How Often Does a Web Site’s Content Need to be Updated?
By Bill McRea
This is the magic question (and if the answer was common knowledge there would be little need for SEO marketers). There are many factors that determine how often a web site’s content needs to be updated. If the web site is optimized for Google, a canny adviser would suggest adding a forum and blog so the content is updated weekly. These rules can be relaxed for MSN or Altavista.
But there is no such thing as guaranteed top results in the search engines. Black Hat SEO techniques can help a web site rank high for a short while, but the web site usually ends up banned by search engines. A better method of improving a web site’s rank is to manipulate the content.
There are a few rules to follow.
• Never delete a webpage. Every day a web page is live gives it a bonus with the search engines. Deleting the web page and then building a new web page is counter productive. Do not worry if you have deleted web pages, just create a redirect to the new article.
• Web masters with a Google account have an added bonus. Google has a submission tool in their account that gives web masters the ability to submit a single page when it changes or is updated. This tool is invaluable. Used properly with a web page that has a properly constructed navigation system, and Google will crawl the web site as often as a new page is added. This promises to eliminate Google’s mythical sandbox.
• A more important tool is an RSS feed. This is an opt-in service allowing web readers to receive web updates in their in-box. This is a fantastic marketing tool that can take the place of a newsletter, but only if it is used properly. A website that incorporates RSS feeds needs new content bi-weekly. This makes sure the web site is always fresh in the subscriber’s mind.
• Most web surfers visit several web sites before making their purchase. Each web site primes the visitor. The web site that remains visible has the highest conversion rate. The conversion rate directly effects the advertising campaigns and SEO marketing techniques. This puts a different twist on the question, ‘how often should the content be updated?’ The answer is now, ‘as often as possible.’
About the author
Bill McRea is the owner of Guitar Warehouse and several other information related web sites. With over 4 years internet marketing experience Bill has established one of the most successful guitar retail businesses on the web.
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