6 Keys to Promoting Your Self-Published Book on Google

The more time you spend among self-published authors, the more likely you are to realize that book promotion is just as often about finding the time to devote to the process as it is about who you know. When traditional publishing was the only route to publication, this may not have been the case, but in 2018 elbow grease and time are among the most important ingredients to successful book marketing.

With that in mind, wouldn’t it be great if there was a simple, easy, and quick way to find the people or places which were good fits for your book? Knowledge is power, in that spreading the knowledge of your book far and wide and making it easy to discover is a powerful element of your promotional arsenal. Google and other search engines have put the power of advanced Internet search algorithms at your disposal, but not all searches are created equal. In fact, Google makes it possible to promote your books using their search engine for free.

Here are six ways to make Google your ally in promotion:

1. Help users discover your books by matching the content in your books with user searches. This ties into the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) process, which we have written about on our blog before.
2. Keep your content protected. Users are able to preview a limited number of pages on Google Books using the preview function and determine whether they’ve found what they’re looking for. It’s useful to use Google to search for those unconscientious websites which mirror, or duplicate, the content of books and offer them for free download. Every few weeks, search your book’s title (with and without the additional term “free”) and double-check that no one is doing this. If they are, it’s time to send a cease-and-desist letter.
3. Drive book sales by providing links to bookstores and online retailers at every opportunity when generating your own original content, whether on your blog or your website or your various social media platforms. Each link and mention you make of your book online is tracked and incorporated into the algorithms that decide search rankings, and search rankings determine what pops up first in the list of results whenever someone searches for your book or subjects related to your book.
4. Become a Google Books Partner. Did you know Google is actively seeking partnerships with authors, and that they provide all sorts of resources for promoting your books on Google? Your new one-stop shop for know-how as an author interested in Google’s partnership program is: www.google.com/googlebooks/partners. If you visit this page, you’ll find links with recommendations for self-promotion, resources for authors and publishers, and a collection of success stories. (And let’s face it, we love tapping into the glow of success, if only to learn how others are finding ways to make it work.)
5. Check out Google Play’s “Book Partners Center,” a separate (but linked) resource which provides step-by-step instructions on how to publish your book as an e-book in the Google Play store, and put your story on Android devices the world over. Of course, if you’re short on time, all the knowledge in the world won’t help you overcome that deficit. In that case, our last recommendation is to …
6. Consider Outskirts Press’s various Google-related services, including the Google Books Preview Program Submission service, which interfaces directly with Google in order to render your book preview beautiful and findable, and the Amazon Listing Optimization service, which utilizes the latest advances in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies in order to boost your Amazon book listing in Google search results.

These six tips will help Google users discover and access your book, as well as help you protect your rights and maintain creative control, and drive book sales. Google is so much more than a search engine, now! Have your book sales been flagging and you can’t figure out why? Visit your Author Center account online at www.outskirtspress.com to explore more marketing options and resources, including the chance to book 5 hours with one of our award-winning Personal Marketing Assistants!