Using eBooks to Help Improve Your SEO

Creating an eBook for your company is certainly not a new idea, but it’s an idea that has fallen by the wayside in recent years. EBooks are still a great way to improve your visibility, but companies typically opt for the marketing tactics that are known to have a very noticeable effect on SEO success. The twist here is the eBooks do help your SEO; they just aren’t as popular as guest blogging or on-page optimization.

SEO is slowly becoming more and more about content and less and less about links, and eBooks are a perfect match for this mentality. While creating a quality eBook can take quite a bit of time and energy, the benefits are great for small businesses in any niche.

How eBooks Work and How to Get Started

An eBook is essentially a piece of text written for a digital screen such as a Kindle, or e-reader. However, an eBook can still be downloaded and found online. What makes an eBook different than the content you would find on the web is the idea that it is much longer and more detailed. You aren’t just writing a 3000 word guest article (which is incredibly long). Instead, you’re showing what you know about something particular in more of a book format.

Below explains the steps you should take to get started creating your eBook.

1. Idea. This may sound obvious, but coming up with an “idea” really isn’t that simple. You have to put a lot of thought into what you are going to write about because eBooks are longer than the content you’re likely used to writing for your website. You want your idea to be specific and useful (educational articles often work very well). It should be something you enjoy, but you have to make sure it isn’t overwhelming for readers. The more specific you can stay, the better.
2. Write. Of course, the next step is writing your eBook. Create an outline and have a plan before you start writing. In general, eBooks should be about 15 pages in length although that is up to you! The length depends entirely on your goals. 15 pages is a great length if you’re just looking for a little bonus, whereas something as long as 70 pages might work if you want to have this as a PDF on your site.
3. Format. A tool called eBook for eBooks is also becoming popular. This tool is actually a template where you can fill in the blanks, which will help you design your eBook. It will save you time and is highly recommended by professionals in the industry.
4. Publish. Once your eBook is ready to go, it’s time to publish. There are quite a few different ways you can publish an eBook, but the majority of people self-publish (oftentimes through a website like Amazon). Publishing your eBook isn’t difficult, but there are tons of different options, which you should read about here once you’ve decided an eBook is right for you.

The next step is of course marketing that eBook and marketing it in a way that lends itself to SEO success. Again, and eBook shouldn’t be your only SEO effort, but it’s something great to add to your strategy.

How to Make Sure Your eBook is Improving Your SEO Efforts

An eBook is going to help you be successful because it offers more concise and detailed content. It’s something that someone can read away from his/her computer, and that’s appealing. It very much so gives you the same benefits of a published book except it capitalizes on the popularity of digital and isn’t as difficult to create.

Below are a few different ways that you can (and should) market your eBook as well as a few general tips to keep in mind:

• Put your eBook on the homepage of your website or blog to capture leads.
• Use SEO tactics—link building, email marketing, social media, networking, etc.—to build popularity for your eBook.
• The more interest you can generate for your eBook, the better chance you have that others will link back to it and earn you that SEO credit.
• Collect emails and names of people that download your eBook.
• Consider setting up analytics so you can measure your ROI.
• Try selling your eBook on Amazon and eBay if you’re getting positive responses.
• Submit your eBook to eBook directories for extra exposure.

One of the most popular eBook tricks is actually giving your eBook away for free. It might not seem worth it at first (after all, you worked hard!), but it’s actually a great incentive for subscribers or even existing clients to stay with you. Your goal when creating an eBook should be establishing credibility and earning SEO benefits more so than earning some extra cash. In the end, exposure is going to generate more revenue for your business.