So you worked hard to get the content just right on your company website – when it was created seven years ago. Which means it’s one of the only things in the world that hasn’t changed since then. Here are three good reasons to update those words without delay.
Your Business Has Changed
Companies tend evolve over time. Maybe you started your firm serving a certain set of needs for a certain set of customers. But the types of opportunities that have come your way over the years have no doubt reshaped your overall focus.
For example, a law firm may have first opened with a number of practice areas, such as business law, bankruptcy law, family law and real estate law. But the real estate side was the one that really grew, eventually providing 85% of their revenue. Unfortunately, their website doesn’t reflect that, with all four practice areas still being given equal weight. If they were smart, they’d refresh their content to show that they’re now specialists in real estate law.
It’s not just businesses that changes over time; markets change too. Maybe a local surge in real estate development has fueled a need for real estate lawyers. Refreshed content with that focus, then, makes even more financial sense.
Your Messages Need to Be Reoriented
Chances are, your website is all about your company. Most likely, the most common words that appear are “we,” “our” and “us.” That’s an approach that may have originally made sense because, well, it’s your company’s website.
But audience sensibilities have changed over the years, and smart marketers have figured out that an emphasis on the customer’s story is actually more effective than an emphasis on the company’s story. Rather than a business trying to swoop in as the buyer’s hero, it’s actually more effective to position themselves as the support team that helps that customer be the hero of their own story.
That means replacing most (but perhaps not all) of those first-person pronouns with second-person pronouns like “you” and “your.” The entire orientation of that refreshed website content will be different, but it will be a change for the better.
You’re Refreshing Your Website Design
Nothing wrong with that; like everything else, overall web design approaches evolve over time, and it’s important to look contemporary vs. stuck in the past.
What makes no sense is updating the design then filling it with all that seven-year-old content. Look, if it’s time to refresh the design, then it’s surely time to refresh the website words as well. While good design is certainly important, it’s chiefly carefully-chosen words that engage, persuade and convert web visitors.
Unless you’re selling, say, flowers, fashion, jewelry or food. In that case it’s the images, the visual content, that probably needs refreshing.
If You Need Help, Get Help
During many website redesigns, company insiders promise to provide the written content. But their deadlines come and go, because they’re stuck, too close to their own companies to know what to say about them.
Some might look at what their competitors are saying, and copy that. Chances are, what they’re copying isn’t very good, and in any case makes them blend in with their competitors instead of standing out.
That’s why the best web design firms have professional content writers on hand, who know exactly what to say to lure potential customers toward a sale. Without that crucial strategic element, it’s like you’re buying a beautifully designed car with a rubber-band engine. It looks great, but doesn’t actually accomplish what it was built for in the first place.
