by Arti Sharma
If you walked into a grocery store and found that many of the products were past the expiry date, what would you think? How about if they had faded promotion posters that advertised sales that had been held in 2009? Or if there was a thick coat of dust on everything? Would you go back? Probably not! Even more so, you would walk away with a very negative impression of the store and avoid them in the future. Rightfully so! Why would do the same thing to your company website?
While dead links and outdated images don’t induce the visceral reaction that dust and outdated food do, the overall effect is the same. Consumers are turned off by poorly maintained and rarely updated websites. To the average user, it tells them that the business may be lazy and not run well. After all, if a business can’t do something as simple as running their own website, then how can they take care of my needs? Luckily, maintaining your website and keeping it up to date does not have to be hard. But, the first thing you need to do is de-tox it; get rid of everything on your website it that does not need to be there.
Here are a few tips:
Does It Match Your Marketing Strategy?
You may have had your website for a while; maybe even for a decade. Remember- businesses grow and evolve. Does your website really match your current marketing strategy and business goals? Are things the same? Maybe it is the same; but, the business model may have shifted in the last decade. For example, you might have been targeting retirees as your demographic when you first opened, but your demographic may have changed to Millennials since then. It won’t help if your website is still catering to seniors. Check to see if your website still matches your business goals.
The Walking Dead Links
Nothing is more annoying than clicking on a link and seeing this:
Go through your website and make sure that all of the links have not gone dead. Do this on a regular basis as they can down quickly.
Contact Information
Are you in the same location you have always been? Change of phone number? How about email? Make sure that all of your contact information is still relevant. Nothing will lose business faster than an email that bounces back because the recipient is no longer in use.
Useful Plug-ins
Plug-ins can be a great addition to a site; but only if they are being utilized. Do a diagnostic and find out if the plug-ins on your site are being used. If not, they don’t need to be there; they take up a lot of space and are only worth it if people like them.
Old Content
Do customers really need to know about your expansion plans of the summer of 2011? How about your 2008 Christmas wishes? They really don’t need to know about past deals that are no longer offered (they might ask for them!) Go through your website and delete all the content that is not relevant to a viewer in 2016 and beyond. This could include old blog posts, offers that are no longer valid, and services that are not offered. It will save space and allow customers to focus on the current product.
The best way to enhance your online marketing strategy is to bring in professionals. Measure Marketing is dedicated to improving your business through the Internet. Specializing in web design, SEO optimization, online marketing strategies, and social media, Measure Marketing will help bring more revenue to your business. Contact us today and find out how we can help!
Arti Sharma is the Chief Marketing Strategist and the Founder of Measure Marketing Results Inc. Arti has been helping businesses market themselves more effectively for over two decades. For the past 10 years, she has developed her niche in online marketing and now leads a team of digital marketing strategists and content marketers that help businesses of all sizes get found online and convert traffic to leads and customers. Measure Marketing and Arti’s core mission is to inspire and influence progressive businesses and educate them to achieve a larger impact with online marketing.
Arti has been hired to speak at various industry events over the past years and now actively educates her tribe using her blog and industry publications. She was also the host of Entrepreneur TV; show produced by Rogers that aired in Ontario, Canada. You can learn more about Arti Sharma and Measure Marketing on her website at www.measuremarketing.net.
