Blog Maintenance Jobs You Should Do Regularly
Sunday, June 20, 2021This post is collaborative, but all opinions are my own
Sometimes writing a new blog isn't what you want to do. I don't always feel motivated to write a blog post, so I work on my blog instead. Blogging is a never-ending job, and you'll always find something that needs updating. Blogging is a lot more about the admin side of things instead of actually writing content. For example, marketing the post, changing your theme and improving old content. Here are some blog maintenance tasks that you should do regularly to make sure your blog is running smoothly!
Maintain Your Website Regularly
The internet and blogging world is constantly changing. Things quickly can become outdated, and your feelings can change over time. There are lots of reasons why you should make sure your blog is maintained regularly. Whether you're just changing a few sentences or giving your site a facelift, here are some compelling reasons why you should update things:
- If you don't reply to emails, you could be missing out on opportunities
- You don't want to be giving your readers outdated information
- Your site could look old, driving away traffic
- Your readers might find it hard to navigate
- Slow websites increase the bounce rate of your site
- Broken links could be halting your traffic as they can't access promoted pages
- You become more organised and professional looking
Edit & Update Your Old Content
I have recently started editing my old content. It has been a long and slow process, but I am getting there! Updating content is one of the best ways you can update your blog. I have been starting from my oldest posts and refreshing them to suit my blog better. My blog is over a year now, and I've been rebranding it to better suit my personality and where I am in life. Updating your content can be beneficial to your blog. It can help you rebrand your blog, improve your SEO and can help your traffic. If you implement good SEO research, you can even rank on Google. Here are some helpful posts to help you:
When you update your content, you should make sure there are no spelling and grammar mistakes. I've found the odd spelling mistake and missing words. It's also a good time to update information, add new tips and make the post more SEO friendly. I've got a spreadsheet that helps me keep tracks of which posts I have updated and how I've changed them. Some blogs have been redone with a new title because I didn't fit my style anymore. For example, I reviewed a night time mask but have now changed the post on how to get a better night's sleep.
Keep Your PC Up-To-Date
Your laptop is probably a huge part of your blogging journey. It has drafts, images and your software on it. If something were to happen, it could all be lost. Your pc could also slow down over time. Clear your cookies regularly. Sort through old photos and drafts. See if you can find cloud storage to fit your needs and budget. Find out how to delete your Google search history, and do so frequently. All these things will help to look after your privacy and your computer's health. You should also make sure updates and antivirus is up to date.
Change Outdated Information
As I mentioned above, it's important to keep content updated and relevant. It may be worth having a plug-in tell you when the post was last updated at the top of your blog. The older your blog is, the more outdated information you may find. Going through blog posts regularly can help you cut down on the amount of incorrect information you're giving your readers. You may have also changed your mind about products, so you can update those. Ensuring that your content is reliable and up-to-date can help you rank on search engines. It also means you're giving your readers the best information possible, which can improve blog loyalty.
Fix Your Broken Links
Broken links are links that no longer take you to the website you intended. It could be because that page no longer exists or is unresponsive. You may hear them being called dead links. Broken links don't really affect your SEO but can affect your page ranking. It's also annoying for your readers when the page you're directing them to doesn't load or isn't there anymore. If your readers don't get the information they're looking for, they may click off your site and increase your bounce rate. It can take a while to fix broken links when you have a long list of them.
There are free link checkers that you can use to ensure there are no broken links on your blog. You can pay for a more in-depth search, but a basic checker will do. I like to check weekly, if not every month, for broken links. It makes them more manageable. When you're maintaining your blog, you can do a few things to fix broken links. You can remove the link, update it or redirect it to a working page. I find that most of my broken links come from the comments box. I have turned my comment box to approved comments to check what links are being put in.
Clean Out Your Emails & DMs
I have so many spam emails come into my blog inbox. However, sometimes important emails can be missed as they get tied up with spam. I have missed a few opportunities by missing the email or forgetting to reply. Make sure you regularly go through your inbox. You should archive or delete old emails and reply to the ones you receive, whether you're accepting or declining the opportunity. It's also a good time to chase on any collaborations that have been ignored by a business. For example, one brand I worked with didn't respond to my email regarding collaboration details. I chased them, and they got back to me in a day!
You should also reply to your DMs. I get quite a few messages, but I don't always see them on Twitter. Make sure you answer your readers as they're the ones supporting your blog. You may also have some collaborations that you could take up. I like to leave inactive groups and chase guest writers in my DMs too. Keeping up to date with your communications is beneficial to your blog!
Plan Future Content
If you aren't in the mood to write a blog post, you could always plan the content you'd like to write in the future. Having an idea of the content and what brands you'd like to work with can help your site immensely. It's also beneficial to have a plan as you could struggle for ideas later on. For some people, coming up with an idea and writing it a few hours before posting it works. Personally, I like to spend more time on my content. I plan at least a month ahead but currently have about 6 months of pre-written content. I do this in case writer's block hits, and I can't get a post out. It also means that I can write longer posts with more detail.
To plan out my content, I use an excel spreadsheet. I find it more flexible than a notebook, as I can drag around ideas and colour code things. You can also delete any mistake you make without making it look scruffy. I have a tab for each month, one for guest posts/writers and one for ideas. Try to come up with content that relates to each other. For example, if you want to write about lockdown date ideas, you could also write a post about how to find a date in lockdown. That way, you can interlink them, which is good for SEO.
