Keywords - A Science

Hello readers! Long time, no blogging! I hope this finds you all well!

Since we spoke (typed, read) last, I have been trying to think up ways to get my books more exposed. New covers, new descriptions, new advertising.... the (boring) list goes on and on....

Tonight I got to thinking about keywords. Keywords meaning phrases and search terms people type in at the top of the Amazon.com page to find the exact type of book they are wanting to read. As a writer, you'd think that this would come easy. Sure, think up 7 phrases that you MIGHT think a reader would put.... well, that's simple.... as a reader, what would I put? If you haven't already learned this about me, I'm not like the average person.... I usually like things that most people don't. If a critic likes a movie, I hate it... and vice versa. So, that tactic of thinking like other readers did not work.

Amazon gives you the option to put seven keywords when updating/uploading your books. Seven seems like a lot, seven seems like not much at all - it's all in the eye of the beholder. So, what do readers often search when looking for a book? Are they broad terms that will bring up tens of thousands of results? (Kindle books, romantic books, ebooks... These are more genre specific that would have tons of options falling under that umbrella.) Then you think of more specific terms. (Firefighter romantic suspense, drug addiction fiction, organized crime romance.) Being more specific is good, but also bad. How many people are going to search that exact term? The reason I ask is this - those more specific terms are geared toward the books that I have already published. The Firefighter Heroes Trilogy, Murphy's War, and Reformed are the three specifically tied to those keywords... The broader terms are also geared toward them, but how many other books will pop up as well?

I'm slowly learning that keywords are a science. What might work this week might not work next week. They change just like people change. It's a new challenge, but I'm actually having fun with it. Right now I have some specific keywords listed under my books -

-Firefighter Romance Ebooks
-Firefighter Romantic Suspense
-Drug Addiction Fiction
-Organized Crime Romance
-Crime Drama Romance

Of course, I get 7 keywords per book, so this isn't all of them, but it gives an example of some of the things I've put to try out. If they don't work, I'll try something new. That's all I can do!

 I know as readers, most don't care, but next time you go to Amazon in search of a book, keep in mind that keywords can and are a big deal to writers. It's not the sole way to get a book exposed, but lately, it's a way to get it on the first or second page of the search result after you type in your phrase. Next time I'm looking for a specific book, I'll think about this as well.

--Happy Reading!
J.R.