Four Steps to Better Book Blog Traffic

A book website maybe one of the most cost-effective marketing assets a book author can have. It can be a launch pad for author-reader interaction which is probably one of the most rewarding relationships authors can have with their readers. Before you can even get to that level of engagement, you must improve the odds of getting your book blog or website discovered.

Here are four important actions to take to boost your website or blog's online discoverability while encouraging a steady stream of traffic.

Step 1: Apply basic search engine optimization tactics to Your Book Blog

Optimization essentially means making your blog noticeable to search engines like Google or Bing. This step is about finding the right keywords that your readers are using to look for book titles similar to yours.

To begin, you may use the Google Keyword tool (which is free) or keyworddiscovery.com to get the top keyword suggestions for the type of article you'd like to write. These tools return the top searched keywords and phrases that relate to your topic.

Pick the key phrase that isn't too competitive but still gets a lot of regular searches. Plug it into your blogs title, meta tags, and image descriptions. Using "stop words", insert the same phrase throughout your text.

Step 2: Exchange guest blogs

The process of trading blogs with someone else has become common. Writing a themed blog for someone in exchange for one they write for you is a two way street. You get the benefit of having their regular readers read your post in exchange for your readers getting to know their work.

Another cool side effect is the fact that the two sites will now be linked together. This connection adds to a stronger ranking in search engines.

Step 3: Tweet for traffic

With the ease and popularity of Twitter, one of the easiest ways to leverage your account into more blog traffic is to do a giveaway or run a viral contest. All you need to do is post a simple tweet.

Something like:
"Get a free copy of BOOKNAMEHERE when you subscribe to my blog @DOTCOMHERE and retweet this message."
or
"Enter to win a signed copy of BOOKNAMEHERE when you subscribe to my blog @DOTCOMHERE and retweet this message."

Step 4: Be Positive, at all times

Everyone has heard that, "You can attract more bees with honey than with vinegar." You can work with this principle to direct traffic to your blog.

Look up other blogs in your same genre, maybe even on your same posting website. Read their blogs and post an insightful, truly positive comment about them. Do this for a couple of their posts. When someone notices your comments, they can click your name to see your profile and blog.

Include a simple, plain hyperlinked version of your name as your signature, but be careful and make sure your comments are specific because this can be misconstrued as spamming and can get your comment deleted.

For more writing tips, head over to the iUniverse Writers Tips and learn from the experience of iUniverse Author Focus.