Regular updates are a big deal! Why? Because content Rules the Roost!
Well-written, easy-to-follow content that is relevant to what your visitors are looking for is what will win the day. We have been developing websites since the web was wee, and we can tell you that the following has always been true: Good content is the solid foundation that your website’s success is built upon. Design and pizzaz are secondary to all of that!
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a phrase that gets tossed around a lot, and for good reason. Your site needs to be optimized for what searchers are looking for, or else it is not going to get found, or not get found by the right people. When we’re analyzing a site for SEO improvement opportunities, one of the main things we look at is the content itself. How is the quality of the existing content? Does it contain words that searchers are looking for and does it contain content that is rich, and relevant to those searches? Another thing that we look for is too little content. Perhaps the site has relevant content, but there’s just not enough content for the site to get noticed. Would adding content be beneficial? With almost every site we look at, the answer to that last question is a resounding “YES!”
If you’re a website owner or manager, what we want to say to you is this: Do not set and forget! It is time to make sure you have (and follow) a content update schedule! If you don’t know where to start, here is what we recommend:
Update your website at least once monthly
Update existing content: make modifications, add clarifications and revisions, remove outdated information. And of course, add new content: new pages, new sections, new information, consider blog articles, introduce new products and services.
Make sure your content is relevant
Review old content: make sure that you include (but don’t over-include) phrases that your best customers would be searching for. Make sure your new content covers topics and answers questions that your visitors are thinking about and searching for.
Learn new things about having a website
Check your website analytics. Learn about analytics and get connected to those via your web developer or IT folks. If you just don’t have analytics at all — get them! (Roost Web can help you install and access Google Analytics. It’s one of the services we offer.) Web analytics give you great insight into who is looking at what on your site and the overall performance.
Check your Google Search Console – This tool gives you some good insight into where you place in google searches. If you don’t have it set up, Roost Web can set that up for you. Just reach out to us!
Learn about SEO helpers like SEO Press, Rank Math and Yoast. These are tools that can help you hone your webpage content for specific phrases that your potential customers are likely searching for.
Learn about web page meta data (like Title and Meta Description) and page headings (h1, h2, and h3 level headings especially) and how to use these to help your pages target important words that your potential customers are searching for out there on the web.
And last but not least…
Get help updating your site
If you’re just too busy running your business to do any of these things yourself; get help! If you’re like a lot of business owners, your business is not focusing on the minutiae of your website operations. That’s what companies like Roost Web Strategies are here for. We can set up a content update schedule and execute it for you!
Just reach out to us for a free online or phone consultation and we’ll help you create a plan to get your site content in shape!
