An Author’s Guide to SEO Strategy

In our last post, An Easy Guide to SEO for Authors, we covered what SEO is and why it’s important. This was to help you understand it better before moving on to the next step: SEO strategy. This author’s guide to SEO strategy will cover how to form an SEO strategy that works, and works for YOU. 

The Foundations of an SEO Strategy for Authors

Any strategy takes planning and a solid foundation to grow from. So, from the very beginning there are some things you should have a solid grasp of in order to build the foundation of your SEO strategy. Each of these building blocks become a well-functioning whole. We’ve split them up into three basic pillars so you’ll understand why each one is important. 

Your Goals for Your Author SEO Strategy 

Knowing who you are as an author brand and where you want to go allows you to build your strategy for SEO around your aspirations and expectations. This means knowing who your competitors are, your genre, your message, and your mission.

 Do you want to break into the market of your genre and compete with current best sellers? Or are you wanting to reach those within a small niche and become a micro influencer?

 Knowing these things also means understanding that even if you do want to be on the same level as Stephen King, or Brene Brown, or to become the next Dale Carnegie, you have to start somewhere. 

Doing Research is the First Step in Your SEO Strategy

You’ll not only finely tune your goals by researching your competition, you’ll also learn what makes you stand apart from them. You’ll find ways to do it better, or just where you differ from your competitors. This allows you to better understand your audience and how you can speak to them directly. 

Speaking of your audience, researching your audience lets you have a better grasp on their intent and the types of keywords and terms they search to find what you have to offer them. And good keywords are the magic behind a solid SEO strategy for authors and everyone else.  

Adjusting and Adapting When Necessary 

An equally important part of your SEO strategy foundation is figuring out what works, and what doesn’t, and adjusting accordingly. This means checking in regularly, putting in consistent work, and using analytics tools to see how your efforts are paying off (or not). 

The Parts of SEO that Form the Foundation of Your Strategy

A solid SEO strategy needs well-crafted tools to build it with, and smoothly working parts at its foundation. If some elements are missing, or they’re subpar, then you won’t see the best results. You can be on top of your keyword game but if your website is slow, glitchy, or just looks like a mess, then those keywords won’t do much for you. The same is true if you have a slick, optimized website but never use your keywords, have poorly crafted copy, and never create new content.

A Good Website is Absolutely Essential

What we mean by a good website, whether you go the DIY route or let the pros do the work, is one that is built on good technical SEO, has well-designed pages, and contains quality content. 

Technical SEO entails things such as:

• Site speed
• Working links
• Strong security
• Accessibility 
• Good page design
• Mobile optimization

Good Website Design Starts with the Right Landing Pages

Your website should have good landing pages for each of your keywords. These landing pages should all serve a purpose and they should be crafted with this purpose in mind. These pages seek to keep website visitors on your site and to convert.

Landing pages contain a main topic and focus.  They are the stand alone pages such as your:

• Blog page
• Book page
• About Me page

These landing pages can (and should) contain:

• Compelling, well-crafted copy
• Links to your other pages, called backlinks
• Calls to action 
• Clean layout and design
• Optimized images
• Your keywords

All this equals lower bounce rates. They stay on your site and engage and convert. Conversion means anything from buying products, subscribing to your blog, and contacting you. Don’t  worry, this can be a long term project and you can add pages and content as you grow!

Other Essential Parts of Your DIY SEO Strategy for Authors

A good SEO strategy is holistic. There’s not one big thing you can do, but many small things. It really comes down to research, planning and consistency, and adjusting and adapting when necessary.  Below are the things you can do now and in the future to ensure your author SEO strategy works for you. 

Keyword Research

Remember, keywords are clues for Google and other search engines. They describe your page and its contents. They also allow users to find your content via a keyword search. This is why you should always create your keyword list with your audience in mind. So it’s important to know your audience, as we mentioned at the beginning of this guide.  

