These days, self-publishing on KDP is the way to go for an aspiring writer on a budget. But to publish a quality eBook, you need an enticing title and cover and an awesome description that speaks directly to your target audience.
And guess what else?
For your content to get accepted by KDP and go lice, you’ll need a clickable Table of Contents (TOC).
Table of Contents for eBooks and More
Many self-publishing platforms have automated the processes better over the years. But they’ve all become much stricter when it comes to the way publishers format content.
Some of the biggest names in the self-publishing game have taken measures to limit where your content is sold simply because your TOC isn’t formatted properly or doesn’t exist, including:
Barnes & Noble (BN)
Lulu
Smashwords
Kobo
Amazon KDP, on the other hand, won’t allow it to go live period. Therefore, you may as well learn how to do it yourself.
Why? Here are a couple of good reasons for DIY TOC efforts… at least for now…
Choose Your Battles as a Self-Publisher
If you outsource to an amazing ghostwriter who simply doesn’t know how to format Word docs like that, do you let her go or make her learn how to do it?
I say NEITHER ONE!
It would probably be best to learn how to do it yourself. That way, when you get too busy to fool with it anymore, you can easily:
Teach your 15-year-old niecehow to do it for you
And put some money in her pocket
Now, how bout that?!!!
Why Do They Care So Much?
Having a TOC makes it easier for your readers to maneuver back and forth between your title’s chapters. And this is even more true for nonfiction publications, where referring back to information 50 pages ago for referencing can be difficult without the ability to simply click.
Plus, it’s required by KDP and the various other self-publishing platforms. This is why you need a TOC with links.
Creating one that links to your chapters is very simple using Microsoft Word or any similar program. And it literally takes minutes to do. Use this video as a step-by-step guide to help you learn how to format your own CLICKABLE TOC for your Kindle eBooks and other online publications.
Video: How to Create Clickable Table of Contents in Word Docs
All across the globe, people are chatting about Google Trends. They love its ability to help you choose keywords for your written content and YouTube videos. If this sounds too technical, you can always find good SEO keywords using Google search.
4 Steps to Finding Good SEO Keywords Using Google Searches
Google Trends is a bit technical. So, it can be a little intimidating for bloggers and vloggers who aren’t Google Analytics savvy. Don’t worry though. There’s a much simpler way to find good SEO keywords. And all you need is Google.com.
Watch this video: How to Get Your YouTube Video on Page 1 of Google Video Results
Step 1: Create an Initial List of Potential SEO Keywords
First, you need to make a list of 3-5 of potential SEO keywords related to your content. Let’s say you created a blog post about “Video SEO.” Add that to your list. Then, come up with different variations for that search term. Your list of five may look something like this:
Video SEO
SEO for Videos
SEO for YouTube Videos
YouTube SEO
YouTube Video SEO
Try to come up with at least three potential search terms. That should be more than enough. You’ll come up with multiple other variations from this list by following the steps in the next section below.
Once you have your list, now let’s head on over to Google. Work with me as I show you how to find good SEO keywords using Google search engine.
Step 2: Create a Tracker for Your Potential SEO Keywords
You need to track your potential keywords in some type of spreadsheet or database. It could end up with 25 keyword phrases. This makes it easier to narrow the list down, so your content isn’t stuffed with keywords (a Google NO NO).
Use MS Excel or another type of spreadsheet to track your potential search terms. Personally, I use Airtable. It’s like a spreadsheet and database combined. But everything is stored on the cloud. So, you can access your data anywhere with online access.
Plus, Airtable makes it much simpler to sort and group your data. This will make the keyword term elimination process much smoother. Not to mention, Airtable is FREE!
Search Term – This field will hold the various SEO keyword phrases you come up with
Placement – This represents where the search term lies in your Top 10 List (see below)
SEO helps you convert more users into customers by sending qualified traffic to your content.
Step 3: Use Your Potential SEO Keywords in Google Searches
This process is so much easier than using Google Trends if you’re not analytics-savvy or you just don’t have time to learn the platform.
Google’s Top 10 Lists
Go to Google.com
Type your first keyword phrase into the search engine (do NOT hit Enter)
Google will provide you with a Top 10 List of widely searched terms related to that phrase
Add the top 2-3 that are relevant to the content you plan to publish to your list (if your original term is in the Top 3, add it to your list… if not, leave it off)
Note the placement order in your list’s Placement field (IE, if you choose a phrase that’s #3 on the Top 10 List, add “3” to the field)
Google’s Related Search Terms
Now, go ahead and HIT ENTER
Go down to the bottom of the page to the Related Search Terms section
If any of those terms are related to your content, add them to your list
Now, go back to your initial list and go through the same process for the next potential search term
What Are Google’s Related Search Terms?
