spring cleaning: 5 quick ways to freshen up your blog

Yesterday was the first day of spring! I know, some of you are still facing snow. I’m sorry. Really. But I am ready for open windows and flip flops. And I bet most of you are ready for warmer weather too.

Just like I’ve made my spring cleaning list for my home, I’ve also thought of a few things I need to do on my blog. Maybe your blog could stand some sprucing up as well?  Here are five quick ways to freshen up your blog.

Update Your Sidebar

I know, I mention this one often. But almost every day I visit a blog with an outdated sidebar. Make sure any ads or affiliate links are current. Look at all the content in your sidebar and determine if you can eliminate any of the widgets, images, or information. Your sidebar is valuable real estate — use it wisely!

Check Social Media Links

Make sure you have links or icons to the social media platforms you use! If you are active on Goodreads or Instagram, you need a link to help people connect with you there. With all the changes on Facebook, it is a vey good idea to spread out your social media time and make sure you are connecting where your audience is. {A bonus idea relating to social media, make sure your account information is up-to-date. Sometimes we forget to update our photos or bio info when we make changes to our blogs. Now is a great time to double check all of your accounts for consistency and accuracy.}

Review Your About Page

Yes,  I talk about this one a lot too. I know! But please make sure your about page is up-to-date. You want this page to reflect the latest and most useful information about you. If you are not sure what to include on your about page, here are three questions you can ask yourself.

Check Your Categories and Tags

Do your categories reflect what you write about the most? Look at the ones you use the least, how can you move those posts into another category to keep things more organized. I’m in the process of doing this on my blog. It can be time consuming but I’m working my way through one category at a time. Then I will start on the tags. {This is also a great way to find posts you can promote and/or update.} If you need to recategorize or retag a large number of posts at a time, try the Bulk Move plugin.

Fix Broken Links

Check for broken links — and fix them. Erin suggests using an online link checker like this one instead of the Broken Link Checker plugin.  The plugin can slow your site down.

So, there you have it … five ways to freshen up your blog. Most of these are “behind the scenes” but they are important for the functionality and usefulness of your blog. It’s definitely worth your time to take some time {even if it’s just a few minutes a day for the next several days} to check each of them out.

And, just out of curiosity, how many of these suggestions have you done in the past six months?

P.S. If you are an Amazon affiliate, you need to read this post by Amy Lynn Andrews. It is VERY likely you have been violating their Terms of Service. Amy shares what she has learned and ideas for solving the problem.