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Paul Whybrow

Full Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2015
Location
Cornwall, UK
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We've discussed taglines a couple of times:

https://colony.litopia.com/threads/taglines.4799/

https://colony.litopia.com/index.php?threads/whats-your-books-tagline.1603/

But, in preparing my crime novels for inclusion on KDP Select, I've been rejigging different elements of how I've described my books, including the blurb and tag words. I've become more aware of the importance of descriptors since building a blog and website. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is crucial to plan, if your sites are going to appear high up on Google's results. WordPress encourages users to describe their posts by categories and tags, adding a featured image and excerpt, all to make it easier for bots to crawl your page (doesn't that sound creepy? :robot-face:).

1408043809b5g1w.gif



Tags are keywords which succinctly describe interesting elements of the plot. Amazon's KDP stresses their importance:

Make Your Book More Discoverable with Keywords | Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing

They even offer a Keyword Tool:

How To Find Amazon Keywords Using Amazon Keyword Research

Although I understand why tags or keywords need to be eye-catching, is does lead to hyperbole. Limited to seven keywords by KDP, I found myself altering murder to atrocity and arson to conflagration, which were still accurate terms if over-dramatic. It made me wonder if a book can sound too exciting?

Anyway, the tags I chose for my novels are:

Who Kills A Nudist?: Murder, Slavery, Smuggling, Steroids, Incest, Naturism, BDSM

The Perfect Murderer: Serial Killer, Bloodhound, Disguise, Stalker, Psychopath, Role-Playing, PTSD

An Elegant Murder: The Beast Of Bodmin Moor, Mummification, Stone Baby, Asylum, Rustling, Poison, Murder

Sin Killers: Cannibalism, Paganism, Murder, Hell Hound, Massage Parlour, Revenge, Poison

The Dead Need Nobody: Murder, Art Theft, Prostitution, Forgery, Eccentricity, Opium, Cat Burglar


Which seven keywords or tags best describe your books?

SEOSignpost.jpg
 
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