Website Maintenance - Content
Once you've got your website up and running, you may be tempted to forget about it and let it look after itself. But there are several reasons to spend a little time and money on frequent updates to your site, as well as design and feature reviews. Good website maintenance can make a big difference to the amount of traffic you can expect.
At the risk of stating the obvious, content is what internet users are primarily looking for. It may seem like common sense, but often, excitable web designers and over-enthusiastic marketing teams can make you lose sight of the importance of content to the popularity and relevance of your website. There are several reasons for adding new content as frequently as possible.
New content gives your visitors a reason to return to your site. Lots of new, unique content attracts returning visitors. You could offer an RSS feed of your website's content so that people interested in your products and services can keep up-to-date with any news you have to offer. However, if you do this, make sure that you will be able to add something new at least once a week. Dead RSS feeds are very bad form.
Frequently updated content attracts search engines. Google and other search engines rank sites higher which regularly add new, unique and site-relevant content. For this reason, you should make sure that any articles or news items you publish are keyword-rich.
Fresh content gives your visitors the impression that your website is an active one. There are a lot of dead websites on the web – scroll to the bottom of many pages, and you'll find that the site was last updated in 2004. If you add new content at least weekly, it will be clear to your visitors that you are still there, with the implication that you will be available if they need to contact you.
While there's nothing wrong with keeping an archive of old news, having a news item on your front page from six months ago makes you look out of touch. Show your visitors that you are up-to-date with the latest information related to your business by featuring current news and the latest advice.