(Wichita Independent Business Association Publication, March 2003)

Websites can be a great way of communicating what your business is all about. Many website owners forget that just like a visit to your actual business a website can convey more than just a product or service, it can give a sense of the ambiance and care that is put into running the business.

For example, if you go into the same retail store 2 to 3 times a year you will notice that the merchandise and displays are different. You know that the owners are interested in you and what you might need on each visit based on the care they put into the way things are presented and arranged.

This principle applies to more than just a retail store. Insurance agents will change their focus at different times of the year as well. When homes are being appraised insurance agents will often have on hold messages that encourage clients to come in and review homeowner’s insurance rates. Even dentists and optometrists capitalize on the back to school readiness by promoting their services in August.

But how would you feel about these businesses if you walked in and found dust and dying plants? If you could tell at a glance that no one had cleaned in months or even years. When you call you hear a lack of interest or enthusiasm in the voice of the receptionist and on hold messages that date back to 1992.

Websites that are not regularly updated or changed are just like the dusty office. People can tell at first glance whether or not you are interested in them by the content on your website. When a visitor comes to a website with out of date information or that clearly has not been updated in years they are likely to sneeze at the dust and leave.

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Visitors that have been to your website previously are even more prone to this phenomenon. Since the web is built around freely sharing information repeat visitors to your website will be expecting new, updated content and when they see the same thing month after month, they don’t come back.

And, search engines pick up on whether a website is updated frequently. When your website is crawled by the search engine there is a “last modified” date that is registered by the browser. The more often that date changes the more the search engines will search your site for new content making your website a more attractive, more relevant and ultimately higher ranking website.

Most websites need only a few changes every 3 months. Here are some things you should change:

• Any photos you may have on the front page. If you have a picture of your business. Remember as season’s change so does the look of your office.
• Your opening message. Just reword it a bit.
• New customers you have worked with or customer comments.
• New services or products you may be offering.
• Key personnel if there have been changes in your office staff.
• Add questions to the Frequent Questions page.
• Put a reference to any “news” you have been a part of.

Using a website to create awareness of your business is a great start to enhancing all of your marketing but don’t stop there! Remember that people visit good websites more frequently and refer their friends. Give them a reason to come back and spend time with your website (and your business) over and over again by keeping your website bright and shiney.
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This article written by Teajai Kimsey, Interenet Marketing Strategist, Ideas That Work
It may be reproduced and reprinted provided the author's information including web link is kept intact