Why Authors Need A Website With Search Engine Optimization
Many authors have heard of Search Engine Optimization and may even banty it about in discussions with other writers. Still, if they genuinely understood it, authors would optimize their websites and sell more books. That is unlikely to happen because most writers don’t want to worry about marketing. Writers want to write.
This attitude presents a missed opportunity and is one reason we now offer author branding with SEO. Writing a book is only one part of the journey toward successful publication. Writing is its own reward, but most writers, if they are truthful, hope someone recognizes their talent and offers them a book deal.
In the past, dreaming kept writers writing and colleges teaching. Visions of beach houses and readings in front of adoring fans fueled the imaginations of aspiring novelists, some from the time they could hold a pen. Some writers wait until they retire from their careers to catch the bug. They consider the experience they have accumulated and want to offer it to the world. “If only I could share how to be happy, I know everyone would like to read my views.”
Many companies would be happy to take money from any aspiring writer promising the world while delivering nothing. We want to give tools to writers who will not give up the dream but may be thrown off course by unscrupulous providers who don’t know publishing.
This article is why authors need a website with SEO. Websites with optimization empower authors. They make you exist and help you access your audience, and give them a clear path to find you. Websites that are just pretty but not strategic with SEO-optimized content are not visible throughout cyberspace. New authors are already invisible enough without wondering why their websites are useless to them.
Websites with SEO keywords are one part of a comprehensive content marketing strategy. We encourage writers to view the content marketing aspect of their journey as a huge plus. They are writers, for goodness sake. If they know what their readers want, they can make sure to deliver it.
This is the way it is done. Social media and any online marketing strategy is about engagement. Even if you are a novelist, we can show you how to engage with your readers. Your website becomes a hub rather than a dead zone. And any writer needs to accept that the first thing any prospective agent or publisher will do when receiving your submission is Google you. You need to be prepared.
Deborah Herman is an author, publisher and digital marketing strategist.