If you’re a new author and have just set up a blog you’ll need to know how to use keywords for book marketing. Yes your book? Well, pay attention!
Now the creative part of writing, editing and getting your book published is over, what now?
Marketing
You now need to learn how to use keywords for book marketing your own book!
Ugh!
Yep, sorry, but writers and authors must market their own books. Why? So that potential readers can find your masterpiece. Sounds scary? Maybe, but with a little effort and research on your part, you can do it.
Help is at hand, in this article, you’ll learn the basics of using keywords to market your book and boost your blog’s presence. And it increases your chances of being found by your target audience. (potential readers)
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What are keywords?
Depending on who is asking, keywords have separate but related meanings. For people surfing the internet, keywords are search terms they can type into a search engine to find what they want.
On the content (blog) marketing side, keywords are terms placed in a website’s content. This improves its search engine optimization (SEO). For example, if someone types in “crime thriller” (their keywords) into the Google search bar. The search engine searches its database and will show the most relevant keywords for that search.
Why are keywords for book marketing so important?
Depending on what you are offering online, you could have hundreds, thousands or even millions of competitors targeting the audience you’re trying to attract. Setting yourself apart, therefore, requires investing some time in SEO. Learning how to use Keywords for book marketing is a major part of this process.
To break it down, websites rely on search engines to make it possible for people to find what is being offered. (Your book or books). In return, search engines rely on keywords to determine which content to show in response to searches. Of course, there are other variables that influence search engine results. But having the right keywords and using them properly is vital to the visibility of your content.
Types of keywords
There are a number of different types of keywords used in SEO but it can get overwhelming if you’re a beginner. With that said, let’s look at two of the most important ones you need to be aware of.
Short-tail keywords:
- These keywords consist of one to three words. These are the search terms people tend to type in most of the time when they look up something online. Which is why short-tail keywords tend to have the highest search volume. The high number of searches for these keywords also make them extremely competitive. Meaning that it’s harder for your web page to rank highly on Google (and other search engines) for such terms.
- In addition, people using short-tail keywords are usually just starting their research, so it’s less likely that they will turn into conversions right (sales/signups etc.) It is still important to use relevant, short-tail keywords. While they won’t necessarily bring you conversions, they help the search engines know what you’re about.
Long-tail keywords:
- As you might have imagined, long-tail keywords are longer than short-tail ones (more than three words). They are also more specific, have lower search volumes and are, therefore, less competitive. That’s because these are the keywords people tend to type in when they want to narrow down their online research. For example, instead of typing “crime thriller,” a user could narrow down their search by entering “with a female detective written by Joe Blogs” This new entry includes the book genre (Crime thriller), the type of character (female detective), and written by (author). The search engine can now eliminate web page results that refer to another genre. Or no female detective and aren’t written by Joe Blog. Moreover, when people search for long-tail keywords, their intention to buy or sign up is higher. For this reason, the long-tail keywords you use on your blog need to match closely with your target audience’s intent. That’s where keyword research becomes necessary.
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How to do keyword research
Researching the right keywords for book marketing and your website can take time but the process can help you better understand your target audience and the overall SEO process. Conducting your research involves several steps.
- Search engines: This is a natural starting point because most of your potential audience will come from organic searches via Google and other search engines. Pretend you are the customer looking for the service or product you are interested in offering. What relevant terms would you type into the search bar?
- As you type, look at the suggestions of the Google Autocomplete feature and make a note of them. Type in as many keyword combinations as you can think of and write them down. You also want to check out the “People also ask,” as well as the “Searches related to [keyword]” sections on the results page for additional keyword combinations.
- Use keyword research tools: Now that you have a list of possible keywords, you want to narrow it down to the ones most relevant to the purpose of your site and what your ideal customer will be searching for. This is where keyword research tools such as Google Keyword Planner comes in.
- With this tool, you can find out the monthly search volumes for keywords. Their levels of difficulty in the ranking, and whether your competition uses them. What you want to achieve with your research tool is to find keywords that strike the right balance. This will be between search volume and relevance to your business, customers, and competitors. Although this is also a tedious process getting it right will pay off in increased web traffic.
Please note, some of the links are affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I may receive a small commission. I only recommend products I use and like.
Learning How to use keywords for book marketing, blog or eCommerce site
Now that you have an idea of the keywords you want to use for your site, the next question is where (and how often) you should use them. This is a broad SEO topic but there are basic rules you can follow to get on the right path. These include:
- Using relevant keywords in page headings and subheadings
- Placing more specific, long-tailed keywords near your products and service descriptions
- Using broader, short-tail keywords on general information pages such as “Home”
- Using keywords in a natural way in your articles
- Aligning your keywords so they flow with your click funnel and guide visitors to making a decision (hopefully convert)
- Search engine algorithms keep evolving and people’s online habits change. You’ll need to repeat your keyword research on a regular basis and make updates where necessary.
Running a successful blog is close to impossible without having an idea of what keywords to include in your blog. You’ll need to know how to use keywords for marketing your book, finding, and using them correctly. This is a good place to start if you want to improve your online presence.
CONCLUSION
If you want to sell your masterpiece, you need to let people know it exists! Therefore, keywords are so important to your success. Make sure you get the FREE Keyword Checklist HERE to give you a little help.