7 Tips for Keeping Your Website Fresh

Are you squandering away your best chance at promoting your business online? Your website is a powerful tool for getting your information into the hands of your potential customers, but if you’re not keeping it up-to-date, then what’s the point?

Frequent changes to a website help increase your search engine results, letting them know that you’re active and the provided information is still relevant. There’s nothing worse than getting to a website and finding information that’s outdated or irrelevant. Plus, consistently adding new information to a site gives your visitors a reason to check back, getting you back in front of them again and again.

Here are 7 ways to keep your website fresh:

1. Promote seasonal offers.

Whether you have sales for the holidays, a low time when your turn-around is faster, or simply that March is your favorite month, find a reason to run a special and use your website to promote it. DON’T FORGET TO TAKE THEM DOWN when they expire!

2. Announce new members of your team.

Have you promoted someone on your staff? Hired new employees? Add an intro or congratulations page to your site announcing the changes. Bonus: Adding real people and sharing your company’s internal changes will make the company seem more “real” and approachable.

3. Announce new products or services you are offering.

These are perfect events to promote online. Adding information about a new product or service helps to inform your current customers and will help get you found for that new avenue in search engines.

4. Share breaking news from your industry.

Has a law been passed that effects your company? Has there been a breakthrough in technology that will change the way you do business? Share it on your website with your thoughts or interpretations of the changes. Bonus: By sharing recent changes in the industry this will show potential clients that you are in touch with current events in your field.

5. Share testimonials your company has received.

There is nothing more powerful than hearing about how a company has helped to solve someone’s problem, especially if it’s something you yourself are experiencing. It helps us to hear from peers and know that we are putting our trust in someone who has earned it. Take for example Yelp.com – with over 18 Million visits per month, this review-based site shows us that people are interested in what others have to say, and they’re looking for it online! Make it easy to find by posting some of your latest client testimonials for people to read. Take it a step further: Ask your customers if you can use them as a referral so visitors can reach out to them if they are interested in learning more.

6. Be sure that your information is up-to-date.

Take a little time every quarter to make sure that your website reflects any changes made to your business since your last updates. Has your phone number changed? Have you moved? Have you started a new Twitter account? Updated your logo? Celebrated a business anniversary? Check for phrases like “Bob has been doing business for 13 years”, and update them. It’s easy to forget how much your business evolves over one year, complete this step every few months and your site will remain accurate.

7. Answer some of your most Frequently Asked Questions.

Every industry has some basic questions that they get asked over and over again. Answer some of these questions on your site to help potential customers with their buying process. Bonus: Your industry’s FAQs are probably also highly searched for online, if written well, using common search phrases, your FAQ page could move up the Search Engine Results and drive more traffic to you!

Luckily, many new websites are being built on Content Management Systems, which means you should be able to keep your website up-to-date without having to pay your web developer each month. If you don’t know how to make the changes be sure to budget in website changes at least 4 times a year to make sure you’re getting the most bang from your site.

If you want to make changes to your website, but you’re not sure how, or don’t want to figure it out, consider contacting us at Buffalo Wired. Even if you don’t have a website created by us, we may be able to update the site that you have. Contact Us today!