These are the popular terms being used in Google searches related to the keywords you just queried.
Unable to Come Up with 3-5 Search Terms?
If you’re unable to come up with at least three different potential SEO keywords, do the following:
Put in the main keyword phrase you came up with… in this case, that’s Video SEO
Hit enter this time
Go down to the bottom of the page and check out the Related Search Terms
Click on one that’s related to your content
Go back up to the search query box at the top of the page
Hit backspace to delete the last letter of the search term to activate Google’s Top 10 List for this particular term
If nothing comes up other than your term, backspace one character at a time until you get at least a few terms in the list
Add any relevant terms to your list of potential SEO keywords
If this doesn’t work, simply add your original term again, VIDEO SEO, and go to the bottom of the page and click a different relevant Related Search Term
Step 4: Clean Up Your SEO Keyword List
By this point, you should have anywhere from 9-25 potential SEO keywords. Try to use every single one and you diminish the quality of the written content. You need to narrow down your list.
How many keywords should be on your list in the end? That depends on how many you can use without making your content sound funny and stuffed with keywords. You want quality content infused with keywords, as opposed to a keyword stuffed piece with a little quality text included.
Here’s how to clean up your list after you find good SEO keywords using Google Search:
Sort your list by Placement digits
Now group the list by those same numbers
Go through the Placement 1 group and choose the ones that are 100% relevant to your content
If this list includes at least 5 search terms, you should be good to go
Otherwise, add relevant terms from Placement 2, then 3, until your list is complete
This leaves you with a list that groups the potential SEO keywords based on Google search popularity.
NOTE: If your content contains over 1,000 words, feel free to use more keywords. I suggest no more than 8. For 2,000+ words, choose no more than 10 or 12.
Put your videos and blog posts in front of the right consumers with relevant SEO keywords. Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels
Step 5: Infuse Your SEO Keywords into Your Content
Finally, it’s time to infuse your search terms into your written content. Here are the basic steps:
Choose 1 MAIN keyword term for your content
Create an awesome title for your blog post or YouTube video using your MAIN search term
Add or tweak the URL so it includes your MAIN keyword term (use dashes, not underscores)
Go through your content and add your MAIN term 3-5 times (make sure to use it in at least one sub-heading if you have them)
Add your other chosen SEO keywords to the content 1-2 times through the piece
Proofread the piece to make sure the content flows
Write 2-3 SHORT sentences summarizing your content… basically, telling searchers what they can expect to get from it or asking a question you plan to answer in the piece (include your MAIN keywords just ONE time)
Add the summary to the BEGINNING of your piece (this is what will show up in Google search results descriptions)
Create a good alt-text to describe your images, making sure at least one includes your MAIN search term (you must add alt-text to describe your images because search engines can’t see them)
You don’t have to use specific keywords as your tags, but they should be related to the content itself
NOTE: You can actually create a valuable list of good SEO keywords by completing these steps on just one potential search term. I suggest three, in the beginning, to help you understand the process.
As your SEO skills improve, you’ll learn to come up with keyword variation on your own. But still, do the process for at least one potential search phrase.
Video: How to Get Your YouTube Video on Page 1 of Google Video Results
The video below was uploaded to YouTube by Spicey Ky of Spicey Solutions. This is the other side of Content Marketing Geek… the colorful side:
What’s the key to getting your YouTube video to rank on page one of Google Video search results? It’s all about SEO. You must infuse your videos with valuable, relevant SEO keywords to get your content in front of the right viewers.
Hire an SEO Expert to Optimize Your Content for Google Search
For some, it’s simpler to find good SEO keywords using Google Search than Google Trends. But the process can be tedious and time-consuming. Many vloggers and bloggers just don’t have the patience for it.
Not to mention, your content can be much more SEO-friendly when you use the analytics provided in Google Trends. Take some time to play around with the platform. Learn how to use it to find the right keywords for your content and measure the performance of the SEO keywords you’re already using.
If you just don’t have the time or the patience to deal with it, hire a professional to optimize your content. Changes can be made even after the piece is published. The content will still rank based on the tweaked SEO keywords if you hire someone to go over your published content for you.
Content Marketing Geek is owned and operated by a client-proclaimed SEO Goddess. The entire team is dedicated to creating quality content that speaks directly to your target market. CMG’s SEO Editors work diligently to tweak already published content to include popular keywords used in searches by your target customers.
