Website Out of Date?

Out-of-date websites leave customers in the dark—or even misinform them. They are a living document reflecting your business and how you interact with visitors and clients.

Current relevant information

I know a fabulous business in our beauty/spa niche. They’ve always focused on keeping clients safe and protected. I know they’ve worked hard to exceed every recommendation by the state health department.

Recently, they completed a major expansion. I visited their website to see what changes might have implemented. I was stunned to find nothing about safety precautions.

Nothing about current policies, disinfecting steps, or protocols to keep staff and customers safe. Unfortunately, this made the message come across they don’t think there are concerns, or they aren’t doing anything.

A key attribute of what makes them Unique is entirely missing. No trust builders for new clients.

Dated or missing information costs

I’ve seen this repeatedly. A website is created, then the focus shifts. It stops getting attention. The site loses to ordering supplies or social media posts.

When a website sits static, search engines start skipping it. Lack of activity, updates, or revisions and it disappears off the SEO radar.

To avoid this, consider all components behind the scenes and visitor-facing. What do you have time and the skillsets to handle yourself? What needs delegated?

I know I’ll never keep up with behind-the-scenes tasks. I need my web host to handle backups, system optimization, component updates, and performance checks.

Keeping up with this has a price tag. But if missing, it also costs you.

In beauty and spas, guests are concerned with health and safety. And guidelines keep changing. We must address these. Make sure the most up-to-date information is readily available where it is easily accessible.

Nothing happens until it makes your calendar.

The easiest way to stay on target is to add web checks and updates to your task calendar or delegate it out. Give web maintenance equal importance to other parts of your marketing.

Three techniques to improve your content

Confidence building pages

There are three vital confidence-building pages—About, Spam Protection, and Privacy.

The About page tells your visitors how you help them. Often, this turns into a self-focused bio. It accomplishes much more when it focuses on how you help and benefit your visitor and clients.

Your Spam Protection page shares how you protect visitors from spam and establishes use policies. The Privacy page tells how you maintain customer privacy and protect personal information. Some companies share or rent lists. Others never share their list with outsiders.

Changes to share?

People love updates and being in the know. When we are included as an insider, we feel like part of a team, a tribe. It enhances our loyalty feelings.

• Share what’s new, and changing.
• Staff stories.

• Share how a product or service evolved to offer enhanced benefits to clients.
• Let customers want to know how you protect your community, staff, and the environment. Share your values and how you give back.
• Share real people’s stories. Success stories impact decisions. They help the viewer see their problem solved and offer hope.

Testimonials on every page,

We have learned these should be included on every page that makes sense. They are the biggest factor in the buying decision.

Less than stellar reviews are opportunities. You can learn from them and improve your offering. Resolving questions or problems helps the person who puts forth the issue and those in the considering phase.

Reviews and testimonials are a super valuable resource for any business. Gather after every visit and share them to grow your business.

Key takeaways

• Start with a quick website review to identify what might be slowing it down—anything from how it operates or creates bumps for the viewer.
• Create a tracking calendar to stay on top of both backside front-facing issues.
• Continually add new, relevant, and useful value content for your target audience.