How Often Should You Update Your Website Content in 2019

Riddle us this:

Is your website more embarrassing than your 7th-grade school photo?

Has your website been updated in the last decade?

Do you know how to update plugins and software so everything runs smoothly?

Is your website something you hide?

If you answered ‘yes’ to even one of those questions, then it may be time for a website overhaul. Your website should be your most profitable asset, not your most painful.

Why?

Because these days, websites have the potential to grow – or slow – your business. Done well, a powerful website can position both you and your company as the solution your prospects’ needs.

If …

… old content makes your site irrelevant

… outdated WordPress plugins make your site crash

… you can’t access your site to make changes because your last web design agency ghosted you

… then it’s decidedly time for a hard Ctrl+Alt+Del reboot.

Why An Updated Website Is So Important

While how often you should update your website content depends largely on the nature of your business, the fact that content must be thoughtfully maintained is universal. Why? Because Google – and other search engines if you’re into that sort of thing – provide users with information that best matches their search query. And in order to determine the relevance and accuracy of a page, search engine algorithms will weigh a number of ranking signals, including the type and number of keywords, and the quality and timeliness – or freshness – of your content.

What Is ‘Fresh’ Content Anyway?

Though it sounds daunting and time-consuming – and sometimes, it can be – there are a number of ways to quickly add fresh content to your site, such as:

• Write a blog not only to regularly add new content, but to – BONUS! – establish yourself as an industry thought leader in the process.
• Revive your homepage by adding a plugin that will pull in and populate the most recent news, articles, blog posts or announcements.
• Feedback. User-generated content, such as comments, forum posts or questions, is an easy way to get more content added to your site regularly. Think of it as content crowdsourcing.

• News: From company news, to changes of address, brand, or contact information, to new hires, to departing employees, there is a lot of effortless ‘fresh’ content right at your fingertips.

What Are The Benefits Of This So-Called ‘Fresh’ Content?

We thought you’d never ask! Fresh content – and an updated website – can benefit your ...

• Google will index your site based on a combination of factors, such as the number of inbound links, keyword frequency, relevancy and quality, and how often it is updated.
• Social Media. Updated website content provides a quick-and-easy repository for social media content. And since social media amplifies your content and drives traffic back to your site, it benefits your SEO, too.
• Keyword Optimization. Regularly publishing new content creates more opportunities for organic keyword optimization. And keywords make search engines
• The more you write about your industry, the more credibility you gain and the more credibility you gain, the more other sites will share and link to your posts. And backlinks also make search engines happy.

But maybe website maintenance and updates aren’t really your thing. And while helpful, maybe it shouldn’t be your techie nephew’s thing, either. After all, your internet presence is a really big deal.

Thankfully, there’s an easy way to get the website maintenance services you need for your business. At BELAY, we find the best website specialists in the U.S., then partner them with your organization to handle all of your WordPress maintenance.

Don’t waste time and money trying to make your website work; that’s our job. Contact us because getting started will be the easiest thing you’ll do today.