14.09.2009
Is there value in keeping websites up to date?
Sounds like a no-brainer... and it is! Now I'm confident that you will have 1 or 2 good ideas on this and why it's important but I doubt you know just how important it really is!
When we design websites here @ Base Creative we have two main goals in mind: Search Engine Optimisation (ensuring the site ranks high in the Search Engine Ranking Pages (SERP) to ensure a large volume of relevant site traffic) and secondly we ensure that the site is a fantastic conversion tool - whether you want your visitors to pick up the phone, fill in a form, send you an email or buy directly from the site.
Now having an up to date page will clearly affect your conversion figures; if a potential client sees that your page hasn't had a new article added in 3 months (I'm being kind...), they really aren't going to think you have your finger on the pulse! In fact they'll think you don't care and can't be bothered - what a fantastic first impression to make!
Contrast this with having fresh relevant articles and information: Who are your most recent clients? What's happening in your industry? What have you and your team been doing that'll inspire people to want to buy from you? All great subjects to write about and they will really impress your potential clients - it builds trust and it allows them to feel as though they know you that little bit better, as it shows of course that you are on top of everything and you aren't letting things slide.
I mentioned earlier Search Engine Optimisation - did you know that when you last updated your page will directly influence Google's opinion of your site? It works like this: every time Google scans your page it compares it to a master record that it has of your site, if it's different it thinks "Great - there is new, relevant content on here, this site is relevant, I'm going to bump it up the SERPs!"
On the flip side, if your site is the same as before, Google will think it's less relevant, the result: a lower SERP position, and less site visitors.
So how are you going to achieve this? Why not work it into your weekly processes? Here at Base Creative we update our news feed at least once a week, it keeps us on the ball, up to date and also allows us to think about how our potential clients may look at what we do every day, we can use it to tell people about our services, and even to give them some ideas about the finer points of web design and digital marketing (as I'm doing now!).
So if you are serious about wanting to achieve a consistently high ranking in the search engines and want your site to be the best conversion tool possible, update it with relevant, interesting information as often as you can - it will make a difference!