Your business doesn't stand still. Neither should your website.
That website of yours? It could be the first point of contact between your business and a potential hot lead.
A well-designed website with kickass content helps customers stick around long enough to learn who you are. We know this already.
But how often should you fiddle with website copy?
If it’s working, should you mess with it at all?
It’s the Circle of Website Copy, and it Rules Us All
Long story short: writing website copy isn’t a one-and-done task.
Your offerings and target audience change as your business grows. The world keeps spinning, global pandemics break out, and new trends pop up in your industry.
Things change, you know?
Updating your website copy regularly means that your website aligns with where you are in your business now.
Your clients need to see themselves reflected in your site. When your customer changes — or their needs do — it’s time to make some changes.
Website Copy Refresh vs. Overhaul
“You don’t have to coat your whole dang face, you know.”
When I was a teenager, I had a subscription to Sassy magazine. (90s kids know, etc.) In an issue I apparently pored over more than once, there was a feature about foundation. You don’t have to coat your whole dang face with makeup unless you want to. Sometimes you can dab a little here and there and call it good.
There’s a difference between a complete overhaul and a simple refresh. Thank goodness.
A copy refresh is like pulling yourself together for school pickup. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but you’ll dab something here and there.
Copy Refresh:
- Small, strategic changes to the existing copy
- Reviewing buttons and calls to action
- Maintaining the overall structure while updating specific sections
Copy Overhaul
- Comprehensive reimagining of your website’s content
It’s time for a full overhaul when your business undergoes a significant transformation, like rebranding or a shift in your core services. A website redesign is also a popular time to do an overhaul,
The Unbeatable Upsides of Regular Updates
What can new words do?
Improve relevance: Industry trends and customer preferences change over time. Don’t get left behind.
Enhance SEO: Search engines favor fresh and relevant content. Regular updates can help improve your website’s search engine ranking and drive more organic traffic.
Create a better user experience: We all land on sites with outdated or inaccurate information. To be blunt? It sucks. Keeping your copy up to date keeps leads happy. (No rage clicks!) (Yes, that’s a thing!)
Showcase growth: You’re not the same business you used to be. Show ‘em what you’re working with.
"Okay, Kelley, I get it. I asked how often, though."
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to how often you should refresh your copy. Think through these factors for a moment:
- Industry dynamics: If there are a lot of rapid changes in your industry, you’ll need to update frequently to keep up.
- Analytics: Pages with high bounce rates or low engagement might need more tweaks and optimization.
- Major business changes: New product launch or entering a new market? Put website copy updates on your launch list.
- Business age: If you’ve been in business for a while and have your services dialed in, you won’t need a ton of updates. If you’re a business baby still working out the details of your branding/customer/services, you’ll make small changes frequently.
- How often you can stand it: I know you can’t be doing this quarterly for the rest of your life, from a time or a budgetary standpoint.
Generally? Look through your website at least once a year and decide what it needs.
Optimizing Without Rewriting
As we talked about, refreshing your website copy doesn’t mean rewriting every word.
You can optimize existing content by:
- Polishing headlines
- Making text easier to read
- Putting elements in a more efficient order
- Adding calls to action
- Updating button copy
- Adding testimonials
- Streamlining the customer journey
- …and more!
This is where a professional copywriter comes in. They can look at your current website copy, talk to you about any questions, and help you figure out what to do next.
It’s not your job to know the best practices for button copy. You just need to figure out what buttons will get people to click so you can book clients and do what you do best.
A website copy audit is a perfect place to start. You’ll discover opportunities to optimize your website copy, get a streamlined to-do list, and make that rewrite totally doable.
Questions about updating your website copy? I’d be delighted to help! Feel free to drop me a line. You’ll hear back within a couple of business days.
