There was a lot of great information at the PRSA Digital Impact conference that I attended, but one breakout session really stood out to me. It was the session titled, “There’s No Place Like Home: Your Company Website As Your Content Hub.”
When you’re working with clients, their work always comes first, and often time your own company goals and projects can be pushed aside –especially your own website. This session really hit home and made you realized just how important keeping up-to-date on your own website truly is. Other businesses, vendors and especially consumers will easily judge a book by its cover – and you website is often the first form of contact they have with you. But is it updated? Do you have an outdated portfolio? How about your staff bios, are they current?
I know what you’re thinking, who has time for that? Well, it’s easier then you think. Here are a few simple tips for keeping your own website updated, relevant and at the top of the ranks.
News You Can Use:
Almost all business websites have a news, events or press section. Ideally, these sections should be constantly be updated with the latest information. But sadly, these are the sections that are often the most ignored and neglected. Does a prospect really care about an article written about you in 2009? We live in a world of breaking news, make sure your website has your latest headlines and highlights.
{photo credit: dribbble.com via Pinterest}
Connect Your Content:
We all know that content is king, but with the abundance of content that is being uploaded and shared everyday, it’s easy for your wonderfully crafted content to get passed over. Give your content a chance! Have you written a white paper? Break it down into smaller sections and use it as a blog post, then make it into a video, then share it on your social media pages and so on and so on. Your goal is to drive traffic back to your website and by breaking your content up into smaller sections, it gives it a greater opportunity to be shared.
{photo credit: trendhunter.com via Pinterest}
Multiply Your Multimedia:
Every article, blog post, social media update or press release should have some facet of multimedia to it. Whether it be an image, audio or a video or the more multimedia you use the more views you will get. Yes, it can be that simple.
{photo credit: shopify.com via Pinterest}
Get Found:
SEO is it’s own beast, and one that we’ve talked about multiple times on our blog. With algorithms constantly changing, we realize that it’s hard to keep up and stay on top of your SEO. Here’s a simple tip to help fix a common SEO error on any website. Most businesses have a PDF somewhere on their website, and while some SEO experts advise against this, there is a way to make your PDF files searchable and more optimized. When possible, always use a text-based PDF—meaning you’re able to copy and paste text from that PDF. Also, be sure to give the name of the PDF an SEO friendly title {i.e. rich with keywords}. Additionally, change the “title tag” of your PDF to an SEO friendly title. In most PDF systems, such as Adobe, you are able to go into the “Properties” section and change the description/title of the PDF. This will help the search engines properly title, tag and search your PDFs.
Of course, if you need more information or additional help making an SEO friendly website, give us a call at (203) 776-1323 or email us at studio@elementsdesign.com pfor more information.
~Allyson
