If an author stood alone in the publishing marketplace, driving potential customers to a website would be easy. But with hundreds of thousands of new titles published in the U.S. each year, attracting people to your author or book website becomes like any other marketplace — competition rules. It’s a race for discovery, exposure, and on-line real estate.
That’s why web presence and search engine optimization (SEO), which help people who search the internet to find you, need special and consistent attention.
Because the internet landscape is constantly changing, SEO can’t be a ‘set and forget’ thing. As search engines become more sophisticated, best SEO practices evolve. It’s important to consistently review and update your strategies to keep your site near the top of internet searches.
What can authors do to maximize SEO to help people find their book(s)? We’ll be covering this in two blog posts, with the first focused on the technical aspects of SEO, and the second on the non-technical.
If you haven’t built a website, it’s important to get an SEO specialist involved from the start. Website designers have important, valuable skills, but most don’t have the expertise to maximize SEO. Some SEO specialists say website designers sometimes balk at SEO work, because doing the things that lead to more hits requires more work or expertise they don’t possess.
Is Your Website Up to Speed?
Think of your website like a race car. Design and technical elements have to be integrated and work together seamlessly if the car is going to be truly competitive with others on the track.
It’s short-sighted to view SEO as a website “garnish,” nor should it be an afterthought. If you’re creating a website, contact an SEO expert first. Often, he or she can recommend a good designer who will work in concert to make sure your website elements are configured in a way that amplifies your message and captures the attention of internet search engines. If you want to ensure your website is technically sound and has the best SEO standards, let the SEO expert drive the project.
Website Technical Items of Importance
If you have a website, find an SEO expert who can identify and fix website issues that result in sending weak — or even bad signals — to search engines. Issues could include:
- Source code
- Website structure
- URL structure
- Usability
- SEO analytics / search console / webmaster tools
- Google Analytics proper set-up
- Google Search Console
- Google Tag Manager
- Backlinks
- Site speed
- Mobile / Pad site
The Author & Book Website for Marketing
It’s not enough for authors to write a great book and then sit back and wait for sales to flood in. Successful marketing requires partners in marketing and sales. A web presence is crucial, and SEO is an invaluable tool. The recommendation is to have a pro take a look at it. In the long run, the site created by a friend for free is not worth the fee!
In our next blog post, we’ll tell you about some non-technical things that can be done on your site to help boost traffic and generate sales.