Everyone likes a well-tended, fresh looking garden. Most people don’t care for gardens full of weeds, dead flowers and old junk strewn around. If you think of your website like a garden and keep it fresh, then you’re more likely to reap the benefits. If your website has old or out-of-date content and hasn’t been touched since you built it, then your business will not benefit.
One of the major benefits of having a well-tended, up to date website is that you are helping the search engines to find your site. The search engines like websites that are changed often because it stands to reason that the changes in content will be what is relevant now and search engines want to put the relevant websites in the higher rankings. Neglected websites may fall in search engine rankings.
Another benefit to changing your website content regularly, especially with something interesting, is that you can link it to your social media campaign which leads to more chances for it to be discussed by others and for your website to get noticed. Links to your website from outside sources are called “inbound links” and these also get noticed by the search engines.
You can build your credibility by showing your customers that while you’re busy, you’re not too busy to care for your website and you are staying active in your industry because you continually add relevant content to the website.
Keeping your website content fresh isn’t difficult. Just like you check your garden regularly for weeds, check the content of your website regularly for key words that are out of date. Updating them, again, helps the search engines to find your website.
Also, create a blog – it doesn’t need to be posted every week, but it should include those important key words and links back to your website menu pages.
Add a news section. You may not have news to report regularly, but your industry might and it is just as relevant to your customers. Also, change pictures often. It makes things look fresher visually. Better yet, add videos! Short clips of your work, before and after shots or interviews with your staff make the website much more interesting.
Testimonials! Testimonials! Every website should have testimonials from satisfied customers. Testimonials add credibility and make for interesting content. Add a photo of the customer (if he/she is willing) or a video testimonial which will keep the user on your website for that little bit longer.
The more pages you have on your website increases the chances for the search engines to find you, but don’t just add for the sake of it. Add pages that are relevant to your business, your clients and your industry. Doing so will get visitors to come back, hopefully on a regular basis, to check for new content and updates. And don’t forget a call-to-action on every page!
A little tender loving care for a garden helps it grow. A little tender loving care for a website helps the business grow. Call us today 941.870.5343 or email us david@abacuswebservices.com for a free consultation to help you look after your website.
