Back when dot coms ruled the world (or seemed to before the bubble burst, anyway), there was an awful lot of money poured into advertising trying to lure visitors to websites; most of this advertising was done offline, no less. These ad campaigns would typically bring in a quick rush of traffic, but very little repeat traffic or sales. Websites were operating on the assumption that if you kept your content fresh, there would be no trouble getting repeat traffic.
While for certain types of websites this is absolutely true (e.g. a news portal), many people still think that fresh content is essential for ongoing website success. That ain't necessarily so
Many of the websites we build for clients are designed for bringing in more business. Now, once you've convinced a prospect to become a customer, the website has done its job and fresh content becomes far less of a concern.
One of the adages often repeated in the marketing world is that it takes seven contacts to make a conversion; but in reality, this depends on the nature of the product or service on offer. The more complex (or expensive) the wares, the more visits it will usually take to make a conversion.
The best way to drive these initial "pre-conversion" repeat visits is to incorporate a "lead capture" mechanism into your site. This might be as simple as a newsletter signup form, or it could be an invitation to download more comprehensive materials (e.g. a free report or eGuide).
These methods work in two ways. Not only do your capture leads which you can they keep in contact with, but you also have an opportunity to educate them on your product or service. By keeping in contact with your prospects, you'll be able to bring them back for repeated visits to your site.
We use this strategy extensively, both on our own website and on client websites. Whether or not you use a lead capture mechanism as a means to keep prospects interested and returning to your site will depend on how tough it is to convert a website visitor into an enquirer.
However, don't think that adding new content to your website doesn't matter; it's just not the ONLY thing that matters.
New content can in fact be a great thing for your site, especially if your site is niche focused. In this case, frequently updated content can establish you as an authority; having a section of your site devoted to articles can be a good way to bring prospective clients in for a visit.
That's a fantastic position to be in, but it does require work. You need to write the articles (or have someone write them for you) and update them on a regular basis. And there's no guaranteed payoff.
Many business owners we talk to are eager to include a "latest news" section on their sites in order to bring in repeat traffic. There are two reasons why I don't generally recommend this.
1. Unless you're a true authority, most "Latest News" tends not to be terribly newsworthy to your prospects.
2. "Latest News" requires regular updating. Most often these updates aren't made. How often have you seen a "Latest News" page that hasn't been updated for a coupla years?
The message here is to plan ahead. If you're building a website which will need weekly updates, then make sure that the resources are in place ahead of time so this will be done. If you can't make sure that this gets done, low maintenance is the way to go. - 15790
While for certain types of websites this is absolutely true (e.g. a news portal), many people still think that fresh content is essential for ongoing website success. That ain't necessarily so
Many of the websites we build for clients are designed for bringing in more business. Now, once you've convinced a prospect to become a customer, the website has done its job and fresh content becomes far less of a concern.
One of the adages often repeated in the marketing world is that it takes seven contacts to make a conversion; but in reality, this depends on the nature of the product or service on offer. The more complex (or expensive) the wares, the more visits it will usually take to make a conversion.
The best way to drive these initial "pre-conversion" repeat visits is to incorporate a "lead capture" mechanism into your site. This might be as simple as a newsletter signup form, or it could be an invitation to download more comprehensive materials (e.g. a free report or eGuide).
These methods work in two ways. Not only do your capture leads which you can they keep in contact with, but you also have an opportunity to educate them on your product or service. By keeping in contact with your prospects, you'll be able to bring them back for repeated visits to your site.
We use this strategy extensively, both on our own website and on client websites. Whether or not you use a lead capture mechanism as a means to keep prospects interested and returning to your site will depend on how tough it is to convert a website visitor into an enquirer.
However, don't think that adding new content to your website doesn't matter; it's just not the ONLY thing that matters.
New content can in fact be a great thing for your site, especially if your site is niche focused. In this case, frequently updated content can establish you as an authority; having a section of your site devoted to articles can be a good way to bring prospective clients in for a visit.
That's a fantastic position to be in, but it does require work. You need to write the articles (or have someone write them for you) and update them on a regular basis. And there's no guaranteed payoff.
Many business owners we talk to are eager to include a "latest news" section on their sites in order to bring in repeat traffic. There are two reasons why I don't generally recommend this.
1. Unless you're a true authority, most "Latest News" tends not to be terribly newsworthy to your prospects.
2. "Latest News" requires regular updating. Most often these updates aren't made. How often have you seen a "Latest News" page that hasn't been updated for a coupla years?
The message here is to plan ahead. If you're building a website which will need weekly updates, then make sure that the resources are in place ahead of time so this will be done. If you can't make sure that this gets done, low maintenance is the way to go. - 15790
About the Author:
Author: David B. Ascot's expertise is in increasing sales lead generation rewards and your company can utilise his winning strategies of online lead generation.