 2026): every one describes itself to search engines as an "OnDemandEvent" (an on-demand recording), and in every one the start time in that data disagrees with the page's own start time. Example: "Financial reporting for private companies - 2026" (1.0 CPE credit) has a page start of 2026-11-12 16:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. Eastern) but structured data of "2026-11-12T11:00:00+0000" (6:00 a.m. Eastern); "2026 US election impacts on state and local tax policy" says 18:00 UTC on the page and 13:00 UTC in the data. The data looks like local clock time stamped as UTC.Source
• Your websiteCPE page: Ernst & Young LLP is a NASBA-registered CPE sponsor; credit is "offered for live webcasts only (archived webcasts and on-demand viewing are not eligible for CPE)", with at least three polls per credit. Webcast pages list CPE credits (for example 1.0 or 1.2) and the field of study, and are free.Source
• Sitemapey.com/en_us sitemaps (October 20, 2026): 530 webcast URLs (126 dated 2026, 134 dated 2025) and 422 podcast URLs, but the dedicated events sitemap lists zero URLs. The webcast listing page ("Register for upcoming EY webcasts or access on-demand replays") filters by date only (Upcoming, This week, This month, Last month, Last year), with no filter for topic, field of study or CPE.Source

Remove lazy loading from the first image on each page template, give it high fetch priority and a phone-sized source, preload it, and defer the four legacy jQuery files that block rendering. Check other templates (services, industries) for the same pattern.

The homepage and service pages are where buyers judge the firm; faster first views keep them on the site.

• Breaking components

  Test on staging first.

• Google PageSpeedReal Chrome visitors to the US homepage wait 4.3 s for the main content (75th-percentile LCP 4,279 ms) and 4.3 s for first paint, both rated "poor"; across ey.com LCP is 4.5 s. Taps respond well (INP 177 ms). In Google's phone test (34/100) the main content is the homepage's lead image (the "Our commitment to audit quality" report banner), which is set to loading="lazy" and has a 3,840 x 2,560 source, so the browser waits to fetch it; four legacy jQuery files block rendering, and 549 KB of JavaScript goes unused.Source
• Your websiteHomepage: title "EY - US | Shape the future with confidence"; menus for strategy (EY-Parthenon), consulting, assurance, tax, managed services and sustainability; an Entrepreneurship menu with Entrepreneurs Access Network, Entrepreneur Of The Year and Entrepreneurial Winning Women; case studies such as Novartis supply chain risk; the Insights menu still carries a "Presidential Transition" item (last changed April 2025).Source

Feed every upcoming webcast into the events sitemap with an accurate lastmod, and remove it after the session. Keep archives in the media sitemap.

A clean, current events sitemap helps search engines find new sessions fast, before registration closes.

• Duplicate listing

  Keep each URL in one sitemap.

• Sitemapey.com/en_us sitemaps (October 20, 2026): 530 webcast URLs (126 dated 2026, 134 dated 2025) and 422 podcast URLs, but the dedicated events sitemap lists zero URLs. The webcast listing page ("Register for upcoming EY webcasts or access on-demand replays") filters by date only (Upcoming, This week, This month, Last month, Last year), with no filter for topic, field of study or CPE.Source
• Your websiteWebcast pages (all 24 scheduled for October and November 2026, checked October 20, 2026): every one describes itself to search engines as an "OnDemandEvent" (an on-demand recording), and in every one the start time in that data disagrees with the page's own start time. Example: "Financial reporting for private companies - 2026" (1.0 CPE credit) has a page start of 2026-11-12 16:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. Eastern) but structured data of "2026-11-12T11:00:00+0000" (6:00 a.m. Eastern); "2026 US election impacts on state and local tax policy" says 18:00 UTC on the page and 13:00 UTC in the data. The data looks like local clock time stamped as UTC.Source

Add a short sign-up (email and topic) at the end and midway through every insight, pre-selecting the article's topic, and send readers a topic newsletter.

Readers of a 13-minute article are the most engaged audience on the site; a sign-up turns a visit into a relationship.

• Clutter

  One block, not a pop-up.

