Are the Googlebots bored of your website? If they are, how do your customers feel?

As you will probably know, effective SEO involves a variety of tactics which increase the visibility of a website. SEO makes sure the website is seen by the Googlebots and search engine spiders. Once you have updated your keywords, improved your content, and invested in campaigns like pay per click or Google AdWords, what do you do to keep the bots interested in your website?

The reason we ask this question is because we have noticed many businesses believe that SEO tactics are one-off activity. While this is true for some types of internet marketing activity, SEO is a long term activity which needs to be delivered regularly, over time.

Websites that only engage in SEO activity once a year, or on occasion, will not see the results that other websites will achieve. The most successful SEO involves a plan which includes tactics delivered immediately and then ongoing activity is required. This includes actions and communications which maintain levels and rankings within search engines, and ensure the website continues to be visible to the right target audience.

There are also simple things you can do to keep the flow of traffic moving, and to keep the Googlebots interested. Update your content regularly, and get into the habit of sharing news or posting new content at least once a week. Make sure it uses the leading keywords for your brand, and post the link to your content on your social media.

Many e-commerce companies have weekly offers or special sales prices on certain days of the week. These actions are not just ways to sell more. They are effective methods of keeping the traffic at a healthy level and encouraging natural activity on their website.

Remember, the Googlebots are looking for natural activity, not just indexes and keywords. And this means your activity online should be attracting your visitors and customers to be active also. Whether this is likes, shares or comments on a blog, you want visitors to be clicking on your links, scrolling through your pages and finding out more.

If you sell online, make sure your customers have the opportunity to share what they have bought on social media. Make sure you harvest your customers’ details when they arrive at your website so you can communicate about new offers and encourage them back to the website.

Loyalty schemes are great for this. And many retailers use them as a way of encouraging people to visit their websites. Check out some leading retail brands to see how they do it. Which internet stores have you signed up for? How do they communicate with you, and why do you return to their websites?

The answers to these questions will give you an insight into how to frame your own content to keep activity at a high and the Googlebots interested.