Keeping your website fresh for Google – without a blog
Keeping your website regularly updated with fresh, good quality content is important for two key reasons:
- It’s an indication to your website visitors that you’re still in business & keeping on top of things
- Google likes it
But it can sometimes be a struggle. A blog is the obvious solution (& often the most effective one too). But for some businesses, a blog is either not appropriate, or is too much of a big time commitment to maintain.
In such cases, is it best to give up or are there alternatives?
I’d suggest the latter; here are some ideas:
Portfolio
If your work is project-based, consider adding new projects to your portfolio. On my website, you’ll see I have an individual page for each project on the My work page.
Feedback
Collect client testimonials and/or feedback and publish this regularly on your website. Consider including these testimonials throughout the website instead of or as well as on a dedicated testimonial page. Add dates if appropriate – if people see a good review from the current year, they know you’re still actively in business.
Featured Projects / Case Studies
Add a ‘Featured Project’ every few months – by this, I mean a more indepth look at one of the projects you’ve recently undertaken – perhaps with before and after photos, a description of the problem/brief and how you solved it. For some businesses, perhaps a Case Study series would be more appropriate.
Interviews
Conduct some interviews – one of my clients has recently been conducting weekly interviews of other businesses – to highlight how they use Social Media, which is her business area. They haven’t necessarily been her clients, but they’ve enabled her to present Social Media in a very positive, genuine way.
Events
Do you run events? If you don’t already, have them listed on your website, with details on location & how to book.
Social Media Feeds
If you’re a regular Social Media user, have your Twitter or Facebook feeds showing on your website – particularly for visitors, it shows you’re still active (there is a flip side to this of course – best avoided if your Social Media activity is sporadic).
Images
Think about refreshing the photos on your website – often they’ll get noticed before anything else. If you have stock images on your site, is it time to pay a photographer to take some images for YOUR business? It might not cost as much as you think.
New Services
Make sure your website pages accurately reflect what you do & how. Are you offering a new service now? Make sure it’s on your website! Sounds obvious, but it’s amazing how many of us forget it or don’t get around to it (ahem….)
Leave a comment if you have more ideas…