As a website designer, I get asked this question a lot. Should we be updating our site every day? Every week? Every month? And are regular updates needed to keep ahead in the search engines? Most people assume you need to update your site regularly. But what does “regular” mean?
Let’s assume that we are talking about content updates rather than design updates (which I will touch on in the last section, #4). The truth is, all websites need updating regularly, but the definition of what “regular” should mean will vary from one website to another. In fact, how often you should update your website will depend on your business and your objectives.
If your objective is to entice people to come back to your website on a daily or weekly basis, then daily or weekly updates are likely to be beneficial. This might involve adding new information, introducing new products or services, offering industry news, or running promotions.
Retail stores, for example, depend on repeat customers using update strategies that might be daily, weekly or at least monthly. However, if the primary objective of your website is to provide information or generate new business leads, it really depends. The prospect of making daily, weekly or even monthly updates might be daunting for some website owners – and in some cases, it might not even be necessary.
The objective of dentist surgery website, for example, might be to increase local visibility and attract new business – but since existing clients of such a business would be unlikely to check out their local dentist’s website on a regular basis (other than to perhaps look up their telephone number), the frequency of updates needed might be considerably less than what you would expect of a retail store. In the case of the dental office, it might be enough to review your website semi-annually or even annually.
In fact, the frequency of updates needed to be effective might simply depend on the pace of your industry. It might also depend on how often your customers typically visit your site – or how often they expect updates to be made. Of course, this expectation can be somewhat manipulated with good communication on your part – by informing your visitors as to how often updates are actually made. And talk with your website developer – they might have ideas for updates you haven’t thought about that could set you apart from your competition!
Do we need to keep our website updated to stay ahead in the search engines?
It is generally accepted that search engines do indeed reward websites that are updated frequently. And we agree. But it is also important to have a solid update strategy to which search engines would approve (or risk being penalized later).
WARNING: If the sole objective of making updates is to stay ahead on search engines – use caution. Unless you are truly adding rich content that people will find useful – it’s probably not the greatest idea.
“News” sections or even blogs that haven’t been updated in months (sometimes years) are often implemented with great enthusiasm, but then neglected. It is important to commit to your update strategy. Search engines are pretty smart when it comes to detecting less-than-useful content, and your customers will not be impressed with out-of-date “news” either. You will lose on both fronts.
The golden rule is that if fresh content is helpful or useful to your customers, go right ahead. But if it is not, talk with your developer before deciding on an appropriate strategy for your website updates. Just remember – search engines like rich (quality) content. Making updates “for the sake of making updates” is not advisable. Think quality not quantity.
So if daily website updates are not appropriate, is my website bound for search engine failure?
While it is generally accepted that search engines do give points for websites that are updated regularly – it’s important to remember that it’s not the only criteria that search engines judge when ranking websites.
From personal experience, I have many websites that have stayed at the top of search results for months with very little in the way of updates. This is mainly because of good SEO (search engine optimization) techniques and the existence of good quality back links. In fact, if you have achieved good rankings for your targeted keywords or phrases, changing content could even have a negative impact on your search rankings. For this reason, be sure to discuss changes with your developer first.
Technology also moves on. For example, with the recent explosion in social media, adding twitter to your website might be a fairly simple update – but a very effective way to keep your website updated – and you’re your customers interested in your business – in a way that was not available before.
But don’t websites with more pages rank better in search engines?
Fresh content is what search engines feed on, so if you do add content on a regular basis, you are much more likely to be crawled by search engine robots more often than a static site that stays the same. And if you are providing quality content, this will absolutely have a positive influence on your sites rankings.
Again, just keep in mind that websites should be primarily designed for the user. Adding huge amounts of content doesn’t always add up to better search rankings. If you have information to offer that is unique or useful – great! But a smaller, well-designed and optimized website will likely achieve a much higher page rank than a larger website that is not optimized or full of spam – even if it does have more pages.
So… exactly how often should you update your website?
In reality, there is no quick answer to how often you should update your website. For some, daily or weekly – for others it might be monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or even annually. It depends on your business, your current performance and your business objectives. You should however, in our opinion, consult with your web developer at least once annually to discuss whether updates could be beneficial to your website.
However, a word of warning: Be weary of any website designer that states ALL websites (including yours) SHOULD be updated “regularly” – [insert chosen frequency – daily, monthly, hourly? etc.] – this is likely to be coming from a website designer who is more interested in their own pocket book in than your business. Every website should be reviewed and assessed individually.