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Why should you constantly update and maintain your WordPress website

In the fast-paced digital world, a static website is a liability. Regular updates and maintenance are crucial for your WordPress site’s success, and partnering with a London based award winning web agency like Slate (helloslate.co.uk) can make all the difference.

 

The Importance of Ongoing Maintenance

  • Security: Regular updates patch vulnerabilities, protecting your site from cyber threats.
  • Performance: Optimised code and databases ensure your site loads quickly, improving user experience and SEO rankings.
  • Compatibility: As browsers and devices evolve, your site needs to keep pace to function smoothly across all platforms.
  • Features: WordPress and plugin updates often introduce new functionalities that can enhance your site’s capabilities.
  • SEO: Search engines favour regularly updated sites, boosting your visibility in search results.

 

Slate’s Flexible Maintenance Solutions

At Slate, we understand that every website has unique needs. That’s why we offer various flexible monthly maintenance options to suit all sites. Whether you’re a small business or a large corporation, we have a plan that fits your requirements and budget.

 

Expert Care for All WordPress Sites

Interestingly, Slate doesn’t limit its expertise to sites we’ve built. We happily maintain websites designed and developed by third parties. If you’re frustrated with unreliable or unresponsive after-build service from your current provider, Slate is here to help.

 

Why Choose Slate?

As a London based award winning web agency, Slate brings unparalleled expertise to WordPress maintenance:

– Proactive monitoring and updates

– Regular security checks and backups

– Performance optimisation

– 24/7 support for critical issues

– Detailed monthly reports

Our team of WordPress specialists ensures your site remains secure, fast, and up-to-date, allowing you to focus on your core business.

 

Invest in Your Digital Future

Don’t let poor maintenance undermine your online presence. With Slate’s expert care, your WordPress site will continue to evolve and perform at its best. Our commitment to excellence has made us a leading London based award winning web agency, trusted by businesses across the UK.

Ready to ensure your WordPress site stays at peak performance? contact us to explore our flexible maintenance plans and discover how we can safeguard your digital investment today.

 

The Benefits of Landing Pages and How They Help Your Marketing?

Whenever you click on a campaign, a specific link in an email or via social media or enter the URL you saw on a poster or heard about from a friend, you are taken to a landing page. 

Not to be confused with simply the homepage of a website, a landing page is uniquely designed to drive a specific action. Instead of the many roles played by a homepage and the many calls to action that may be advertised, a landing page is a direct and very targeted extension of the campaign that you clicked on or link that interested you. It might encourage you to buy, it could be a call to join a mailing list or subscribe. Whatever it is, landing pages are built with an often short-term goal in mind, which contributes towards the overall marketing strategy of a business. 

In terms of conversion, landing pages are invaluable. They respond directly to the needs of the user and make decision-making easier by presenting just one or two key actions. In this article, we’re considering the role of a landing page, its benefits for businesses, and how to integrate them into your marketing plan.

But first, let’s share some examples of landing pages and how they work. 

 

Landing page examples and how they work

As an example, the launch of an eBook on social media might be supported by a landing page that asks for an email address in return for a sneak peek at the first chapter. 

A beauty brand might use a landing page to offer a discount to all those who enter their website by clicking a specific link. 

A B2B brand might use urgency to drive action or to encourage users to request a call back or schedule a meeting, by framing the landing page as a calendar. 

Typically, there are two different types of landing page available for businesses to choose from, the first being designed around lead generation while the second is designed to slot into the customer journey and encourage the right action. To understand which is better for your business, you need to answer one main question:

Am I hoping to collect customer information for further marketing and to broaden my active user circle, or do I want them to take action now?

While lead generation could be considered the long game in the world of marketing, encouraging action and building your landing page into the customer conversion journey can be more immediate but will likely see a much higher drop out rate. 

With that said, what are the benefits of both? 

 

The benefits of landing pages

 

They’re intentional

What better way to demonstrate to users and potential customers that you have their best interests in mind, than with a landing page that specifically answers their questions or offers them access to what they’re looking for?

Landing pages should be designed to offer quickfire information relating to specific outcomes and/or products – and for businesses can be an opportunity to showcase a highlights reel of information to drive conversion. 

 

Increased traffic and brand awareness

When you launch a campaign with a dedicated landing page, the likelihood is that you’ll see an uptake in clicks through to that page. What happens beyond there is down to the quality of the offer, but even earning this new traffic can help to boost brand awareness of you and your products/services. 

 

More controlled focus – any why stop at one?

