The words on your website are ultimately what draw people to you. How? Through search engine optimization. Content plays a huge role in whether or not your site shows up at the top of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) for certain search queries. That’s why it’s so important that your website has fresh, SEO-optimized, easy-to-read-and-digest content that answers the searcher’s questions.
Our Web/SEO writers were recently discussing how they can tell that a site needs a rewrite. Here’s what they had to say:
Be Gibney
“Is there a visitor counter anywhere on your site? Is it non-responsive or does it have a separate mobile site? Do you have extraneous pages ‘stuffed’ with keywords that do not add value to your site? Do you have hidden text embedded into any of the pages on your site?”
Dorothy Distefano
“Templated design instead of theme or custom. Scroll to the bottom, and the copyright is way out of date. Change of target demographic or services is not reflected in the content. Outdated fonts (Comic Sans, anyone?).”
Lauren Zazzara
“Keyword stuffing! If ‘dentist’ is repeated a bunch of times on your homepage, to the point where it sounds really awkward, or if the location is thrown in unnatural places, it probably needs a new SEO strategy. Also if a site has way too little content, like if a page just has a couple of links, a few sentences, or just a bullet-point list.”
Ivy Burruto
“You need fresh content, and I’m not just talking about a re-write using a couple of different keywords. Nowadays, shorter text means the reader is receiving clearer and more concise information rather than reading through a wall of text.
Also, making the interface more ‘user-friendly.’ Can you click on a button and the phone number to call pops up? Can you open a PDF doc (menu, patient info, etc) on your phone? Can you book appointments?”
Caitlin Vandewater
“1. Lack of internal linking or an internal linking structure which does not create a cohesive web through the website (leads to 404 pages, anchor text is misleading, etc.)
2. Your content is no longer accurate (you’ve updated your services, opened new locations, turnover in staff, change in ownership, etc.)
3. It is difficult to update your website (obscure CMS, everything is in HTML, can’t add title tags/descriptions, unable to update image alt tags, etc.)
4. Uses flash and does not use mobile-friendly elements (click-to-call buttons and numbers, call to action buttons, etc.)”
Jimmy Kraft
“Did you stop contributing to your blog in 2014? Are your reviews from a year ago? Are you using ClipArt for your graphics and not providing alt_text for your photos? Are the phone numbers on your site not clickable? Get yourself a new website…”
Check out a page from one of our latest Website of the Months! Internal links, accurate and easy-to-digest content, call-to-action buttons and clickable phone numbers make this content fresh and SEO-friendly.
Does your website have some of the symptoms of being outdated? NEXT! Ad Agency can help! Our Web/SEO writers are trained to create customized, optimized content for our clients’ websites, helping businesses tell their story and rank well on Google. Contact us today at 585-427-0020 to get started!
P.S. Is your website’s design out of date? Find out by checking out this blog post!
