You’ve got your website looking just the way you want it, and the content is perfect. Job done, right? Well, actually, no. Your website will need constant updates to make sure that it's accurate and up to date.
Why updating your website matters for sales
Even in the short term, many changes occur within your business. Your website should be changed accordingly to reflect this.
While this is crucial to ensuring your sales remain on the rise and that site traffic remains steady, it’s also good for the overall health of your business. Here’s what we’ll be covering:
- Updating your website for freshness.
- Make sure your website loads quickly.
- Have you reviewed your images lately?
- Show off your good reputation.
Let’s take a closer look.
Updating your website for freshness
Is the text throughout the website too wordy? Our product descriptions using relevant keywords? Has your company blog not been updated in months?
A stagnant website does more than hurt your business when it comes to bringing in new or even repeat visitors. Adding new content to your site can help improve your Google rankings, attracting new visitors to your website.
Luckily, there’s a fix available, and that means a writing overhaul on your content.
Most businesses will bring on a copywriter (whether in-house or outsourced through an agency or freelancer) to make adjustments that cover these areas.
Here are some guidelines for updating your website content:
Pay attention to search engine optimization (SEO)
Use SEO techniques when rewriting your site’s text content. Keep an eagle eye out for any broken links and link back to pages within your site where appropriate.
Write compelling product descriptions
Buyers need to know what they’re purchasing. Specifications such as size dimensions, color descriptions, and types of fabric matter to potential customers looking to buy your offerings.
Also, make sure you update your product descriptions to be keyword-rich for organic search results.
If you don’t have descriptions included with your products, now is the time to add them.
Maintain an editorial calendar by updating your website
Establish an editorial calendar with content specifically for your blog.
A blog is a great way to add new content which targets relevant keywords you can’t include in other areas of your website.
Some topics include news about your business, hints, and tips relating to your niche, product launches, and special offers.
Make sure your website loads quickly
Seriously — one out of five shoppers will abandon their cart if the site loads too slowly.
These precious seconds can mean the difference between getting a shopper to check out versus having them abandon their cart entirely.
Start by checking the load speeds using Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool. The tool will let you know if your site is loading slowly. It will also provide advice on what you can do to improve load speeds, although you may need technical knowledge to make these changes.
You can learn more about speeding up your website in this guide.
Have you reviewed your images lately?
For most websites, great visuals are a key component for engaging with visitors.
Companies that specialize in selling products like candy or clothing know that an aesthetically pleasing shot is usually the ticket to converting a visitor into making a purchase. They like what they see and they’re compelled to buy it as a result, which gives your business a healthy revenue boost.
However, many shoppers are much less likely to buy if the image quality is grainy or out of focus.
Take inventory of the images featured throughout your website. If some require a higher resolution, it’s time to reshoot.
Beyond making sure the image itself is high quality, you may also want to shoot each product from multiple angles for an increase in sales.
A few different approaches to try on for size include the flat lay, as popularized by Instagram, that creates a full, proportional look of the product.
You might also want to shoot videos to accompany the images on your page.
For instance, a video shoot for a coat company may show models walking in the coat and close-ups of the fabric and material. This gives viewers the ability to examine how the product might look on them and compel them to buy.
Show off your good reputation by updating your webiste
No matter if your company has long been established or is new to the startup world, it’s important to build and maintain trust with consumers.
New visitors to your site might have a hard time figuring out if they can trust you yet, which is why it’s key to showcase your brand’s good reputation upfront.
One of the easiest, most common ways to go about doing this is to feature press mentions and customer reviews.
If your business received a flattering mention in a major media outlet include it on your website! You can show the publication’s logo on your home page or create a separate tab for all of your press hits.
The same goes for customer reviews. Many websites offer the ability to write reviews directly on the same page of their product, with customers encouraged to rate on a star system (one to five stars) and even share photos of the products they purchased along with their commentary.
You can always let your customers know that they’re welcome to review you on Yelp or Facebook, but reviews featured on your own site have the potential to increase purchase likelihood by 15%. If you don’t already have this function enabled on your site, it’s worth taking the time to make the update.
In conclusion
Keeping your website fresh and up to date is important, not only for your search engine ranking but for your business’s ongoing reputation as well. These tips and suggestions will get you well on your way. Happy updating!
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