When running your business, you are always on the lookout for the next opportunity to gain a competitive edge over others in your field. Besides providing important information, your website is also an opportunity to gain that competitive advantage.
A continually updated website is a hidden tool in your company’s arsenal when it comes to reaching your goals and dominating your field. However, many business owners are not aware of how their digital presence can affect their performance.
Here are a few reasons why regularly updating your website can help you stay ahead of the competition.
Make Sure That Your Website Is High-Performance
When running your business, you want everything to be the best of the best. You expect maximum performance from your sales leads, production managers, and other members of your team. You should do the same for your website.
Website development technology is continuously updating. This means that there is always some new tool that could make your site run faster and perform better—or that old features on your page are now outdated and lagging.
As a business owner, it can be difficult to stay on top of new developments in web design and run your business. Professional web developers can upgrade and optimise for greater performance if you work with them on your digital presence. The professionals know the latest tips to boost metrics such as loading time.
You may not think much about how your website works, but developers have found that web performance is important for customers. Since most people research businesses and shop online, your website is how you make your first impression. Lagging sites with poor performance tend to turn customers away, so you gain an advantage if your site runs well.
More Customers Will Find an Updated Website
Another reason to keep your website regularly updated is that more people will find it that way. Regular updates are highly beneficial for SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation.
Google’s official SEO guidelines explain that the company’s algorithms prioritise websites that provide value to customers. Websites provide value when they have useful content, are well-organised, and when they are up-to-date. Google is more likely to index recent content, assuming (rightfully) that it is more relevant to potential customers.
Keeping your website updated ensures that you will have a higher search engine ranking. This applies to both the content on the site and the digital back end. Optimising the site technologically boosts your ranking because Google rewards good performance, while updating the content will also improve your SEO placement.
SEO ranking is important in keeping your business competitive because most people use online search to find businesses. Businesses that rank higher in search engine results are more likely to find customers because people rarely look past the first page in Google’s search results. If you have a better SEO ranking than your competitors, you are likely to get more business.
You Will Gain the Trust of Customers
An updated website is not just important for getting the attention of your audience, but also for converting that audience into paying customers. A site that has the latest features, performs well, and is updated will increase your conversion rate.
The content on your site also matters when it comes to attracting potential customers. People tend to do some research online before deciding where to do business. Your content is an opportunity to show that you are an industry leader with posts about topics that are relevant in your field.
When it comes to your website content, recency is also important. Some customers will check your posts or blog to see how well your site is updated. If they notice that you have not posted in a long time, they may think that your business is no longer active or be confused about your role in the industry.
As mentioned above, your website is the first impression that you will make for many customers. If your website is updated, it shows customers that you are putting effort into your business and value the impression you make on them. On the other hand, if your website is out of date, potential customers may doubt the quality of your work and turn to your competitors instead.
An Updated Website Is Your Competitive Advantage
In this digital-forward age, one of the best things you can do for your business is to keep your digital presence updated. Regularly optimising your website and refreshing the content is important for attracting customers. An updated website also gives you a technological advantage in terms of performance and SEO ranking.
Especially if you work with dedicated professionals, updating your website is a low-effort step that can yield high rewards.
