When writing your book description, it is important to keep SEO in mind. SEO (search engine optimization) is how pages are listed on a search results page when a person enters a particular word or phrase into a search engine. To reach new readers for your books, you want to make sure to incorporate keywords that are being searched for often. Some ways this can be achieved is through your book description, blog and social media content, and backlinks.
Do you know what your audience is looking for? Researching keywords from your book genre can help you align with the verbiage your audience is using. Include these keywords in the description.
For example, if your book is a fantasy book about animals, you can research which keywords are popular searches for people interested in animal fantasy novels. Use the keywords strategically when writing your book blurb by putting yourself in the shoes of your audience to think about what they are searching for. If you wrote a cookbook on pasta, think about the words and phrases a person interested in that book would use in a search engine.
For help on discovering the right keywords, use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, or SEMrush.
Write SEO-driven content on your personal blog and social media pages and utilize hashtags to target your audience. Make your content representative of your books and brand but find ways to include strong keywords that your research has told you is being searched for. For example, if you’ve written a romance novel, search for romance tropes and trends that readers are gathering to discuss online. Base a blog topic or social media post around your findings.
Make sure you are up to date with the hashtags your audience and fellow authors in your genre are using on social media to make sure you appear in searches alongside them. It’s also important to post regularly so that your content is showing up in your follower’s feeds.
Backlinks are hyperlinks from one website to another. Backlinks act as "votes of confidence" that signal to search engines like Google that the linked content is valuable and credible, potentially boosting its ranking in search results.
Search engine like Google use backlinks as a ranking factor, so websites that have backlinks that are deemed as “high-quality” can lead to higher rankings in search results.
You can use backlinks on your author website, but how do you obtain them? Reach out to bloggers, sites, and other online outlets to link content from your site, like blogs or book descriptions. Network with high-traffic websites to create personal relationships to secure backlinks. You can also seek out guest blogger opportunities that fit with your written content.
When you self-publish a book, you’re in control of every aspect, including the marketing. As a self-published author, it’s important to have a marketing strategy in place for teasing your book’s release and beyond. 48 Hour Books is here to help with marketing tips to plan a successful marketing campaign for your book.
For more tips on marketing your book, visit our Marketing Resources page.
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