I want to touch on a subject that each and every one of us struggles with today.

Consistency.

Consistency in life. Consistency in relationships. Consistency in business.

Being consistent is a fine balance, which we must strive to master on a daily basis. If you only go to the gym one time, you won’t look like a body builder. In order to have a successful relationship with your significant other, you must work on the relationship. And you’re probably not going to make $1,000,000 your first year in running your own business. But these are areas where being consistent will simply help you try to be better than you were yesterday.

Same goes with your website.

Let’s say, for example, you’re a hardcore athlete, and your body is your temple. You train daily. You eat right. You do your best to be the best. Ask yourself this…for all the hard work I do, would I eat an entire cake, two dozen doughnuts and five pies just for fun? Kind of counterproductive! Right?

Same is true with your website. You’ve got to cultivate it. Freshen it up. Make revising your website part of your routine. Just like your body, your website is NOT just a “set it and forget it.” You’ve got to keep it moving.

But why?

It’s a good question. It’s a website. Why do I have to keep it fresh? I built it. I’m done. End of story. Let’s move on.

No! You’ve got to change the content on your site regularly and consistently for a few reasons:

1. It allows search engines keep track of you and find you.
Bar none, this is the most critical reason why you must keep your website updated. If you have a website that is changing consistently and being updated with new, relevant, fresh content on a regular basis, the search engine will favor you in its results. It’s a content-based world. You must get on board! If you decided not to, you will surely fall down in the rankings.

2. Is your business busy, busy, busy? If so, show it off!
Your company is still productive and successful. Right? So why is the last thing you posted on your website from 2009? If I come to a website and see that you had a charity event from 2009, and that is the last piece of news I can find, I’m thinking you’re not really doing anything anymore or maybe even you’re out of business. You’ve got to let your customers know what you’re doing. Show them where you’ve been and how far you’ve come. It not only benefits them, but it also gives you a timeline of your growth.

3. Attractive Content is Sharable Content.
Let me ask you a question.
Would you rather read about grandma’s doily she just crocheted or about how someone took $19 dollars 1941 and created a multi-million dollar clothing business? (This is a true story, actually my grandma’s – but that’s for another post.)
I would say the $19 to multi-million dollar clothing business, but that’s just me.
Once you have content that is attractive and interesting, the more people are going to want to share it on their social networks and discuss it. You’ll be creating shareable content, which will, in turn, help your company attract and keep more customers.

The next question you should be asking yourself is: How can I keep my website content fresh?

Here are a few ideas of how to keep the content fresh on your website.

1. Blog, Blog and Blog
A blog is a great way of adding new content on a regular basis, even if it’s just once a week. You may find it difficult to find topics to write about, but think about the industry you’re in. What are the interests of your potential customers? Who’s your demographic? It doesn’t have to be a direct sales piece. Write about what’s relative to your company and share it. People are interested in what other people are saying. Establish your voice for your niche.

2. Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Come get your company news!
Don’t even think for a second that your company doesn’t have anything interesting to share. You might have just served your 1,000th customer; you might have hired a new creative director; you’re doing charity work as a company; or you produced a new piece of work you want to exhibit. You can use any of these as news stories to keep your website fresh and potentially gain more views and engagement on your site. Keep your customers and the search engines happy.

3. O Portfolio, Portfolio! Wherefore art thou Portfolio?
Whether you’re a law firm, a deli or a landscape company, you’ve got to have photos and/or video of what you do. People invest in people, and it’s absolutely critical that you have a portfolio or media section on your site where you can add content regularly to show your user base what you’ve been up to. You can add tutorials, product demonstrations, and pictures of events you’ve held. Now even though search engines don’t actually search photos and videos, you can add a description to each new piece of content, letting them know you’ve got new stuff ready to be shown.

4. Where’s the Proof?!
Let’s step back for a moment and think about how many people you’ve helped. How many people would vouch for you and your services? Well, if you’re not documenting theses testimonials, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Show your potential clients what others are saying about you. Go back and write personal emails to your clients and ask them to write a brief testimonial. I’m sure that you will receive amazing words that you can publish on your website. Your product will start selling itself!

5. How many pages should your website have? More than you think.
It’s pretty simple…the more content you have on your website, the more likely you are to increase your search engine rankings. But how can you avoid overdoing it? Remember, you want to add content that is relevant in your space. A good example might be if your industry is technical, you might choose to include a resources section, which could be updated regularly with industry developments. The more content the better. Content is king!

We’ve gone over many ways to keep your website content fresh. Now it’s your duty to your business to make the decisions to get create the best content you can and get as many people to engage with you as possible.

So remember, just like everything else – consistency with your website is just like any other aspect of your life. Keep working at it and you’ll being a master in no time. Practice makes perfect.