This is part one of what will be an ongoing series of posts on 'Keeping Your Website Up To Date'.

It is important that your website has a regular supply of fresh, relevant content. Why? Well, the most important reason is that Google uses a 'Fresh Factor' in their algorithms when indexing the content on your website. In short, Google likes fresh content as it is likely to be more relevant and useful to your visitors. It's also important because potential or existing customers use your website to learn about your business, products or services. So having the most up to date information on your site will mean they get the best picture of your business.

Generally websites have a mix of content that for the purpose of this series of blog posts we will call 'General Page's (for example About Us) and 'Articles' (news items, blog posts, events and promotions). You may have already spotted the difference between the two, but if not let me point it out. The General Pages are 'static' or permanent pages that make up the overall structure of your website.  Articles are content items that are added to the site as new content, and although they need to remain on the site (in most cases), the content tends to be useful for only a short period of time - except for archival and SEO purposes. For example, few people will want to read a news item from two years ago unless they are searching for a specific piece of information.

Today we're going to start with the General Pages.  These pages really don't require constant updating as they usually represent the core business information. However, businesses tend to change over time, with new products, services, staff, innovations and more. These changes need to be refelected on your website. You may choose to put some of this information in Articles (e.g. News), but it's also likely to be useful in other sections of your website. For example, you could write a news article about a new staff member, but you may also need to update the 'About Us' section of your website.

The key to keeping the general pages of your website up to date is to familiarise yourself with your website. The more familiar you are with what is there currently, the easier it will be for you to process any new information you gain and add it to the right section of the site.

Depending on the size of your website, you may use it provide information about different departments within your business. It's unlikely that you will know everything that is going on in each of these departments, so to keep the information up to date you could arrange a short meeting with them. They can let you know what is new, what has changed and what is coming up in their department.

Tips for creating a schedule to keep General Pages up to date

So how often should you update your general pages? The simple answer is as often as possible! However, as you're likely to be very busy with other business related tasks and keeping other sections of the site up to date, it's important to be realistic about how often you will be able to do this.

• We recommend you should go over your website at least every two months. This will keep it all fresh in your mind. Set a recurring reminder in your calendar so you don't forget.
• You should allow for a minimum of 30 minutes to scan the site and you will require more time if you have any changes to make.
• If you have a large website you will need to touch base with each of the departments either before you go over the site or during. If possible, get teach department to go over their section before you do. This way they can let you know what's missing or needs updating.
• Always keep an ear out for any information that could be added to any section of the website. If you don't have time to make the changes immediately, keep notes and make the changes when you have the time scheduled in (as above).

So take some time to go over your website now and set that reminder in your calendar. Next time we'll take a look at keeping Articles up to date.