SEO to generate website traffic
SEO to generate website traffic.
SEO to generate website traffic (Search Engine Optimization) is the means used to help pages rank higher in search engines such as Google. Search is one of the ways people find content online. The higher you rank with search engines, the better the chance to increase traffic on your website.
When someone searches for you, your book or company by name, like “BettyJoDiet.com”, you will likely be found online. But, if you are unknown to them and they search for a common keyword phrase like: “diet cookbook”, “book”, “author”, “recipes” — you might show up a thousand pages behind the first page search results. Starting out, you have no real page ranking.
How can you be found?
People need to be directed to your site and higher ranking websites take time to develop. Results may be time consuming or expensive to achieve on a new site. Getting traffic is the hard part. But, even if your site has very little traffic, it is important to have an online presence.
Potential buyers may be coming from a link on your Amazon Author page or your book listing on Amazon. They are looking for more information. They may be wondering if they want to buy your French cookbook for example, or another French cookbook that they see on Amazon. Shoppers often want more information to make a buying decision.
Maybe you have a French cookbook and are writing specifically about Parisian recipes paired with wines from the south of France. You might make suggestions for fine wines from different regions in the USA as well as France. Champagne with crêpes is delicious, as is crêpes and a sparkling wine from California!
The Google Keyword Tool
Check the Google Keyword Tool to see how many searches there are for competitor’s keywords or any keywords you would like to use in website pages or posts. A keyword may be “cookbook,” but thousands of people search for cookbooks. You are not likely to find yourself on page one of Google searches. No one can guarantee that, so do not believe the SEO junk emails arriving in your inbox. A long-tailed keyword (phrase) may be “parisian cookbook,” or “california sparkling wine.”
Self-publishers need a beautiful, professional-looking website, and it should be as professional as your book. There is no guarantee of high website ranking results or book sales, but supplying information to buyers on your site is still a key factor for success.
Yoast SEO plug-in
I am a fan of WordPress and the Yoast SEO plugin. Yoast is currently the number one WordPress SEO plugin. I have been using it for many years. In my opinion, everyone needs to invest in the premium version.
Before you write any pages or posts, learn about how to write posts for best results. Research keyword phrases with Google Keyword tool. Better yet, find related keyword phrases inside the post editor of the latest Yoast SEO plugin. Keywords can be taken directly from your book. They may lay the foundation for being found on the web and for keyword usage on Amazon.
Stop bothering me!
You will get many emails from those who want to help you with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or website building. The first thing to check is their email domain. How serious can these people be if their email domain is: @gmail.com, @outlook.com, @yahoo.com, etc. Our email domain addresses are all @StarPrintBrokers.com. Even if a person represents a small company, they should have a business email address, as should an author, publisher, or designer. Why would you do business and spend money with someone with a generic email address? How can you take them seriously?
Good SEO services are not cheap. It takes about four months for better ranking results. Even with the best SEO in place on your site, you will still have to write posts with keywords.
Most authors just want a destination website for their potential buyers. They may use their site as a validation of their author page and book sales on Amazon. First, do your research for keywords to use on Amazon. Search for which categories your book will be listed. Whenever possible, use the same keywords on your site that you will be using on Amazon.
