Updating your website does so much more.

I have been a part of developing over 1000 websites for small
to mid-size companies and the Fortune 100. When we finished a
website and it went live, our clients breathed a sigh of
relief. "Phew, glad we got that done," as though it was never
to be touched again. I understand building a website takes
effort, but a website that is not updated regularly is
nothing more than last week's newspaper� its only good to
line the cat's litter box.

A recent survey stated that most websites are updated
quarterly with the large majority only updated 1-3 times a
year. This is a big problem considering that the survey was
taken with small businesses; the group that has the most to
gain from their website. So why is updating your website
frequently so important?

Search engines like updated websites

Search engines record how often you update your website. The
more you update your website, the more they will rank its web
pages and the more people will find you on search engines.

Reach more people

The more you update your website, the more content it will
have and the more likely people will find you when they are
looking for information.

Your customers will visit it more often

An important part of updating your website is to keep your
customers informed. Whether it is news, a sale, an event, a
change in policy, etc., all of this is valuable information
that your customers want and can use. The more you update
your website the more you will connect with your customers.
It will also help attract potential customers.

You need to look current

Updating your website frequently will make it, and your
business, look lively. Customers like doing business with
lively companies. If your website is not current, it looks
like your business is outdated, stale and old.

Updating does not have to be hard

I suggest updating your website at least twice a month, if
not more often. You can update your website with simple
things like announcements, special offers, news etc. Updates
don't have to be big news or events, just information that
people can use. I suggest that you devote at least 30 minutes
a week to updating your website. Once you are used to it, it
will be easier and more productive. You will see the results
in a few weeks. In fact, I challenge anyone out there to show
me where updating their website consistently did not result
in an overall increase in website visitors.

Thanks,

Jon Zack