How many people launch their brand new website and over time completely forget about it?
Keeping your website up-to-date is imperative to its success. Here are just some of the reasons why.
1. Google Ranking and SEO
Google will “reward” you when new content is put on your website by boosting your search ranking. Who doesn’t want to be at the top of the search results? If your content hasn’t been touched for long periods of time (in some cases, for years!), then Google search engine crawlers may think the content is not as relevant anymore.
When updating the content on your website, it will have to be ongoing so don’t expect results overnight. If you are consistent with updating your website, you will see changes over time and this will benefit your business in the long run.
Google has recently stated that by having an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Certificate is the easiest way to improve SEO ranking. SSL certificates are digital certificates that authenticate the identity of a website. It also encrypts information sent to the server using SSL technology. Contact us to find out how we can implement an SSL certificate on your website.
2. Representing your Business
Any potential customers may automatically go straight to your website as a first port of call. You should treat your website like a business shop that is open every second of the day. People create a positive or negative opinion in their mind within seconds of seeing something. Your website should represent what your business does now – not what it provided years ago.
If your website is filled with current information, potential customers will be filled with confidence that your business is organised and that you invest time into your business and clients. This will also help with your retention rates and help you to gain new clients from word of mouth, which may result in you gaining more revenue in the long term.
You should also remember to check how your website looks across different devices. Is it clear to others that you keep it up to date? Any signs of it looking old could imply laziness and may give them doubt about you as a professional. Don’t give your competition any advantages!
3. Loading Speed and Bounce Rates
Bounce rates are where people go on a website and click off it again within a few seconds. When you have an up-to-date website, this attracts people to stay on it for longer and possibly come back to it again in the future. If a user goes onto your website and sees old and irrelevant content, they may be quick to leave your website.
How many times have you gone onto a website and found it took too long to load so you gave up and left the page? By having an up-to-date website, you can also improve your website’s speed. Aim to have your loading time less than 5 seconds as this will help to reduce your bounce rate.
