This is the time of year people examine and revamp their businesses. It’s important to include your blog in this revamping process as well. Not just updating the look, though that may be important, but updating the usability and the information you provide, and track, are also essential.

This is a great time to review your SEO strategies – and perhaps more importantly, your implementation of said strategies. Sometimes we have great plans, but neglect to get them into action. If that’s the case for you, now would be the ideal time to make a change!

My guess is that if you’ve been following me at all, you have started integrating keywords into your blog posts and pages. If not, that would be a great first step.
But, you don’t have to do it all yourself! This is the perfect task to outsource. You can give the keywords to your assistant and ask them to make sure they are represented in your pages and posts. I recommend having them start with one or two pages, then have them email you the urls for the pages they have edited. This way you can take a quick look to see if they are using the keywords appropriately and to the degree you want, and if the language flows naturally. If so, let them loose on the rest of the posts and whichever pages you want. If they haven’t quite gotten it, a 10 minute conversation, or a quick example, may be all it takes to train them.

Think about how much time you’ll save – and how great it will feel to have your keyword and seo strategies being implemented – maybe even while you sleep!

There are, of course, many other places you’ll want to make updates – including your “about me” page, your signup box, and cleaning up any of that sidebar clutter you’ve been gathering. You want the information to be crisp, fresh, and easy to access. Visual clutter and outdated information is an immediate turnoff to your blog visitors.

There is an excellent report that provides a checklist for getting your blog ready for the new year, published by Lynn Terry, owner of ClickNewz.com. Lynn is one of my favorites in the world of blogging – and this report is one of the reasons why. Not only is it chock full of information, it is also free – you don’t even have to give her your contact info. Download it here: Blog Boost 2010.

What are you going to do first to prepare your blog for the new year?

There are a lot of things you can focus on. Start with revisiting your blog and your vision for it. From there, you’ll come up with a great to do list, combined with the checklist in the report mentioned above.

Here’s what I’m starting with:

• changing the theme on my self-help book summary site, Personal Growth Princess. This may be a lengthy project, but fortunately I’ve scheduled a 2 day business retreat over the New Year holiday, so I should be able to get it done.
• queuing up blog posts for the next 3 months – these will supplemented by other blog posts that address timely issues.
• having my assistant update all my SEO fields – not just the main one for the site, but also for each post. I try to keep up with these as I go along, but honestly, I sometimes forget. [superemotions file="icon_redface.gif" title="Redfaced / Embarassed"]

So what’s first on your list for updating your blog for 2010?
Leave a comment below and let me know!

Related posts:

1. 2010 Blog Planning Guide