As a website designer, I get asked this question a lot. Should we be updating our site every day? Every week? Every month? And are regular updates needed to keep ahead in the search engines? Most people assume you need to update your site regularly. But what does “regular” mean?

Let’s assume that we are talking about content updates rather than design updates (which I will touch on in the last section, #4). The truth is, all websites need updating regularly, but the definition of what “regular” should mean will vary from one website to another. In fact, how often you should update your website will depend on your business and your objectives.

If your objective is to entice people to come back to your website on a daily or weekly basis, then daily or weekly updates are likely to be beneficial. This might involve adding new information, introducing new products or services, offering industry news, or running promotions.

Retail stores, for example, depend on repeat customers using update strategies that might be daily, weekly or at least monthly. However, if the primary objective of your website is to provide information or generate new business leads, it really depends. The prospect of making daily, weekly or even monthly updates might be daunting for some website owners – and in some cases, it might not even be necessary.

The objective of dentist surgery website, for example, might be to increase local visibility and attract new business – but since existing clients of such a business would be unlikely to check out their local dentist’s website on a regular basis (other than to perhaps look up their telephone number), the frequency of updates needed might be considerably less than what you would expect of a retail store. In the case of the dental office, it might be enough to review your website semi-annually or even annually.

In fact, the frequency of updates needed to be effective might simply depend on the pace of your industry. It might also depend on how often your customers typically visit your site – or how often they expect updates to be made. Of course, this expectation can be somewhat manipulated with good communication on your part – by informing your visitors as to how often updates are actually made. And talk with your website developer – they might have ideas for updates you haven’t thought about that could set you apart from your competition!

Do we need to keep our website updated to stay ahead in the search engines?

It is generally accepted that search engines do indeed reward websites that are updated frequently. And we agree. But it is also important to have a solid update strategy to which search engines would approve (or risk being penalized later).

WARNING: If the sole objective of making updates is to stay ahead on search engines – use caution. Unless you are truly adding rich content that people will find useful – it’s probably not the greatest idea.

“News” sections or even blogs that haven’t been updated in months (sometimes years) are often implemented with great enthusiasm, but then neglected. It is important to commit to your update strategy. Search engines are pretty smart when it comes to detecting less-than-useful content, and your customers will not be impressed with out-of-date “news” either. You will lose on both fronts.

The golden rule is that if fresh content is helpful or useful to your customers, go right ahead. But if it is not, talk with your developer before deciding on an appropriate strategy for your website updates. Just remember – search engines like rich (quality) content. Making updates “for the sake of making updates” is not advisable. Think quality not quantity.

So if daily website updates are not appropriate, is my website bound for search engine failure?

While it is generally accepted that search engines do give points for websites that are updated regularly – it’s important to remember that it’s not the only criteria that search engines judge when ranking websites.

From personal experience, I have many websites that have stayed at the top of search results for months with very little in the way of updates. This is mainly because of good SEO (search engine optimization) techniques and the existence of good quality back links. In fact, if you have achieved good rankings for your targeted keywords or phrases, changing content could even have a negative impact on your search rankings. For this reason, be sure to discuss changes with your developer first.

Technology also moves on. For example, with the recent explosion in social media, adding twitter to your website might be a fairly simple update – but a very effective way to keep your website updated – and you’re your customers interested in your business – in a way that was not available before.

But don’t websites with more pages rank better in search engines?

Fresh content is what search engines feed on, so if you do add content on a regular basis, you are much more likely to be crawled by search engine robots more often than a static site that stays the same. And if you are providing quality content, this will absolutely have a positive influence on your sites rankings.

Again, just keep in mind that websites should be primarily designed for the user. Adding huge amounts of content doesn’t always add up to better search rankings. If you have information to offer that is unique or useful – great! But a smaller, well-designed and optimized website will likely achieve a much higher page rank than a larger website that is not optimized or full of spam – even if it does have more pages.

So… exactly how often should you update your website?

In reality, there is no quick answer to how often you should update your website. For some, daily or weekly – for others it might be monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or even annually. It depends on your business, your current performance and your business objectives. You should however, in our opinion, consult with your web developer at least once annually to discuss whether updates could be beneficial to your website.

However, a word of warning: Be weary of any website designer that states ALL websites (including yours) SHOULD be updated “regularly” – [insert chosen frequency – daily, monthly, hourly? etc.] – this is likely to be coming from a website designer who is more interested in their own pocket book in than your business. Every website should be reviewed and assessed individually.

Also see: 10 signs your site is ready for a redesign ]]> http://www.fivefourty.com/2009/12/how-often-should-you-update-a-website/feed/ 0 http://www.fivefourty.com/2009/12/10-ideas-to-improve-your-website/ http://www.fivefourty.com/2009/12/10-ideas-to-improve-your-website/#comments Sun, 06 Dec 2009 17:28:55 +0000 admin http://www.fivefourty.com/?p=97 Are you looking for ways to improve your website? Here are 10 simple ideas you might not have thought about:

