Stay fresh for online success
Website Branding
Imagine going on to a website and seeing content published two years ago however, the companies brands itself as a "proactive and willing to go the extra mile". What message is that sending out to your prospective customers? Within any company your website is the core of your branding. Not only do you have to regularly update your branding, but your branding on the website needs to reflect who and what your company is about. When you update your website you need to think about how your branding will reflect your company.
When you are updating your website one of the key aspects to consider is how you can give your website that modernised feel that will attract traffic and engage your target audience. When we think of modernised we have this concept of various brightly coloured text and outrageous navigation buttons that you have never experienced before in your life. So, really something like this:
There is a reason that was rated the world’s worst website in 2014. For a modernised feel you need to think about what you can do differently that is inventive and is likely to convert your traffic into sales leads. Iconic pictures just don’t seem to cut it anymore. Updating is all about getting the most out of your website.
The website savers that will keep your website fresh
The million dollar question. how do you keep your website looking fresh? The homepage of your website dictates if a prospective customer clicks off your website or if they want to find out more about your company/service/products. Give them something to stick around for! A great way of showcasing your company through your website is using client testimonials. A testimonial shows your prospective customers that your company is trustworthy and credible and makes them that much more likely to want to hang around and explore the site.
Incorporating a blog on your website is becoming more and more popular for companies in most industries. A blog is a great way of adding new content on a regular basis. If you are unsure what to blog about then think what your potential customers might be searching for online. The beauty of a blog is it keeps your website fresh and drives more traffic to your website. You could also think about a news section on your website. With news, think about what is happening in your industry that will appeal to your target market. News can also relate to industry events you have attended, the launch of a new product or even the taking on of a new staff member. A news article relevant to your industry will only enhance search engine performance.
You could have the best looking website in the world however, if you don’t have the content nobody will notice your website. The more content you have the higher your search engine rankings. Read: http://websitehelpers.com/seo/rankingfactors.html to find out more. REMEMBER, the key is to add content that is relevant to your customers and the industry, don’t go overboard.
Having someone else visit and critique your website is critical for that crisp looking website you require. Struggling to find someone that is up for the task?
UserTesting is a service that uses random people to test just how effective your website is. The feedback they offer will dictate if your calls to action are just as obvious as you think.
Competitor analysis is also a vital website saver. This isn’t so you can copy someone else’s site, but pick up some ideas for inspiration and adapt them to your website!
Struggling to produce pages of brand content? Not everybody is a writer, there are other ways of producing content!! Incorporating videos and images for example, producing a gallery page that could show short tutorials of your product or service. It could even be updated every time you complete a project. REMEMBER, make sure all your videos and images are search engine friendly. Click the link to find out more: http://diythemes.com/thesis/wordpress-seo-image-optimization/
Use inspiration like this for some ideas: AbeCajudo.com:
Lastly, update other content besides your blog. If you have social media channels tied to your website, be sure to update them as often as possible. If you are struggling to find time to regularly post on social media then make time through tools such as Hootsuite.
Keep Learning
As you can see, there are various ways you can keep your website looking fresh. Either way, if you choose to update it monthly, weekly or even daily you will see results! If you want to understand more than why not have a look at:
