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.
Your YouTube channel is already up and running. Now, you’re wondering how to get traffic to your videos. About 3-out-of-5 brands engaging in content marketing have the exact same problem. Video SEO could be the answer.
Just like Google, YouTube uses algorithms to drive traffic to videos and channels. However, YouTube’s algorithm is quite different from its mother search engine.
You must optimize your YouTube channels and your videos to improve visibility. Most videos never go viral if no SEO tactics are used. They must be optimized for YouTube searches, or most users will never find them.
Video SEO: 10 Tips to Make Your YouTube Channel More Visible, Image Source: Web CEO
What Is Video SEO?
Video SEO is just like website SEO. It’s the process of using specific tactics to help target viewers discover your content online. There’s a lot of competition in YouTube land. So, you must make sure your content is discoverable in searches.
Let’s say you’re uploading a video about “choosing the right keywords for your YouTube videos.” The key is to use related SEO keywords in your title and description. This helps the video show up in searches on YouTube. Some relevant keyword variations might be:
YouTube video keywords
YouTube video SEO
SEO keywords for YouTube
Include these types of SEO keyword variations in your content descriptions. That way, when they are used in searches, your video comes up in results. But it all begins with quality content.
10 Video SEO Tips to Get More Views on Your YouTube Videos
Today, people watch YouTube videos more than ever before on both PCs and mobile devices. This massive online video platform is currently the second largest search engine (Google is the first). The Wall Street Journal reports that over 1 billion hours of YouTube videos are watched every single day.
Building your channel and video SEO is an effective way to increase views. This also helps you generate traffic to your site and drive conversions. Follow these 10 SEO tips for YouTube to ensure your channels grow and your videos get the views they deserve:
1. Conduct YouTube SEO Keyword Research
Use a keyword research tool to help you discover the keywords your target viewers are using in YouTube searches. Stay tuned for my upcoming blog post and YouTube video about How to Find Good SEO Keywords Using Google Search launching this week.
When it comes to getting people to click on your YouTube videos, catchy titles are key to your success. To increase clickthroughs, make sure your titles are informative, entertaining or intriguing. With the right titles, you not only increase views, but your channel subscribers also increase as well.
Do a little SEO keyword research on YouTube. Use the video search engine to play around with keyword variations. Just be sure that your keywords are related to your video. Use those keywords within your video titles.
If your video falls into one or more of these categories, try to create titles that incorporate with the category. This will increase the video’s visibility based on how popular the keywords you use are at the time.
3. Use Relevant Target SEO Keywords
Try to be as precise as possible when choosing video keywords. They should be related to your industry, niche, brand or information contained within the content itself.
The more precise and relevant your video keywords, the less you’ll have to compete to rank for them. Using relevant keywords that people are currently using in YouTube searches greatly increases visibility.
YouTube’s tag features are one of the best ways to improve your channel and video visibility. On the video social media platform, these tags are known as semantic keywords. You must add these tags when uploading your video.
Try to add about 10 semantic keywords to every video you upload to YouTube. Never add more than 10 of these keyword tags. The platform’s algorithm may think you’re performing Black Hat SEO marketing and slam your content.
Think carefully about which tags you want to add to each video. Remember, they must be added before the content goes live. The more relevant and precise the tags, the better your chances of ranking high in the search engines for those SEO keywords.
5. Use Video Keywords Wisely
Never, ever stuff a bunch of keywords into your written content. Use them liberally in various areas, including:
Titles
File Names
Meta Descriptions
Timestamps
Transcripts
Video Description
YouTube’s algorithms check all of this information to determine your content’s relevance in relation to searches.
6. Add a Transcript to the Description
Predictive captions help your viewers and subscribers read along with your video. However, they don’t increase your content’s SEO value because YouTube can’t “see” what’s on your videos.
Therefore, it’s wise to add a transcript of your video in the description area. This increases the amount of written content, improving your chances of ranking for certain keywords.
7. Customize Your Thumbnail
When you upload a video to YouTube, a thumbnail is automatically generated. This is the image that’s shown in search results.
These auto-generated thumbnails aren’t always very eye-catching. Always create your own custom thumbnail to ensure it captures attention and attracts clicks.
8. Publish a Related Blog Post
Create an awesome blog post that targets the same SEO keywords as your YouTube video. This increases the Google ranking of both pieces of content. Do the following:
Upload your video to YouTube and add a link to the blog post in your description
Use the YouTube code to embed the content inside the blog post
Remember: Each time someone views your video on your website, it counts as a view on YouTube. Some users will click through to go to the video on YouTube and actually subscribe to your channel.
Viral Video Marketing Techniques: Make Your Viral Video Count. Image Source: Proceed Innovative
9. Engage, Engage, Engage
Audience engagement is key on this video social network. YouTube makes it easy for users to ask questions or leave comments related to the content they watch.
The more people engage on your channels and videos, the better they rank. This engagement includes:
Likes
Shares
Comments
If someone asks you a question, be sure to answer it. Acknowledge comments and carry on viral conversations with your subscribers and viewers.
Also, always encourage your viewers to like your video and subscribe to your channel.
10. Promote Your Video
Be sure to spread the word about your new content. There are various ways to promote your YouTube video. Here are just a few:
Embed it on your website
Share it on all your social media networks
Add them in marketing emails or newsletters
Email them to family and friends and ask them to share them
Create paid ad campaigns on Google and social media that link to the video or blog post where it’s embedded
Video: How to Get Your YouTube Video on Page 1 of Google Video Results
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.
Check out this YouTube video featuring Spicey Ky. It shows the conclusions of an experiment that got a client’s promo video to NUMBER 1 on PAGE 1 of YouTube Video search results for a specific set of valuable SEO keywords.
Get Professional Video SEO for Your YouTube Content
These days, with the popularity of video content, it takes an effective SEO approach to help ensure traffic and views. Video SEO improves your content’s visibility, increasing your search engine visibility.
Sounds too complicated and time-consuming? Then, why not professionals to optimize your YouTube videos for you?
The Content Marketing Geek Team are experts in SEO. We will optimize your videos and channels to help you get more views. Click the link below to learn more.
