It’s time! The tip of 2023 is quick approaching…
You’ve achieved an incredible job this 12 months and you have to be proud – no step, regardless of how small, is just too small.
Had a gangbusters 12 months? Good on you!
Had a small 12 months? I guess you’re additional than you was once! Now that’s progress.
One of the simplest ways to look over all you’ve achieved and collect your ideas about the place you’d somewhat be subsequent 12 months is to undergo your weblog and social media and audit your efficiency.
What went proper (and how are you going to replicate that)?
What went flawed?
What felt yuck and what are you enthusiastic about doing once more in 2024?
This audit guidelines has served us properly and been very talked-about over time, so I assumed I’d replace it for this 12 months and ship you off in your merry method with a drink and a pen to enjoy your 12 months of running a blog. Might the power be with you!
Be happy to obtain the PDF guidelines in case you’re a paper-and-pen type of blogger – you possibly can obtain it right here: problogger-end-of-year-blog-audit-checklist.
Tips on how to Do an Finish-of-2023 Weblog Audit
Seize a pen and pocket book, a recent Google Doc, a spreadsheet in case you’re into that type of factor, or the rest you’re comfortable to take notes on or in, and undergo every part of your weblog totally. What labored, what didn’t, what did you hate, what is going to you modify for subsequent 12 months?
“You’ll be able to solely know the place you’re going if you already know the place you’ve been.” – James Burke
So let’s get caught in.
Content material:
You’re going to have to have a look at some stats for this, so open your WordPress Jetpack or Google Analytics and be ready to dive in. First although, a glance by the posts themselves:
- How lengthy had been posts? Did you could have quite a lot of phrase lengths? All lengthy? All brief? Which carried out higher? What would you say your common publish phrase depend can be?
- What had been the preferred posts? Total, and for every class of your weblog?
- What sort of posts labored? What resonated together with your viewers?
- What fell flat, or simply fairly didn’t make it?
- Did you write to your area of interest? Or did you department out? Was {that a} smart alternative?
- Had been you useful?
- What posts acquired essentially the most feedback/emails? Which one appeared to the touch a nerve in your viewers?
- What was shared most?
- What did you take pleasure in writing?
- The place are you sourcing photographs? Are you making or taking your personal? Might you begin? What different choices are there (yow will discover a collection of locations which have collections of free, no-attribution photographs right here), what program are you utilizing to create and personalise your photographs? (We now use Canva just about completely)Is it sufficient or do you have to strive one thing new? What are your picture sizes? Are they optimum? Have you ever modified weblog format and now a few of them are poorly sized? Make an observation of them so you possibly can replace later with a greater picture.
- Which day of the week acquired essentially the most site visitors? What had been you publishing on these days? Was it constant together with your model?
- Was your overarching theme this 12 months constant together with your model?
- What search phrases acquired the most individuals to your weblog? are you offering content material for them?
- Does every publish have a very good picture that’s formatted appropriately, a keyword-rich headline, and is it nice to the attention? Is there sufficient white area, and are there calls to motion the place crucial?
- Had been you offering sufficient worth?
Again Finish
The nitty-gritty that we normally ignore except one thing has gone flawed. Do a cleanout!
- Are your plugins nonetheless working for you? What are you able to delete? What wants updating?
- What do you could have as a 404 error message? Are you able to make it extra helpful to the reader who finds themselves there?
- Do you could have damaged hyperlinks? (one technique to discover out is to make use of a damaged hyperlink checker, or set up a plugin that can do it for you). Are you able to replace them?
- What’s your website positioning plan? Are you inserting key phrases in all the correct locations? You probably have Yoast put in, is there a inexperienced mild on the vast majority of your posts? What are you able to do to enhance within the new 12 months? (Moz has a reasonably complete publish right here on doing a full website positioning audit in case you really feel you want that a lot depth, and a content material audit right here).
- Have you ever crammed out the alt-text subject on all of your photographs with keyword-rich descriptions? (keep in mind, that is what Pinterest pulls so make it user-friendly)
- What have you ever been utilizing to trace metrics/site visitors? Is it working?
- Create a Google Analytics report about what has occurred in your web site, and who’s studying it (and on what system!) Darren has a nice tutorial right here on methods to discover essentially the most helpful stats in Google Analtyics and use that data to arrange your subsequent 12 months of running a blog on the correct foot.
