When you have sent your manuscript out for copy editing, it’s time to get cracking on your Amazon book page. The first step is to create an Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) account. Everything you need to know is on the KDP account page.
Once you have your account, log in and this is what you will see:
You’re now ready to create your Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing book by clicking + Kindle eBook.
There are three sections to your Kindle book setup. The first section is for your book details. The second section lets you upload the content itself. And the third section lets you set your pricing.
For right now, the most important steps you need to take are:
- Create a new Kindle eBook
- Add your book title (exact match keyword)
- Add your book’s description
- Create a temporary book cover using the KDP Book Cover Design Tool
- Choose the most appropriate keywords you want to target when people search on Amazon
- Choose the most appropriate book categories (you can have two)
- Set a pre-release date
- Set your pricing at $.99
Book Title
Don’t over-think your book title or try to get clever. Keep your vanity out of it, as well.
Remember, the goal is to rank your book page for a specific keyword. If you did your research properly, you likely found several exact match keywords that will make good book titles.
Also, in most cases, I do not recommend a sub-title. I played around with doing this and books with a sub-title did not rank as well.
You can do your own experiments. Amazon allows you to pre-release a book title. That means you can create several to see which one initially ranks highest, and then cancel the others. Just be aware that Amazon will only allow you to change the date on a pre-release once. Be sure to create and change your pre-release title with an ounce of care and caution.
Book Description
Your book description is where the SEO rubber meets the road. Do this wrong and your book page will not rank. Do it right and your book page will rank for many organic keywords.
Amazon is stingy with the HTML markup it allows in your book description. You can use the following HTML tags:
- H4 – Header level 4
- P – Paragraph
- B – Bold
- U – Underline
- I – Italics
It also supports ordered and unordered lists, but I don’t recommend using them. More frequently than not the Amazon KDP editor messes up list formatting and the HTML markup eats into your maximum character allowance. Instead, you can use a cut-and-paste checkmark character (✓) or something similar.
That’s worth repeating.
Too much HTML formatting in your description decreases the amount you can say. And you need as many words as possible to increase your chances of ranking for multiple keywords.
Your very first heading should slap the potential reader and help you rank for the second most popular keyword related to your book. Here’s an example:
Don’t make a choice between Medicare Advantage vs Medigap and Original Medicare without first reading this book!
This first heading is what shoppers will see on your book page until they click on the “Read more” link to expand and read your full description.
In my example heading, I embedded another popular keyword search, “medicare advantage vs medigap,” which has helped me rank for this keyword. My heading also does something else that’s very important. It tells shoppers that there’s something critical they need to know before they make a big decision.
Your headline should agitate a problem or situation.
Once you agitate it, let your readers know how you’re going to help them solve it (when they read the book). I did this under a heading called “What You Will Discover”:
What You Will Discover
✓ The top reasons people feel Medicare Advantage plans are bad.
✓ How Medicare Advantage plans work, pros and cons, and their unforeseen out-of-pocket costs.
✓ The primary differences between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage.
✓ How to make the right decision between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage.
✓ How to choose the best plan or coverage for your personal situation.
✓ How to get government assistance if you can’t afford your Medicare coverage.
After reading the book, you will fully understand the pros and cons of Medicare Advantage plans so you can make the best decision for your personal situation.
Next, I help shoppers self-qualify themselves as readers of my book:
Who This Book is For
✓ People New to Medicare – This book will help anyone approaching Medicare eligibility who needs to understand which type of Medicare insurance is right for their personal situation.
✓ Busy People – If you want to cut to the chase and don’t have time to read a 400-page Medicare for Dummies book, this book is for you.
✓ Anyone Who Can’t Decide – If you need to make the choice between Original Medicare vs Medicare Advantage but you find yourself unsure about which coverage is a better fit for your situation, this book will help you make the right decision.
✓ Caregivers – If you need to help your parents make good Medicare decisions, but you don’t understand how Medicare and Medicare Advantage work, this book will help you give the best advice.
Now it’s time to get to work using the rest of your most important keywords. My recommendation is to use your book’s core keywords as sub-headings. What you need to do is give more detail about what’s in the book. Use the research you conducted with Ahrefs to guide you. Here’s an example:
Pros and cons of Medicare Advantage Plans vs Original Medicare
As David explains, neither Original Medicare nor Medicare Advantage is perfect, or free. However, the path you choose can make the difference between healthcare you can afford and breaking the bank.
In this example, I blended two keywords into a single heading. “Pros and cons of medicare advantage,” is one keyword, and “medicare advantage plans vs original medicare” is another. Get creative. You have limited space, so use it wisely.
I highly recommend taking inspiration from pages that already rank for your primary keyword.
NOTE: As Google ranks you for a keyword, particularly a keyword that you did not expect, go back to your book description, and enhance it to highlight the new organic keyword you’ve gained in search. You’ll be amazed at how quickly Google responds.
If you base your book on an article you’re trying to rank on your own website, and I highly recommend that you do, the final step is to add a reference to your original article. Why?
A while back Google’s John Mueller informed webmasters and providers of SEO services how the search engine handles bare URL inbound links. Mueller began by defining what a “naked link” is.
There are many types of links. There are branded links, keyword-optimized links, no-follow links, and naked links. A naked link is a hyperlink that uses the URL as its anchor text.
Mueller then explained how Google treats naked URLs without anchor text. He claims that Google treats these URLs the same as anchor texts. He continues to state that Google’s system attempts to recognize them as linked. Google considers naked links to be regular links, but they lack context.
So, how do you use this understanding of a naked link in your book description? Simple, add a naked link reference to your original article:
Reference: Based on the author’s #1 article, Why Medicare Advantage Plans are Bad: 7 Top Complaints, https://medicarewire.com/blog/why-medicare-advantage-plans-are-bad/, MedicareWire, 2020.
So far, Amazon has not complained about my use of this technique in my book description.
Next, it’s time to get to work on your book cover.