Treating your website like a car may sound like a weird analogy, but it makes sense.
If you want your website to stay in the fast lane, you should regularly service and maintain your website.
Service
I have my car engine serviced about twice a year, and the tyres changed every 2-3 years.
Like a car, your website requires regular maintenance:
- Check for broken links
- Find page errors
- Fine tuning your page titles & descriptions
- Adding extra content
The garage of choice to begin with is Google Console, they have all the diagnostic tools to find the errors on your website and guides on how to fix/repair them.
Fuel
Without fuel in your car, your car won’t go far.
Content is your fuel on your website. Good rich content full of keywords is like Premium Unleaded Petrol, burns hotter and for longer. And for good content, like Premium Unleaded Petrol, you pay more at the bowser.
There are many copywriters available on the market, however, it is always worth paying that extra money for a copywriter with expertise in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). SEO copywriters can fine tune your vehicle to perform better than your competitors.
Polish
Everyone loves a shiny car, it catches your eye as they drive past. A good looking polished website has the same impact.
You don’t need to have the most recent model car to look good. Most cars polish up very nicely with a bit of elbow grease, so don’t rush out straight away and get a new website, you may just need the right help or tools to get this task done.
Safety
Australia has adopted the ANCAP safety rating for all new vehicles on our roads, meaning all new cars that are registered on our roads must meet the minimum 5 stars safety rating.
Since April 2015, Google will now rank mobile friendly (responsive) websites higher than their competitors. This can be painful for many businesses who have invested heavily in their current website, however, like ANCAP, Google has our best interests at heart.
You can test if your website is classified as mobile friendly, if it isn’t it is wise to get some advice of how to improve your current website going forward.