Design
We eat with our eyes, as they are saying, and readers will make snap judgements about you and your weblog primarily based on the way it appears to be like once they get there. What does your design say?
- Is it useful?
- Is it reader-friendly?
- Is it pleasing to the attention?
- Does it describe you and your weblog at a look?
- Have you ever stayed in line with colors and fonts?
- Are there any widgets that want eradicating?
- How is your sidebar working? What are you able to shuffle round or delete totally?
- Are you taking advantage of the bottom-of-the-blog actual property?
- Are the advertisements previous? Are you able to write to the advertisers and supply them a brand new deal?
- Are you taking advantage of your design to level to the place you possibly can make an affiliate sale?
- Are there a number of factors on the web page the place readers can observe you?
- Is your publication signup field outstanding? Do you could have multiple?
- Is that pop-up field price it?
- Are your social media icons in the correct order (you may need to put your hottest websites on the entrance). Are they linked to the correct place? Are they the correct dimension or color?
- Do all of the hyperlinks in your homepage work?
- What are you able to take away from the design to boost the look of your weblog?
- What are you utilizing for social sharing? Do you prefer it? are folks utilizing it? Can you discover one thing that works higher?
- Private branding: is it recognisable? Have you ever been utilizing the identical branding methods in your publish photographs?
Pages/Subjects
The umbrella of what you’re about. How’s that workin’ for ya?
- Are the pages and matters you’ve sorted your content material into nonetheless related? Have you ever moved onto different issues? Are you able to merge some? Nest them?
- Did you share content material equally throughout all or did you discover you wrote on a specific subject essentially the most?
- Is the navigation streamlined and user-friendly?
- Are your pages and matters simply accessed?
Social Media
Our residence away from residence!
- On what platform did you see the most important development?
- The place was essentially the most engagement?
- What did you take pleasure in essentially the most?
- Have you ever modified profile photos and bios recently? How present are they?
- What introduced most return in your efforts?
- The place would you want strive within the new 12 months?
- Is it apparent on all of those platforms what you’re about? What you possibly can supply folks?
- Do all of your platforms hyperlink to your weblog, and are these choices apparent and simple to search out?
Your promotional technique
You’ll be able to’t simply “construct it and they’re going to come”. As a result of they’re busy studying another person.
- How did you get your weblog in entrance of latest readers?
- How profitable was that?
- What wasn’t well worth the time invested?
- The place will you make investments your time subsequent 12 months?
- What have you ever acquired as an opt-in? Does it want upgrading?
- How are you providing your publication or mailing listing? Have you ever been in line with it, have you ever been monitoring open charges and so forth?
- Did you visitor publish anyplace? Was that price your time? The place may you do that 12 months?
- Did you attempt to get some conventional media protection?
- Did you strive any collaborations or cross-promotions? Who may you’re employed with in 2024?
- Did you do any giveaways? How profitable had been they?
Monetization
- What has been your technique this 12 months?
- What monetization fashions had been you utilizing?
- What has been essentially the most profitable?
- What hasn’t been price your time?
- What’s going to you spend your sources on subsequent 12 months?
- What applications, ebooks or programs want updating?
- Are you able to bundle them collectively and do a fast lead-up to christmas sale?
- Are you able to launch one thing fast in time for christmas or new 12 months?
- How has your viewers reacted to every monetisation technique?
- What mannequin have you ever most loved utilizing?
- What would you take into account for the long run?
Your objectives
- Did you create any? did you meet them?
- Had been you too formidable? Or not sufficient?
- What did you take into consideration for subsequent 12 months?
- Have you ever written your future objectives and a plan for methods to get there?
- How may you be taught from the errors you’ve made this 12 months that will help you attain your objectives now?
Your emotions
- How did you are feeling total?
- What did you excel at?
- The place did you are feeling you possibly can have achieved higher?
- Did you take pleasure in running a blog?
- Do you continue to take pleasure in it?
- Have you considered quitting, transferring on to one thing else (like podcasting, for instance), do you need to write a guide, open an internet retailer… did you concentrate on increasing or transferring on?
- What would you love to do in your weblog for subsequent 12 months?
- What’s going to you be forsaking?
Ahhhh that’s higher. Pens down, New Yr’s celebratory drinks up! That’s you in a snapshot. Might your 2024 be much more wonderful.
