6 Tips to Help Build Your SEO Strategy

How to earn the top spot on Google search results.

December 2008 By Jamie Low

Book publishers are up against tough competition for readers’ attention, and nowhere is this more evident than in a Google search. On a search results page, we not only compete against other book titles and authors, but we also compete with our own distribution channels, free Web content, video, news and even Google’s own scanned copies of our books.

If you find yourself frustrated that you don’t rank in Google as high as you think you should, you’re not alone. So what’s a book publisher to do?

The most challenging aspect of search engine optimization (SEO) is knowing where to start. The following SEO tips are intended to help you think strategically about SEO before you tackle the more tactical aspects of “optimizing” your site.

1. Learn to think like Google.
If you want to gain a competitive advantage in search engines, you need to understand the challenges search engines face. Without properly structured data that is clearly labeled and tagged in a search-friendly, machine-readable format, much of the world’s information will continue to be left undiscovered by Google. SEO is a response to this human-machine language barrier. Those who learn to speak both languages will be better positioned to thrive in Google’s ecosystem.

Despite Google’s recent copyright-infringement settlement with U.S. book publishers over its Google Book Search tool, these same publishers are at risk of becoming increasingly irrelevant for searches on their own brands. Google’s book-scanning program is not a solution that provides content owners much control over how their titles are found. To increase the volume of our voice in the search results, we need to transform our assets into Web properties and promotional initiatives that will influence not only if our content will be found, but how it will be found.

2. Define your SEO strategy before you build your Web site.
When SEO is treated as an afterthought in the Web development process, it shows. Even the smallest site architecture or content updates can lead to unintended consequences that undermine your site’s ability to realize its full potential in search engines. Those who get ahead of the development curve with an informed SEO strategy will save themselves a great deal of pain down the road.