To compare a landing page with a homepage, the intention and outcome of a landing page is clear whereas a homepage could send the user in any and all directions. Think of your homepage as the reception desk of your office, while the landing page is like someone calling a direct line – they are there for a specific reason, and the action you’re encouraging is incredibly targeted.

The benefit of landing pages is that you can have as many as you want, with businesses creating and sharing different landing pages for different campaigns, as well as testing multiple versions of the same landing page to see which wording and which layout drives the best conversion. 

 

It’s easy to manage and measure

It’s very easy to measure the success rate of a CTA when there is just one action you’re hoping to track. Whether it’s getting users to sign up for an email list, book a call, or buy something, when you’re only looking for one action it becomes very easy to measure the success rate. 

 

Design flexibility 

This benefit is for all our designer friends out there – typically a landing page sits outside of the main website and so when it comes to design, the brief is often more flexible and creative. Outside the confines of your branding guidelines and the layout of the website, which for many reasons should always remain as consistent as possible, landing pages can be as unique or controlled as you like. Under this brief, brands can explore everything from seasonal designs to new trends, with the recent trend of affiliates and partnerships between brands and businesses creating a rise in landing pages that are made to capture the data from not one brand but two working together. 

 

How to make landing pages work for you

In many ways, landing pages are easy to design and build. They focus on one product or service, can be as creative as you like, and they are designed to drive a very specific type of customers towards a very targeted action or outcome. 

Having said that, there’s a knack to building an effective landing page – finding the balance between targeted content and not giving enough information and ensuring that the page stands out while still complimenting your overall brand presence. 

Here at Slate, we offer website consultation and design services from full redesigns to the creation of new landing pages and more. Reach out to us before 2023 and let us help you bring your next campaign to life, ready for the new year. 

Could Working Remotely Be The New Normal?

While some offices around the world are making a tentative return to office working and physical meetings, there are others who are adapting their working style to adhere to the supposed ‘new normal’ – working remotely.  In this article, we consider some of the biggest things that businesses need to think about when it comes … Continue reading “Could Working Remotely Be The New Normal?”

While some offices around the world are making a tentative return to office working and physical meetings, there are others who are adapting their working style to adhere to the supposed ‘new normal’ – working remotely. 

In this article, we consider some of the biggest things that businesses need to think about when it comes to working remotely – and whether this could genuinely become a long term solution for employees and businesses across the UK and beyond.

What working remotely means

Working remotely presents a flexible solution for those who want to integrate their work lives with their home lives, and cease travelling into the office everyday for work and for meetings. For many businesses, it means implementing a core set of hours where employees are expected to be online and active, then allowing them to manage their own time outside of those hours as they need to. 

One of the biggest trends throughout the pandemic and ever since has been a change in the way that meetings, events, and conferences are held in the business world, with technology and video conferencing solutions expanding exponentially to fill the gap in the market. As such, using the right technology and introducing a high level of communication has been the pinnacle for businesses adopting a working remotely structure – with many proving that this ‘new normal’ could indeed be good for business. 

But what are the benefits of working remotely and can it really be a good solution for both employees and employers? 

The Benefits of working remotely

Reduction in Expenses: One of the best benefits for business owners is the reduction in cost presented by remote working – cutting the cost of hosting meetings and events and enabling those expenses to be funnelled into the integration of cutting edge technology instead. When you start hosting meetings and events online, as well as allowing employees to work remotely, travel and office costs start to drop. That money can then be redirected into making sure you have the highest level of technology to support remote working.  

Flexible Working: One of the greatest benefits for employees, in particular, is the flexibility and freedom that working remotely presents – in terms of how, where, and even when they work. Provided employees can commit to the core hours presented by the business, the ability to complete their work according to a timeline that suits them is much easier and more realistic to work around in terms of work, home, and family. 

Save Time: How many times have you been to a meeting and thought “this could have been done as a quick call”? With remote working and video conferencing, lengthy meetings can now be cut much shorter with a strict schedule and the attendance of only those who need to be there. 

Greater Opportunities: Working remotely doesn’t have to mean working from your home just outside the city – it could mean working from somewhere genuinely remote and exotic. This presents employees with greater opportunities to expand their lifestyle and experience new cultures while still being able to work. 

Things businesses need to consider 

Working remotely offers a range of benefits, provided that businesses are able to harness the positives and find ways of overcoming the challenges. One of the biggest challenges attributing to remote working is the lack of physical interaction between colleagues, and the stunted communication which can see some colleagues and employees struggling to meet deadlines. The fact is, working in an office environment is good for creativity and so when you remove this, many workers will find that they lose that buffer of ideas and support that an office gives them. 

