One of the biggest mistakes you can make when it comes to your online presence is failing to keep your website updated. There are many reasons why small business owners do not keep their website up-to-date. For most, the whole process is time-consuming and confusing.
Here are 5 reasons why updating your website is critical.
1. Responsive & Mobile Friendly
Over the years, mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) have exploded across the world and moved into the mainstream. A major percentage of web traffic originates from mobile devices. Non-responsive sites are being phased out, and your site should be right on top of that trend. Also, Google will penalize non-responsive websites. This means that websites with mobile compatibility and mobile app connectivity will be awarded higher rankings in search results than those sites without. When Google indexes your site the bot they use mimics a mobile device, this in itself speaks volumes. You can test your current site here.
2. Content
Content updates let your customers know that you are busy, active and most importantly, still in business! Up-to-date content helps attract links to your site. Meaning, if you write good content that people want to share on social media or their own blogs then this creates more links going into your website. More inbound links equal more traffic!
3. High Bounce Rate
Of all the metrics covered by Google Analytics, the bounce rate is very important. This number measures the percentage of site viewers that leave your website after viewing just one page. Bounce rates above 75 percent are generally considered high and likely indicate larger, underlying issues.
4. Modern and Stylish
If your website looks like it was built in 1995, you are due for an update. Small business owners are seeing great results with nice-looking and up-to-trend websites.
5. What does the competition look like?
Your competition might make changes that improve their rankings considerably and end up pushing you down in searches.
When did you last update your website? If you need to stop and think about it, or simply cannot remember then it is time to update your website. If you are ready for a refresh let us know here.