Part 3 - Update your site regularly

In our continuing series on how to increase traffic and drive more business to your website, we are looking at keeping it fresh and updated.

Your website is not a business card, brochure, or yellow page ad. You decide what it looks like once a year, if that, and it manages itself. A website is a constantly evolving project that takes constant attention and updating to make the most of it.

One of the most important aspects of your website is keeping it up to date, and relative to what is going on in the world. For example a car dealership is constantly changing its signs, balloons out front, commercials, and many other aspects. Just to help catch your eye and get you to stop back into their dealership and check on that new model.

Your website should be doing the same. If I stop by your site today, what is going to get me to come back tomorrow, other than I lost your phone number, or need directions again? Nothing. Keeping it updated, and adding in dynamic features will not only get your customers visiting more often, but it will help Google, Yahoo, and the many other search engines realize that something is new and different. They will come back more, and it will lead to increased rankings in the search results.

If I stop back to your site, and see a new special deal, I may read it. If I see a new blog entry, I'll read that too. If I see a different catchy graphic that is explaining a new procedure or how to, I may read that too. I mean I did come to your website at some point in time because I wanted to know something about it.

So keep in mind each time you change your store window layout, or update your answering machine message, or send out a new flyer in the mail, that you should also be doing the same thing to your website, if not sooner. It will really help in the end.

It doesn't have to be anything fancy either, spend 30 minutes once a week on it. Slowly over time you'll see it turn into the website you want and need it to be. Best of luck!