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Book Review & Contest Insights from Real Reviews and Submissions

What separates great books from the rest? Below are articles with insights from real reviews and contest submissions—what works, what doesn’t, and how to improve your book. You’ll also find a wide range of articles covering writing, publishing, marketing, and more. Each article has a Comments section so you can read advice from other authors and leave your own.

Why Some Books Win Awards (And Most Don’t) — Insights From Real Contest Submissions New!

What separates award-winning books from the rest? After evaluating contest submissions across a wide range of genres, certain patterns become clear. Some books consistently rise to the top. Others, even with strong ideas and clear effort behind them, fall short. The difference is rarely dramatic—it...

What We’ve Learned From Reviewing Hundreds of Thousands of Books (And Why Most Don’t Stand Out) New!

After reviewing and evaluating books across thousands of submissions over the past two decades, certain patterns become impossible to ignore. Some books immediately stand out to reviewers. Others—even well-intentioned ones—fade into the middle or fall short. The difference is rarely luck. It comes down to...

Using Keyword Tools for Your Book

There’s no doubt that SEO techniques are important for marketing books. Not only does it help you narrow your focus on your audience, but it also helps save you time by ensuring you can write your book without the hassles of going through other inefficient marketing strategies. One SEO strategy that is often utilized by authors is searching for keywords.

By finding popular keywords and phrases for your book, you’ll be able to help readers who have a genuine interest in the subject matter locate it. This can include specific genres, character traits, and, for erotica, even unique kinks. However, despite all the importance we place on keywords and phrases, we have to be able to know how to find them, as well as which keywords pertain to us. But more than that, you’re going to have to make sure that these keywords actually make sense and relate to your book. Below are a few methods you can use to find these keywords.

Use a Keyword Tool
There are a lot of different keyword tools, both paid and free, you can use to help you with your search. Not only does it save you time, but it also helps you to research some of the keywords your competitors are using. Some keyword tools you can use include The Google Keyword Planner, Google AutoSuggest, and Wordstream. Another tool you can use is a search bar; simply slowly type your genre on the search bar and see what comes up.

Pick a Popular Niche
Are you interested in writing in a genre like romance or mystery? If so, then you’re going to have to choose a specific niche to write for. These days, even when you’re choosing a sub-genre, your book could potentially be lost in other authors’ works. For example, with how big the paranormal romance genre has become, you’re going to have to start distinguishing your works, such as through your characters, settings, plot, and other unique concepts. And even when you do, be sure that you choose keywords that are related to your book. Narrow your topics down, and build your book on that.

Experiment With Keywords
One of the most important aspects of choosing keywords is by experimenting with keywords and other phrases. Whether it be through specific words in general, or even phrases, trying out what works is a simple tactic that can help you determine what genre you fit into. For example, say you’ve already written a book that's non-fiction. In that case, you can try using keywords that are exactly the same or similar to the topics you convey in your book. If that doesn’t work, you can try another set of keywords.

SEO techniques are an important marketing technique for writers. Whether you’re writing a story or article, by choosing the right keywords, you’ll be able to expose your book to readers who are interested in your book. What’s more, you’ll be able to focus more on using different marketing techniques that could further promote your book. However, in order to do so, you’ll have to use different keyword search tools to make sure that your book is getting the attention it deserves.

 

Written by Readers’ Favorite Reviewer Robin Goodfellow