Search Engine Optimization: A How-To For Writers

Blake Webster

  By Blake Webster

In the world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) there is a technique used to drive people to distinct “parasite” pages via Google. A “parasite” involves posting content to a free blog, wiki article sites, or forums located on authority domains. This creates high quality backlinks and can help achieve higher rankings in Google, due to the trust that Google has placed on those domains.

Two overlooked methods for promoting books on Amazon are Listmania! and So You’d Like to Guides. Amazon Lists and Guides are excellent examples of “parasites” because of Amazon’s high domain authority.

Listmania! is a list of products that you like. These lists can drive traffic to your book listing through both Amazon and Google.

So You’d Like to Guides are more like “how to” tutorials. These guides allow you to promote your book using up to 5,000 words. Again, these guides rank very well in Google and will help to brand you as an expert or authority in your niche.

Listmania!

The first step in developing your Listmania! list will be to determine the best keywords to work with. My last book dealt with solar energy, so I created a list entitled “Best Solar Energy Books.”

The next step is to add products to your list. I added not only my own titles, but the titles of top selling books in my category. I also reviewed each of the titles making purchase recommendations, suggesting that customers should consider not only my titles, but competing titles as well.

After you have finished building your list, it’s time to get it indexed and ranked in Google. Due to the authority of Amazon, you will only need a handful of backlinks to send it soaring in the search engines.

These lists will also help your title to be included in the “Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought” section of competing titles.

To set up your Listmania! list, login to your Amazon account, scroll down to the bottom of the page to the Personalization section and select Your Public Profile. Click on the tab labeled Lists and follow the instructions. Remember to use your keywords in the list title and in your introduction, however, don’t overdo it. You can view an example of my list at the following address: http://www.amazon.com/lm/R23JHOZ53HF5T6

So You’d Like to Guides

You will be working with the same keywords in creating your guide. First you will be asked to create a title. I used the keywords solar energy and created a Guide entitled “So You’d Like to Learn More about Solar Energy.” Next you will be adding in your content and products. Your guide can include a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 50 products. Be sure to include your book titles. The first three products that you include will be featured at the top of your guide and the balance will be displayed at the bottom. Ideally your keyword rich content will provide helpful information about the products.

After publishing your Guide you will need to backlink it for ranking in Google.

To set up your So You’d Like to Guide, login to your Amazon account, scroll down to the bottom of the page to the Personalization section and select Your Public Profile. Click on the tab labeled Guides and follow the instructions. You can view an example of my guide at the following address: http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/syltguides/fullview/RQQ9MOTBYNQON

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Blake Webster is a web and multimedia developer, digital product developer, web publisher, search engine optimization consultant, internet marketer, photographer, published author, environmentalist and publisher of the online magazine Greener Living Today. He also conducts workshops in the San Francisco area. Learn more about his work at www.blakewebster.com