Out with the Old, In with the New
If you’re wondering why you should bother with an annual website content check-up, think of it this way. Your website’s content is like the stuff in your attic—some of it’s gold, some of it’s gotta go. Updating page content, repurposing old blog posts and coming up with new ideas for what content should come next can seem like an endless chore, much like my laundry. You wouldn’t walk around in the same dirty outfit for 365 days, would you? Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of content maintenance.
Page Content Updates
Go through your main pages: home, about, services, etc. Is the information still accurate? Do your services still match what you offer? Perhaps you’ve downsized or changed up some of your offerings. Check any pricing you might need to adjust, see if there are any pages that can be deleted or combined to make your website a bit more efficient for the visitor. Don’t forget your banners, pop-ups and other places that might contain seasonal content. Update as needed. No one wants to read about your 2019 summer sale.
Contact Info Check
Imagine a potential client trying to call you, only to reach a disconnected number. Not good. Check all your contact info—email, phone number, address—and ensure everything is accurate. Check your “Team” page and any contact info linked to folks that might not be with the business anymore. Hire a new sales person last year? Is their info on the website? Bonus points if you update your “About Us” page with new team photos!
Outdated Blog Posts
First, dig through your blog archive. If you find posts about MySpace marketing strategies, it might be time to repurpose that one. No one says you have to delete your old, outdated posts and start from scratch. Chances are you can repurpose at least some of that post to focus on Facebook or possibly social media in general. There will be posts that, perhaps, don’t quite reflect your brand message or offerings anymore. That’s okay, they can go in the garbage like those Thanksgiving leftovers. Focus on keeping your content relevant and helpful.
New Content Ideas
Your annual website content check-up should always include coming up with new content for the upcoming year. This is the hardest part for me, personally. Coming up with new ideas or new ways to talk about the same three services can be a real challenge. Ask yourself a few questions: Are there any new trends or services you haven’t covered? Are there any previous posts that you could expand on with supplemental posts? What are some of your keywords / phrases? Use those to search for blog ideas. Are there any you haven’t done or could do differently? Don’t be afraid of AI! I use it to jumpstart just about all of my articles these days. Just remember to fact check, proofread and edit to make it your own. Adding fresh content keeps your site engaging and can even boost your SEO. Win-win!
Keeping it Fresh All Year
A common theme you’ll find throughout this series is that I’m going to tell you that once a year maintenance is not enough. Like most of the other tasks I talk about, content is ongoing and requires regular maintenance. Especially new content. You can get away with repurposing old posts once a year, but new content should be added all year round on a semi-regular basis. Try scheduling posts or creating a simple schedule to set aside time each week or once a month to hammer out a few posts and gather a few new ideas so that you have relevant info to post all year long.
If you’d like help with your annual website content check-up, sorting through your old content or a partner to brainstorm new content ideas and show you how you can use AI to get started, I’d love to help you improve your website content this year! If you’d like an actual copywriter to create some great content for you I would be happy to recommend a few amazing professional writers! Just use my contact form and tell me what I can do to help you make your website great again.