When Should I Add New Content to My Website?

This article will answer all your questions about when you need to add new content to your website. For help creating new content for your website, contact the experts at SEO Design Chicago today!

when should i add new content to my website

What is Website Content?

Websites consist of a variety of content, some of which you might not think about. Content includes words, photographs, or videos, to name the most common types of content. This article covers how you should create and use marketing and web content and when you should update your website. 

Marketing Content

You can’t have a website without content. In order to have a successful website, you’ll need to include the right kind of content. When writing content for your website, there are a couple of rules to follow to ensure success when writing content for your website.

Know Your Audience

Before you can write anything successfully, you need to know who you are writing to. Once you have established who you’re writing to, you should think about how you’re going to reach them. For example, if they’re a younger audience, you should focus on social media posts and links from your website. 

How Long is Too Long?

Web readers have a very short attention span. Make sure you structure your web design to account for that. Use short blurbs, structure articles to have the most important things first, upload short videos, and use photos. 

Use Short Sentences

Going off on the last point, it’s always a good idea to keep your sentences short. Because of the short attention span of today’s readers, it is best to keep sentences less than 35 words. If you want to widen your audience, keep this word limit. You’ll also want to avoid using uncommon words that the average American doesn’t have in their vocabulary–stick to simple words that the common person would know. 

web content

What Voice Should I Use?

Try to stick to active voice rather than passive voice when writing website content. By using active voice, you’ll create reader-friendly sentences, instead of sounding like you’re demanding them to do something. By using active voice, it also sounds more direct, as you’re speaking to the audience instead of speaking to air. 

Show, Don’t Tell

Chances are, you’ve probably heard this phrase many times growing up. When creating marketing content, help the reader understand and visualize the point you’re trying to get across. You can achieve this by using real-world, personal experiences that are relatable in some form or another to your audience members. 

Remember Who is on the Web

Nowadays, everyone has access to the web. When writing content, keep this in mind. You’ll want to make sure that anyone who crosses your website can understand what it’s saying–not only the experts. You can achieve this by using language that doesn’t take a linguist to figure out what it’s saying. If your topic is complex, use hyperlinks that help make it understandable to the common person.

Be Creative with Your Word Choice

Instead of using the same words over and over again, mix it up. You don’t want your audience to get bored, especially if what your writing about is a popular topic. Instead of overused words, pull up a thesaurus and use words you might not hear everyday. If you discover your content seems to portray a negative tone, change it up a bit until your content sounds positive. A technique you can try is creating a list of words that describes your company. After you are finished creating the list, you can group together like terms and dispose of any words that don’t quite fit the nature of your business.

Make Skimmable Content

Let’s be honest, we all skim. This is especially true when we see a lot of content to read through. Readers often skim content to see if it contains what they’re searching for. If readers don’t find what they were looking for, they move on until they do. A technique to use to keep readers on your page is by using white space and bullet points. This helps the audience feel that there isn’t too much to read through. Also use subheads for the reader to find information quickly.

Use Multimedia Throughout

Humans are visual creatures. Adding photos, videos, or infographics on your website helps your reader stay on your website. They’re able to get through content faster and have a more enjoyable time on your website. 

Remember Your Call to Action

You should incorporate a strong call to action at the end of each page on your website. These include starting with words such as “download,” “share,” “like,” or “sign up” to name a few. This leaves the audience wanting more.        

website content

How Often Should I Update My Website?

You might be wondering, how often should I update my business’s website? There isn’t one solid answer, as it’s variable on the size of your business and website, the type of business, and goals of your business, to name a few variables. No business nor website is created equal. However, you shouldn’t answer never.

You should update your website every now and then, whether that’s monthly or weekly. Even minor changes should happen on a daily basis to keep your website current. Regularly updating your website is critical, as it keeps your website’s content up to date, informs your customers of upcoming events and promotions, and improves your business’s SEO. You might not need to constantly create new content.

The next question you might have is how do you know when it’s time to update your website. In today’s technological world, technology changes quickly. For example, Google is constantly updating its algorithm for better search results. There are several key indicators to look for if you’re unsure whether or not your website needs an update, however large or small the update might be.

  • Missing or incorrect information listed on the website: When customers visit your website, they should be able to easily navigate to your business’s information. When they locate your information, it should be correct. If you have missing or out-of-date information listed, it can have a negative impact on your business. Your website should be an accurate reflection upon your business. If your website is communicating to your customers that you don’t care to update your information, you could potentially lose some of them. 
  • Your brand has evolved: Whether your business recently had a complete company rebrand, or you’re now offering more services, your business’s website needs to include those changes on the website. Your website reflects your business in its style and voice, so as it evolves, your website should match those changes.
  • You’ve gotten to the point when you’re not excited about your website anymore: Your business’s website should be something you’re proud of. Your website reflects who you are as a company. If you’re no longer interested in your website, you should consider updating your website to make it worth sharing to others. 
  • Your website isn’t optimized for mobile phones or tablets: Optimizing your website for desktop computers is important, however, about half of the traffic today comes from mobile phones. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile phones, it’s time to update. People don’t want to be scrolling on their phone on a website that is hard to read because it’s only made to view from a desktop computer. 
  • You’re not getting as much website traffic as you would like: If your website’s SEO isn’t where you want it to be, it’s time to update it. SEO isn’t something you do once and then you’re done. It takes constant updating. If you need additional help, SEO Design Chicago can help you reach your trafficking goals. We have a team of experts in SEO content creation who help businesses around the country. 

As you constantly work towards updating your business’s website, you will have a website that you’re proud of and that your customers will love to visit again and again. 

how often should i update my website

Web Content

As mentioned earlier, various types of web content is important to any successful website. These include textual, visual, and aural content. As you structure and update your website, be sure to include the different types of web content to keep your audience interested. For example, display personalized and unique business photographs and videos that portray who your business is and what they do. An infographic is another great option. Be informative so your audience knows exactly who you are and why they should use your services. 

You can also use aural content, which tends to be less common among company websites. Aural content can include interviews or podcasts of employees or events. This is a great way to let your audience know what you’re doing. 

Textual content should be one of the major components of your website. Make sure your textual content is brief, unique, and personal, so that your audience will stay interested and involved. Instead of repeating the same content frequently, find new, relatable content to share with your readers. If writing isn’t your thing, your business can hire a content writer for your website.  

Now that you know more about creating and updating web content, you are ready to get started on your own business website. SEO Design Chicago has a team of professionals who are prepared to help you get started with all of your web content and website updating needs. 

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