An apple a day keeps the doctor away or so they say. But you should still go get a check a up once a year. Just to make sure your reflexes are good, your blood pressure is under control, and your cholesterol is in check. Your blog needs a good check up every now and again too. Just to make sure your links are good, your biography is under control and your permissions are in check.
About Who Now
Read through your About Me section. Is it still accurate? Many of us “started blogging four years ago.” That might need to be changed to five (or six?) years now. You may even consider rewriting the sentence to say the year you started blogging, just to prevent this problem in the future.
Add new stuff. You should constantly update your About Me. Think of it as a resume. What new stuff did you do this year? Did you guest blog somewhere? Have you added new skills? Did you reach a new milestone? Did you have another kid? What else can you add to strengthen and enhance your bio?
Contact Information
Do a thorough check to make sure your contact information is correct. We moved a month ago and we are still finding places that need to be updated. If you use different email addresses for guest blog requests, general information, etc, check to make sure they are right. And that the appropriate people have access to them.
Contributor Check
For those of you who have contributors to your site, what permissions do they have? Do they have access to everything? Maybe they don’t need all of that. WordPress has built-in role capabilities for authors, editors, administrators, etc. This gives contributors access to only what they need.
If you have people who no longer work with you, double check that everything has been revoked. You may need to change your passwords.
Content Refresher
Go through your old posts. Check for broken links and photo issues. Edit your tags and keywords to your help SEO. Misty Kearns at CEO of Me has some great ideas and tips to refresh and recycle your old content.
Hot Topics
As you’re sifting through your posts, see what resonated with your audience. Take cues from what’s working to help tailor future posts.
Schedule a doctor’s appointment for your blog. You might get a lollipop at the end!
Tags: blog checkup, blog marketing, blog refresh
Rooster Lady Sister said on 1.31.13 at 6:14 pm
Hi Kristemp, thank you so much for all this wonderful blogging tips -- info I have never come across before on the internet. I need to make some changes too with my blog -- I am considering even changing the name -- but not sure.
The info in this article is fantastic information for any blogger and I am going to share it.
Misty Kearns said on 1.31.13 at 8:16 pm
Thank you so much for referencing my blogging tips post! :)
Anne said on 1.31.13 at 9:35 pm
Good reminders! We all need to make time for housekeeping.
Bichonpawz said on 2.1.13 at 9:31 pm
Great tips!! Thank you!
Daisy said on 2.2.13 at 8:49 pm
Great points, fresh tips for blogging.
Thanks!