There are things that you do just once and then there are things that you do forever. Hopefully you will buy a house once, but you forever have to keep it up to date. Just like hopefully you buy/build a website once and then you just need to take care of it and keep it up. It isn’t enough to just update plugins and ensure that your site is secure but by adding content to your site. Why? Well, first, your customer, or target market, if always looking for more content to read or buy and you want them to run into your site, right? Plus, search engines (like Google, Bing, Duck Duck Go, etc) want to know you are still out there and updating your site.
Think of SEO like a marathon… but worse, like one that never ends, or until your business does. Kind of like that never ending pile of laundry that you keep doing over and over. Does it ever end? Nope.. well, it could if you stop wearing clothes, but please… don’t do that.
Just know this… working on your website is like a marathon, in that you are in it for the long haul, you have to train and practice and constantly be working on it.. but no finish line… hmmm, maybe the finish line could be extra clients, more money, more value, etc!
What can you do that keeps you working on your site?
Keep working on your website to continue to provide value to your target market. #seo #seoisamarathon Click To TweetThat’s a GREAT question… let’s go over a few things that you can do.
Plugins & security
Of course you will do the typical website mumbo jumbo – updating your plugins, be sure your theme is up to date, check the security and make sure you don’t have any malware or security issues. You HAVE updated your site to secure with the SSL certificate, right? Gosh I hope so, if not check out this on why you need to update your SSL certificate, or get one!
Out of date pages
Now, remember, your pages are the static pages on your site, that don’t change every day. These will be the services you offer, products you sell, affiliates you support, your About page, Contact page and etc.
When was the last time you reviewed these pages? Might be a good time to check those pages out… maybe hit a few this month and then hit the other few next quarter… and maybe visit them every 2 years or so?
Have you updated your services/products? Do you stop selling one of them? Are your links to your affiliates still working? These are all great things to check out.
Blogs that aren’t evergreen
Well. not ever blog can be evergreen, and we get that, but you COULD update it to make it reusable. Just in case you missed it, a post that is evergreen is one that will always be true/useful. For me, most of my content is still true and useful, however some posts about an event or a specific Google algorithm update might not be something to share a year later as there are likely 50 other updates after that. LOL
You won’t want to rewrite the whole blog, but you could edit the current blog, add Edit and maybe the date with the new information at the top. You may want to update your SEO title and meta description for it as well, to reflect the updated information.
Add new information/content
Of course, adding new information is always helpful. If you have a new product or service, you have a new affiliate or just ready to add a new blog to your blog roll, these are all great things to keep your site up to date and fresh.
Why more content? Well, content is GREAT for search engine optimization and it provides more value to your consumers or target market.
Still not sold on why you need to blog? Check out my blog on 3 Reasons Why You Need to Blog.
Want some tips on how to trim your blog writing? I got you there with this one blog writing tip!
Not sure what you need to do to have the most optimized blog? You are welcome!
Lastly.. not sure what to blog about or not sure you have the time? Well I bust those excuses in this SEO Myth Buster blog.
Hopefully that has given you reason and ideas on what you can do to keep on top of your website and the lifelong (business long) journey of your website.
If you need a website, need a freshening up of your website or need some help with SEO for your site, contact me and let’s talk about your goals and needs.
Thank you for the super useful tips to keep us updated on SEO. Maintaining a website is a lot of work! Your analogy to laundry is perfect. 😉 It’s definitely worthwhile to outsource site and SEO maintenance to a professional like you. This ensures maintenance will get done and done properly. After all, a website is much more beneficial for lead generation when it’s updated and ranking.
Thank you Meghan for reading and stopping by to comment. I always appreciate other like minded professionals and their insight and yours is surely one of the best. Oftentimes folks don’t understand the benefit of regular blogs, updates and work on your website. Thank you again!