• Your websiteInsight article "Agentic AI ROI: Can AI pay for itself?" (September 21, 2026): seven authors and two contributors, a 13-minute read, Article markup; share buttons for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn; no newsletter sign-up anywhere on the article.Source
• Your website"Connect with us" page: a Marketo contact form in a 1,500-pixel iframe asking first and last name, email, country, company, request type, phone and comments plus consents; an "Editor's picks newsletter"; "700 office locations in over 150 countries"; and "Join the conversation on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter".Source
• SitemapThe US site's 16 section sitemaps list 3,724 people pages, 1,782 insights, 953 media pages, 830 campaign pages, 466 service pages, 252 industry pages and 239 news releases, with language alternates for the 150-country network. robots.txt explicitly allows AI crawlers including GPTBot, ChatGPT-User, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended and anthropic-ai.Source

Add filters for topic, field of study, CPE credits and live versus replay, and a "CPE this month" view.

CPE seekers know exactly what they need; filtering gets them to register in two clicks.

• Inconsistent tags

  Make them required fields.

• Sitemapey.com/en_us sitemaps (October 20, 2026): 530 webcast URLs (126 dated 2026, 134 dated 2025) and 422 podcast URLs, but the dedicated events sitemap lists zero URLs. The webcast listing page ("Register for upcoming EY webcasts or access on-demand replays") filters by date only (Upcoming, This week, This month, Last month, Last year), with no filter for topic, field of study or CPE.Source
• Your websiteCPE page: Ernst & Young LLP is a NASBA-registered CPE sponsor; credit is "offered for live webcasts only (archived webcasts and on-demand viewing are not eligible for CPE)", with at least three polls per credit. Webcast pages list CPE credits (for example 1.0 or 1.2) and the field of study, and are free.Source

Rename the menu item to a current policy outlook hub, update the network's social labels, and set a quarterly review of menu items.

Small signs of staleness undercut a brand built on being ahead.

• Hub URL change

  Keep the URL and redirect.

• Your websiteHomepage: title "EY - US | Shape the future with confidence"; menus for strategy (EY-Parthenon), consulting, assurance, tax, managed services and sustainability; an Entrepreneurship menu with Entrepreneurs Access Network, Entrepreneur Of The Year and Entrepreneurial Winning Women; case studies such as Novartis supply chain risk; the Insights menu still carries a "Presidential Transition" item (last changed April 2025).Source
• Your website"Connect with us" page: a Marketo contact form in a 1,500-pixel iframe asking first and last name, email, country, company, request type, phone and comments plus consents; an "Editor's picks newsletter"; "700 office locations in over 150 countries"; and "Join the conversation on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter".Source
• Your websiteInsight article "Agentic AI ROI: Can AI pay for itself?" (September 21, 2026): seven authors and two contributors, a 13-minute read, Article markup; share buttons for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn; no newsletter sign-up anywhere on the article.Source

Add Person markup (name, job title, works for EY, areas of focus, sameAs LinkedIn) to people pages and link article authors to them with a shared ID.

Connected expert entities help EY's insights get cited and its professionals found by name and topic.

• Departed staff

  Remove profiles when people leave.

• Your websitePeople pages give a professional's title, areas of focus, office, an email link, a LinkedIn link and "Our latest thinking", but carry no structured data at all (none on seven sampled profiles), while insight articles do mark their authors as Person in Article data.Source
• Your websiteInsight article "Agentic AI ROI: Can AI pay for itself?" (September 21, 2026): seven authors and two contributors, a 13-minute read, Article markup; share buttons for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn; no newsletter sign-up anywhere on the article.Source
• SitemapThe US site's 16 section sitemaps list 3,724 people pages, 1,782 insights, 953 media pages, 830 campaign pages, 466 service pages, 252 industry pages and 239 news releases, with language alternates for the 150-country network. robots.txt explicitly allows AI crawlers including GPTBot, ChatGPT-User, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended and anthropic-ai.Source

Build a CPE hub: a year calendar by field of study, a reminder sign-up, a downloadable calendar file and a record of credits earned.

A recurring reason to return builds a list of finance professionals, the buyers of assurance and tax services.

• Over-promising credits

  State eligibility rules clearly.

