It may not seem sensational, but the words an author uses to describe his or her book (or his or her self) from book descriptions to author bios to social media posts matters! Meta data is the key to how search engines find book information and help present it to potential readers. This an be words, phrases, and paragraphs and can be a great way to promote and market your book on the sly. Sites that sell books discover products via search engines and distribute the information that is provided by the publisher, author, or marketer. It's important to use consistent key words and descriptions within Goodreads, Amazon Author Central, and across any author blogs, websites, and social media sites you maintain. 

To help connect readers, curators, reviewers, and buyers with your book, select valuable keywords and phrases that best describe your book. This could be in your ISBN listing or Amazon product listing (you can work with your publisher to refine these), as well as any web pages you manage, descriptions and bios on social media sites, and the content in your blogs and author profiles on the web. 

It's a good idea to keep a master list of strategic keywords and phrases you intend to leverage across platforms. Even if you are writing an article or participating in a media interview, plugging your meta data into these venues will help reinforce your brand and help readers find your book!

Think about your potential reader and super-fan - what words and phrases would they enter into a search engine to find your book? Test this out on Amazon and Goodreads to see if they return books that are similar to yours and would attract your buyers. You can leverage Google Trends for more ideas on keywords by popularity and how often they are searched. Tip - the less popular keywords will have less competition and may allow your book to rise to the top!

Work on your list until you have a list of 10-25 words and phrases you plan to leverage every time you mention yourself or your book. Put them in order of importance, with the top 10 being those you rely on and keep in your memory (or back pocket) to pull out anytime you are posting on social media, writing a blog, or interacting on Goodreads. 

But most of all, just keep it simple, make sure it reflects the brand you're looking to create, and have fun with it!

Author Vince Bailey was welcomed warmly by readers and fans at a recent author event, held at Barnes & Noble Arrowhead in his hometown of Peoria, Arizona. Vince met with readers and passers by and signed copies of his paranormal historical fiction novel, Path of the Half Moon. Path was recently named an official SEMI-FINALIST for the PARANORMAL Book Awards for Supernatural Fiction, a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAs) and is the previous winner of the Arizona Authors' Association Literary Award.