Over the past few months, the team and I have noticed an increase in “website refreshing” with our clients. It feels like the argument over paying taxes. How much tax we pay is a conversation for another day, but what gets lost in that conversation is the fact that you’re indeed making money.

The same analogy applies to upgrading your website. In each case this year, the reason for upgrading a client’s website is that their business has grown and their current website no longer accurately reflects the business. While it is an investment, it also means the business has moved in a positive direction and looks very different from where it was, say, 5 years ago.

While business growth is the primary reason, the other is a change in how customers search online. The fact is, your website now has two audiences: the people who want to do business with you and the technology that helps them decide who to do business with.

Customers have changed how they search

This is perhaps the most obvious example right now. Today, customers are increasingly using ChatGPT and other AI-powered platforms to conduct their research. They use these engines to ask questions, seek recommendations and compare businesses, products and services. Unlike traditional Google search, which presented a list of options, AI platforms are becoming a source of truth.

Over the past 2 years, I’ve studied this closely and written extensively about this shift. The influence of AI has fundamentally changed how we approach digital marketing. In today’s online search environment, your website needs to help traditional search engines (Google) and AI platforms. These engines must clearly understand who you are, what you do, who you help and why your business should be considered an authority in its field.

A website built five years ago wasn’t designed for today’s AI search environment. How could it have been? It doesn’t mean you need to discard everything and start again. It does mean your website needs to be regularly reviewed and adapted as search technology and customer behaviour evolve.

Has your business grown or changed?

For me, this is one of the biggest and favourite reasons to keep reviewing your website. As a business owner, my business looks very different today than it did 5 years ago. In fact, Brilliant Digital has undergone three iterations of the website during that period.

Ask yourself: Have you added services? Entered new markets? Developed new areas of expertise? Changed your ideal client? Grown your team? Improved your processes? Increased the size or complexity of the projects you take on? Most SMEs will answer yes to at least one of these questions, and a high percentage will answer yes to all. Even so, I still see established businesses with the same website from years ago, describing the company they used to be.

If your current website is underselling your expertise, capabilities, or market position, you may be losing opportunities without even realising they existed.

Customer expectations keep moving

It is critically important for SMEs to be attuned to the standards of a good digital experience. Customers expect websites to load quickly, work beautifully on mobile devices and make information easy to find. They want clear answers, useful content, intuitive navigation and simple pathways to take the next step.

Customers don’t analyse these things individually. They simply know when a website feels easy and trustworthy and when it doesn’t. They want to get to the information they need quickly, and the content they see and read to be relevant to today’s market. An ageing website can make a highly capable, contemporary business appear out of touch.

Your competitors are upgrading

Potential customers are comparing your business with your competitors. Your website may have been the best in your market when you launched it. However, there is a strong possibility that your competitors have been regularly upgrading their digital presence. If you stand still online, you’re effectively going backwards as your competitors move past you.

There is also the technical side. Website platforms and the backend technical requirements that ensure they function and remain secure are constantly changing. Over time, maintaining an old website becomes increasingly difficult and expensive. Continually patching an existing platform can be a false economy.

A well-built website should have longevity, but it must be capable of evolving. One of our long-term clients, Edcon Steel, is a good example. Its website and eCommerce platform have undergone several iterations as the business, customer needs, and digital landscape have changed, without continually stripping everything down and starting again. That is how I believe SME websites should be approached.

Your data builds a better website

Your current website may be showing the signs of age; however, it holds a fountain of useful data, and you know a great deal more about your market than you did when it was first launched.

You should have years of analytics, search data, customer enquiries and conversion information. You know which services generate the best leads, which pages attract visitors and what questions customers repeatedly ask. This information is gold dust. Instead of building around assumptions, you can make informed decisions based on real behaviour.

This makes an upgrade more than a visual refresh. It’s an opportunity to create a stronger sales and marketing asset.

The finish line is just the next starting line

You don’t necessarily need to replace a website because it reaches a particular age. The question to ask is: Does our website still support the business we are today and the business we want to become? If the answer is no, it is time to look at what needs to change.

That may mean updating the content or improving the structure and functionality. For many, it means adapting to new search behaviour. If the business has grown by moving into advanced offerings and new markets, rebuilding your brand and the website is highly recommended to support the next stage of growth.

At Brilliant Digital, we don’t believe in set-and-forget digital marketing. Websites, content, search and strategy need to evolve in sync. As your industry, competitors, and customers change, your website should keep pace. What was groundbreaking 5 years ago is now below par, and in 5 years’ time, what is on trend now will most likely be underperforming. Evolving and adapting your online presence is a fundamental marketing function.

Brilliant Digital forward-thinking marketing for forward-thinking businesses

At Brilliant Digital, we pay attention to trends, research and test, and stay ahead by inventing rather than reacting.

Call us if you think your digital marketing strategy needs an upgrade or an overhaul. We are heavily invested in ensuring our clients are seen, heard and relevant in traditional and AI search.