In addition to writing blogs often (which we do every other week), it’s important to update the main other pages in your website as well.
Don’t let the main pages in your website sit stagnant.
Google and other AI algorithms like it when blogs are added, or pages updated. And that includes your homepage and other main pages.
In our case, the main pages are our website portfolio, our SEO and SEM page, the home builder website landing page, and pages under our “Portfolio” and “Industries” drop down menus. So in addition to blogging, we also update other main pages on our site once a month.
Two reasons we do this:
- Google’s algorithms wants to see we’re adding new, or updated content throughout our website, not just adding blogs.
- As we learn new things (and who doesn’t?) we can update existing content with new insights
What kind of website content updates make a difference?
- Of course, one of the best ways to update your website is by adding blogs. They showcase your expertise, highlight your successes, and show you’re an expert in your industry. Adding blogs to your website IS new business development.
- Add new information and update outdated information on existing pages.
- Quality, new content ,is better than frequent minor changes. Changing a sentence here or there doesn’t help with SEO.
- Refresh older content on your main pages that haven’t been updated for a year.
How we work with Google algorithms.
There’s so many Google algorithms, and they’re often changing, we can only do so much to keep on top of them. And updating content on our existing pages every month is one of them. (Along with blogging every other week, year in, year out.)
For example, we edit the information on our homepage, and one of the other main pages on our website, once a month to keeps the content fresh for our prospects, and search algorithms.
Sure, if someone is just coming to our website for the first time, they won’t know content has been changed, but algorithms do. Plus we like mixing things up. Here’s an example of the opening sentence we changed on our homepage recently.
We know prospects don’t want to know about you (or us) until they know how you (or we) can make their lives better, easier, or solve their problem. That’s the marketing perspective we bring to the table.
This thought had been in our proposals for years, and we loved the sentiment, so we replaced the previous opening paragraph with that one. It help show we’re have a marketing perspective, not just make websites look nice.
Lots of Columbus web design companies can design pretty websites. However, instead of talking about ourselves, we prefer to explain what is in for your prospects is more important. Because really, all anyone wants to know is “What’s in it for me?!?” How do we do that?
How do you know if an Ohio web design is marketing-focused? Look at their homepage.
- If the homepage talks about them, and not what they do for you, they’re not marketing-focused, and
- If the homepage doesn’t engage you right away, they’ll never be able to make that happen for your website
Don’t believe the “Cobbler’s kids” proverb.
Most of us know it. It was first entered into the public consciousness in a collection of proverbs that hit the shelves back in 1546. The theory behind it is the shoemaker’s children always goes barefoot, because he’s too busy making shoes for the townspeople.
The ironic aspect of the proverb (shorter than a fable) is the irony that professionals use their focus on their clients, and ignore their own “housekeeping.” If a web design firm isn’t making a kickass website for themselves, that should b e a red flag.
It’s not about you. It’s about how you help your audience.
As an example, you need to show how you make someone’s life better, easier, or solve one of their problems. With that in mind:
What you make or do, is not what you sell.
What we make are websites, and create print and digital marketing.
What we sell is:
- Getting someone who has never heard of your company to your website
- Once they’re at your website, being able to get your audience’s attention in 5 seconds or less
- Show them how you help them in 45 to 60 seconds with an engaging video
- And when they’re on your website, educate, and maybe even entertain, them
- Make you website more memorable than your 3 or 4 competitor’s websites they’re going to when comparison shopping.
If you’re better than your competitors, shouldn’t your website be better than theirs?
Yes, better websites cost more, but when you consider what benefit you’ll get out of it (ie: potentially more clients) it is well worth the investment.
Finally, for an SEO Starter Guide, check out Google’s article here.