To overcome this, businesses attempting a remote working structure should be considering ways of implementing consistent communication and team-building into the everyday routine of their entire employee base. Some ideas include:

– Morning meetings and catch-ups for the whole business 

– Regular brainstorming sessions for smaller teams

– A dedicated chat platform that can be accessed anytime – for example, Slack.

– The use of visual technologies as well as emails and newsletters – for example sending out video updates from the Senior Leadership team of the business, so that employees feel included and part of a wider team that they can physically see

Another thing that businesses need to consider when adjusting to a remote working structure is the technology and the importance of getting the right technology in place to ensure those consistent and effective communications. Whether it’s a big event, conference, or just an everyday meeting, poor technology can be frustrating, unproductive and can waste everyone’s time. Investing in the right technology and undergoing regular testing will help to ensure that every call and meeting runs smoothly and on time. 

Other things to consider include:

– The work-life balance and how you can ensure that employees are switching off and moving away from work for regular breaks

– Supportive and safe workspaces that meet HSE regulations

– To-do lists and realistic goals to drive productivity

Could working remotely be the new normal?

Businesses and employees alike have grown used to the remote working concept over the past year and a half, and as such are finding new and innovative ways of factoring it into their long term business plan. Whether your business introduces a flexible working week, core office days or a 100% remote working plan, considering the above factors and building on the benefits is important in ensuring that you get the buy-in of your whole company. 

For support when it comes to your business technology and to find out how we could help you to create a digital system to support your internal team and your customer or client base, get in touch with our team today.

How To Pick The Best Social Media Platform For Your Business

Social media has become a key part of any business and marketing strategy, but with so many to choose from, it’s important to focus on the platforms that serve your business best. Here are 4 quick tips to picking the best social media platform for your business. 

 

Know your audience

To know which social media platform is best for your business, it’s essential to know your audience and which platform you’re likely to find them on. Social media is a great tool for promoting your business to potential customers, but if you aren’t on the right platform, even the savviest social posts won’t have an effect. Demographics are key when pairing your audience to a social media platform. If your target audience are young people, you may want to use Instagram, whereas Facebook’s demographic has now evolved into more of a platform for older users.  

 

Define your goals

Once you know your audience, you need to define goals for that audience. Your primary goal is likely be to drive sales by attracting customers, however this can differ from your creative goals to be carried out on social media. For example, some brands use social media to drive brand recognition and engage with potential customers. Fast food chain Wendys has become very well known for their punchy, funny social media on Twitter that has increased their brand profile. This modern relevance is great for a brand that has been around for a long time! 

Other brands  use social media as an additional touchpoint for their customers or potential customers to make contact with them. Netflix uses the Twitter handle @Netflixhelps to address customer service issues. Not only does it free up their phone lines, but it gives satisfied customers an opportunity to promote their brand.

 

Examine the type of content you create

The type of content you create will depend on a number of things, including your industry, your brand, and your target audience, but content types you may focus on include:

 

Blog posts

– Podcasts

– Testimonials

– User-generated content

– Webinars and livestreams

– Ebooks

– Whitepapers

– Videos

– Photographs

 

Different types of content work better with certain social media platforms, so it’s integral that you consider the type of content you like to create and that works best with your brand. Instagram is a very visual medium, so may suit businesses who specialise in design or landscaping, or anything where you can show off striking images and wow people. If your content is long-form, like whitepapers, then you’ll certainly need more than just caption space so a platform like LinkedIn may be a better fit.

 

Research Your Competitors

You should always know what your competitors are doing. Check the social media pages of your competitor set and note content they’re posting, how often they post and how much engagement they are gaining from that content. You can use this information to inform which social media platform you should be on, as well as seeing the kind of content that yields the best results. It’s also a great opportunity to see what content your competitors aren’t creating, and see if there is a gap you can fill.

 

For assistance on setting up your social media channels or tips effective web design have a look at our blog or get in touch with us at info@helloslate.co.uk

 

Google Search console – What is it and how can it help?

Google Search Console, formerly Google Webmaster Tools, is a free service offered by Google that helps you monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot your site’s presence in Google Search results. You don’t have to sign up for Search Console to be included in Google Search results, but Search Console helps you understand and improve how Google sees your site. 

Why is it important? 

