For all who have wised up and invested in a business website: Good for you! Now for a tough question…are you maintaining that site as you should?
Like any other form of marketing, websites need to be adjusted over time. As with any medium used to advertise your business, you need to be certain that the information available on your website is current and reflective of your business now and tomorrow, not yesterday. Maintenance of your website comes with the territory. Otherwise, the up -front investment is only worthwhile for a year or two.
Regular updates to your website offer many benefits to you and your over-all website marketing needs:
- Keeps you current with search engines
- Offers accurate information to your site viewers
- With-holds your brand identity for your business
- Updating with website add-ons helps make your website a more profitable tool
- Regular updates to your site are an easy and very cost-effective method more so than updates and changes to print pieces, signage, print ads, commercials, or radio ads.
There are several things to keep in mind when preparing to update your website, especially when the changes have been a long time coming:
- Is your website in-tune with current website standards and sizes?
- Is the information on your website accurate? Have you altered any services, hours of operation, locations serviced, or team members?
- Does your site look like a leading, ahead-of-the-competition sophisticated design? Or does it look old, historic, and unappealing to those viewing it?
- Are there any tools you could invest in now, to make your job, the tasks of your employees, or ease-of-use to your consumers a top priority in the near future?
- What exactly do you need from your site going forward? What functions do you need from it---what do your viewers need to be able to do through your website to become loyal consumers?
Updating your site may be a little tedious. It may not appear to be a top priority—but bear this in mind: Your website is available when you are not. Be certain that the statement that it makes is the best message you can send out on behalf of your business.
