If you have spent any time researching search engine optimization, you have likely heard the phrase, “content is king.” While search engines are always evolving and improving, your website content will always be one of the most important factors for search engine ranking. Quality content is not only about search engine ranking though. A sound content strategy provides users with a better overall experience while on your site, improves the perception of your brand, increases your industry authority, and provides shareable content to expand your reach on social media. Any time you develop a new website, it is imperative that you update your default content right away. After your initial updates, you should continue to update your content on a regular basis as well. Let’s take a deeper look into why content updates are so important for your website and your brand.

Search Engines Loves Fresh Content Updates

When you update content on your website, it signals search engines to scan your site and to index it. Every time a search engine goes through this process, it is an opportunity for you to improve your ranking. If you are not updating your content, there are fewer reasons for search engines to consider improving your ranking, and those higher positions will be given to those sites that are updating content regularly.

Think of news websites. When doing a search in Google, you will often find that news websites make up a large portion of the top results. News sites want to get viewers information on current events as quickly as possible. For that to happen, search engines need to scan new articles and stories quickly so that they are indexed and can be found in search results. Over time, search engines learn that these websites are a valuable and reliable source of information, and their ranking reflects this. If you treat your website content similarly, search engines will recognize your site as an important industry resource as well.

Here are some examples of how a mortgage company can update content for more frequent scans and improved search engine ranking:

• Update your loan product pages to be thorough and current. Mortgage loan programs are always changing, and it is important to update this content for both search engines and your site visitors. If you provide outdated or minimal information for your users, it will be hard to establish trust and the user’s impression of your brand will be poor.
• Maintain an active blog. Blog posts are a great way to share industry updates, loan program changes, company updates, and more. Regular blog updates will trigger frequent indexing and help establish you as a source of valuable industry information.
• Create new products and services pages as soon as they are available. Don’t delay getting these pages created. Not only does it trigger indexing but if a visitor comes to your site looking for this information and can’t find it, they may go to a competitor’s site that has the content they are looking for.

Content updates are a continual exercise. It is important to note that simply updating content doesn’t equal a higher search engine ranking. Quality content with good keyword usage is equally as important as regular updates. Doing both will ensure that over time, your site ranking will improve.

Quality Content Improves User Experience

Google and other search engines place a significant amount of weight on the overall user experience of a site when determining ranking. If a user visits your site for information and they are met with poorly written content, keyword stuffing, and bad overall design, they are likely to leave that website and continue their search elsewhere. Well-written content with a good layout is much more engaging and will encourage users to stay on your site.

The time spent on a website is often an indicator of user experience. Those who leave a website instantly likely didn’t find the information they wanted, or the information was bad. Users who spend more time on a site are more engaged and are finding the information that they were searching for.

In the mortgage industry, trust is a very important aspect as well. Customers need to share a lot of personal information for loan approvals. Quality content can help establish trust whereas content with misspellings and missing information can leave customers feeling apprehensive. Customers who trust you are more likely to fill out a lead capture and provide you with their personal information.

While text is important for search engine optimization, a great tip for creating quality and engaging content is to provide engaging visuals. 90% of human communication is visual and the human eyes can process visuals 60,000 times faster than text! Good visuals will grab a user’s attention faster and keep them engaged longer than content with just text alone.

Improved Brand Perception and Authority

First impressions are key, and your website is often a potential customer’s first glimpse of your brand. The information you provide, and the quality of your website is crucial for creating a positive perception of your brand.

A new website often comes with stock content, but that content is generic and brief. It is meant to give your website structure and to provide you with a starting point to begin developing your own unique content. If a user visits your site looking for information and content is lacking or missing entirely, they are likely to go elsewhere to find what they need. Right off the bat, that visitor likely doesn’t have the greatest impression of your brand.

A website that is full of valuable information will give a user a much better perception of your brand. They will see you as a source of valuable information and as a company that keeps customers informed and educated. If you provide enough regular content updates, you will even have the potential to be recognized as an authority in the mortgage industry. People will view your site as a source for new and accurate industry information, which will be shared by visitors and possibly other industry sites. When you have established industry authority, you create endless opportunities for new business and referrals.

Content Can Be Shared on Social Media Sites

Being active on social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn is just as important as having a website these days. In fact, many people will go directly to these sites for information before searching for something in Google.

Regular content updates on your website also provide you with content for social media posts. Anytime you update content with new loan program changes, or create a blog post, you can share links back to these pages or posts on your social media sites. Social media content has a much greater chance of being shared with other users versus content that is just added to your site.

As your social media content is shared and more users are clicking those links back to your site, you are creating a significant amount of website traffic. Often far more traffic than if you were to simply post the content without sharing it. The amount of traffic your site has also has an impact on your search engine ranking. By sharing content from your website on social media, not only are you creating good content for your social media sites, but you are most likely improving your search engine ranking as well.

Content creation is an ongoing exercise with numerous benefits for both your website and your brand. Always be sure to update default website content with content you have developed. Keep your website content up to date and accurate, and be sure to make regular updates for frequent indexing. Maintain an active blog as a source of fresh, shareable content for both your website and social media. Follow these tips to improve your website ranking, traffic, and ultimately your lead generation. If you are unsure where to begin your content efforts or need advice on taking your content to the next level, the team at 220 Marketing can provide the guidance and support you need. Contact us today to see how our team of marketing experts can help you reach your content goals.