Writing for Robots?

reading robotAs writers and authors one of our main goals is to attract readers, preferably ones who will actually buy our books and not expect to get them for nothing. To that end we try to figure out how to reach those readers and, once we do that, entice them to buy.

One of the most common questions asked among writers is, “How do we find our audience?” The advice on how to network, and which media sites will help us best, keeps shifting as new ones emerge and existing ones change for the better – or not. It’s almost impossible to keep up with all the information, let alone make the best choices that will work for our particular offerings. Opinions about what works and what doesn’t are almost as plentiful as authors. Continue reading “Writing for Robots?”

Finding Blog Readers: Bringing More Views to Your Content

helping readers find your contentDo you get frustrated with your blog? Do you spend a ton of time crafting your blog post to find only a few views each week?

One of the best ways to bring more readers to your blog is to optimize your blog for the search engines. The old days of using simple keywords are relatively ineffective with today’s search algorithms. However, the fundamentals of visibility are still pretty much the same as in the early days.

Here are the basics to optimize your post for search engines. Continue reading “Finding Blog Readers: Bringing More Views to Your Content”

Search Engine Ranking- The Value of Social and Search

The role of search and socialWe’ve talked a lot about Google+ the past few weeks. So much so, you’re probably wondering if I’m getting a kickback! No, that’s not the case. It’s really simple, actually. Combining social and search is a powerful combination.

The days of static websites dictating Search Engine Results Page (SERP) ranking is over. You might even think that setting up a Pinterest or Facebook Page gets you in the game, but it doesn’t. Activity plays a huge role in the business of discoverability. Continue reading “Search Engine Ranking- The Value of Social and Search”

Link Building: The Basics for Your Blog or Website

Link Building Basics Link building is a method used to increase visibility and improve your search rankings. Without getting into a lot of mumble jumble, search engines examine the links to and from your site to assign it a certain ranking. Links aren’t everything in search engine optimization (SEO); however, it accounts for a large percentage of weighting in search results as shown in this survey by MOZ.

If you are interested in growing traffic to you blog or site, growing the link profile will gain attention, traction and traffic from search engines. In addition, the strength of the link plays a big role as well. Spam hits in your blog “comments” do not help in establishing links that matter (which is why you have a “nofollow” option in your settings.) Links acquired from your target community, such as indie writing or publishing, matter more than off topic links.

How do we go about link building? Here are the top ten basic methods to build links and improve your site’s visibility. Continue reading “Link Building: The Basics for Your Blog or Website”