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Self Pub 101 (SEO)

Telescope looks over a city skyline

Keywords are the new bookshelf.

People discover books through web search instead of browsing bookstores now. To help your book’s discoverability you want to use keywords (the words people might use to search for a book like yours) is as many places as possible.

Without sounding like a robot.

Consider using keywords in:

  • Your title or subtitle (if appropriate)1
  • Your book description
  • Image names (rename your images with keywords)
  • Alt text (use alt text to describe the image for unsighted viewers – don’t cram with keywords, but use those that are appropriate)
  • Website
  • Social media posts
  • Hashtags

Further Reading

SEO for Authors

Google SEO Starter Guide

UCLA SEO Guide

If you want more strategic support for SEO marketing I’d highly recommend taking a course from Leonie Dawson.

Their course 40 Days to a Finished Book (affiliate link) includes practical tips on SEO focused on how to become an Amazon Bestseller. I also recommend their Marketing without Social Media workshop (affiliate link) is full of creative ideas to market your work outside the algorithm.

Cross Pollinate 🐝