Creating a website for your business is one of the easiest and most cost-effective steps that you can take to drive new customers to your business. In fact, small businesses that do not have a website are at a major disadvantage, as the vast majority of customers now use the internet to search for products and services before making a decision. However, it is not enough to merely create a website and hope that this drives customers to your business. It is important that you maintain, update, and periodically overhaul your website in order to ensure that it is a relevant and engaging content source for customers. While maintaining your business’s website may not be your number one priority as a business owner, here is a look at just a few of the reasons why it is critical that you continually update your website’s content.

First Impressions Are Crucial

One of the most important reasons to maintain your website is to give customers a good first impression. The fact is that many customers are now inundated when choosing businesses to work with, and they will look through several businesses’ websites before making a decision. If they click on your website and it clearly looks outdated, has poor content, or it is not user-friendly, they will likely move over to a competitor’s website that is easier to use and visually appealing. In fact, many people will only look at a website for a few seconds before deciding whether or not to explore it further, which means that you do not have much time to make a good first impression. Keeping your website looking polished and updated will help to grab viewers’ attention, helping to improve conversion rates.

Keep Customers Engaged

Once you have a potential customer reading your website, you will need to keep them engaged with up-to-date information. The fact is that you need to provide a reason for customers to keep exploring your website and for returning customers to want to visit your website again. Continually updating your website and blog with company news, updated services, and helpful information that is of value, will keep customers engaged. The longer that you can keep people interested in your website, the more likely you will be able to turn them into returning customers.

Improve Your Search Ranking

Of course, customers won’t have a chance to peruse your website if they can’t find it. This makes it critical that you are doing everything in your power to improve and maintain your website’s search engine ranking, which includes continually updating and altering your website for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The fact is that Google is constantly changing and updating their SEO rules and search algorithms. If you are not staying on top of the latest SEO guidelines, and you are not updating your website accordingly, your website could drop significantly in search rankings, making it hard for people to find your website. In order for your website to be effective, you need to continually update it with fresh content and the latest keywords, and you need to continue updating your SEO settings.

Ensure Your Website is Secure 

Staying on top of website maintenance is also critical in order to ensure that your website software is up-to-date. If you are using a content management system, updating your website with the latest security patches and bug fixes is critical in order to help keep your website secure. Without the proper updates, hackers will try to take advantage of your website, which could put your company, and your customers, at risk. Additionally, if Google detects that your website has been infected by malware, your site may be delisted until you get it fixed. Continually updating your website will ensure that it stays secure and it reduces the chances that your website will be compromised.

While you may not see website maintenance has a priority, continually updating your website is critical in order to ensure that your website is an effective and secure digital marketing tool. Contact us to learn more about how you can protect your business, and your website, from hackers.