How often do you visit a website and find out of date material? Frequently, in my experience. When you do, it makes you less likely to rely on that site for the information you are looking for, or to pick up the phone and call them.

Having a website requires an ongoing responsibility to maintain it. For most companies it is their most powerful marketing tool, so it seems logical that it should be the best it can be.

Let's assume it is easy to navigate and you keep track of the number of visitors to each page, how long they stay, where they go after landing on the site, etc.

Providing browsers (customers!) with the information they are seeking is pretty simple and you'll find it all within your organisation. It is just a question of having someone who can pull it all together and present it professionally. This is a role easily handled by the company's PR Officer or external PR consultant.

Firstly, provide facts: on your products and services. Any upgrades or variations should be communicated as they are released.

Where possible include photos, particularly in-situ photos that show off the product in its ideal environment – be that industrial, commercial or residential.

Provide a blog. This could include entries from more than one person in the company and invite comments.

Include white papers and other technical data sheets that add value to your offering.

Provide a photo and short bio of the managers.

Have a news section where you can place the latest media releases and photos that can be downloaded by the media as required. You should also include published articles on this page.

FAQs are still ranked highly in terms of page visits, so consider adding a Q&A page of the most frequently asked questions.

Product pricing is important even if you don't have an online shopping basket. Include the RRP if you can and include a link to the seller's website.

Videos are the latest must-have, not just for Google rankings, but because visitors to sites want to see how a product operates, what new information they can learn, what the plant/factory looks like, etc.

If appropriate, provide a page of links: include distributors, dealers, retailers, industry associations, affiliates, etc. This type of page needs to be checked regularly as links can be broken for many reasons.

For the contacts page, make sure there is at least one email address for enquiries. Needless to say this should be checked at least twice a day and the enquiry methodically processed. An automatic response email is a good idea saying the enquiry has been received and a response will be forthcoming within a certain time period.

PR Tip 1: consider international users when presenting information, especially currently and dates. Write out the month so there is no confusion: 8/7 means August 7 in the US but 8 July to Australians and Europeans.

PR Tip 2: make it easy to print anything at your site including press releases, blogs, bios and product information.