• Your websiteCPE page: Ernst & Young LLP is a NASBA-registered CPE sponsor; credit is "offered for live webcasts only (archived webcasts and on-demand viewing are not eligible for CPE)", with at least three polls per credit. Webcast pages list CPE credits (for example 1.0 or 1.2) and the field of study, and are free.Source
• Sitemapey.com/en_us sitemaps (October 20, 2026): 530 webcast URLs (126 dated 2026, 134 dated 2025) and 422 podcast URLs, but the dedicated events sitemap lists zero URLs. The webcast listing page ("Register for upcoming EY webcasts or access on-demand replays") filters by date only (Upcoming, This week, This month, Last month, Last year), with no filter for topic, field of study or CPE.Source
• Your websiteWebcast pages (all 24 scheduled for October and November 2026, checked October 20, 2026): every one describes itself to search engines as an "OnDemandEvent" (an on-demand recording), and in every one the start time in that data disagrees with the page's own start time. Example: "Financial reporting for private companies - 2026" (1.0 CPE credit) has a page start of 2026-11-12 16:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. Eastern) but structured data of "2026-11-12T11:00:00+0000" (6:00 a.m. Eastern); "2026 US election impacts on state and local tax policy" says 18:00 UTC on the page and 13:00 UTC in the data. The data looks like local clock time stamped as UTC.Source

Send attendees a recap with the slides, two related insights and an "ask the presenters" form within 24 hours; route questions to the practice.

Fast, relevant follow-up converts interest into conversations.

• Over-emailing

  One recap only.

• Sitemapey.com/en_us sitemaps (October 20, 2026): 530 webcast URLs (126 dated 2026, 134 dated 2025) and 422 podcast URLs, but the dedicated events sitemap lists zero URLs. The webcast listing page ("Register for upcoming EY webcasts or access on-demand replays") filters by date only (Upcoming, This week, This month, Last month, Last year), with no filter for topic, field of study or CPE.Source
• Your website"Connect with us" page: a Marketo contact form in a 1,500-pixel iframe asking first and last name, email, country, company, request type, phone and comments plus consents; an "Editor's picks newsletter"; "700 office locations in over 150 countries"; and "Join the conversation on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter".Source
• Your websiteCPE page: Ernst & Young LLP is a NASBA-registered CPE sponsor; credit is "offered for live webcasts only (archived webcasts and on-demand viewing are not eligible for CPE)", with at least three polls per credit. Webcast pages list CPE credits (for example 1.0 or 1.2) and the field of study, and are free.Source

For each webcast, publish a replay page with five takeaways, a transcript and links to related insights, within a week of the live session.

Searchable replays bring long-term traffic and new registrants.

• Compliance review

  Use the existing review process.

• Sitemapey.com/en_us sitemaps (October 20, 2026): 530 webcast URLs (126 dated 2026, 134 dated 2025) and 422 podcast URLs, but the dedicated events sitemap lists zero URLs. The webcast listing page ("Register for upcoming EY webcasts or access on-demand replays") filters by date only (Upcoming, This week, This month, Last month, Last year), with no filter for topic, field of study or CPE.Source
• SitemapThe US site's 16 section sitemaps list 3,724 people pages, 1,782 insights, 953 media pages, 830 campaign pages, 466 service pages, 252 industry pages and 239 news releases, with language alternates for the 150-country network. robots.txt explicitly allows AI crawlers including GPTBot, ChatGPT-User, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended and anthropic-ai.Source

Cut two or three 60-second clips from each webcast with a link to the next session.

Clips widen reach for content already produced.

• Approvals

  Pre-approve clip rules.

• Social channelsThe EY US YouTube channel has about 4,290 subscribers and 284 videos with 17.4 million total views.Source
• Sitemapey.com/en_us sitemaps (October 20, 2026): 530 webcast URLs (126 dated 2026, 134 dated 2025) and 422 podcast URLs, but the dedicated events sitemap lists zero URLs. The webcast listing page ("Register for upcoming EY webcasts or access on-demand replays") filters by date only (Upcoming, This week, This month, Last month, Last year), with no filter for topic, field of study or CPE.Source

Add a short form to each service page (name, work email, company, question) that routes to that service's team.

Asking on the page where the need is lifts response and routing accuracy.

• Spam

  Bot protection.

• Your website"Connect with us" page: a Marketo contact form in a 1,500-pixel iframe asking first and last name, email, country, company, request type, phone and comments plus consents; an "Editor's picks newsletter"; "700 office locations in over 150 countries"; and "Join the conversation on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter".Source
• SitemapThe US site's 16 section sitemaps list 3,724 people pages, 1,782 insights, 953 media pages, 830 campaign pages, 466 service pages, 252 industry pages and 239 news releases, with language alternates for the 150-country network. robots.txt explicitly allows AI crawlers including GPTBot, ChatGPT-User, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended and anthropic-ai.Source

Publish a transcript and summary for each new episode and the top 50 back episodes.

