We’ve all been in this situation before: We create websites with great, fresh content, and then never look at the site again. We work long hours trying to finish up the website, and secretly hope that we’ll never have to make another change to the site for at least a year or two!

I have been there. In fact, you could even say that I “am there”. You see, since starting Digital Mantis, I have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work with several wonderful clients. As a result I have been very busy working as hard as I can to ensure that each client is delivered exactly what I promise them (and hopefully even more!), and I leave myself very little time to concentrate on updating the Digital Mantis website.

Yes, I do appreciate the irony associated with being a web designer who has trouble maintaining their own website, yet I don’t think that my situation is very uncommon. The fact is, I have been involved with many projects where websites are created as static entities, and they offer little room for growth. And you know what? More often than not, this is an effective way to approach website building.

Sure, creating a static website is effective, but is it really the best way to do things? The answer to that question is in a state of evolution. If you would have asked me a year ago to rate the importance of updating the content on websites, I would have told you “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it”. Meaning, if you put your best effort into your website, then you shouldn’t need to make any changes. I approached websites the same way as I approached papers in college; once you turned in your final draft, that paper was done; no further editing necessary.

It wasn’t until the blog revolution hit full force over the past year that I began to realize that it is to your advantage to have as much content on your website as possible! Here are some truths that have come forward from the blog revolution that have changed my opinion on website development in general:

• Search Engines favor “fresh content” when they are creating their search results. As a result, Search Engines are placing more importance on content from blogs than content from static web pages.
• The more “entry” pages you can have on your website, the better chance you have of people finding you. It’s a simple numbers game; 1 page gives you 1 opportunity to be found. 50 pages give you 50 opportunities! Which odds would you take?
• Blogs take on a more “laid back” approach to writing. While grammar, spelling and punctuation are still very necessary, the tone of your posts can be much less formal than in static web page creation. You can also reach your readers on a more personal level. This makes blog posts easier to write, and allows you to write more frequently.

With these new factors coming into light, I am beginning to realize the power of the blog. I plan to maintain this blog very regularly, and I hope that people check back often. Essentially, I hope that this blog will serve two purposes:

1. The first is that it will help me maintain a consistent relationship with my clients. If you ever wonder what Digital Mantis is up to, or the direction we are heading, you’ll be able to read all about our latest ventures, and also affirm that we are using up-to-date tactics when it comes to website design, search engine optimization, and the other services we offer.
2. The second serves as an experiment to see how well I can do in the search engine rankings. I have already shared with you my hypothesis that a well-formed blog will help your website do well with the search engines. This blog will be a way for me to not only test my hypothesis, but also report my successes (and even failures) to my clients. I can then take these successes and failures and iron out a bullet-proof website and search engine optimization strategy for my clients.