I just noticed something I have been doing habitually for well over ten years. Whenever I review a book proposal, one of the first things I do is Google the author’s name.
I do this because a book deal is a business partnership. When we sign an author, we’re excited about the author’s voice and the content. We’re excited about the art! But we’re also excited about the business opportunity–the chance to make a return on our investment.
Book deals are business partnerships, which means authors are not only artists but business partners. I Google authors’ names because I want to know something about them. And Google can tell me very quickly–in about half a second, actually–whether to keep my interest alive or walk away forever.
Good Results
When I Google a writer’s name, what I hope to see at the top of the search results is the author’s blog or website. This tells me the author has an established location online that Google’s search engine considers worthy of top billing.
Why does Google consider anything worthy of top billing? Usually because of traffic to and from a website. If your blog/website is first in a Google search for your name, it means that out of all the other possible websites, yours gets the most traffic.
Here’s a video from Google that goes into this in fun detail:
How do you get traffic to your blog/website? Ultimately it’s about producing great content consistently. You saw that coming, but it’s true. The better your content is, and the more consistent, the more likely your site will come up first in a Google search for your name.
Not-So-Good Results
Here’s what sends me packing. If I Google your name and I can’t find you online, I’m probably done reviewing your proposal. Some exceptions to this rule apply, but generally that’s just the way it is. Too many other authors are willing to do the work of creating a solid online presence that those who don’t are going to have a hard time attracting the interest of a publisher.
Another possibility is for an author’s LinkedIn or Facebook profile to come up first. This too sends a bad signal. If I click on your Facebook page and see 1000 likes, again, you just sent me packing. If you have tens of thousands of likes, then I’ll hang in there with you because you are likely using your Facebook page as your central online hub. I’m not sure about the wisdom of this because you’re relying on a platform you don’t own, but a person with tens of thousands of Facebook likes very likely has an audience.
5 Ways to Achieve Top Billing in a Google Search
Let’s say you’re just getting started and you want to achieve high ranking in a Google search for your name. Here are the steps I would recommend:
- Start a blog.
- Decide how often it is realistic for you to post new content. Commit to posting consistently.
- Do your best to produce great content every time. Don’t worry if you publish some duds. We’ve all been there, trust me.
- Make liberal use of links to other blogs. The more networked your site is with other sites, the more Google will favor your posts.
- Watch your search ranking climb.
That’s it. The higher your site ranks on Google, the more interested publishers will be. That’s because high ranking indicates some hard work on your part. And publishers like going into business with hard-working authors.
Question: Go ahead, try it. When you Google your name, what do you see? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
My book proposal guidelines have helped countless authors write contract-winning book proposals. I’d be happy to send you a copy. Just click the thumbnail image below:
Just as a note, simply being networked linking OUT isn’t a huge contributor to help a website rank. Tons of related websites linking TO YOU, well that’s worth its weight in gold.
So all my social media stuff is coming up first without my blog showing up on the first page at all. I just added my name to my tagline. We’ll see if it works.
Thanks for getting so practical with us. I know you all are looking for people active online, but how to do this in such a way google, and therefore you, can see isn’t intuitive!
What can I do if I guest blog and blog with a group? Should I also start my own blog based on my own site? That’s a lot of blogging. Or would it be enough to create a “Where I Blog” tab on my site with links to guest posts and group sites I belong to, like the International Christian Fiction Writers blog? Would that tab and its links move my website up? Thanks!
Patricia, the tab and links could well move your site up, depending on the amount of traffic they generate. Assuming your website audience and your blog posts’ audience overlap, it makes a lot of sense to provide a bridge between the two.
I’ve been writing two blogs since 2009. Both are listed under their blog titles so when I do a google search that is how they appear. When I started the blogs, I did not have any desire to be known by my name, only by my blog names. So now when I search by my name, not much comes up. Would you suggest changing that, now that I am free enough to start writing manuscripts? Nothing is really ready for a proposal, but I do hope one day to submit for publication.
Jocelyn, my answer would depend on how much of a brand you’ve managed to build your blog titles. If you do have some established brands there, I wouldn’t jettison them. Instead, find ways to boost your name’s presence. I can imagine a scenario, for example, where a blogger uses a blog name and then “with Sue Smith” as a sort of tagline. If you don’t yet have much of a following, then you could opt for starting over using your name as the central brand. Hope this helps!
Thank you Chad. When I started writing my blogs, they were a journal of sorts. The following of one is close to 1300, 500 on the second. Not big numbers I realize, but they are very project centered. I do often write book reviews and publish them via the blogs, but as of yet have not tagged my name onto the blogs. Many of my followers already know my name but, like I mentioned in my comment, when I started writing I really had no desire to be “known.” I can see how it would benefit as I expand into the writing field. Thank you for taking the time to reply.
You’re welcome, and I like where you’re headed!