The warm weather has (sort of) arrived, and spring is (maybe? hopefully?) here. Like the rest of the world, we’ve all been taking the early weeks of spring to clean our houses, closets, cars, and yards, but what about taking that spring cleaning to your website? Cleaning something like a website seems like an odd, and potentially impossible task, but let’s look at what you can do to dust, wash, and polish one of your business’s biggest digital assets.
Refresh Your Content
When is the last time you actually read your website’s content word for word? Is it still serving the needs of your users? Does it have all the information they need to do business with you? Is it correct and accurate for where your business is at this spring? Visit every single page on your website and determine its purpose. If it doesn’t have a purpose then throw it out.
Pro Tip: Websites that have fresh content tend to appear higher in the search engine results pages than those that don’t have fresh content.
Update Your Event Calendar
While it might be spring and we’re heading quickly into Q2, a new year still means new events. Clear out the events from 2015 and update your calendar with upcoming events. A refreshed calendar indicates to visitors that you update your website frequently and they can trust the information they find there.
Spice Up Your Photography
Most likely your website’s project gallery was updated when your website was built and you haven’t touched it since. Now is the time to get your new projects updated on your site. Companies often underestimate how powerful their project galleries can be for potential customers.
Does your website have stock photos? It’s time to get rid of them and get photos of real people, products, and deliverables from your company on your website. While stock photos might be the quick solution for adding images on your website, they are not effectively engaging your visitors, and they might distract from your overall company brand strategy.
Check Yourself Out in the SERPs
Search your company’s name in Google. Are your Title Tags and Meta Descriptions showing up properly? Do you have Title Tags and Meta Descriptions on your pages?
Is your Meta Description enticing like Iowa’s State Parks’ search engine result? Or does it look like City of Des Moines result. A website’s Title Tags and Meta Descriptions have a strong impact on your Click Through Rate. Which link would you click on?
Update Your Design
If the last time your website was designed was 5 years ago, you may be due for a redesign. Non-mobile friendly websites, outdated fonts, and table layouts are a few key indicators your site is need of an upgrade. Read Taylor’s “Six Reasons Your Website Could Use a Redesign,” for a more in depth analysis.
Look at the Big Picture
Companies build websites for all sorts of reasons, whether it be to inform, generate leads, or sell products/services. Does your website serve a specific purpose or does it need to be re-purposed? When used and managed effectively your website can be used as a strong marketing tool to reach your target audiences; spring cleaning can be a great time to determine your website’s purpose and if your website is effectively connecting with your customers, generating sales, or representing your brand.
Do you have any other ways to clean up your website? Let us know in the comments.
