Before we dive into website support let’s take a minute to define what we’re talking about when we say website support. Here is a great definition from Fingerprint Marketing, “website maintenance is the act of regularly checking your website for issues and mistakes and keeping it updated and relevant.” If that’s what it’s all about then why is it so important? Let’s dive in.
Website Maintenance And Google Rankings
If you’ve been in the marketing game at all you probably know what a google ranking is. Google ranking or page rank is the number from 0-10 that your website, web page, or content within your website is given. When you receive a high ranking such as 1 or 2 your content will appear in the first or second spot when someone searches for it.
There are many factors that play into a good ranking but one that is very important is updated, new, and creative content. If you think of your website as a set it and forget it type of marketing tool then you will wake up one day to the value of your website slowly deteriorating. There are hundreds of thousands of new web domains being registered each day and with that comes a huge influx of fresh content. By taking the time to update your site you’re adding value and keeping your established site relevant to those who are searching for content within your niche.
What Do You Update?
We’ve established that it’s important to update your site but you might be asking yourself, “what do I update?” This is a pretty common question but it actually has some really simple answers. There are three big ways that you can keep your website up to date. Keep in mind that there are many more ways that we will discuss as we go along but these three ways highlight content and will really help round out your site.
Let’s dive into each one of these three things.
- Blogging
Blog writing or blogging has been around almost as long as the internet and has always been a way that people seek entertainment, knowledge, and fast answers. While you might think that you don’t have anything to write about for your business you would be surprised to find how interested people are in the simplest of things. Blogs also double as something that you can share on social media and can help improve the traffic to your website. Google’s algorithms are constantly sweeping over websites for keywords that people are searching for you. When you upload a well-written blog article you might be helping a customer find you that much easier. If you’re interested in learning more about blogging we would suggest checking out The Blog Millionaire.
- Design
Creative minds are always coming up with new ways to express themselves and that is no different when it comes to websites and web design. Each year there are new trends that set the stage and become what consumers want to see. While it might be out of reach to completely overhaul your site with a bunch of new trends it could be really beneficial to add just a few elements. Here is an article talking about 2020 web design trends.
- Images, Video, and More!
Throughout the last 3-5 years, we’ve seen great pictures really start to take a front roll on webpages. In 2018 and 2019 we saw video become a very active part of landing pages and a very engaging part of social media. Adding fresh photos and videos to your site can actually really help out. This not only helps your web maintenance plan and page rankings but customer experience. Repeat customers have a 60-70% conversion rate according to Geckoboard and you can bet that if the customers coming back see fresh and interactive content they will be that much more likely to use your service again.
Lastly, it’s important to keep your social media up to date. Interact with your customers, clients, and everyone else to help continue to spread awareness of what you offer. Also, be sure to deliver clear calls to action and include your website link on your social pages.
Notice that each of these things focus on updating content or design. These are truly great practices if you’re looking to increase your domain authority and to rank higher in Google searches. But, there are several things that aren’t so easily done. A service that we offer at Agency Boon is WordPress maintenance plans. These plans focus on theme updates and security checks as well as other maintenance items that deal with the code, layout, and hosting of your site.
Creating A Plan
There are plenty of things to keep in mind besides the three we mentioned. Some others that you should keep in mind are page speed, keeping your site backed up, checking for 404 errors, keeping your blog free of spam, and checking for broken links. A good website maintenance plan is a circle and is always coming back to create great content, keep it presentable, and to make sure that it is accessible and convenient for your audience.
Creating a plan to keep the content on your site up to date is as simple as being proactive and seeing the gaps. Become aware of what’s important to keep up to date and to check up on. Then, all you have to do is stay active. Here are a few resources to help you create a solid plan and to see what needs to be done. It’s easy to not understand all of what can go into website maintenance.
Fingerprint Marketing breaks down some great things that you should be checking on weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly. At Agency Boon we follow a similar model of checking up on the security and updates for your site.
Divicake keeps it a little simpler and more concise as well as highlights some of the perks of outsourcing maintenance. If you’re considering outsourcing feel free to give us a call for a free consultation.
I would definitely recommend diving into both of these and making some lists of where you feel like you need to start with your website maintenance plan. This will also help you see gaps and, as we said earlier, see the things that go into properly maintaining and supporting a WordPress website.
Sticking With It
Keeping your site up to date can seem like a full-time job. With content needing to be created, edited, and uploaded it can get overwhelming really quick. If you’re feeling like this is just too much then it might be time to reach out for some help. You can reach out to us at agencyboon.com for a free call. At Agency Boon we offer 24/7 security, WordPress updates, secure daily backups, and free SSL certificates. Check out our website support plans here, I think you’ll be impressed with everything we cover.
Some final thoughts, it’s important for the growth of your business to keep your site fresh and to keep producing content. Web presence will only become more and more important over time and now is definitely the time to get ahead. Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been doing this for what seems like forever there is always something new to be learned.
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