Imagine this: we just launched your brand new website and now you’re really ready to go to town using your stunning new web presence as a marketing vehicle. But unless you’re doing some optimization on a regular basis post-launch, neither search engines nor visitors will be favoring your site over your competition.

Not only is fresh content one of the best (and relatively easy and inexpensive) things you can do for search engine optimization, it’s also a great way to keep visitors coming back to your site and checking in periodically. Today we’ll review five easy ways to keep your website’s content fresh, ensuring you get the absolute most out of your new investment.

#1 – Add a blog and update it regularly

No matter your industry, if you have an extra hour every other week or so, you should consider adding a blog or news stream to your site. This is one of the very best ways to generate a continual feed of new content, and a great way to ensure search engines and visitors alike continue stopping by your site from time to time.

Not sure what you’d write about? How about some industry tips and tricks for your prospective or current customers? Or company news: did you win an award or finish up an impressive new project recently? Share it! Keep in mind though that a blog does require a time commitment. A stale blog can be far worse than no blog. You certainly wouldn’t want your prospective customers wondering if you’re even in business anymore!

#2 – Review your main pages for any changes

A few months after launching a new site, it’s always a good idea to begin a periodic check for outdated information that needs to be updated, or for new information that can be added in. Updating content or expanding upon topics, especially by creating new pages, can be great not only for your prospective customers, but is also a solid strategy for boosting SEO. How frequently should you conduct these site content audits? For a typical small to medium sized website (up to about 20 pages), I would suggest striving for once a quarter.

#3 – Add customer or client testimonials

If you’re selling any product or service, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to snag quite a few positive reviews and testimonials. I always like to ask clients prior to starting a project something along these lines: “If I do an excellent job and exceed your expectations for this project, would you be willing to provide a testimonial or recommendation that I can use on my website and social media?” It works like a charm! Or, if you’re already actively receiving reviews on Yelp, Facebook, etc., you can always pull those over and publish them on your website. This is probably one of the least labor intensive ways to add to your site’s content—so take full advantage of the positive things your customers are already saying about you!

#4 – Add new photos or videos regularly

Another simple way to keep your site’s content fresh is to continually add in new photos or videos. These can be things like images of your new work, before/afters to showcase transformations you’ve made, or short video testimonials you’ve produced, just to name a few.

#5 – Create a freebie

You’re an expert in your field, so surely you have some knowledge that could be shared! Why not create a freebie—like an e-book or short video tutorial—to give away on your website. And if you’re feeling so inclined, require folks to perform some small action in order to gain access: something simple like joining your mailing list, giving you a like on Facebook, or following you on Twitter. Not only will you have fresh content for your site, but you can help grow your mailing list or social media following in the process!

Looking for more ways to improve your website? Check out this post featuring one year of WordPress website improvements!