The Ultimate Blog Spring Cleaning Checklist
If you know me personally or if you’ve been following me for a while, then you know that I’m a fall girlie through and through. I love the ‘ber months and I am that person that will buy every pumpkin flavored thing that I come in contact with.
But this year as spring has made its debut, I’m realizing that the spring season is a closeeee second to my cozy fall months.
Especially this year (2025). In 2024, I had a baby which meant I took some time off and my routines and habits changed a LOT! And while I’ve loved my first year as a mom, I’ve also really been craving new, consistent routines that make me feel like me again for quite some time.
And I set out to create and find those in 2025. But Q1 didn’t exactly go as planned…
For the first time in a long time, I actually did NOT have my life together at the start of the new year.
In January we moved… which meant things already felt weird trying to adjust to life in a new home. Then I got the flu and strep throat (at the same time)… which meant I was down for the count for at least a week.
I thought February would be IT! Then we had a few snow days… which meant my husband was working out of town (solo momming is HARD) and my son’s school was closed for a few days (Georgia probs 🙄).
Then our whole house got the stomach flu… which meant another few days went out the window.
FINALLY in March I felt like I was getting my groove back. The sun is starting to shine, the days are longer, and no illnesses have struck our household in weeks (literally praying that it stays this way).
So basically I’m getting my personality back – in my personal and professional life. And it’s just in time for Q2!
I’m here for the new, fresh energy of spring and naturally I’ve been in “spring cleaning” mode for both, life and business. (In part thanks to Hello and Co Creatives Business Spring Cleaning Challenge ☀️🌸🧹)
And it got me thinking…
It’s the perfect time to spring clean your blog. Whether you’ve been blogging in your business for years OR if you’ve just recently started, there’s always something that can be refined or updated to make your blog more user friendly, searchable, relevant, and useful for your audience.
So consider this your ultimate blog spring cleaning checklist to kick off spring and Q2 on a strong note!
Refresh & Update Existing Content
The beauty of blogs is that they’re evergreen (at least for the most part), but they don’t just stay that way by chance.
You have to intentionally write and design your blog content so that it can truly “live forever,” which means it’s important to update or refresh outdated or irrelevant content so that your blogs remain valuable for your audience.
✔️ Update outdated information – read through your blog content and replace old statistics, information, or CTAS to ensure accuracy and relevancy
Since blogs are evergreen, it’s important that the links and call-to-actions you include within each of your blog posts also remain evergreen OR are continually updated to reflect your current services.
And this is a good time to remind you that even if your blog content isn’t directly promoting something you sell, you still want to include a call-to-action of some sort within your conclusion.
This is actually one of the most common things I see people skipping in their blog content, which is why I created this free call-to-action master list to help you out!
✔️ Refresh internal links – backlinking in your blog content is a great way to improve SEO, so take the time to read through your content and find ways to link to newer blog posts when relevant
✔️ Fix broken links – use a link checker tool to find and replace broken links to improve your SEO and user experience
✔️ Improve readability – since your blog content is longer form, it’s important that you make your content as skimmable as possible by breaking up long paragraphs, adding bullet points, and ensuring scannability
✔️ Add new images – when applicable, add graphics or images to your blog content to help people connect what you’re teaching in a visual way
Optimize for SEO
It’s important to know that I’m a blog writer and strategist who preaches having blogs in your business for way more reasons than just SEO, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an important part of your blogging efforts.
After all, if you’re taking the time to write long form content, then you want it to be FOUND, right?!
Here’s some quick ways to spring clean your blog for SEO purposes:
✔️ Revise blog titles – your blog title should do 3 things:
Grab the attention of your audience
Clearly convey what your blog is about
Include appropriate keywords so Google can index your content accordingly
This free titling guide can help you revise and update your blog titles to ensure that they’re click-worthy enough, but also do you some favors in the SEO department!
Beyond the creativity of your titles though, there may be some blog posts that simply need some updating!
For example, if you have a blog post titled “3 Ways to Work With Me In 2024”, ermmm it’s 2025, bestie. Let’s make sure your blog reflects that!
✔️ Enhance meta descriptions – meta descriptions appear below the page title in search engine results and help users decide whether to click on your link. Take some time to review your blog content meta descriptions to help boost your SEO!
✔️ Optimize images – including images in your blog content is one thing, but making sure they’re optimized for SEO is another. Make sure all images include alt text, resize large files, and use descriptive file names!
✔️ Improve site structure – many people think that the actual content on your site is the only thing that impacts your SEO, but your site as a whole plays a big role!
For your blog page specifically, make sure that you’re using blog categories and tags strategically to help with navigation and SEO.
(P.S. In this blog post I give a deep dive into the Anatomy of an Effective and SEO Friendly Blog Post!)
Improve Blog Design & Functionality
Many times as creatives, we tend to put a lot of emphasis on the actual content that we’re writing and forget about all of the other details that support our content as a whole. One of those details for blogs specifically is the overall design and functionality of your website blog page.