Transcripts make audio expertise findable.

• Accuracy

  Edit before publishing.

• SitemapThe US site's 16 section sitemaps list 3,724 people pages, 1,782 insights, 953 media pages, 830 campaign pages, 466 service pages, 252 industry pages and 239 news releases, with language alternates for the 150-country network. robots.txt explicitly allows AI crawlers including GPTBot, ChatGPT-User, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended and anthropic-ai.Source
• Sitemapey.com/en_us sitemaps (October 20, 2026): 530 webcast URLs (126 dated 2026, 134 dated 2025) and 422 podcast URLs, but the dedicated events sitemap lists zero URLs. The webcast listing page ("Register for upcoming EY webcasts or access on-demand replays") filters by date only (Upcoming, This week, This month, Last month, Last year), with no filter for topic, field of study or CPE.Source

Track 100 buyer questions monthly in major assistants, see which firm is cited, and adjust pages (clear findings, dates, methods) to be the source.

Citations put EY in front of buyers before they visit any site.

• Volatile answers

  Track trends, not single answers.

• SitemapThe US site's 16 section sitemaps list 3,724 people pages, 1,782 insights, 953 media pages, 830 campaign pages, 466 service pages, 252 industry pages and 239 news releases, with language alternates for the 150-country network. robots.txt explicitly allows AI crawlers including GPTBot, ChatGPT-User, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended and anthropic-ai.Source
• Your websiteNewsroom (September-October 2026): an EY survey finding that "autonomous AI implementation outpaces oversight, yielding an AI governance gap", an oil and gas production study, a medtech industry pulse report and EY selecting CrowdStrike for the trust layer of EY.ai Value Blueprints.Source
• Competitor researchRivals' own homepages: Deloitte US, "Together Makes Progress", "industry insights and audit, tax, and consulting services"; PwC, "Audit and assurance, consulting and tax services" with "bold insights"; KPMG US, "Let's turn insight into opportunity together".See the research Source

For each survey, publish a data page with the key numbers, sample, method and date, in plain tables, linked from the release.

Clean data pages are what journalists and assistants quote.

• Data rights

  Publish only approved figures.

• Your websiteNewsroom (September-October 2026): an EY survey finding that "autonomous AI implementation outpaces oversight, yielding an AI governance gap", an oil and gas production study, a medtech industry pulse report and EY selecting CrowdStrike for the trust layer of EY.ai Value Blueprints.Source
• SitemapThe US site's 16 section sitemaps list 3,724 people pages, 1,782 insights, 953 media pages, 830 campaign pages, 466 service pages, 252 industry pages and 239 news releases, with language alternates for the 150-country network. robots.txt explicitly allows AI crawlers including GPTBot, ChatGPT-User, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended and anthropic-ai.Source

Offer alumni a short "refer a need" form, invite them to webcasts and CPE, and send a quarterly alumni briefing from practice leaders.

Alumni trust the firm and know who to call.

• Independence rules

  Check before any outreach.

• SitemapThe campaigns sitemap includes an alumni hub ("Alumni - Stay part of something special") and pages such as "How alumni networks help recruit talent and grow careers".Source
• Your websiteCPE page: Ernst & Young LLP is a NASBA-registered CPE sponsor; credit is "offered for live webcasts only (archived webcasts and on-demand viewing are not eligible for CPE)", with at least three polls per credit. Webcast pages list CPE credits (for example 1.0 or 1.2) and the field of study, and are free.Source

Build a year-round hub: alumni stories, peer roundtables, private company webcasts and CPE, and a path to EY private client services.

Private company owners become clients through peers and recognition.

• Too salesy

  Lead with peer value.

• Your websiteHomepage: title "EY - US | Shape the future with confidence"; menus for strategy (EY-Parthenon), consulting, assurance, tax, managed services and sustainability; an Entrepreneurship menu with Entrepreneurs Access Network, Entrepreneur Of The Year and Entrepreneurial Winning Women; case studies such as Novartis supply chain risk; the Insights menu still carries a "Presidential Transition" item (last changed April 2025).Source
• Your websiteCPE page: Ernst & Young LLP is a NASBA-registered CPE sponsor; credit is "offered for live webcasts only (archived webcasts and on-demand viewing are not eligible for CPE)", with at least three polls per credit. Webcast pages list CPE credits (for example 1.0 or 1.2) and the field of study, and are free.Source

Package a yearly track (for example 12 credits) for controllers and CFOs, with a progress record and a completion badge.