Have a couple of blog posts or YouTube videos ranking fairly well? With some SEO efforts, they can rank even higher, driving even more traffic to all of your content over time. Let CMG evaluate your pieces. We’ll send you a proposal for affordable SEO services for your content.
Contact Content Marketing Geek with your SEO needs. Be sure add the URLs to the published pieces you need tweaked for better SEO in the comments section of the Contact Form.
After launching their new websites, many of my clients come back with the same question: How do I start my own blog? So, I decided to create a post dedicated to how to start a blog for those who have never published content online via their own blogs.
WordPress is considered one of the simplest to learn, user-friendly blogging platforms around today. I still have a couple of blogs of my own on the Blogger platform. But, I’ve found that WordPress allows users to have much more control over backend SEO and various features. So, for this blog post, I will walk you through how to start a blog using WordPress.
In this blog post, we will cover five basic steps to starting a blog:
Choosing a domain name and web hosting plan
Installing WordPress on your server for your blog
Choosing a WordPress theme to customize the design and layout
Adding webpages to your new website
Writing, editing and publishing your blog post
Note: If your blog is already up and running, and you just need to learn how to start a blog post, skip down to step 5.
1. Choose a Domain Name and Web Hosting Plan
First, you’re going to need a domain name, also called a URL, such as contentmarketinggeek.com. Imagine that you’re leasing a home. Look at your URL as the street address to that house. Enter the address incorrectly, and you’ll arrive at the wrong location.
Next you need a web host. This is the company that provides the storage space where your website is stored, or hosted. Look at this as the physical structure, the house, that you’re leasing. Without an actual house to live in on the lot, the address is useless. Having a domain name without web hosting is like leasing a parcel of land with no structure on it.
You can’t learn how to start a blog unless you try. And, you can’t try unless you have a place to blog.
How to Get a Domain Name and Web Hosting Package
When you buy a domain name, you buy it annually. You can purchase it for just one year, or up to ten years. Many web host companies offer URLs for free with the purchase of a web host package. Here are some of the most popular offers going on right now:
1and1 – 1and1.com is offering web hosting for as low as 99 cents per month for 12 months. That’s $11.88 for an entire year. It comes with a free domain name and an SSL Certificate for site security.
HostGator – HostGator.com has web hosting packages for as low as $2.78 per month when you purchase multiple months/years at once. However, with HostGator, you can start your website for just 1 penny for the first month. Yes, just 1 penny!!! Either way, your URL is free.
iPage – iPage.com currently offers web hosting for only $1.99 per month when you purchase an annual package for as low as $23.88 for a year. It comes with a free domain name and a free online store.
GoDaddy – GoDaddy.com sells web hosting packages for as little as $1 per month when you purchase a 1-year plan. With GoDaddy web hosting, you get access to an award winning support team, 24 hours per day. This is one of the reasons GoDaddy is my favorite web host. Plus, of course you get a free URL with all web hosting plans. Click here to check it out.
Once you’ve purchased your URL and domain name, come back to this guide to continue learning how to start a blog.
How to Get Free Web Hosting from WordPress
If you’re not ready to invest in web hosting or a domain name right now, WordPress offers a free option. You can host your blog on the WordPress.com platform for absolutely free. Plus, you can have as many free blogs as you like on the same account.
And, moving your free WordPress blog over to a premium WordPress blog is extremely simple. We’ll help you when you’re ready to make the switch.
If you chose to go with paid web hosting for your blog, you’ll need to install WordPress. Each web host has a different procedure for doing this. So, be sure to choose a company with a comprehensive help guide and quality technical support, just in case.
When installing WordPress, you’ll be asked where you want the software installed. Make sure you install WordPress on the root domain name for now. That way, your site can be accessed by going to www.yourdomainname.com, as opposed to www.yourdomainname.com/thisismyblog.
You’ll also be asked to set up a username and password for your WordPress admin. Experts suggest not using “admin” as a username, as it’s the most common one tried by hackers. We also suggest using a password that includes at least one of each: upper case letter, lower case letter, number and special character.
Once WordPress is installed, your web host will give you a URL in order to access the backend of your new WordPress blog. It will look something like this: yourdomainname.com/wp-admin. Use this link to “get into” your site, so you can customize it and start blogging.
WordPress admin login screen to “get into” the backend of your WordPress blog.
Note: If you’re going with free web hosting from WordPress.com, there’s no need to install anything. Just move on to step 3. Either way, now it’s time to get into how to start a blog, and customize its look.
3. Customize Your WordPress Design & Layout
Now, you need to decide on the look and feel of your blog. Look at it as if you’re leasing the home from step 1, and the landlord is allowing you to choose the design and layout of the home. This is done by making changes within the Themes located within the backend of your WordPress blog.