Google Search console has become one of the most important Google SEO tools around. SEO is an ever-changing landscape, so it’s crucial to have tools that keep you up to speed with the latest algorithms and allow you to monitor your site’s progress. Search Console is also where you’ll receive messages directly from Google regarding any issues with, or actions taken against your website. This could be something like a detected hack attack, a malware warning, a manual penalty for bad linking practices or other technical notices which the search engine may send.

What does it offer? 

Search Console offers tools and reports that allow you to:

— Confirm that Google can find and crawl your site.

— Fix indexing problems and request re-indexing of new or updated content.

— View Google Search traffic data for your site: how often your site appears in Google Search, which search queries show your site, how often searchers click through for those queries, and more.

— Receive alerts when Google encounters indexing, spam, or other issues on your site.

— Show you which sites link to your website.

— Troubleshoot issues for AMP, mobile usability, and other Search features.

Who should use Search Console?

SEO specialists or marketers use Search Console to assist their online marketing through monitoring site traffic and optimising their site’s ranking. 

Site administrators use the tool to help them monitor and, where necessary, reserve server errors, site load issues, and security issues like hacking and malware. Administrators can also find Search Console effective in ensuring any site maintenance or adjustments made happen smoothly. 

Web/app developers who are creating the actual markup and/or code for their site can add deep linking to their apps (which allows app pages to show up in users’ mobile search results), connect their app with a website, handle crawl errors and more. Search Console also helps monitor and resolve common issues with markup, such as errors in structured data.

What features should I know about?

URL inspection: allows you to inspect individual web pages within a website. The results page shows quickly shows you whether the URL is on the Google Index, along with information about coverage and mobile usage.

Manual actions report: which allows you to view various issues found on your webpage. If issues are found, you can request a review from Google once it has been optimised. This means you can find issues much quicker compared to using website audit tools and helps to ensure that your website performs at its best, and resolving any issues can be done more efficiently.

To find out more about Google Search Console get in touch with us at info@helloslate.co.uk

The Importance of Animation and User Interaction on Your Website

The evolution of web design has lead to a variety of tools that can help websites stand out and encourage more interaction from users. User interaction is key to the success of your website, as engaged users are more likely to click, view and buy things. Also, when user engagement is high, you’ll find that your audience becomes more loyal. 

An effective way of increasing user interaction is by using animation. Here are just a few ways animation can be just the tool for increasing user interaction on your website.

 

They capture attention 

In the digital age, you’ll already know how hard it is to capture consumer attention. Attention spans are ever-shrinking but a simple animation can cut through the clutter. Well placed animations will pull the visitor in right from the top of the landing page and get them interested in the content of your website and finding out more. 

 

They guide users to complete tasks

Interactive web designs can lead visitors to take action and guide them through complicated tasks. UX research indicates that movement and direction on interactive sites assist users to make decisions on what to do next and it can also be used to show progress, such as the steps of filling out a form.

 

Messages are more memorable 

The benefit of having an interactive site and using movement or video is that it delivers a lot of information in a small amount of time. This reduces the user’s cognitive load and gives them an interesting way to learn more about your business. Web animation can also increase people’s understanding of your product or service by 74%,

 

Users are persuaded to keep scrolling

Add excitement to every page of your site by adding web animation to the scrolling process. If you’re not familiar with scroll animation, it is a feature on a website where elements appear or move as you navigate down the page. This is an alternative to more traditional static with text, images, and other graphics. Scrolling animations can have the following benefits: 

 

Scrolling effects help page load time – Sometimes just having something to look at onscreen can keep your visitor patient whilst your page loads. Take a look at multi-part transitions or skeleton screens for some examples of how to keep users engaged whilst the magic happens.

 

Animation when scrolling can direct attention to a call-to-action – Your CTA is one of the most important parts of your website so anything that makes it stand out to a user is a good thing. 

 

Website scrolling effects prevent users from becoming lost when navigating – With some much information on show it can sometimes be easy for users to get lost when scrolling a website. Animations are a way to make sure they don’t get frustrated and are easily able to follow the next step and go on to convert.

For more tips have a look at our blog  or get in touch with us at info@helloslate.co.uk

How can I get my website GDPR compliant?

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect on 25th May 2018. Despite the onslaught of emails sent to customers giving them the option to renew or withdraw consent to have information held – many websites are still not GDPR compliant – not even the ICO.

But don’t think you can get away with it! Those who are found to be breaking the rules of GDPR can be subject to warnings,  temporary or permanent bans on data processing, and even fines. It also undermines the trust between you and your customers if your website doesn’t follow the accepted protocols. 