A track brings finance teams back every month and builds EY's relationship with buyers.

• CPE rules

  Follow NASBA requirements.

• Your websiteCPE page: Ernst & Young LLP is a NASBA-registered CPE sponsor; credit is "offered for live webcasts only (archived webcasts and on-demand viewing are not eligible for CPE)", with at least three polls per credit. Webcast pages list CPE credits (for example 1.0 or 1.2) and the field of study, and are free.Source
• Your websiteWebcast pages (all 24 scheduled for October and November 2026, checked October 20, 2026): every one describes itself to search engines as an "OnDemandEvent" (an on-demand recording), and in every one the start time in that data disagrees with the page's own start time. Example: "Financial reporting for private companies - 2026" (1.0 CPE credit) has a page start of 2026-11-12 16:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. Eastern) but structured data of "2026-11-12T11:00:00+0000" (6:00 a.m. Eastern); "2026 US election impacts on state and local tax policy" says 18:00 UTC on the page and 13:00 UTC in the data. The data looks like local clock time stamped as UTC.Source
• Sitemapey.com/en_us sitemaps (October 20, 2026): 530 webcast URLs (126 dated 2026, 134 dated 2025) and 422 podcast URLs, but the dedicated events sitemap lists zero URLs. The webcast listing page ("Register for upcoming EY webcasts or access on-demand replays") filters by date only (Upcoming, This week, This month, Last month, Last year), with no filter for topic, field of study or CPE.Source

Publish a clean feed of upcoming webcasts (correct times, CPE, topics) and test registration links that assistants can use.

Being easy for assistants to recommend and book brings new registrants.

• Spam registrations

  Keep standard checks.

• SitemapThe US site's 16 section sitemaps list 3,724 people pages, 1,782 insights, 953 media pages, 830 campaign pages, 466 service pages, 252 industry pages and 239 news releases, with language alternates for the 150-country network. robots.txt explicitly allows AI crawlers including GPTBot, ChatGPT-User, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended and anthropic-ai.Source
• Your websiteWebcast pages (all 24 scheduled for October and November 2026, checked October 20, 2026): every one describes itself to search engines as an "OnDemandEvent" (an on-demand recording), and in every one the start time in that data disagrees with the page's own start time. Example: "Financial reporting for private companies - 2026" (1.0 CPE credit) has a page start of 2026-11-12 16:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. Eastern) but structured data of "2026-11-12T11:00:00+0000" (6:00 a.m. Eastern); "2026 US election impacts on state and local tax policy" says 18:00 UTC on the page and 13:00 UTC in the data. The data looks like local clock time stamped as UTC.Source
• Sitemapey.com/en_us sitemaps (October 20, 2026): 530 webcast URLs (126 dated 2026, 134 dated 2025) and 422 podcast URLs, but the dedicated events sitemap lists zero URLs. The webcast listing page ("Register for upcoming EY webcasts or access on-demand replays") filters by date only (Upcoming, This week, This month, Last month, Last year), with no filter for topic, field of study or CPE.Source

Hold a 30-minute monthly office hour for each major topic where attendees can ask presenters questions.

A real conversation is the step before an engagement.

• Advice liability

  General guidance only.

• Your websitePeople pages give a professional's title, areas of focus, office, an email link, a LinkedIn link and "Our latest thinking", but carry no structured data at all (none on seven sampled profiles), while insight articles do mark their authors as Person in Article data.Source
• Sitemapey.com/en_us sitemaps (October 20, 2026): 530 webcast URLs (126 dated 2026, 134 dated 2025) and 422 podcast URLs, but the dedicated events sitemap lists zero URLs. The webcast listing page ("Register for upcoming EY webcasts or access on-demand replays") filters by date only (Upcoming, This week, This month, Last month, Last year), with no filter for topic, field of study or CPE.Source

Add a gentle in-app rating prompt after a successful action (for example viewing a payslip) and respond to reviews.

More ratings give a truer score and help sell the payroll service.

• Annoying prompts

  Once per user.

• App storesEY Interact Payroll, the iOS app for payroll clients' employees, is rated 3.83 from just 6 ratings (updated August 13, 2026).Source