If you want your audience to keep coming back, you must keep your content current. Fresh copy keeps visitors connected and drawn to your services and products. Remaining prominent among the competition requires time and dedication to the written word and attention to dynamic graphics and videos.
When you prepare content for your website it’s not a one and done process. As your company matures and customer base expands, you must respond to the ebb and flow that is business. This is the same for your website. For your website to communicate effectively, it must have a clear message that is evident to visitors, and often this message changes over time.
Being an effective communicator is beneficial across all areas of life, and showing your audience that you understand this will give you an advantage. Competition out in the world-wide web is tough, so the more clearly you can share your ideas, explain issues, and provide solutions, the more you will stand out among your competitors.
A dull website is detrimental to your business, so keep your content fresh, unique, and interesting. Also remember, altering messaging and improving communications is an ongoing process.
We all know that search engines are important and affect the success and reach of our websites. If a customer is using a search engine to find what they need and you don’t show up, you don’t exist. You don’t want to just add different content without asking yourself if it’s relevant and original.
Your website is the face of your business and a living creature on the internet. Each time you make updates to your content, create a new blog post, or add a video, you are potentially increasing interactions with visitors, clients, and search engines.
When dealing with search engines, relevant content will result in a higher ranking regardless of whether it is old or new. However, as time passes it’s easy for what was relevant two years ago to become obsolete. Reviewing website content on a regular schedule will help you weed out antiquated information. Updating older information, even if it’s still relevant, can help boost your website’s SEO superpowers, especially if you add “updated on [date whatever].”
Oh, and don’t forget to make sure the copyright date in the footer of your website is the current year!
Websites get hacked daily, and while some issues are resolved rather quickly, others can take months to fix. An updated website does not only refer to content, but also software. It may seem obvious, but keeping all software up to date is essential in maintaining a safe and sound site. This applies to both the server operating system and any software you may be running on your website such as a CMS.
Today many tools are created as open-source software programs and therefore this code is available to mischievous hackers. Performing software updates on a regular basis will make your site less vulnerable to hackers who look for gaps in code, allowing them to wreak havoc and even take over your website.
Your piggy bank will thank you
You wouldn’t think of getting an oil change for your car once every five years, would you? No, your car requires maintenance and small expenditures over time to prevent you from depleting your savings account all at once due to neglect. Websites require the same philosophy — small investments of resources over time will prevent you from having to spend a huge chunk of money to do a massive overhaul of an outdated website.
Regularly assess your website, evaluating your goals and performance, and incrementally improving and adjusting course as necessary. How the internet works is constantly evolving and your website will have to respond to these changes. It’s best to keep up with these changes as they happen rather than being left behind in the dust with an obsolete website.
Do these reminders make you cringe? We can help you get your website back on track!