Google Documents Leaked!
Google has an internal document that was just leaked and then Google actually released it. It explains how their human high quality experts should evaluate websites.
In the document, Google explains what a high quality website is. It’s one that is well cared for. It doesn’t need to be updated all the time but the information on it needs to be up to date. Here’s that section:
4.8 A Well Cared For and Maintained Website
High quality, large news websites are frequently updated, often adding news articles many times a day. High quality medical advice websites keep all of their informational pages current. Other websites, such as websites for small businesses, may be updated less frequently since addresses and store hours rarely change.
How frequently a website should be updated depends on its purpose. However, all High quality websites are well cared for, maintained, and updated appropriately.
Is your website up to date? It matters!
Google Knows if Your Content is Up to Date
Google, by now, has figured out how often websites should be updated. If you have a small business website, Google knows when it’s out of date because they see a lot of small business websites and they know how often they change. If your website hasn’t been updated in a long time and is beyond the average time any small business website should be updated, then Google knows.
What Should You Update?
With any business, there are things that change from time to time. Those are the items that should be updated – at the very least. Of course, there are more things that you can be posting to your website’s blog or news section but for goodness’ sake, please make sure you’re updating these items a few times a year:
- Your hours
- Your personnel
- Your products
- Your services
- Your address and directions (this might not change much)
- Your “About Us” page
- Sales and promotions
- News about changes to products or services
The list above is the minimum you should be updating on your website. The minimum.
To get Google to visit your website more, make more changes more often. That means add more content. Adding just 1 blog post weekly gives you 52 new pages to your website a year and that’s not too difficult.
One More Bit of Advice
You want your website to be authoritative and trustworthy. The information on it needs to be correct. That can be everything from your address to whatever claims you make on your website about your products or services.
Make your website THE authority about whatever you do. If you have a gym in a city, then make your website the main authority on what to do at a gym in your region. Write content that’s specific to your region. That is the way you build authority. Interview guest experts in the area. Build great content.
Most small business owners don’t think of themselves as content publishers. They wear a lot of hats but writing content for their website isn’t one of those hats – yet, it’s an important task. If you’re not a writer, don’t worry – there are ways to hire writers to get good content on your website. Doing that will help you rank higher, which gets you more business. Google can only see what’s on your website, so you have to get more and more information ON your website. Make it good information that will help people. We can help with this – just let us know!
-Tony