Each week I bring a blog topic to life to inspire existing and prospective clients at one the longest-operating legal marketing firms in the country. The forward-thinking agency has embraced the long-form content model for informing and engaging busy attorneys who know they can do better when it comes to marketing.
We recently touched on highly relevant topic: How to tell if your website needs new content. This is a question that every company and brand struggles with, especially in a world where search engines reward the freshest, most relevant content—and users expect nothing less. Here are 10 questions that will help you know when—or if—it’s time for an update:
Is your content outdated?
Old, stale and generic content is doing you no favors when it comes to getting found on the Web. Sophisticated search engines will now actually punish a website, bypassing it in results, if the site is not updated enough or pertinent enough to people’s needs.
Does your messaging still reflect your core brand attributes?
Have things changed since you first wrote your website copy? Are you offering new products or going after a different customer? Have you shifted your approach to customer service? Has your brand evolved? If so, your website navigation—the page hierarchy outline that leads users through your website in the most intuitive way—probably needs to change.
Is your copy too light, general or sparsely spread?
There was a trend a decade ago in which websites were written to appease search engine qualifiers. They were intentionally “tight” on copy yet disproportionately loaded with keywords and location identifiers. Luckily “light” is not in anymore. Global online search statistics show that people are increasingly interested in deeper, richer content.
How many authors has your website had over the years?
Let’s say you hired a professional copywriter to create content for your original website. Good idea! But then you tweaked copy over time with unqualified in-house help. Bad idea. There’s a good chance the “tone” of your content is now muddled with different voices, and perhaps some typos and inaccuracies to boot. This mixing of writing styles can undermine your brand and confuse readers. Rewriting content with a consistent tone could be one of the smartest steps you take.
Are you ready for a redesign anyway?
If you’re considering a redesign to modernize the look and feel of your website or are moving to a more universal content-management platform in the near future, this is an ideal time to think about fresh content marketing strategies that will integrate with social and professional networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Redesign phase is the right time to reorganize and rewrite your content in ways that will help people learn more from it, digest it quicker, engage with it more meaningfully and share it easier with friends.
Do you just need more interactive elements?
Are you happy with the look of your website and even how its performing in keywords rankings, but know it’s time to amp up search engine optimization (SEO) through more engaging, interactive content? There are plenty of ways to amplify existing written content. For example, you can add a blog, videos, social network links, e-newsletter feeds and long-form content, without changing out everything.
Are your analytics telling a different story?
Do you “like” your content but are learning from Google Analytics reports that other people aren’t finding it, reading it for very long, sharing it with others or engaging with you online? Statistics such as bounce rates and high-performance pages that can tell you which pieces of content are most relevant and compelling to users. This information can help tremendously as you consider the smartest page-by-page content updates to keep people on your site longer—and how to convert them to customers.
Do you need different distribution channels?
Sometimes what’s off is not the substance of content, but how’s its being distributed—or not distributed. Modern content marketing strategy should always consider leveraging each piece of content at least four different ways. So a really compelling blog topic could shout out with a quick Twitter feed, then be re-purposed in more sharable format on Facebook, then become the base of an infographic sent in an email and so on.
Do you have the right mix of media?
One of the biggest trends we’re seeing shape up for 2016 is businesses getting more sophisticated about content marketing by turning what’s been traditionally considered “content”—words in the digital sphere—into more interactive media experiences. That requires thinking like a journalist about how to best tell your brand story and audience messages through a mix of original written posts, complemented by captivating photography, infographics and video.
Is your content converting?
One of the most important pieces of information you can understand about your current content marketing strategies is whether or not your content is actually converting. Are people filling out online forms for more information? Are they using online tools to take the next step in the decision-making process? Are they sharing content with friends who could become future customers? If your content is not leading to ROI, it’s time for a change.