Despite the terrible Nor'easter that seems to be sticking to Toronto like an unwanted house guest, spring is just around the corner...we promise! By now, you are preparing for your first quarter and working on expanding your brand. This is the perfect time to clean off the dust, open the shutters, and give your digital space a top-down spring cleaning.
#1: Give Your Desktop Some Tender Loving Organization

You may be one of those people who wouldn't dare save a file to your desktop without assigning it to a dated and colour-coded folder. But if you're constantly saving docs all day long, you're probably a little too busy to keep up with your organization. If your screen looks like a dorm-room closet, take a break from all your hard work and clean house! Three wonderful things will happen:
- You'll find a document you thought you lost or forgot you had
- You can get rid of a ton of clutter, thus clearing up more space
- You can find things faster!
#2: Unsubscribe from Everything That isn't Absolutely Crucial

Do you have over a thousand newsletters sitting in your inbox that you've never opened, don't care about, no longer wish to receive, or have just been too lazy to go through the unsubscription process. That time is now! You don't need this type of clutter clogging up your digital atmosphere. Do yourself a favour and unsubscribe from all unnecessary newsletters and delete them from your inbox forever. Plus, think what you can do with all that new space on your computer or cloud space.
#3: Try a New Task Management System

If your way of delegating projects isn't working out for your team, it's time to consider a cloud-based task manager. There are many to choose from for different budgets, but they all get team members on the same page and working together without having to get up and walk over to each other's desks every three seconds to clarify their task. Right now, you may be relying on email and messenger to get the work organized, but trust us, you'll get rid of so much clutter, confusion by having all your work in a single place. Plus, task management software can significantly improve and speed up productivity. Some great systems include:
- Redbooth
- Trello
- Monday
- SamePage
#4: Refresh Your Passwords

Everyone is guilty of using the same password and three variations of it. Who is even capable of remembering more than one password, especially if it has to contain an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter, numbers, and symbols?
While you're in the middle of spring cleaning, give your security a real sweep, but getting rid of all those tried-and-true passwords and giving your online security the boost it probably needs. Make your life easy and write a hard copy of your passwords or save them onto your computer. You should be changing your password every few months anyway. Digital security is a real issue, and you'll be kicking yourself if your system gets hacked.
#5: Find Out What's New in the World of SEO
Search engine optimization changes all the time. Unfortunately, it's not something you can learn about once. Every once and a while a new update will emerge, which might change the rules entirely. Are you up-to-date on SEO trends and rules for 2018? Or are you relying on last year's guidebook to make sure your website is optimized? Subscribe to digital marketing and SEO experts, such as Moz or Search Engine Land to stay on top of everything that's changing. What's the use of bringing outdated information into Q1?
And When You're Done Spring Cleaning, Give us a Call
There's no better time to reinvigorate your website and SEO than in the spring. It might not only be your SEO that needs some work. Awkward Media is a Toronto-based company offering digital branding, web and mobile design, and SEO services. Is your web design starting to show its age?
Contact us today to find out how we can update your website with the latest design trends and SEO requirements.