Here are some key actions points in making sure your website is GDPR compliant:

 

Online contact forms

Any online contact forms you have will need a tick box for users to confirm that they accept your website terms and agree to be contacted via the details they’ve given. If you wish to send further marketing communications to your customer then this must be indicated with another tick box.

 

Privacy policy

This would have been an important feature, already included on your website before launch, but GDPR makes this compulsory. You should also include information on how you intend to use the customer’s data you collect. If your website sends enquiries to other companies or partners then this should be clearly stated with the names of the partners displayed.

 

Handling data

Customers have a right to ask for their details to be removed from your website and database if requested. You’ll need to ensure you can facilitate this and inform customers, in your privacy policy or elsewhere on your site, that they have the right to do so. 

Website owners are also required to keep all data in a secure encrypted environment. Adding a https protocol will help you do this. 

 

Obtain clear consent to use cookies

GDPR states cookies constitute personal data, as they can be used to identify an individual. You must obtain clear, specific consent from users to place cookies and track them. This is usually done with a pop up that appears on a user’s first visit that allows them to consent or decline. The options must be stated clearly for explicit consent, without setting a default answer (ie.accept).

 

Make sure your plugins comply too!

GDPR compliance can come down to the smallest detail, so don’t be caught out by forgetting to check your plugins. Many plugins also use cookies, so you’ll need to make sure this is expressed in your privacy policy and subject to user consent. 

 

Online payments

If your website enables financial transactions via a payment gateway you’ll need to modify your process to remove any personal information that has been held after a reasonable period. There is no explicit length of time given in GDPR regulations, but try to keep them only as long as is necessary. 

 

For more tips on improvements, you can make to your website take a look at our blog or get in touch with us at info@helloslate.co.uk

Is your WordPress site ready to go live? See our ready-made checklist

After a painstaking process – you’ve finally finished designing your new WordPress website! But before you break out the bubbly, ask yourself – is it ready to go live?

You’ve certainly done the hard work, but to make sure your website launch puts you in the best position to make an impact, check out our WordPress site pre-launch list of things you need to pay attention to before going live. 

 

1. Check images/videos/sliders

Make sure all images on your website are loading properly with a quick guide. Take the time to play all the videos on your website and ensure they work as intended. If you have a WordPress slider plugin then also check this is working correctly. 

2. Cross-browser compatibility 

It’s highly advised that you still test how your site will look and perform on all major browsers. You can run your site across all browsers yourself, or use online tools to help you do this and ensure your site looks great no matter which browser it’s being viewed on. 

3. Set up your privacy policy

You’ll need to inform visitors of your business name, location, and your contact information. Also, it’s obligatory to inform them of how you’ll collect, store, protect, and use their data. User’s personal data includes their name, address (both postal and email), IP address, date of birth, telephone number, and debit or credit card details. This is a legal requirement in some countries. Having your privacy policy in place also establishes trust between yourself and potential customers and gives your website further legitimacy. 

4. SEO optimisation

Ensure your content is SEO optimised before going live to give your website the best Google search engine ranking possible. Also remember SEO optimisation is for life, not just for Christmas. 

5. Test social integrations

A social media presence is playing an increasingly important role in winning business so make sure users can find ways to connect with your website on social platforms like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, etc. Confirm your social sharing plugins are working properly and also consider using some social monitoring tools to see how you’re performing on social media. 

Whilst making sure your social integrations run smoothly, consider using social media as a tool in your website launch. Social media provides even more channels to find and interact with your target audience, and by harnessing it correctly your website launch can see even more traffic. 

Make sure your content is easily sharable and select a few pieces that are engaging and communicate your USP or mission to post across your launch week. There is a range of tools to automate your social media share and make sure covering this platform isn’t time-consuming. 

6. Check all website forms

Test your contact forms, free trial forms, email subscription forms and anything else that will require the visitor to give their details. You want to be sure you receive this information smoothly and that visitors can be confident in the security of your website. 

7. Install Google analytics

The final element of getting your WordPress site ready to launch is having tools in place to track visitor interactions with your website. Google Analytics is the simplest way to track your performance, from click-through rate, bounce rate and session length. There are plenty of guides to installing Google Analytics in WordPress so make sure you know what you want to track and assess your performance metrics at regular intervals. 

 

For more tips on improvements, you can make to your website take a look at our blog or get in touch with us at info@helloslate.co.uk

Improve Your Website: Mobile Friendly Design

In 2019 any website should be mobile optimised; if yours isn’t, maybe it’s time for a redesign. We’ll take you through why mobile-friendly design is essential to your website’s success, as well as a few tips on how to get started and what new things it can allow you to do. 

 

What’s the big deal?

According to Statista, more than half of global web traffic comes from mobile devices:

In line with this continuing trend, Google’s new update will take into account how quickly your website loads on mobile. A website that loads slowly on mobiles will not be seen as user-friendly which will affect your search engine ranking; making a mobile-friendly website integral to your online strategy overall. 

Mobile optimisation will also aid your chances of conversion. By having a website that offers a smooth user experience on both desktop and mobile this means your potential customers have fewer obstacles to accessing your services. With easy navigation and some well placed CTAs that are sized appropriately for mobile viewing, you could see an increase in conversions or at least a decline in bounce rate. 

 

Point taken. Where do I start? 

So we’ve convinced you to get optimised, but what should you be thinking about now? Consider the following when planning to make your website mobile-friendly.

 

Get started with a CMS: Using a CMS to make your website mobile-friendly is the best option, as it offers the solutions you need without having to create two separate versions of your website. Popular CMS platforms will provide themes, templates and mobile plugins that will help your website adjust to mobile. If your website is already hosted on WordPress, depending on your current theme, you’ll be offered one that is mobile friendly. Updating your theme will also provide your website with new security fixes, which will improve both your website and your overall business.

Keep content succinct: This is a good rule for any kind of content, but particularly on mobile where your website visitor will most likely be on the go and looking for something to quickly scroll through. Make sure your content doesn’t overwhelm the reader when being viewed via mobile. This may be reducing the length, or just formatting differently. Consider using images or video where you can as this will also engage the reader and can get across some perhaps more complex information without filling the page with text.  

Make use of your new capabilities: In the age of big data, personalisation is increasingly making the difference in drawing in customers. Mobile optimisation can make use of this through geolocation that allows you to create targeted offers that are relevant to the visitor. If necessary, you can also provide directions to the user’s nearest of your stores. Both of these methods could give your website a boost in conversions. 

 

For more tips on improvements, you can make to your website take a look at our blog or get in touch with us at info@helloslate.co.uk

 

Why SEO Maintenance Matters to Your Business

You’ve meticulously fine-tuned your website for SEO as part of your online strategy and can now enjoy the benefits that come along with it. Job done? Not quite. Like most elements of your website, ongoing maintenance is required to ensure your initial work doesn’t go to waste. Here are just a few reasons why SEO maintenance matters to the success of your website.

 

Changing search engine algorithms

Search engines regularly update their algorithms to improve the quality of search results, so the way your website is evaluated and ranked will likely change over time. For example in March this year, the newest Google core algorithm update came into effect and there have been suggestions by Searchmetrics analysis that, amongst others, the update has impacted niche pages dedicated to limited or single subject matter.

 

Your competitors are doing SEO maintenance too

Any business should have an awareness of its competitor movements. This extends to SEO maintenance. Your comp set is targeting the same pool of clients and will be refining their own strategies to be noticed by the customer, including using social media. Stay on top of your SEO maintenance to ensure it’s not easy for them to outrank you and gain business, not necessarily by providing a better service than you, but by being more visible at the point of customer need.  

 

Reviewing if your current approach works

Perhaps the most important reason why SEO needs constant updating is that you need to understand if your current online strategy is working. When forming your initial plan of action, you’ll have set goals to track yourself against; with getting to the top of search pages sure to be a major aim.

To address this you’ll need to look at how the content on your site is being received. Which pieces are most popular, or which are being ignored? These are notable considerations as they affect your conversion rate. Using tools like Google Analytics you can build a dashboard that will allow you to see where you rank for certain keywords on the Google search page. Committing to SEO maintenance means you’ll be able to see if you’ve managed to improve on or maintain your ranking, and where you need to make a concerted effort.

 

Search engines don’t like a stale website

Your business isn’t staying static so the content on your website shouldn’t either. Without SEO and general website maintenance, the crawlers will start to see your website as less relevant. Your website will then start to lose traffic as it appears lower and lower in search pages. Engage your audience with diverse content that is regularly updated for SEO to keep a steady stream of traffic; and with the right calls to action, you could see an increase in conversions.

 

These reasons should be all you need to put SEO maintenance at the top of your to-do list. For more tips and how-tos have a look at our blog  or get in touch with us at info@helloslate.co.uk

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