Small steps to improving your website in 2009 - Content

January 9, 2009 by jford
Filed under: Uncategorized

I have never been a big New Years Resolution person. My stance has always been, why wait until the first of the year to improve your life, right? Well, when it comes to the web the beginning of a new year can represent an opportunity to evaluate your website, and turn your attention to the small things that can make a big difference. I have found many companies take the time to do this in going into the New Year because there is some down time and let’s face it, many just tend to treat it as starting anew on many levels.

So, as you begin the first quarter of 2009 with your website, some points to ponder:

1. Content. Many companies evaluate their websites, and they want to change the design. However, due to budget, resources, time, etc. a full fledged redesign may not in the future. This doesn’t mean the site has to be a laggard.

Most sites now employ a content management system. Use it to your advantage. Your prospective customers like fresh content. Fresh content can lend itself to stronger positioning for your search engine optimization. Go through your home page and sub page content. Make sure it still make sense, and represents your business. Be sure products are updated, and services are still being offered. Have there been changes to your target audiences? Have their personas changed? In this macro economic environment, have their needs changed.

As you evaluate the tone of your content, be sure to keep an eye on keywords. If you are wondering if your target audience has changed the way they search and the keyword variations that they are using, take a look at the Google Keyword Tool. This is an easy and free to way to get some basic keyword volume data, and evaluate any trends in how users are searching for what you have to offer. Then, take this back to your base page content during your 2009 evaluation. Pay attention to how keyword variations are utilized within your content, and make the appropriate changes.

Evaluating your base web content can be very important for your website to have success in the New Year. Sure, your marketing deparment may be saying “no money for the web this year”, but that doesn’t mean it needs to lag behind what your business is doing. Or for that matter, have a negative impact on how search engines will index your content.

Be sure to that your content has came with you into the New Year. It will be good for your users, search engines will like it, and it is an effective way to improve your site without having to totally redesign it.

Share and Enjoy: