Take the mystery out of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) best practices! Learn how to; conduct effective keyword research, develop new books and book titles, re-name photos on a website with proper keywords, give authors a list of blog posts that will pull in traffic and increase your title's awareness. Get hands on knowledge of how to; conduct keyword research, including competition parameters used by SEO experts, use those keywords to create new products, use well-researched keywords in prime areas of your website to increase discoverability in search engines, and work with authors to increase visibility for specific topics including how to take over the search engines with an author's name if they don't have an internet presence. By conducting this research and then using it in the everyday care and maintenance of your online marketing strategy, agents, publishers, booksellers and authors can enjoy the automatic advantage that SEO offers in the search engines for years to come. Attend this all-inclusive session that provides you with concrete takeaways that you can use and become your own Search Engine Optimization expert!

1. SEO/ Discoverability for Authors &
Publishers
Lori Culwell
www.bookpromotion.com
Twitter @loriculwell
info@bookpromotion.com

2. Author’s page on publisher’s site
• Create page on publisher website,
http://publisher.com/authorname
• If the author has no website (or even if they do) publisher
websites often have higher Page Rank authority and will
rank more quickly
• Enable email capture/ link over to author’s site, to capture
users interested in author’s work (market to them using
email)
• Link back to this page from all eBook editions.

3. Keyword Research
• In addition to optimizing for the book title/ author’s
name, optimize for related topics/ search terms, and
have the author write blogs that have these search
term in the title
• Use Google Keyword Suggestion Tool to get ideas
(http://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExtern
al) (you will need an Adwords account for this)
• Use free version of Market Samurai for more advanced
competition search (www.marketsamurai.com )

4. SEO/ Discoverability
• Optimize agent’s/ publisher’s/ author’s website for book title/ topics
• Publisher’s website should be optimized for author’s name, book titles,
relevant related searches
• Include book title/ related long-tail keywords in Title Tag, Meta
Descriptions, in-anchor text.
• Create backlinks from blogs, other websites, Web 2.0 sites like Squidoo,
• Wrap-syndicate RSS feed coming from author’s site as well as publisher’s
site to create in-anchor, text based backlinks. Author should have a
regular blogging schedule (Google ranks based on freshness)

5. Author Website: the epicenter
• Before an eBook is even produced, I
recommend making sure the author has at
least the following:
– Firstnamelastname.com (their own website, own
hosting, own name– checklist on following page)
– Social media accounts linking back to this website

6. Ten Elements of an Publisher Website:
# 1: The site itself
Name (in header--not book title!)
This is important to the reputation management–
preferable to control entire Page One results of
Google for your own name (also true for authors)
Reason for this: every road should lead back to
your books. Should not risk bad press/ reviews,
other people’s opinions detracting from book
sales.

7. # 2: Blog (with RSS feed)
• PR Department can post updates on book
releases, do giveaways, keep website fresh.
• Here, authors can post updates on
themselves/ book tours/ book news
• RSS Feed is an important part of the blog
(picks up traffic)

8. # 3 Photo (s)
• Readers like to put a name with a face.
• Use same photo for social media/ website/ book jacket
• Can’t market on social media from the perspective of a book.
• Assuming the author is writing more than one book and wants to
build the marketing platform
• If the author is a photographer, this can be a great way to engage
readers/ fans (Instagram, Pinterest, Flickr feed, Tweeting photos)

9. # 4: Email Capture
• Email capture
• If it’s the first time a potential reader is coming to the site,
you want them to either buy a book or at least sign up to
hear more from the author.
• Reverted books (first build mailing list)
• Services = MailChimp, Aweber, Constant Contact,
GetResponse.
• Put code in website to capture email. No emails in Outlook
(FCC compliance)

10. # 5: Social media
• If you’re active on social media, make sure the icons are on the site:
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• Facebook Fan Page
• Linked In
• MySpace (?!)
• Make sure all social media profiles link back to the website where
people can buy books.
• A large and active social presence helps people find you!
• Readers should be able to get news and updates from the author
on any platform they prefer (syndication)

11. # 6: Books!
• Clear images of books, clickable to buy on multiple
bookseller sites (if you don’t sell them yourself)
• Make it easy for people to buy the books!
• # 1 problem– non-clickable books
– “Click here to buy the book”
– Link to bookseller, not specific book
• When users are confused, they go away!

12. # 7: Media
• Links to any articles the author has written–
shows authority
• Links to / examples of any radio/ tv
appearances– online press kit
• Ongoing coverage of the author’s writing/
books– indicates freshness (Google likes this)

13. #8: Contact Information
• Contact Us form, email address, social media,
phone number (whatever the author prefers)
• Agent’s information for book inquiries
• People want to get in touch with you– make it
easy for them!

14. # 9 : Analytics
• Need to know:
– who is going to the author’s site? What is
bringing them there?
– How many people are going?
– How many of them are converting?
– How can we get more of them to buy more
books?
– Google Analytics, site stats program, call hosting
company

15. # 10: Interests
• What are your authors interested in (besides
writing)? Do they knit? Do they farm miniature
goats?
• Make sure they incorporate this into the website.
Start a Tumblr blog!
http://groveatlanticinc.tumblr.com
• Spontaneity is the secret sauce of social media/
website interaction– set the author up to win!

16. How does the eBook relate to the
website?
• Why do I recommend holding the eBook until the
author has a decent website (or at least an optimized
page on the publisher’s site)?
– Discoverability: it is much easier to sell an eBook to a
subscriber base that has already been developed (ex: John
Locke)
– Author’s website link should be at the end of each eBook,
so the reader can become a fan for life (not just a fan of
this book).
– eBook should be readily available on the author’s website,
to reap low-hanging fruit of people Googling the author.

17. Distribution?
• Unlike traditionally-published books, digital publishing does
not follow a standard distribution trajectory (meaning it will
likely be released, THEN be reviewed by press, if any)
• Distribution channels include:
– Author’s subscriber base/ mailing list
– Author’s/ publisher’s social media followers/ fans
– Publisher’s mailing list
– Advertising/ SEO (on author/ publisher’s website)– internet
marketing channels
– Book bloggers
– Google searches (from optimization of publisher/ author sites)

18. eBook/ P.O.D.
• Sometimes digital is just not enough
• Some reviewers will want a hard copy, some fans will want to own
the print edition because they love the author’s work
• Press will often not accept electronic edition, because of transfer
concerns (email, etc).
• PR purposes: radio/ tv producers will want a printed edition.
• For this reason, be sure to employ a Print on Demand option like
CreateSpace so you at least have the option of ordering paper
copies

19. Reputation Management
• Author’s website should be # 1 for a Google search on their
name, if not dominating the entire first page.
• Additional reputation management assets can be created,
combining author’s name with basic SEO principles covered
previously (Title Tag, meta-description, keyword tags).
• Author should maintain a regular social media presence
under their own name
• All of this insures that the author/ publisher reap a steady
stream of digital book sales, since online search often
results in sales of books for eReaders

20. I wrote a book about all of this!
Get How to Market a Book !

21. Thanks!
• Feel free to contact me with questions!
Lori Culwell
www.bookpromotion.com
Twitter @loriculwell
info@bookpromotion.com