Choosing a WordPress Theme
Choose a theme that not only looks good to you, but will be pleasing to the eyes of your intended or target audience. It should complement your niche, industry and the type of content (blog posts, images, etc…) you plan to publish. Remember that your readers may notice the look of your site before they even get a chance to check out its content. So, make sure it’s captivating.
When choosing a theme for your WordPress blog, make sure it’s a responsive theme. Responsive designs take note of the type of device a visitor is using when they land on a webpage. The size of the webpage is adjusted in response to the size of the device being used to view it. For example, a responsive theme will adjust one way for viewing on a 19-inch computer monitor, another way for a 6-inch tablet, and another way for a small cell phone screen.
Starter Website created by Content Marketing Geek for Professional Detail Service in Irvine, CA. Image Source: professionaldetailservice.com
Add Your Branding to Your Blog
Once you’ve chosen a theme you like, customize it with your own logo, banner and favicon. Make it even more appealing by adding content, such as text, videos, images, widgets, social media icons, signup forms, etc…
Add SEO to Your WordPress Theme
Make sure Google and other search engines are able to find your site, and easily understand what it’s all about by adding valuable SEO keywords. Add relevant, widely used SEO keywords and meta data to your theme’s customization options (usually found by going to Appearance >>> Customize). Click here for SEO
4. Add Webpages to Your Website
Wondering what the difference is between a website and a blog? Well, basically, one pretty much stays the same, while the other changes regularly.
A website is a static site. In other words, once you add the information to the various webpages, you rarely change them. For example, once you’ve added content to your Home page, you may go in a tweak the look and feel a bit. You may even update it with special offers or new banner ads. But, you won’t change it much, and not very often.
Your blog, on the other hand, is a section of your site that you need to update regularly. Google and other search engines prefer to send traffic to sites that add fresh, new content on a regular basis. With each newly published blog post, you are doing just that.
Navigation menu of webpages created for Women’s Cleaning Service by Content Marketing Geek Corporation.
How to Start a Blog with Static Webpages
Now that you understand the difference between a website and a blog, you need to add some webpages to your website. These are some of the most common webpages found on websites:
Home
Services/Products
About Us
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Add written content, images, videos, infographics, submission forms and clickable buttons to your various webpages. Also, be sure to add behind-the-scenes SEO keywords and meta data to each individual webpage of your site. Click here for help with SEO.
5. How to Start a Blog Post
You’ll need to access the backend of your site in order to learn how to start a blog post and start blogging. Your web designer should have given you the URL to “get into” your site, or your web host provided it when you installed WordPress. You can also log into your web hosting account to get the link again.
It will look something like this: yourdomainname.com/wp-admin. Use this link to access the backend of your site, so you can customize it and get started blogging.
How to start a new blog post in WordPress. Under “Posts”, simply click “Add New” to get started.
Start Blogging
Now, it’s time to start blogging. These are step-by-step instructions on how to start a blog post using WordPress:
Hover over “Posts”
Click “Add New”
Give your blog post a captivating title
Type or copy/paste your blog post content into the space provided
Use the buttons in the toolbar to edit your post (toggle the toolbar if no buttons exist)
Use the “Insert/edit link” to add clickable URL links to your content
Create sub-headings by clicking on the paragraph bar
Set featured image (appears as main image of post and when post is shared)
Publish your post by clicking the “Publish” button near the top right corner
Add Categories & Tags to Your Blog Post
Create new categories for your blog post. Once created, all you have to do is check the categories to add posts to them. For my blog, for example, some categories include content marketing tips, social media marketing tips, blogging tips, building your brand, step-by-step guides and SEO tips and tricks. Categories help users find posts related to specific topics. They also help boost your blog’s SEO.
Tags are much like categories, but they take it one step deeper. Let’s say you were browsing through my blog and came across the blog post SEO 2016: Introducing SEO with a Colorful Twist. You see that it’s in the “social media marketing” category, so you click it.
As you go through the various tags listed under that category, you come across Pinterest. You’ve always wanted to learn more about marketing on Pinterest. So, you click the tag, and there you find various blog posts related to social media marketing on Pinterest, specifically. Add tags to your blog posts using this method.
Basic Components of a Blog Post
How to start a blog post? Well, there is no right or wrong way to write a content to post on your blog. But, there are some common elements you may want to include for now until you develop your own way of blogging, such as:
Headline – This is the title of your blog post. It may be seen in social media posts, in Google and other search results, in blog rolls, etc… So, make sure your headline is compelling enough so that users want to click and read.
