Five Time-Saving Tips for Updating Web Content Think you don't have enough time to regularly refresh your website's content? Think again.

The benefits of continually adding fresh, relevant content to a business's website are usually pretty clear. Doing so can help boost your site's rankings in search engines which, in turn, can help you find new customers. But for many small-business owners, finding the time to frequently update their websites can be a challenge.

Here's how it works. The more keyword-rich, useful content a Website had, the more likely it will rise near the top of searches for those phrases. Search engine "spiders" -- the much-coveted algorithms search engines use to index sites and formulate rankings -- favor sites that have these keywords. For example, a static website for a local hardware store would most likely perform better in search results if it were to maintain a blog that features information about the products it carries, home-improvement tips and other timely searched-for topics.

The trick is to not become overwhelmed by having to keep your website's content fresh and relevant. There are strategies for maximizing your time. A first step might be to hire a professional Web developer to set up your site so that it includes search-friendly page titles and other code. After that, certain tactics -- such as brainstorming multiple content ideas at once and posting a photo or video -- can help you keep your website up-to-date without eating up a ton of time. Here's a look at five time-saving strategies.

1. Focus on more than just words. I have a client who owns a nursery that sells trees and plants. He's too busy caring for his trees to write a lot, but videos have proved to be easier for him to produce. He also regularly updates his "latest news" section with short descriptions about the newest trees and plants available at his nursery. This way, he keeps his web content fresh while also not neglecting his trees in the process.
2. Create a databank of article ideas you want to do. Sit down, brainstorm and write all your website article ideas into a file. This will save you time so that you don't have to try to think up an idea every time you want to write an article, or have someone else write an article, for your website. Repeat the brainstorming process every few weeks.
3. Break larger ideas into smaller pieces. In terms of search, it's more important to have many articles on your website rather than just one. Therefore, if you have a big topic you want to talk about, explain it in a series of articles. It's also easier to get content onto your site and get it noticed if it's in smaller chunks.
4. Use voice-dictation software. If you do not prefer to type up your ideas, you can get them dictated using voice-software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking. This software can interpret your tone of voice into words and type them faster than you can manually.
5. Keep practicing. Whenever you're writing down ideas, or writing rough drafts of articles, you get better at it the more you do it. It's like exercising: The more you work out in the gym, the stronger you get. You don't want to let the time you spend writing content take away from your business, but you should try to find enough time so that you are producing content regularly enough that you improve and become faster at it.

Updating your website and producing keyword-rich articles and multi-media content can steer more traffic -- and customers -- your site. Following these tips can help get you producing this content faster than before, saving you time to devote to other aspects of your business.

This article is an excerpt from the book How to Increase Your Website Traffic from Entrepreneur Press.