So you’ve built yourself a website. Now you just have to sit back and let it work its magic – right? Not quite.
Websites are in need of constant monitoring, nurturing and development. Basically, your site is the equivalent of a technological child. To set that kid up for success, give it the love and attention it deserves.
Why is website maintenance so important? In order to keep your audience engaged with your site, you have to go far beyond the initial build to make it happen. Here are some of the most important maintenance essentials your business website needs.
Search engine optimization is vital to the success of your website, and to being found on the internet by your target audience.
Benefits of SEO:
- Help you rank higher on search results
- Increase traffic to your website
- Boost your credibility on the web
- Long-term results
In order to be found, your SEO game has to be strong. The algorithms search engines use to rank websites are continually changing and evolving to better serve the consumer. Regularly and actively staying on top of these search engine updates, and adjusting your SEO strategy accordingly, is the best way to nurture your website for long-term, sustainable growth.
Related: 5 Things You Can Do Right Now to Improve your SEO
Best practices for enhanced user experience are continually changing in our fast-paced technological world, making it one of the most important factors to consider for website upkeep.
Top user experience priorities:
- Ease of use
- Fast load time
- Seamless functionality
- Responsive design
When users come to your site, you want the experience to be easy, interactive and seamless. Can they find information without hunting for it? Are there visuals that make the site dynamic and interesting? Do pages load quickly? All of these factors need to be considered from a user’s point of view to ensure a positive experience.
There are several online security threats that can leave your website with unexpected and costly downtime.
Security threats to watch for:
- Data breaches
- Ransomware
- Malware
- DDoS
As technology evolves and develops, unfortunately so do these types of malicious threats. Routine system updates and consistent monitoring can help prevent attacks by finding potential holes in the security of your site.
Daily site backups are also an extremely important part of website maintenance. In the event of a crash, when you have recent backups of your site you are able to restore it as soon as possible with all of your content, forms and important information, and any changes you’ve made over time intact.
Consistently monitoring your website analytics is an important part of website maintenance.
A few things website analytics show you are:
- How people are interacting with your website
- Referrals and traffic sources
- Top visited pages and blogs
- Results on paid campaign efforts
In order to better serve your audience, it’s vital to monitor your analytics to see how your site is being used and where you may have room for improvement. Demographics, referrals, most viewed content, mapping out a user’s visit to see what pages they interact with – these are all basic user experiences you can look at and use to improve your site.
Content helps to create customers and, when done right, helps to make sure your website stays ahead of the competition.
Quality content on your site helps to:
- Improve SEO results
- Position your site as a valuable resource
- Convert prospects into customers
Quality content is the driving force behind good SEO and how Google determines if your website is a valuable resource for users. This makes creating fresh content essential to the long-term health of your website. When visitors come to your site, make sure their questions are answered quickly and succinctly to help position your business as a go-to resource.
In order to keep your website working for you in the long run, regular maintenance is essential to your business. Need help navigating the vast world of website upkeep and improvement? Find a team of professionals to have your back.
At Stray Media Group, we offer website maintenance, hosting and SEO plans that fit your needs and marketing budget. Give us a call to learn more about how we can help you improve your website today.
