When businesses think of updating their website, the mindset is often geared towards revamping the design and color scheme. All too often, website copy gets left unattended, ultimately devaluing any new flashy images or design that was updated. This is because copy is the underdog of websites. It’s what is going to generate leads and remind your customers why they’re on your site. If you’re unclear whether your existing website copy is causing your more harm than good, here are some signs to help you figure out if it’s due for a refresh.

Your Keywords are Outdated

If you haven’t updated your copy in a few years, chances are some of your original keywords are no longer driving the interest they used to. Keyword trends are always changing, and your web copy needs to be based around how they influence your industry. This doesn’t mean you have to go and change your copy every week, but it’s advised to keep up on search trends to ensure your website is delivering a relevant message. Monitoring keyword trends is common practice for SEO professionals, so it wouldn’t hurt to get expert help in this area.

Customer Pain Points Have Changed

In order to properly address customer pain points, you need to be up to date on your industry trends. Addressing pain points effectively involves empathizing with your clients and understanding the problem they are trying to solve. Take COVID-19 for example. Pain points rapidly shifted for businesses and customers. People needed to figure out how to get essentials from home, and businesses needed to figure out how to adjust employees to work remotely. Pain points will always be evolving, and your web copy needs to reflect them.

Your Brand Voice No Longer Resonates

Brands are constantly evolving to resonate with new audiences. Let’s look at Netflix for example. Before Netflix was a streaming service, it was a video rental business that allowed customers to rent DVDs through the mail. They predicted that streaming would soon replace DVD players, and were correct. They have now evolved to produce their own Netflix originals, which allows them to benefit from owning content. Bottom line: brand voice has a shelf life. If you feel your customer base has shifted or is no longer in tune with the customers you want to attract, it’s time to revisit your web copy.

Your Competitors are Ahead of You

Comparing yourself to your competitors doesn’t have to be a negative thing, think of it more as constructive. Web copy is one of the most important aspects of a website, and if you feel your competitors are outshining you, compare your web copy to theirs and ask yourself:

• Are your customer’s pain points addressed in a more convincing way?
• Is it more empathetic to your clients’ needs?
• Does it make their brand seem more credible and trustworthy?
• Do their services go into greater detail than yours?

Web copy is meant to empathize with customer’s problems, present solutions, and demonstrate why your company is the best provider of that solution. If your competitors are doing this better, it’s time to refresh your web copy.

There are many other small reasons you might need to update your copy, but it’s recommended you try to re-visit web copy at least once every two to three years. The bottom line is investing your time, budget and dedication into your website is one of the smartest business decisions you can make. If it’s been well over three years, or you resonate with any of the signs listed above, it’s probably time to refresh your web copy.