Here are a couple of inexpensive ways to spruce up your site so users can get the information they need and search engines can give your site a more prominent position among competitors for top keywords:

• Remove logos that link to obsolete sites. A few years ago, "Chiclets" (icons for feeds and networks) were popular so an article or page could be shared on various networks. Several of these sites have gone out of business, so removing the link will modernize your page. Additionally, a search engine does not see you linking out to a dead site.


• Add logos linking to popular new sites. Got a Facebook Page, Twitter Feed, Foursquare Check-In, or other trendy feature for your business? Make sure people can see your presence. Social media has an impact on search rankings (though the exact amount is debatable) but it still makes sense to improve the trust factor in your site by linking to your channels elsewhere on the web.


• Check your page loading speed. Google Webmaster Tools will tell you how long it takes for your main pages to load. If you have slow load times, you may want to look into elements like image size, javascript and flash file sizes, and other components. Page speed not only impacts search engine positions, but it also kills conversions when people who are trying to by a product have to wait for a site to finish loading.


• Include your address, location, and new phone numbers. Google Places and Bing Local should be associated with your physical address. You may be able to claim your listing in Google and Bing map (or embedded local) results, and adding your address to the site also helps other local search tools associate your site with your brick-and-mortar presence.


• Update any product descriptions that may be new. It isn't uncommon to see a reseller website that does not have the latest model of a popular product listed. While you don't necessary have to delete old model numbers (which is usually not recommended) you should make sure that your site can be found for searches on new models or versions.

Staying up-to-date on your website is good for business, and keeps the site fresh in the eyes of search engines and other tools. Google, Bing, and other up-and-coming search engines are continuously working to find new pages and read sites that they had previously been unable to index. Unfortunately, this does not favor the webmaster with a "hands-off" approach because competing pages will also be discovered and shown in search results simultaneously. There are even cases where active SEO campaigns have to deal with unintended competition from newly indexed pages on sites that aren't even trying to be found. By having a freshly updated site, you can offer visitors an appealing alternative to "junk" results, and show search engines that your site is more relevant that ones that may have been build and forgotten.