Good SEO gets people to go to your website, but good content will keep them there
An important aspect of author websites is attracting visitors, people who will actually read your information and consider buying your books. However, having a great site, with cool graphics, and the latest technological innovations means nothing if no one besides your friends and family actually goes there.
Enter search engine optimization (SEO): the art and science of getting people to your author website. Just remember that once they arrive, it takes good content to keep them there.
I invest a lot of time and energy into SEO for my websites. Generally, the results are good, with monthly increases in traffic, but occasionally I work hard to make recommended changes only to see no bump in visitors.
SEO applies to both static website pages and blog posts. However, sometimes the best course of action is to not tweak some blog posts for specific search terms or phrases. Instead, just focus on good content and let it attract the people who are most interested. After all, they are the ones most likely to stick around to read more and then tell others about your site. That makes for some great word-of-mouth recommendations.
Even so, you do want to work carefully to optimize the other pages of your website for SEO, especially your home page, about page, and contact page. You should give special attention to your book pages, too. They need SEO.
If you have an author website, don’t just post good content, optimize it for search engines.
Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.
Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.