Attracting traffic to your website depends on the strategic use of your blog. SEO copywriter Dorit Sasson explains how non-fiction authors can ensure target readers find them easily.
As an authorpreneur in the business of marketing and selling your book, your digital marketing platform is crucial and it’s dependent upon generating enough authority and traffic. But you’ll never generate that traffic with just Facebook ads or a few blog posts.
Writing SEO content blogs is an organic way to bring traffic to your author website. However, it does require rethinking about your book’s content. After all, what's the point of writing a book or having a website if you can't be found in a simple search?
In general, writing for the Internet requires thinking about keywords and key phrases and this is where thinking about your reader as a Google user is key!
Read on to learn how to market your non-fiction book on your author website using search engine optimization – SEO.
Be Clear, Not Cute
On my old author site, I had pages for clients titled “Are You a Silent Suzy?” but the problem was…my ideal clients didn’t know what a “Silent Suzy” meant. They were out there searching for “writing coaches” and “SEO copywriter” but I wasn’t showing up.
If you don’t offer specialized services like speaking or coaching, then you need to capitalize on your readership. What is your reader's problem? And how does your book solve that problem?
This is where you need to do some keyword research to discover what your reader and user are looking for. Google doesn't understand cute, esoteric terms.
Understand the Difference between Keywords and Keyphrases
Keywords and keyphrases are words your target readers type into a search box to find
the information they want. You often hear them called keywords or keyword phrases.
For instance, [small business printing company] is a keyphrase. Keyphrases can
also be a question, such as [how to get donations for a non-profit] while [business]
is a keyword.
Knowing the difference between keywords and keyphrases will help when it comes to optimizing for your target reader's buying cycle.
Use Strong SEO Headlines
People don't hop on Google to discover a new idea or fact or post family photos. They are looking for solutions because they have a problem. Strong SEO headlines offer a promise to your reader that you have the solution they are looking for.
Here's a fun exercise for you to try: go through a chapter of your non-fiction book and map out all the topics in one column.
In the second column, map out all the solutions. In the world of SEO keyword research, solutions are consumer-driven.
Some examples of strong SEO content-driven headlines include:
- How to…
- Here's how…
- How to create…
- The future of…
- Need to…
- How to use…
Think of all the neat ideas you could use to help you write quality SEO content just from these phrases. Your book is already Google friendly!
Be the Answer Your Target Readers Are Looking For
The million-dollar question: What is your ideal client actually searching? (Not just what you want them to search.)
This is where having access to a robust SEO tool can make all the difference. Recently I discovered a tool called Answer the Public, to help with that. Alas, it doesn't bypass the need for a keyword research tool like SEMrush. Sadly, all the free ones are not so good.
Your readers are innately curious. They want information in terms of how to do things, what's trending in their industry, and what they need to know.
Appeal to All Phases of the Buying Cycle
Discovering new ways of capturing a target audience at all phases of the buying cycle means including a variety of key phrases and keywords from the research to the buying stages, which could potentially mean additional ways to capture clicks with your content.
So maybe you have a section from your new book for freelancers on [how to get organized with taxes]. The next step would be to repurpose that content by including transactional type key phrases such as [tax services for freelancers]. You can reach those busy freelancers when they are just thinking about filing their taxes or organizing their papers.
Optimizing your content with juicy keyphrases helps you continue to be seen as a go-to person with expertise in your field. And when your peeps trust your expertise, they buy from you.
To sum up, the better your knowledge of SEO, the higher you stand a chance of your content positioning in Google, which is key to marketing your book on your website and gaining loyal followers and fans.
Are you making sure your non-fiction book is following these guidelines so internet traffic can find it on your website? Please leave your thoughts below and join the conversation.
Dorit Sasson, award-winning author of the memoir Accidental Soldier is also the creator of SEO with Soul. Through her SEO content writing services, courses and webinars, she empowers the busy authorpreneur with information how to increase website traffic and conversions. To learn more about Dorit and how she can help build your author platform with search engine optimization, click here.
Leave a Reply