A well-organized and visually appealing blog page enhances your website user experience and encourages readers to actually explore your content!
Here’s a few ways to improve your website blog page user experience:
✔️ Add a search bar – adding a search bar to your blog page is one of the BEST tips I can give you and it’s actually way underutilized
Not only does having a search bar on your website blog page help your audience easily find what they’re looking for, it can also help YOU easily find older content whenever you need it.
✔️ Add a blog side bar – having a side bar on your website blog page can give you the opportunity to include a mini about section, feature specific content that you feel is most applicable for your audience, and even link out to other pages of your website, such as your services page
My favorite Pinterest gal, Sarah Burk, has one of the best blog sidebars that I’ve personally seen!
✔️ Add or refresh blog content pillars to improve navigation – your blog content pillars are essentially the categories that you create blog content under and as your business grows and evolves, you might find that your blog content pillars will grow and evolve as well.
These pillars should always be aligned with your current audience’s needs, trends, and any shifts in your niche. If you need some extra help developing or updating your blog content pillars, this blog post has you covered!
Review Analytics
As you continue to publish consistent blog content, your analytics will be able to tell you which blogs are performing the best and which ones might need some extra love.
Knowing these analytics, you have a great opportunity to actually use that data to your advantage. Here’s how:
✔️ Identify your top performing content AND underperforming content – using an analytic tool like Google Analytics, identify your top performing blog posts *and* your underperforming blog posts so that you can make a plan to address both
For your top performing posts, consider the topic, keywords, and type of blog it is (listicle, case study, how-to, etc) and think about if there are ways that you can create similar or adjacent content for the topic at hand.
It’s also wise to make sure your top performing content is fully optimized to ensure that your readers get the most out of it and can take the appropriate next step after reading.
To do this, read through the blog post and ask yourself:
Is the information I’ve provided here still accurate?
Is there anything that’s outdated?
Have I changed my professional opinion on this topic?
Is the CTA still relevant?
Are there new keywords that I can add for better SEO?
Is the blog post structured best for readability and skimability?
For your underperforming blog posts, review the content and identify ways that you could improve the post overall.
Ask yourself:
Is the title clickworthy?
Have I included appropriate keywords in all the right places?
How’s the overall structure of the blog post?
Is it formatted well for readability and skimmability?
If reading and understanding your website and blog analytics feels confusing to you, I HIGHLY recommend working with Rebecca at Three Groves to create a custom analytics dashboard so you know exactly what data to look at without it being so overwhelming!
To this day it’s one of the best investments I’ve ever made for my business and it makes me WANT to look at my analytics.
Ready to Give Your Blog a Refresh?
Spring cleaning isn’t just for your home! It’s a great opportunity to breathe new life into your business and especially your blog.
By updating, optimizing, and reorganizing your content, you can improve reader experience, boost SEO, and ensure your blog supports your business as a whole.
During Q2, I encourage you to set aside time to go through this checklist, and you’ll have a refreshed, high-performing blog ready to serve your audience better than ever!
And if you’re in need of additional help to bring your blog back to life, there’s a few ways I can help:
⭐️ The Manuscript | Custom Blog Strategy — a good piece of writing is only as strong as its manuscript. This custom blog strategy service is designed for business owners who want to start blogging - or finally make it a consistent, strategic part of their marketing strategy.
Includes:
Kickoff call to discuss your blog goals, ideal audience, & desired publishing schedule for the long term
Custom blog strategy creation WITH defined blog content pillars, a quarter’s worth (up to 12) blog topics tialored to your goals and audience, PLUS ideas for how to repurpose your blogs on other platforms
Strategy delivered via Loom
30 days of Slack support so you feel confident putting your strategy into action WITH the option to submit one piece of writing for review per week
⭐️ Press Week | Blogging Sprint – every good author knows that a good press week is the secret to getting your audience’s attention. This Press Week is your fast-track to a ready-to-launch blog, giving your website readers irresistible content to binge on day one.
In just five days, you'll get six strategy-driven blog posts so you can hit the ground running and finally start putting blogs first, socials second.
The Schedule:
Monday – We’ll kick things off with a strategy call to talk strategy and map out topics.
Tuesday & Wednesday – I’ll dive into writing while you focus on running your business.
Thursday – Your six blog posts arrive in a Google Doc, ready for your review.
Friday – I’ll make any final edits and tweaks based on your feedback, so you can press publish as soon as you’re ready!
⭐️ Hot Off The Press | A-la-carte Blogs – Hot Off the Press is perfect for business owners who need high-quality blog content on a flexible, as-needed basis.
Whether you want a Natty Writes trial run before committing to ongoing blogging, need a few extra posts to support a launch, or just want some fresh content without a long-term commitment, this service delivers polished, strategic blog posts right when you need them.
You bring the topics and ideas, and I'll bring them to life with content that’s hot off the press and ready to publish!
New to my world? Nice to virtually meet ya. 👋 I’m Natalie, but everyone calls me Natty (you can too) – blog and email writer for creative business owners and service providers.
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