Websites are ever evolving, technologies continue to develop and it is vital for your website to stay ahead of the competition, so, if you don't have a never-ending budget, what should you do?
The single best thing you can do today to enhance your website is start writing and publishing news articles. All businesses have something they want to say. It doesn't have to be hard hitting journalism, your articles simply need to demonstrate yours is a current business and you understand your sector.
The majority of websites have a News page – yours should be put to good use for a wealth of reasons. Firstly, if you use your News page as a portfolio of your proudest projects then potential clients can instantly see examples of your work. It can offer inspiration for those who aren't sure what they need and it demonstrates you already have clients who are pleased with your work.
Your News page should also be used as a place to display testimonials. Don't be afraid to ask for feedback – people are getting into the habit of looking at sites such as TripAdvisor and Google Reviews to judge a business, so why not display reviews proudly on your own website for all to see.
Posting articles to your site is an excellent way of refreshing its content. Website rankings are controlled by complex Google algorithms that are updated on a regular basis. These algorithms favour websites that have helpful and authoritative content, meaning your news posts will help move your website up the rankings.
News posts can also bring more people to your site directly. If you use social media such as Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus, you can easily promote your news stories and your website there. It is amazing to see how a story can trickle out onto the internet and bring visitors back to your website. We study analytics for websites on a daily basis and news makes a visible difference to site traffic.
News is like blogging but is incorporated into the nerve centre of your site. It is important the news is written in the tone of your organisation and it is important that it is regularly updated. Having an out-of-date and unused news page is far worse than not having a news page at all.
So, if you only do one thing this year to enhance your website, make sure you start writing and utilising news to its full potential!
Article by Sarah Comerford from Purple Creative Studios.
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