3 Reasons Why You Need to Update the Content on Your Website
Pop quiz: check your clothes. Are you wearing the same outfit you had on yesterday? The day before? Last week? Last June? We’re guessing probably not. You change your clothes because you want to keep your look fresh; your style changes and so does how you don pieces from your wardrobe. Well, your website works the same way, and the harm a static website can do to your business extends well beyond not being on point with website trends. In fact, not updating website content has a negative domino effect.
Audiences Stop Visiting Static Websites
One reason to keep things up to date is because when your website’s look and content remains static, not-so-great things start to happen:
Audiences get bored, and they stop swinging by. They know what you have to offer and what you do.
Also, when you stop updating your content, it looks to audiences like you’ve lost your mojo (as in, they stop seeing you as an authority figure in your field).
By refreshing and updating your site’s content, you make your website dynamic and competitive. Audiences stay curious about what you’re up to, and they stay interested in how your brand can benefit them.
No New Keywords Means New Audiences Can’t Find You
You might get lucky by having some of your older content attract new audience members; however, people can quickly see the dust gathering on a website’s homepage and will leave before you’ve got a chance to ask for their email address.
New content equals new keywords, which boosts your ranking in searchers and leads new users to your website. Here’s how it breaks down:
New keywords mean that search engines are recognizing your site (finally, some recognition).
This means that when folks search those keywords, your site is going to pop up somewhere based on its ranking.
The more new, optimized content (like blogs or articles) you post with those relevant keywords, the more relevant your site becomes, and the greater likelihood you have to starting relationships with new audience members.
Search Engines Stop Noticing Static Websites
If you think it’s a burn for your audience to stop noticing your website due to dated content, that’s nothing compared to the scathing treatment you’ll get from Google and other search engines. The reason is this:
Search engine’s web crawlers scan the web and index websites using ever-changing algorithms.
Web crawlers notice when you update your website; they then evaluate the new content and update your site’s ranking on their search engine accordingly.
Not updating your site means it falls further and further toward the back of the endless list of rankings, which means that your site could be buried deeper in the Internet’s archives than your first LiveJournal blog.
Of course, when you do update content, make sure you follow the golden rules of producing content, which are:
Quality is greater than quantity. Information that is useful, valuable, or reliable gets shared and back-linked, which boosts your rankings.
Consistency in terms of what you post and when are important. Have a schedule for your updates. Two to three updates a week are considered frequent.
Updating your website is an easy way to keep your existing audience and to build new audiences. No matter how busy you get, don’t neglect your website; it’s one of your most valuable marketing resources. It’s the first impression audiences receive of your brand, and it’s what keeps your name on the forefront of search engines.
Your website is your business’s online storefront, so don’t let your website go to ruin. Refresh your website with dynamic content with the help of the dedicated pros at The Storyteller Agency.
