Not sure what to post on your blog? Targeting keywords for author websites is here to save the day.

As an author, you might find the idea of building a website intimidating or just another boring waste of time when you could be deep in your current work-in-progress. Or you might toss together a website in a rush, not thinking if you’ll even show up on search engines.

A Note on Google as of writing this article: Google recently released its May 2026 Core Algorithm Update, stating they were shifting toward more AI usage in their engine. The SEO tactics I teach still stand for search engines. DuckDuckGo is a great alternative that allows you to opt out of AI search results. (I personally use DuckDuckGo!)

However, I hope you’ll at least spend a little time and effort on your author website. It is (or, at least, should be) the backbone of your marketing strategy for your books. It’s the central hub where people can find your information, laid out all neat and pretty and easily navigated. A website, like building a newsletter, is entirely yours. You control every aspect of it.

Let me say that again.

A website is yours.

If you haven’t started a website, go ahead and git’ ‘er done. Stop stalling and just dive in, head first. (If you're still unsure, check out my post why author should have a website.)

Got at least a subdomain and a basic builder set up with a few core pages? Alright. Good. You’ve got a start on a sitemap. Don’t worry about perfecting it. You can refine your color scheme, the layout, your fonts — everything that speaks your brand image — later.

Let’s focus on the written content. You need more than to slap a couple images up here and there. You need a strategy if you want to boost your rankings in search engines.

If you’ve never worked in digital marketing, you may not have heard of the abbreviations “SEO” or “MUM” or even “BERT.” Fortunately for you, these terms are all related to making a website show up on Google. (Although these terms specifically belong to Google, other search engiens function the same.)

MUM, which stands for Multimodal Unified Model, is one of the big players in the current Google algorithm.

Don’t worry about the super tiny nuances of how it works. There’s a lot that goes into a search engine. All you need to know is that engines have a deeper-than-ever understanding of a search user’s intent. When someone searches for somethign, the algorithm can read that query rom every direction, analyze the syntax and everything about the text, and determine what that user is looking for so it can provide the highest quality results.

At its core, and SEO strategy is about one thing for authors: helping the right readers find you.

Organic vs. Paid Keywords for Author Website

The unfortunate reality of search engines is that it’s a lot harder to get traffic to your site if you’re not in the “pay to play” game, but that’s the truth for a lot of us. You can pay to rank for certain keywords—it’s capitalism at its finest.

That's why I'm here to help. I’m here to help you boost your organic traffic strategy without inundating yourself with paid ads, leading you to waste your money. (Sure, paid ads and sponsored links may give you quick lil boost, but it's not sustainable strategy.)

So, here comes the part where I explain why researching keywords is the baseline of your new SEO strategy, and here's the most fundamental question to ask yourself when researching keywords:

If you were searching for a book like yours, what kind of phrasing would you use in a search query?

Basically, how would you find your book as a human being?

So, What Exactly Are Keywords?

Keywords are simply the words or phrases someone types into a search engine.

For example:

• “Indie contemporary romance author”

• “books with dragons and shadow daddies”

• “thriller novels like Karin Slaughter”

These are all pretty typical search queries, although they do contain more than one keyword, which brings me to my next point.

There are several types of keywords that can be utilized for an organic SEO strategy. If you search “types of keywords,” you’ll find long lists that dive deep into the variations of keywords that go into an SEO strategy.

Don’t worry. You don’t need to go that deep.

There are only four types I recommend understanding as an author:

• Short-tail Keywords: Made up of one to three words. Also known as “head terms.” These are typically the main words of a search query that have a whopping amount of monthly search queries (also known as “search volume”). Think words like “book” or “author” as examples.
  

• Medium-tail Keywords: Just like the name suggests, these are the middle ground of keywords. A medium-tail keyword contains a few more words, but not as specific as long-tail searches. Think searches like “fantasy books” or “slow burn romance.”
  

• Long-tail Keywords: These are more “niche” search terms that are made up of a lot more keywords and can include semantic keywords. They are specific words used by a search user who knows more about what they’re looking for. Think searches like “fantasy books with dragons and shadow daddies” or “contemporary romance books with spice.”
  

• Semantic Keywords: As mentioned above, these are related keywords that help specify a search and help determine the “authority” of that search. (The technical term you’ll see is LSI, or Latent Semantic Indexing.) They are typically related and relevant to the “head term” or “short-tail keyword” that you are targeting.

