Search engines use metadata as an information retrieval system to connect searchers with content and products more efficiently than ever before. To search engines, all words have a value, and keywords and phrases have even more value still. Your task is to strategically select keywords that best describe your book and put them in the right places around the web.
Distributors, retailers, book buyers, and readers all use keywords even if they don't realize it. If your book is about the best hiking spots in Colorado and someone types that into their browser, they may not have known they were looking for a book specifically, but if you’re using the right keywords and your book is displayed as a resource to that user, you could potentially make a sale for being in the right place at the right time.
Keywords don’t have to just be one word; they can also be phrases. Record words and short phrases you think your readers might enter into a search engine to find you and your book. Eliminate less important and more generic words and phrases from your list. The more specific the keywords, the more likely the person searching for those specific words will be happy to find your book among the search results. Only use select keywords that apply to your book. Don’t try to game the system by selecting popular keywords and phrases simply because they’re popular. A reader will be able to quickly determine if your book is actually what you said it is and these kinds of tactics will lose customers versus gain them for you by hurting your reputation and audience loyalty.
Is your book a children's book? What is it about? If you've written a children's book about animals, use "children's book" and "animals" in your keywords so that a parent searching for “children’s book about animals” will be more likely to find your title. Or maybe you’ve written an Italian cookbook. Use “Italian cookbook” as a keyword phrase and maybe even "Italian recipes". When a chef is looking for new recipes, she might type "Italian recipe" into a search engine and find your cookbook as the answer. Think about all the keywords and phrases that could apply, but don't overdo it. Using the right keywords in your metadata will help your book show up in relevant searches like these.
You can test your keywords and phrases on Google or another popular search engine to get ideas simply by starting to type your search term into the search bar and seeing what search terms it starts to auto populate before you finish typing. Whatever your search engine suggests are the most popular search terms for your subject matter. This is a great place to start your keyword research.
You can also enter your keywords and phrases into Amazon.com, and if the terms you use do not return books that are like yours, try again with different keywords. You might search for sci-fi, but note that other words such as "fantasy", "space opera", "utopian future", or something entirely unexpected show up. Bingo! More keyword ideas for your metadata.
You can also use the Google Keyword Planner to help you think of other keywords for your book, which is free to use with a gmail account. Google Keyword Planner will show you how popular those keywords are (volume data) and help you find keywords with lower competition.
Here are a few tips that will help you know how to present your keywords when entering your book metadata into your IngramSpark title record.
The metadata keyword phrases you enter in the keyword field of your IngramSpark title record should be used in your other book metadata fields as well such as your title, subtitle, author bio or contributor fields, and book description. Creating a list of relevant and targeted keywords and phrases enables you to write a keyword-rich author bio and book description to give search engines reason to bring attention to your book when users search for those words or phrases in particular.
Beyond your title record, you’ll want to use these keywords in other areas online as well like your author website, social media profiles, and guest posts on other websites, or media coverage of you or your book. Metadata keywords are part of a fixed algorithm used in search engine optimization (SEO), and that's why you need to use the right ones in order to rank in search engine results. Use the same or similar keywords in your metadata that you use in other online promotional materials to create multiple instances of your book being the right fit for particular kinds of searches.
You can market your book by optimizing SEO as part of your overall book sales strategy. Good marketing means more readers and better sales. Metadata and valuable keywords can be confusing, but it's important to your online book discoverability to understand them.
Also, you might consider updating your keywords from time to time in order to keep up with trends or when revising your book. You owe it to yourself to use the right keywords in your metadata as part of a thoughtful, professional sales strategy. Return to Google or another search engine every few months to evaluate new trends, check popularity and volume, and to improve your keywords list.
This chapter was compiled from the following posts on the IngramSpark blog:
“The Basics of Book Metadata and Keywords” by Carla King, Founder of Author Friendly
“Book Metadata Tips for Indie Authors” by IngramSpark Staff
“The Power of Metadata to Drive Book Discovery and Sales” by IngramSpark Staff
“7 Facts about Book Metadata” by IngramSpark Staff
“Choosing the Right Book Metadata Keywords” by IngramSpark Staff