A note on keywords and how they work:

Keywords are more than single words. They are usually a string of words or short phrases. Keywords are also broken up into long tail and short tail keywords. You’re much better off using more specific, detailed phrases over general phrases. For instance, the term “ fantasy books” will likely be much harder to rank for than a keyword phrase like, “feminist fantasy books with elves and magic”. 

How to do keyword research:

Usually, you want to think of some words and phrases that describe your book, your mission, your area of expertise, etc. These are words that you would use in a search query to find these things. 

So make a list, the longer and more diverse the better.

Knowing your audience and how they think, as well as having a realistic idea of your competitors, comparable titles, etc. is extremely helpful in this process.

Then, you can ask yourself:

• What does the search query look like?

• Which words would someone use to look for it?

• Are there useful related keywords?

Then, you will:

• Test your keyword in results and see if they make sense. Are you finding what you expect? 

•  In other words, if you’re finding results that reflect your competition and comparable titles you’re probably on the right track.  

• If not, tweak your keywords based on ranking and competition.

 A good way to start this is by checking those People Also Ask results you see on the first page. Rember, you can make an extensive list with both long tail and short tail keywords and that these will serve different purposes at different times. Your keyword list is also adaptable over time to suit your needs.

Where and how to use these keywords:

• You will use these keywords in your content, such as blog posts. In your metadata. On your webpages. 

• Use them sparingly.1-2% keywords in your content is optimal, according to Yoast. Also, spread them evenly throughout your content.

Quality Content

From your on page content, like the copy on your landing pages and other web pages, to your blog and your social media strategy, quality content is imperative in your ongoing author SEO strategy. Some good places to start are listed below.

Product page/AKA your book page and other landing pages

This is where you convince your visitors to BUY your book, or sign up for your blog, or just to click through to other pages on your website. These actions signal to search engines that these types of engagement and conversions mean your website is quality, and therefore your content should rank higher in search engine results. 

So make sure:

• Your copywriting is SEO focused, quality, and convincing 
• Add testimonials and reviews if you can. They build trust.
• Use appropriate keywords on your pages based on the intent of each page.
• Use keywords in your page title, meta descriptions and other metadata.
• Incorporate calls to action where appropriate. 
• Structure your content for readability. 

Your Blog

Your blog is the best way to always be adding new content to your website. It’s also a great way to draw in your audience. Your blog content should be purposeful, useful to your audience, and you should create blogs regularly.

Remember to:

• Consider your audience’s needs and search intent when creating blog content. 
• Mix up your content topics to keep it interesting and valuable to your audience.
• Write in their language and use good content structure.
• Add metadata to your posts. 
• Use keywords appropriately and in your title, headings and subheadings.
• Make your content relevant to your mission, your brand, or your genre. 
• Try to post at least once a week.

How to Form an SEO Strategy That Works for You

Not everyone has the time or energy to keep up on every little bit of their SEO strategy for authors. Usually, a company will have whole teams working on different aspects of an SEO strategy from its planning, to its implementation and maintenance. And remember, SEO strategy is ongoing. 

However, whether you’re an author, entrepreneur, or small brand, you can still form an SEO strategy that is totally do-able. The things you can do all on your own, can still make a big difference in your web traffic and land you in search engine results pages, or SERP. This means your audience can find you, your book/s, and become loyal fans due to your ongoing efforts. 

Make it a Routine and it Becomes Simple

Remember all these aspects of SEO and use them when you create your content. Keep your goals in mind and create a content planning schedule as part of your author’s SEO strategy. 

Stick to a schedule:

• Create blog posts with SEO in mind at least weekly.
• Check in on your website monthly and review analytics. 
• Pick a time once or twice a year to review and revamp.

Remember, SEO strategy is a long term project. It is holistic and it’s ongoing. Keep in mind the bigger picture and that ultimately, your SEO strategy should be user focused. Your website and your content is for your audience after all.

If you follow this author’s guide to SEO strategy, and continue to hone your skills, keep up on tips, and adapt your strategy as you go, you will begin seeing results for your efforts.