How Keyword Strategy Is Different for Authors

You’ve probably figured out by now that keywords will look very different for other industries or even other authors. I know I’ve thrown a lot at you, and it’s probably a lot to wrap your head around if you’ve never dabbled in SEO strategy, so here are some basic keyword ideas to get you started:

• Your author name

• Your genre or subgenre

• Your book titles or series names

• Tropes or themes in your book

• Comparables, such as authors or books similar to yours

• Reader reviews

Readers don’t search like marketers. They search emotionally. They search based on vibes, tropes, and how they want a book to make them feel.

Understanding Search Intent

Now that you have a basic understanding of keywords, let me introduce another new topic that falls under the purposes of this post: search intent.

SEO has come a long, long way in terms of how we use keywords and, in turn, how search engines determine what sites to rank. When the internet was still in the Stone Age, webmasters stuffed hundreds of keywords in their pages, and that’s all a search query would look for: how many times a site used certain keywords.

That is most definitely not the case anymore. Nowadays, we call that type of tactic “keyword stuffing.”

Going back to the MUM model, Google also looks more specifically at what that search user is looking for and spit out the most relevant sites based on intent, which uses these four types of intent:

• Informational: (“how to write a book”) Informational intent means the user is looking to learn something. You might see phrases like “what is” or “why is” or “where is”, but that’s not necessarily true for all informational searches. You should also think of searches (for example) like “beef stew recipe” or “time in barcelona right now.”
  

• Navigational: (“[author name] about page”) When a user is looking for a specific page, it’s called navigational intent, such as a login page. If you have somewhat of a following built up already, this can be a good search intent to target with your keywords.
  

• Commercial: (“reviews for when snapdragons whisper by allie harper”) If you think “commercial” sounds like a user is ready to buy, you’d be almost right. This intent is typically when readers are almost ready to buy but want a little more information before they commit.
  

• Transactional: (“[author name] newsletter signup”) This is when readers are ready to buy your book or engage in other types of conversions that may later lead to a book purchase, such as someone subscribing to your newsletter or blog.
  

Start With the Mind of a Reader

Before you ever open a keyword tool (and there are plenty out there), start by asking yourself:

• How would a reader describe my book to a friend?

• What tropes or themes do readers mention in reviews?

• What emotions does my book promise?

Good author keywords often include:

• Genres & subgenres (“psychological thriller,” “fantasy romance”)

• Tropes (“slow burn,” “enemies to lovers,” “found family”)

• Themes (“grief,” “revenge,” “healing”)

• Emotional experience (“heartbreaking,” “cozy,” “high tension”)

If it sounds natural in a conversation, it’s probably a good keyword. Be sure to keep it conversational and natural to read, and don’t try to stuff too many keywords. Think quality over quantity. Target your core audience instead of trying to target everyone out there.

As an author — especially an indie author — long-tail keywords are your best friend. They’re easier to rank for, and they attract readers who already know what they want.

Using Keyword Tools (Without Overthinking It)

Keyword tools can be helpful, but they’re optional. If you do want one, tools like Neil Patel’s keyword explorer, Ubersuggest, or Ahrefs can give you ideas.

When using a tool, look for:

• Keywords that make sense for your books

• Phrases that match how readers talk

• Keywords that aren’t absurdly competitive

Ignore anything that feels robotic or irrelevant just because it has “good numbers.”

Another idea is to pull up a search engine and look for your book using keywords you think will work for you, and check out the websites of similar authors or books. Analyze what kind of keywords they’re using and/or what kind of content is on their site.

SIDE NOTE: Part of my last job as an SEO specialist was keeping up with the quickly changing landscape of optimizing websites for LLMs (Language Learning Models). This includes AI programs like ChatGPT. If you’re looking to rank on LLM search prompts, look elsewhere because I will not be teaching AEO tactics. Enjoy destroying the environment!

Where to Use Your Keywords

Once you’ve chosen your keywords, they should appear naturally in:

• Page titles

• Headers (H1, H2, H3)

• Body copy

• Blog posts (if you’re keeping a blog)

• Book and series descriptions

Do not cram keywords everywhere. Keyword stuffing hurts readability and trust, and engines are very good at spotting it.

Remember, if it sounds natural, you’re probably doing just fine. Blogs are a great way to target more keywords, but make sure you’re focusing on quality, useful information. Don’t simply post for the sake of putting content on your site.

Write for Readers First, Always

Search engines change constantly, but your target audience probably isn’t going to stray too far from their favorite tropes or genres.

Your website should clearly communicate:

• what kind of books you write

• who they’re for

• why a reader might love them

Think of keywords as signposts, not magic you're reciting over a bubbling cauldron. They guide readers to you, but your voice and storytelling are what make them stay.