As an author, you need to promote your work constantly. The Internet is a critical component of any marketing effort. Search engines are often how your readers and potential readers will find you. But for that method to work, you need to be ranked on the first page of results on the popular search engines. This vital feat is accomplished using Search Engine Optimization or SEO.
You need to search out the most popular search words and phrases in your industry. There are a ton of tools out there like Google's Adword keyword tool and Market Samurai that can show you the volume each phrase gets. Chose the most searched but least competitive phrases to instantly find yourself ranked much higher than those who simply choose a popular generic word or phrase that has heavy competition.
Once you have your phrase, think about limiting it to your location, if it makes sense to do so. This alerts your new customers that you are local and that may be a selling point. If someone in Las Vegas is looking for a freelance writer who is local that they can work with face-to-face, they might find that person using the words, ”Las Vegas Freelance Copywriter.”
Now, if you haven't purchased a domain name yet, or are willing to purchase a new one, consider including your targeted key phrase in the name. This will rank better with the spiders. If that’s not an option, be sure to set name the URL (Universal Reference Locator) for the pages in your website so that they include key words.
Next, go through your headings, alt text for your images, and meta tags and be sure that you have specific targeted key phrases included the same way in all of them. Then, go through the main text of your home page and subpages and plug your key phrase in where it seems natural.
Quick tip: While inputting your phrase it's alright to use what are called “Stop Words” in between the words that make up your key phrase. Essentially “Stop Words” are words the search engines ignore and thus won’t be seen by the spider, but will help your text read naturally to your customers. For example, “If you're in Las Vegas looking for a Freelance Copywriter...” This technique of employing “Stop Words” can be useful for the next part of your optimization, which is regularly updated content. Not only does that show that the site is active but by using key phrases through the text it will help your rankings.
Next, add a few links to relevant outside references, showing a buildup of links and making the content more desirable. Then, consider things like the way you name the files for all your site assets such as pictures, videos, chapter excerpt documents, and podcasts. The file names are actually evaluated by the search engines so you’ll want to be sure they include key words. For example, if you are posting pictures from your event for a newly released novel titled “Jump the Gun”… instead of naming the picture file 01293.jpg, name it JumpTheGun_BookSigning_Nov2011.jpg.
You might want to avoid adding flash elements to your website, as search engines can’t read them. It can only see real code. So if the engines can’t read the flash elements (i.e a spinning logo), it can’t see any of the links or read any of the content… so it can’t categorize it as quality content and use that to increase your results ranking. If you must use flash elements, be sure to add non flash content along side it, such as a text based description of the flash element, so that the search engines can catalog that instead
Navigation elements are another key consideration with SEO efforts. If your website navigation is overly complex it will be hard for the search engines to fully index your site, which could reduce your ranking. If they can’t get to the page with all your cool, relevant content…they can’t use that information when evaluating the relevance (and ranking) of your site. The easiest thing to do here is to make all of your navigation elements text links (rather than images or graphics). Also, don’t use frames when creating your navigation areas. The search engine spiders see each frame as it’s own page, stopping it from being indexed as part of the current page’s content. Don’t forget to include footer links at the bottom of every page… links that are text based and full of relevant key words.
There are dozens of other techniques you can use to improve the SEO of your website, including further optimizing the content, increasing link strategies, leveraging images, and ensuring that your site’s code is clean and uncluttered. Entire books are written on SEO and entire careers are built on it. This article should help you have a basic understanding of the topic. For more advanced options grab a good book on the topic or find an expert web designer. There are other articles here on the Author Learning Center that discuss what a web designer does, how to find one, and tips for working with one.
It's not an overnight thing to be on the first page of a Google search. It take time and consistency to get there. But by building a good foundation and continuing to use favored methods, you'll make it!