I apologize in advance for the abbreviations in the title. I know that terms like SEO can be kind of confusing (and even intimidating) at times. And I often get questions about what SEO is, why it’s helpful and how to execute it properly. With that in mind, here are some of the questions I get asked most often about SEO for author websites — starting with the basics and moving on to the more advanced.
What is SEO, anyway? What does it stand for?
SEO stands for search engine optimization. The most popular search engines are Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Search engine optimization refers to making tweaks to your site so that it shows up at the top of search results on these search engines. In other words, if someone searches for “self-help book” on Google, your site may show up near the top of their results with proper SEO.
How would SEO help me?
By showing up at or near the top of search results for particular terms, you’re going to increase traffic to your site, thus increasing your number of copies sold, fans of your book, etc…
How do you choose the right keywords?
We offer something called an advanced SEO package. This means that not only do we optimize your site for various keywords, but we actually help you choose those keywords. To do that right, we use the Google keyword tool that allows you to enter various search terms and learn how many people are searching for each type of keyword, which variations of each one are most popular, and what the level of competition for each keyword is. By weighing each of those three results, you can select the specific keywords that will offer you the best bang for your buck.
Is SEO based on single words or would a book title or person’s name be counted as one keyword? What about versions of the same word? (nurse / nursing, for example)
The industry term might be “keyword,” but it definitely does not refer to one word. So a keyword could be “self-help books” or “resume building.” And yes, versions of the same word are important. So if your book is about becoming a nurse, you would want to make sure to work in both “nurse” and “nursing” as part of your keywords.
In choosing keywords, is it better to be more general or more specific?
The more specific the better. So, for example, rather than “nurse,” you’ll be much better off selecting a keyword like, “how to become a nurse.” This may seem counterintuitive — since it would reduce the number of people searching for your keywords — but there are two big benefits that come with the specificity: 1) you have far less competition, thus making you more likely to show up at the top of results; 2) you are reaching an audience that you know is looking for books specifically on your subject matter.
Does any keyword optimization come automatically with a web site, such as my name or book titles?
This type of basic SEO should come automatically with any website build. This is just a piece of the advanced package I described above. As long as your site is readable by the search engines (which someone would have to go out of their way not to be), your site should start showing up relatively quickly for your name or your book title. After all, unless your name is Jane Doe, it’s not like you’ll have a huge amount of competition for those keywords.
How long does it take to see results from SEO?
For a brand new site, it can take weeks to months for the site to start showing up on the search engines. And even then, it won’t immediately start off at the top. The search engines value time, and the longer a site has been around, the higher it will appear on search results. So expect your site to take a good few months before you actually hit your final placement. If your site has already been around for a while, however, and you are simply making changes to improve its SEO, expect those results to start paying off in about two to four weeks.
Are there any WordPress plugins to help with SEO?
Yes, there are many WordPress plug-ins that can help with SEO. Two that we recommend include “All in One SEO Plug-in” and “WordPress SEO for Yoast.” These types of plug-ins allow you to select keywords for both the site and for individual pages. In addition, the Yoast plug-in babysits your blog posts to make sure you do everything possible to optimize each post for the selected keywords. Best of all, these plug-ins are totally free.
Will redesigning my site impact my search engine rankings?
Generally, redesigning a site does impact SEO. At first, a site can take a brief hit from a redesign, and fall slightly on search result pages. However, almost always, the change ends up improving a site’s rankings (assuming it’s redesigned properly) and it should start showing up with better placement on search results within a month or two.
Is SEO work mostly on the front end (what users can see) or the back end (what users can’t see)?
The answer is really a little bit of both. There is a lot of work that can be done on the back end to improve your site’s search engine rankings — including alt tags for images and links, metadata, and more. However, there are a fair number of things that can be done on the front end as well, including ensuring that one or more specific keywords appear as a header or in the first paragraph of a particular page. So, in essence, proper SEO is done by both you (in terms of making sure you use the right terms in the right places) and your developer (to make sure that everything on the back end is optimized as well).
Have more questions about SEO? Post them in the comments box below and I will be happy to respond!