Schedule Your Tweets & Pins
Social media marketing is a great way to get your blog out there. If you're looking for something to do, you could schedule your tweets and pins. Scheduling tweets in one go has saved me so much time. I also don't have to worry about getting up early to schedule tweets, perfect for sudden changes in plans! If you have some spare time, schedule your tweets for at least a week ahead. During the week, I am busy with work and study, so I tweet at least a week in advance, and it saves me time.
You could also create pins and schedule them for Pinterest. If you create all of your content in bulk, it will save you time, and you don't have to think about it. I like to automate where possible, and I'd highly recommend scheduling your media if you have a bit of extra time. You won't regret it!
You could also create pins and schedule them for Pinterest. If you create all of your content in bulk, it will save you time, and you don't have to think about it. I like to automate where possible, and I'd highly recommend scheduling your media if you have a bit of extra time. You won't regret it!
Change The Blog Layout
I love changing the layout of my blog, as giving it a new life motivates me to work on it more. Changing the look could be simply changing the colour or reaching the look of your website. However, you could also redo the whole look of your blog and try something new! There are free and paid-for templates out there, but try to pick one that other bloggers aren't using. You want to stand out from the crowd, and choosing a template that reflects you and your blog is important. The look of your blog is one of the first things that new readers will see. If it's not easy to navigate or get the information they need, your readers will click off.
Return & Reply To Comments
Communicating with your readers is a good habit to get into. When you receive a comment, try to reply to it on your blog. Especially if it's a question, your readers will appreciate a response. Keeping up to date with comments can help you to see what extra information your readers want. You could always add it to the blog post if it's a common question. Replying to comments is something I am not very good at, but I will return them. Every Monday, I return all of the comments I have received for that week. I still use comment threads because it gives me a way of connecting with other bloggers. I am not always active on social media because of work and study, so comment threads help me stay engaged with other bloggers. I love returning comments as it gives me a chance to read some more blog posts. I don't sit down enough, and there are so many amazing posts I am missing.
Back-Up Your Blog
If you've got some time to spare, make sure you back up your blog! I can't stress how important it is to regularly back up your blog. If your host went down or you lose your blog, having a copy can save you. You don't want to lose all of your hard work because you forget to back up your blog. In blogger, there is a backup button, but you can also have it professionally done. While you're backing up your blog, it's also worth checking your hosting and SSL certificate. Make sure your hosting or domain name isn't due for renewal, and update it if need be. You also want to check that your site is secure and that your SSL certificate is up to date.
Regularly maintaining your blog can help you to avoid SEO issues and attract more readers. It's also good to update your posts so that new readers have the most up to date information. I love rewriting blog posts and improving them based on my current situation. How often do you update blog posts? I'd love to hear how you schedule in time for blog maintenance and what your favourite task is!
13 comments
This made me think to check all our broken links today! Thank you for the reminder and for the other tasks, I've made a list and will be tackling one at the time!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing these tips, I need to work on broken links and pintrest graphics on my blog to increase my DA :)
ReplyDeleteNic | Nic's Adventures & Bakes
This is a great list of jobs to do behind the scene of blogging. I must admit, I really need to do some admin on broken links, it is something I am terrible at keeping up to date with. You have given me the motivation to do some admin type things for the blog now!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing :)
Aimsy xoxo
These are all essential jobs! I am currently editing old posts and checking backlinks, and for how tedious it can be, it makes such a change! Also creating pins in bulk can save so much time x
ReplyDeleteI love this! I've been updating old content lately to try and get more views for them x
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I definitely need to start doing more of these. I'm a little afraid to check my broken links, there are probably tons of them. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteOmg this article is reminding me of all the things I have to do now, haha! Great list, definitely going to be using this!!
ReplyDeleteHi Emily,
ReplyDeleteGreat suggestions.
It may seem strange but ... I actually enjoy doing the blog maintenance! It gives me a small sense of achievement when I complete these tasks :)
You could also add: check the loading speed of some of your recent posts, and your site in general. Internet users are an impatient bunch, generally speaking, and will hit the back button on a site that loads too slowly. Don't let that happen to your site!
Reading this just reminded me I have to do a maintenance check as I recently did a whole redesign, etc. Thanks for the really useful info you shared here!
ReplyDeleteAwesome tips, I'm currently working on update content and organize stuff for my blogging business. Thank you for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I always do these things (expect for twitching my blog layout). Your list of tips make me feel like I'm doing the right thing haha. Thanks for sharing! BLogging isn't just about the writing -- it's about the small things like these.
ReplyDeletewww.lifebeginsattwenty.com
There's a few things here that I'm really good at and keep on top of. I scheduled my tweets every morning for the day ahead and do that more or less every day and I'm ALWAYS on top of my emails. But there's other things here like updating old content and fixing broken links that I absolutely HATE doing but I know it's necessary!
ReplyDeleteGood tips! I am thinking of changing my colour scheme again but then I thought maybe that would be screw up with branding?? But I might play around with it just cuz...I do stay on top of broken links though because if those pile up it'll be a chore I won't want to face.
ReplyDeleteGiulia, tidbitsofcare.com