1. Review your homepage – don’t waste valuable real estate welcoming your visitors, instead tell them what you offer and try and convince them to stay a little longer.
2. Make navigation simple and consistent. If you have a lot of links, consider using a drop-down style menu to organize those links, and keep the navigation bar looking the same throughout the whole website.
3. Write meaningful titles. Titles are the most important aspect of your page, both from an SEO and a user standpoint – use keywords for the search engines, but make it obvious to the user what the page is about.
4. Break up large blocks of text and use bullets where appropriate. Nobody has the time to read. Admit it – you “scan” webpages too! Short paragraphs and bullets make reading much easier on your visitors.
5. Add a photo of the business owner or president. People like to know who they are doing business with. Also replace those snapshot photos of your staff with some professional portraits – the difference will amaze you.
6. Offer free information to your visitors – they will appreciate it and come back when they need your services.
7. Change “click here” or “read more” links to include keywords – much more valuable SEO wise. Example – instead of “For ways to promote your website click here”, say “See our article 10 ways to promote your website”.
8. Add Google Maps – you can embed a map of your office right into your webpage, giving users an easy way to see where you are, and obtain driving directions without having to copy/paste or retype your address.
9. If you use Facebook, Twitter, MySpace etc, make sure you link up to your main website.
10. Add a call to action on every page. If you don’t give your visitors a clear way to progress from one page to another, they might not know where to go next and leave.

1. Make sure you’re included in ALL the search engines.
   ‐ Many focus on Google ‐ which is understandable, and even advisable, since they have consistently well over 60% of the search market. But recent news indicates that Bing (the revamped MSN/Live) is gaining market share, and with the expected Microsoft‐Yahoo deal, Bing is likely to be powering Yahoo Search by early 2010.
2. Consider Pay‐per‐click advertising.
   ‐ We’ve all heard of Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing and Microsoft AdCenter, but fairly new on the scene is Facebook pay‐per‐click advertising. With Facebook pay‐per‐click, you can still target your audience geographically, but your targeted keywords are matched to keywords present in individual user profiles.
3. Use Social Media.
   ‐ Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are growing rapidly ‐ Forrester Research reports that there are 55.6 million adults in the US that use social media. If you haven’t already, it’s time to get in the game. Get yourself a Facebook business page. Sign up for Twitter ‐ and integrate those accounts into your website. Using services like Twitter to drive traffic to websites is possibly the greatest threat search engines have ever had. Talk to your web developer.
4. Think Local.
   ‐ Searching for local businesses online is up ‐ but did you know that Google, Yahoo and Bing all have separate local directories that are free to sign up for? Other local directories such as SuperPages and YellowPages also have free basic listings. Some of these services offer paid enhancements ‐ adding your logo, giving preferred placement etc. Other local directories such as SurfDaytonOhio.com can help drive traffic to your website while also providing those all important back‐links.
5. Start a Company Blog.
   ‐ Writing articles about your business or your industry can be a great way to drive traffic to your website ‐and increase your search engine visibility to boot. But be sure to commit to a Blog before you start. Blogs are often started with great enthusiasm, but then neglected shortly afterwards ‐ and a Blog that hasn’t been updated in months often looks worse than not having a Blog at all.
6. Increase Back‐links.
   ‐ Ask other website owners to consider linking to your website ‐ Google in particular views the number of incoming links to your website in your favor. One way links are more valuable, but reciprocal linking is good ‐ providing the website in question is a quality site.
7. Review your SEO (search engine optimization). But never use “Black Hat” SEO techniques.
   ‐ Including but not limited to “keyword stuffing” (over‐using keywords to artificially inflate your keyword density with the intent on improving search results), hidden links (hiding links with colors or negative margins) or gateway pages (pages designed for search engines with no real value). Search engines are becoming increasingly aware of such methods and will penalize your website. It’s just not worth the risk.
8. Start a Mailing List. But never send unsolicited emails.
   ‐ A legitimate mailing list made up of your customers can be invaluable. But no matter how good your intentions, or how well you present your emails, you are risking becoming blacklisted if you send unsolicited emails. Never buy mailing lists. If you want to start a legitimate mailing list, use a legitimate service like ConstantContact.com ‐ who will ensure you comply with the CAN‐SPAM Act.
9. Solicit the advice of your web developer. But never respond to unsolicited emails.
   ‐ These often include offers to help promote your website from email marketing to directory submission services. Any service that wants to add your website to thousands of search engines or directories is bad news. If they use spam to promote their services, can you really trust them to use legitimate means to promote your website? Talk to your website developer about legitimate ways to help promote your website.
10. Use your website!
    ‐ This may seem obvious, but if you have a website, your URL (website address) should appear anywhere you instinctively put your telephone number ‐ from business cards to brochures to offline advertising to vehicle decals.

Are you wondering if it’s time your website had a facelift? Here is a quick test.

1. Has it been more than a year since your website was last updated or reviewed?
2. Have there been changes in your products/services, or do you need to update any staff or contact information on your website?
3. Have there been developments in your industry that should be addressed on your website?
4. Is your website starting to look stale? (If the design is older than 2-3 years, it probably is).
5. Are you interested in Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Blogs etc) but not sure what they are or if they could help your business?
6. Do you think your traffic statistics could be improved?
7. Have you updated other media since your last design – logos, business cards, brochures etc?
8. Could images on your website be replaced with more recent photos or graphics?
9. Are you missing any features you think would add value to your customers? (Also, talk with your web developer – there may have been developments in technology that your site could benefit from).
10. Does your website fall short when compared to your competitor’s websites?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, a call to your web developer may be in order. The scope of the update required, or redesign needed…… just depends.

Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide (PDF)

This is a very helpful guide for configuring the settings of your site. When making changes to your site, I would follow Google”s recommendations to the T. All the info in this guide is easy to understand and implement. Also make sure you start your SEO practices early on in the development of your site. It will save you lots of time in the long run.

If for any reason you feel like you would like help in the implementation of SEO best practices for your site I would be happy to assist you with the development of your content. Just get in touch.