Introduction – Your opening paragraph should lure users in, and get them to want to read the rest of the post. Be sure to add your target SEO keywords within your introduction paragraph.
Sub-Headings – Also, called sub-headlines, these break your content up into sections, so it can be quickly scanned by the naked eye. When blogging in WordPress, these are represented as Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3, etc…
Visuals – At Content Marketing Geek Corporation, visuals are videos, images, infographics, photographs, cartoons, memes, presentations and other forms of media. Visuals also help to break up your content, while making your post look interesting. You must add SEO keywords and other ALT tag info to your images for better search engine performance.
Main Content – This is the main part of your post. It needs to be relevant to your blog title, and satisfy all promises made, and answer all questions asked, during your introduction. For better search engine optimization, your blog posts should be no shorter than 300 words.
Conclusion – End your blog post with a paragraph or two that sums up what readers should have gotten from the content. If they didn’t get the points you noted, they just may go back and read the post again to figure out what they missed.
Call-to-Action – Your conclusion should include a call-to-action. This is the very last line of your post, which tells readers what you want them to do next. Some common calls-to-action for blog posts include:
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Get Help with Blogging and SEO
The bottom line is… if you want your blog to grow into a successful platform, you must publish quality content and incorporate SEO keywords into that content. Stay focused on quality and consistency, rather than quantity and frequency for the best results. Check out this Guide to Starting a Blog for even more blogging tips and tricks for beginners.
Need help coming up with valuable content for your blog? Having a hard time implementing an effective SEO strategy for your website, blog and blog posts? Content Marketing Geek Corporation offers SEO services, web design packages, online marketing packages and blogging packages for entrepreneurs, real estate professionals, authors, bloggers and small business owners. Click here for package pricing.
Affiliate marketing is a web-based advertising technique where companies pay affiliates for every lead brought in by the affiliate’s own marketing efforts. The affiliate acts as a “brand spokesperson” that spreads the word about the products or services.
Today, good affiliate marketing techniques require much more than simply posting affiliate links online. You need to start with a solid foundation in order to get people to actually click the links to increase valuable leads for the company you’re representing.
Image Credit: Picasa Web Albums
But actually, all affiliate marketing techniques are not always big successes. Whether intentional or not, most will not succeed after exhausting much time, effort and resources. That’s because oftentimes, affiliates use unnatural techniques which tend to drive a not-so-great user experience.
Effective Affiliate Marketing Techniques for Valuable Leads
Start right and set your affiliate marketing techniques and campaign towards success. Create an effective platform using these tips:
Choose Your Affiliate Products and Services Wisely
Pick your affiliate items and services wisely by joining programs that compliment your industry and/or niche. If you want to advertise solutions within a niche you’re not familiar with, you just may fail. In this case, you’ll need to be prepared to put in the work required to build this new audience from scratch. If you want to engage your current audience, start with the foundation of what you know well and improve it by keeping up with the trends within your niche.
There are niches that are easy to sell. Unfortunately, there are also niches where products rarely get a sale. The bottom line is: you should choose your niches wisely. What is trending in the social media will give you an idea on niches you should focus on.
But, keep in mind that longevity is important, too. Is the product or service going to be in trend for years or just months?
Own Your Own Website
Image Credit: Meehan Digital Consulting
Get your own website domain name is a good affiliate marketing technique. Owning your own URL is very important in determining your success online. It secures your commissions and shows long term partnership potential. Businesses want to be sure that you won’t dump the item and the client after some weeks or months.
Getting your own website domain will help you increase your client’s trust. This is especially true when the following elements are seen on your page:
Getting your own website is always a smart choice. But, be sure that you are going to promote it effectively. A website is useless if it has no visitors. And, visitors are useless if you’re not attracting an audience that will buy your affiliate products and services.
Content Marketing – Try Article Writing
One of the most effective affiliate marketing techniques is content marketing. Compose quality and informative articles to help your audience understand the value of the affiliate’s solution you’re marketing.
Expanding your article portfolio improves your exposure. This is important to becoming a quality competitor within your niche. Give original, insightful and helpful tips your audience can actually use to improve their lives somehow. Then, relate that content your affiliate products or services, leading viewers to check them out on your site.
Choose Your Affiliate Links
You have to make sure that users have a positive experience when visiting the affiliate links you have provided. So, always include links that come from a top level domain. Concentrate more on quality than quantity. And, aim to establish a good reputation, build a relationship of trust and providing users with a heartwarming experience.
Featured Image:
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Community
Author Bio: Dorothy Matthews is one of the people behind Big Drop, a responsive web design company agency that will meet your expectations and suit your originality.
