Derek’s IT Corner - Why it’s critical to have fresh content on your website

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The on-line business world is constantly changing, but over the past year or so, with Google throwing update after update at businesses looking to market their site effectively, it has never been more important to keep on top of your website.

The normal route for many businesses has often been a case of paying a lot of money for a one off website. It may well be an excellent website, it may well tick all the right boxes, and it may well have some good quality content designed to appeal to both visitors and the search engines. But that’s not enough. Not any longer.

Every month Google quietly launches the best part of a hundred updates which constantly change what’s needed. The goal posts have been moved that many times the ball looks as though it’s stationary.

Google rewards regularly updated websites by moving them up the rankings.

One of the factors which Google is now looking at with more critical determination than ever (and probably always will do) is the frequency with which websites are updated with fresh new, informative, quality content, how often they are edited, tweaked and adjusted to provide a convenient and accessible interface for visitors, and how often they are updated to reflect new technologies and features, such as being optimised for viewing on smartphone devices and tablet PCs.

The problem for businesses then is that a “build it and forget it” approach to their website is only good for a short while. After a relatively brief period of time it becomes clear that no further updates or changes are being implemented. Then Google changes what it considers to be best practice, and your website, once so sharp and slick, is now guilty of failing to provide that best practice. For example, with so many people browsing the web on their mobile devices Google is now critically aware of which sites provide the means by which their sites can be accessed appropriately in this way, and which don’t.

The majority of your competition won’t regularly update their website!

But how important is having your business’s website updated regularly, added to, tweaked, adjusted and developed to take advantage of new opportunities and avoid potential new risks? According to SiteKreator.com, “Small businesses who update their website more than five times per month have +300% more website traffic than those who do not.” Could your business benefit from having three times the business it currently has?

The problem is that, as SiteKreator.com notes, “54% of small businesses update their websites less than 0.5 times a month. This includes content changes, adding applications, photos, news items, promotions, etc.” This is simply not enough, and today, in the fiercely competitive and rapidly changing world of online business marketing, 0.5 times a month is as good as doing nothing.

But it’s not just about staying on top, keeping fresh and delivering a solid web based service which keeps abreast of the latest developments and changes. Today, anything other than ensuring you ensuring you add regular fresh content is the equivalent of standing still, and in the on-line world of website marketing and development, standing still is the equivalent of heading backwards.

OK so what now?

The first thing to do is to get your website up to date. Google will be visiting your site sometime within the next few weeks and this is your chance to show it that your site is exactly the kind that should be ranked highly.

Do you have any new products or services that need to be updated or added to your site?

How easy is it for you to update your website? Google doesn’t care if you update your own website or have a web designer do it for you as long as its sees fresh content. Google neither isn’t too concerned how pretty it looks.

Remember – most of your competition will not update their website this month! Will You?

[headline htype=”h4″]Quick Tips And Facts For New Content[/headline]