This is part of the series of updates to the Navigating to Publication list. Last week, we covered setting up categories for your book, this week we’ll give you some resources for setting up the most important factor in getting your book in front of readers who will enjoy it, and that is keywords. Categories are the big buckets. Keywords are what filter that search down to results the reader really wants.

From the time the internet became a marketplace, search engine optimization (SEO) has been around and keywords have been the way the game was played. The rules change from time to time, as bots play with the algorithms trying to massage the wins and sales in their favor. However, keywords have always been the secret to real success. Amazon knows this, and it gives you fields to use to set up limited amounts of keywords. You see, seo doesn’t actually work if you load up thousands of keywords. Sure, your product might pop up in every search, but that isn’t the result the consumer wants, nor do you. Not really. Your product – your book – won’t appeal to every reader. You want to pop up in front of the right sort of reader. So, keywords selected with care and discernment.

The best place to start is with Amazon itself, and their guidance on keywords. Pay particular attention to their keywords to avoid, as this can help you stay out of trouble, and will give you better results.

There’s a tutorial at Kindlepreneur for keywords which I recommend, because if nothing else, it will get you thinking in the right directions. Yes, there’s a paid service, and yes, once you are writing as a business it’s worth investing in. Don’t spend money until you can afford to, though, you can do this on a shoestring budget to start, and spend later when you start earning. But that’s likely a whole different post. In the meantime, there are ways to do it manually and if you take the time to learn how and why keywords work, you’ll be the better off for it.

Earlier this year, I did a walkthrough of what I was selecting for keywords and categories as I was publishing and you may find that helpful: The Fiddly Bits.