In our digitised world, with continually advancing technology, the task of ensuring your website stands out from the crowd can be daunting. Yes, an all-singing, all-dancing site can wow potential clients and set you apart from competitors, but fundamentally its having up-to-date content that will affect how your brand is perceived.

1. A fresh look and feel

An obvious advantage of updating your site, is the opportunity to change the design. Your website is seen as a reflection of your company to the outside world. However, there is so much more to this than new branding and using high quality visuals. Have you considered a responsive, mobile-friendly design? It’s highly likely that a large proportion of traffic to your website will be via mobile devices, and there’s nothing worse than trying to navigate a website on your phone that isn’t designed for it.

2. Cutting edge content

Writing heaps of new copy for a website can be low on the priority list when you’re busy. But, providing updated content on your site can help build trust between you and your clients. Your audiences want to be informed and find the solution that they are looking for – no matter your sector.

Not only does this build trust, but it helps massively with SEO. Domain authority is determined by how much of an authority your site has on a certain subject area, and this is created by regularly updated and useful information. Sites with high domain authority, such as Wikipedia with its well-researched content and constant reviewing, are more likely to match enquiries in Google searches.

It’s also somewhat disconcerting, when a website has a copyright from 2015 and all the content looks pretty outdated. Potential customers might wonder if your company is still in business, and that’s if your site even reaches the first page of search engine results.

3. SEO-centric

Regularly updating your content allows you to stay on top of trends, not just in technology, but also ensuring you’re hitting those vital keywords to maintain a good position in search engine results. Do you have pages on your site dedicated to precisely what you do? It may sound obvious, but if a car garage doesn’t feature pages on its services – such as MOTs, windscreen repair – they’re not going to hit those keywords. Keeping keywords fresh is important, especially when expanding into new products and services, or new areas geographically.

4. Target accuracy

The refresh of your site should centre around what you want to offer the target market of your website, converting visitors into customers. Do you want to wow potential clients with your design capabilities? Then the look of your site is crucial. Do you want to direct people to your products immediately? Then an easily navigated site will be vital in order to maintain interest.

Your target market may change over time, as you expand your product offerings, location, and tools, and to reflect this your website content must be continually updated. In the same vein, how people use websites and buy services is always changing – more so since the pandemic.  Your clients and customers want to come on a journey with you – so ensure that their website user experience entices them to explore further, through effective calls to action, and clear, targeted content.