As a business owner, you already have enough on your plate. Finding time to switch your website platform or spruce up your digital marketing strategy adds more stress to the small-business circus. “So, how often should I refresh my website? And what’s the bare minimum I can do?” you might ask.
Rival Digital excels at connecting potential customers with online businesses through digital avenues. We’ll guide you through when and how to update your website below.
What Does Website Design Have to Do With Search Engine Optimization?
If you already have a fantastic website design for your home service business, you might hope that you can simply leave it alone while you tackle other business ownership challenges. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Google’s job is to index websites based on their activity, relevance, and informational accuracy.
At a minimum, you should update your website content monthly, ensuring keywords reflect recent search trends. You must also ensure that no widgets, images, or other elements are slowing the site down or making the user experience unbearable. Discover how website updates can make or break search ranking below.
Increased Website Traffic
Your target audience expects a user-friendly experience when they visit your website. Otherwise, they will return to the search results to find a more accommodating website. Refreshing your website allows you to ensure it features relevant information, fast loading times, and easy navigation. In turn, you’ll earn more traffic and better rankings.
Improved Function
Speaking of user-friendliness, you must prioritize a mobile-friendly website layout to stay competitive. Otherwise, you could lose hundreds of customers, lowering your ranking. Periodically navigate your site via your mobile device and make changes as needed.
Updated Contact Page
It’s easy to forget about making a website update after changing your phone number or address. Ensure the website accurately displays business hours, location, and contact info. Make timely announcements via press releases and social media posts notifying your followers about the changes.
Changing Search Terms
Keywords and search patterns constantly change. Stale content won’t reflect those changes or search well on engines. Schedule frequent updates to modify the content accordingly.
What Should a Website Redesign Include?
“How often should I refresh my website?” you wonder. While there is no definitive answer to scheduling frequency of website updates, there is a basic formula you can follow to add more value through more pages or repurposed site content.
Basic Website Updates
Deep dive into your metrics and adjust accordingly monthly. Make changes that align with your business goals. For example, you want more client reviews on social media platforms. Therefore, you can rewrite calls to action to reflect that goal.
Updated Website Content
The internet enables constant access to new information as it evolves. Edit current pages and draft new educational articles to accurately reflect recent industry news. You can also add new photos of products, storefronts, and local events to stoke community interest.
Template Improvements
You not only need a design that appeals to mobile website visitors, but you should also examine which elements detract from your site speed. Remove widgets and other tools that slow down loading times.
Ensure each page flows with the following chronology:
- Header
- Navigation bar
- Content body
- Call to action
- Additional links
New Features
Accurate information and fantastic user experiences aren’t the only things to check. Creative touches enhance how a visitor interacts with your website. Add staff pages, a media room, and a photo album showcasing your work.
How Often Should I Refresh My Website?
Ideally, you should update your website monthly or quarterly at a minimum. This website maintenance might involve small tweaks, like bringing your photos up to date or publishing new blog posts. However, you should consider overhauling your entire website under the following circumstances:
- Your competitors’ websites have changed. Consider what your competition does as part of your decision-making process for trying new web design ideas.
- Industry design trends shifted. Have you noticed visual or functional changes throughout the industry? If so, sweeping updates could be on the docket.
- Your visitors and metrics have decreased. Has website performance tanked lately? Troubleshoot the layout and content to determine whether it gives visitors the best possible experience.
- Your website ranks lower in searches. If your site went from the top search results to the second results page, it might not meet the search engine’s minimum SEO requirements.
- You’re rebranding. Your current website might perform beautifully, but you’re planning brand changes for a more accurate representation of your business.
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