What’s marketing cleanup? 

They’re activities you, your VA or a part-time marketing assistant can do to help streamline online visibility and impact, increase organic search results, and make Google happy.

While there’s a lull in sales and activity this holiday season, why not schedule some marketing clean up time so you can hit the ground running in 2021? 

Here’s how. 

8 Marketing Cleanup Tasks to Get Ready for 2021 

1. Double check your links. When you’re updating a post, make sure all your links work. There’s nothing more frustrating for a reader than clicking a dead link. And, Google may actually penalize you for having dead links in your content. You can do this manually, but it’s time consuming and tedious. Instead, check out these tools like Sitechecker and Dead Link Checker that can do the work for you.
2. Update your images. Things change – fashion and technology the fastest. If the images in your posts are showing their age or simply not the greatest quality, update them with new, clean, modern images. Pay attention to context too with the current health crisis. For some of the best free stock photo sites to use, take a look here. And remember, if you don’t have permission to use an image, don’t use it.
3. Delete spammy comments. Ever scroll down after reading a great blog post only to see a ton of spam comments? It’s irritating to say the least. Delete any spam from your comment section. They diminish your credibility and make your site look cluttered and messy. Engaging interaction supports your reputation and relevancy, but allowing spam to choke your comments shows you’re not paying attention. Some blog hosts offer the option of approving or discarding thoughts from others.  Here’s what to do about comment spam.
4. Add length to your old posts. Wondering how long your blog post should be? Most bloggers do. Google used to favor short 300-word blog posts but that has flipped 180 degrees. Now, Google favors 1,800+ word posts. If you’ve got a short post, update and add new content. You can cite a recent case study, industry trends, current examples or anything else timely or relevant. Add images, charts, and other supporting graphics to liven up the article and make it more visually interesting. 
5. Write a fresh version and link from the old post. If an old post is too far gone to update, write a new post on the same topic with all-new information. Write and publish your contest, then go back to the old post and add a big warning at the top. “This post is out of date! Click here for new, up to date information.” Sounds a bit dramatic, but see what you think! Bottom line, this kind of internal linking can boost your SEO and keeps people on your site, reading your content longer. 
6. Flip your comments. The default setting for most blog comments puts the oldest comments at the top. You can usually do this in the settings for your blogging site. This way the newest comments show first and leaves the impression that the post is still alive and pertinent. Many blogging sites allow you to choose in what order to show comments.
7. Refresh your Metadata. If your articles have been out there for a few years, the metadata might be from before Google expanded the metadata character limits. It’s like leaving money on the table. Who wants that? Now, you have more space to add descriptive data to your posts. Metadata is more important than ever so learn your way around it now.
8. Ask Google to be reindexed. Eventually, Google will get around to reindexing your site but who wants to wait weeks or months for that? You can request a reindex in the Google Search Console. It’s as easy as open, paste, click.  

Marketing clean up doesn’t have to happen of course just between the holidays. Schedule it whenever you have free time or at least put it on your marketing calendar as a reoccurring task every quarter. That way, the task won’t be daunting.