The self-published writer could get better sales of novels through the use of Google Adwords. With tactical use of keywords and ad placements on SERPS pages and websites, your books could be seen after relevant search words have been placed in the Google bar. In other words, your product becomes visible to one who is looking for a product like yours. But how does Adwords work for the author?
Using Keywords to Increase Book Sales and Downloads with Adwords
The writer would be wise to use every sales strategy available to increase sales of books; Google’s Adwords is one such method. To clarify, Adwords are small ad boxes exhibiting blue links advertising services or products. These Adwords can be seen to the right of SERPS pages (search engine results page) after a search term has been put into the Google toolbar.
These small ad links will also appear on relevant websites and blogs. So if someone was browsing on an ebook store for a cheap kindle thriller, he/she might see a list of relevant adverts on that website. See screenshot to view an Adword advertising Kindle art books on a SERPS page. As you can see, the search term used in the tool bar was ‘oil painting books.’ These words triggered this Adword. Such an advert could also show up on a website on oil painting.
How to Sign up for Adwords to Sell Online Books
In order to create your own Adwords campaign for your ebooks, you will need to sign up for an Adwords account with Google. You will need to put some funds into your account to pay for ad clicks first. This is the cost to you each time someone clicks upon your Adword advert.
Having said this, Google occasionally issue a free Adwords coupon worth between £50-£100, which enable the writer to use Adwords for free. Either way, the small expense could be worth it if the customer clicks upon your ad link and makes a purchase worth more than the cost of the click, (for instance if your book is worth £20 and the click cost 20p). A high purchase rate per click is more likely if you write a great Adword that fulfils what the Adwording implies. In other words, don’t promise something that cannot be delivered, or you could end up paying for clicks without a purchase.
Once you have signed up for Adwords, think about how you want to pitch your Adword campaign, which should be informative, enticing and accurate. An example of an Ad campaign by a writer might be: ‘Buy thriller ebooks for £1’. The link to your website/blog selling the ebook will be shown beneath.
Qualify this ad title with a little more information, which might be: ‘Save up to 50% on kindle bookstore,’ or ‘gripping thrillers with good reviews.’ Get to the point and be sparing on words.
Selling Your Books Online with Keywords
Getting your Adwords to show up when it is supposed to could be helped by using Google’s Adwords Keyword Tool, which informs on what search terms people are actually using to find products or information. This tool will also inform on monthly search volume of search terms, whether locally or globally (whichever market you are trying to reach). An author selling ebooks, might want to reach a global market.
In the Google’s Adwords Keyword Tool, put in some relevant words, which might be ‘Kindle thriller, ‘Ebooks,’ ‘cheap fiction,’ etc. The results this tool will bring up may offer keyword suggestions and synonyms you may never have thought of. Make a list of these keyword terms with the highest volume. The word ‘ebook’ for example may have a higher search volume than ‘Kindle book’ or ‘digital book.’ In your Adwords campaign, prefer the keywords with the highest volume. This list of keywords will come in useful not only for your Adword itself, but for getting your ad to display when it should.
Create You Adwords Campaign to Sell Ebooks
Make a list of all suitable keywords and search terms that could be used in your campaign. Try alternative search terms in the Keyword Tool and add to this list.
Think carefully about the wording of your Adwords. This is crucial. Remember to be informative, enticing and accurate. You do not need to use a keyword term to title your Adword; you can use whatever title you like, so long as it fulfils what it promises. Follow this title with a little more information (as previously described).
You will need to link your Adword to a ‘landing page’, the page where the ad links to, which might be your own website, estore or blog. Google has to approve your landing page, so ensure it does not contain affiliate links, spam, viruses or poor content.
Mine was a special case, as I could not sell my ebooks from my blog, but to link my books from Amazon. I could not create an Adwords campaign that linked to a website that was not mine, so my landing page had to work like a ‘bridging page’ (a page that redirects to another website) containing information about my ebooks. A bridging page is not normally approved by Google.
However, if you are selling your ebooks directly from your own website or blog, you will not need to worry about this, but do ensure your landing page is of good quality and meets Google’s standards.
Using Keywords to Make Book Sales
Once you have created your Adword campaign, you will need to type in the list of keywords suggested by the Keyword Tool. This list of keywords will trigger your ad to appear if someone uses those keywords in the Google search bar. Some will have a low search volume, others will have higher. But every keyword will count. You can add more search terms at any time or some of your own.
Getting Your Adwords Approved
Once you have gone through all the steps, you will need to wait for your Adword campaign to be approved which could take a few days or weeks. If you are aiming for a Christmas market, create your campaign well in advance. You can pause your campaign if it gets approved early, and then activate it when required.
How to Read Adwords Reports
Once you are up and running, you will see the following Adword terminology:
- Clicks: The number of times someone has clicked upon your Adwords ad.
- Impressions: The number of times your Adword displays on SERPS or a website/blog.
- Click through rate (or CTR): the ratio of click occurrence compared to ad impressions.
- Cost per click (or CPC). The cost to you each time someone clicks upon your ad.
Making Adwords Sell your Books
Adwords could be a great tool to help sell your books. By signing up for a Google Adwords account, your book advert will show every time someone puts in a search term that relates to what you are selling. You just need to learn about key words and creating a great Adword. Campaign. You can control your budget and pause whenever you like. If a cost per click is less than the profits for your books, you are on to a winner, particularly if you get lots of purchases per click (or high click through rate).
Useful Tips for Writers
Numerous publishing platforms can be used to market your book, namely Shelfari, Librarything, Linkdin, Smashwords and of course, Amazon. I have written a separate article on the best websites to plug your book. An author blog however gives you the opportunity to go more in depth about your book(s) in a way not always possible when posting material about your book on a host site. This is the key to ebook marketing.
Most readers require only the synopsis (or pitch) of an author’s book and a clear decision on whether to purchase. Others might like to find out more about the author’s work. An author blog is the ideal method. There are few guidelines to adhere to, you can freely plug your book in a way that most suits you. You can offer additional information on your book regarding dates it will be free, if sequels will be released and your ideas behind your novels. Such a writer’s blog will enable you to link back to this information from networking and marketing websites for an audience that wants to find out more about your books.
