How To Write SEO That Gets Results: The Basics
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In a world where “Google” is now a verb, knowing how to write effective SEO is more important than ever for authors who are trying to grow their audience. But most creative writers are unfamiliar with the concept of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Having the right SEO will increase traffic to your author website and blog and help you reach more readers. If you’re not savvy about search bots, here are the basics of how to write SEO that gets results.
The Basics: Write SEO That Gets Results
SEO determines how your website ranks in search engine results (a search engine being a site like Google that’s designed to carry out searches on the Internet). When your author website and blog are more visible to search bots, you’ll show up in more searches for terms related to you and your writing.
While you do want your author website to get more visitors, you also want to get better visitors — readers and fans who will also engage with you on social media and attend your events.
Use SEO Keywords
Keywords are the words or phrases that define what your content is about — in this case, you and your writing. Search engines like Google rely on keywords to determine which websites are relevant to a user’s search and then match those websites to the user’s queries.
Choosing the right, SEO-friendly keywords is therefore vital to boosting your website’s visibility. Consider the keywords, or search terms, that a reader interested in your work might use to find you online. When you pepper these keywords strategically into your website’s text, these terms will be spotted by search engines, which will then direct readers to your author website and blog. Here’s how to choose the best keywords:
- Consider long-tail keywords vs. short-tail keywords: A short-tail keyword is one or two words, like “mystery book.” A long-tail keywords is three or four words, like “historical murder mystery novel.” As you can see, long-tail keywords are more specific, and therefore, fewer websites will be competing for visibility based on that search term. Especially when you’re first starting to build your author website’s visibility and popularity, long-tail keywords can be very effective.
