Your website can be a terrific marketing tool for your music. Or it can be something that you forget about and only remember to update every half a year or so. Maintaining a website may not be the most enjoyable task in the world, but when done right it can grow your fan/listener base tremendously.
Whether you already have a website, or you are looking to start one, it’s important to keep Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in mind. If you are unfamiliar with SEO, here is an explanation: SEO is using keywords and tactics to boost the likelihood of your website appearing on the front page of search engines like Google or Bing.
Think about what words people are using most to search for music. It’s not just about what topics the average person is searching for, it is about how they’re searching for it. A key part of SEO is predicting what keywords people will be typing into the Google search bar and then finding ways to incorporate those keywords into parts of your website, such as blog posts or bio pages, to name just two examples. Search engines scour the web, searching for the keywords that people search for across millions of websites, so the more of these keywords you can account for on your website, the more competitive your website will be.
The advantage of using keywords is that not only will people who are searching directly for your music have an easier time locating your website, but you will also draw in visitors to your website who aren't searching for you.
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Not only do search engines look for websites that feature keywords, but they also look for websites that are active. While updating your website might not be the most exciting part of your job as a musician, creating consistent content for your website will ensure that you stay competitive on the search results page. Ensuring that you are frequently updating your website with latest news, blog posts, adding new pictures or videos, or even putting new entries on your upcoming shows calendar, or other pieces of new content, will improve your odds of beating out other websites.
Putting yourself into the shoes of others and anticipating what they’re searching for isn’t an easy task, but SEO is a continuous, changing process. The more you practice optimizing your website, the better you will get at it. An exercise that may help you optimize your website is to look at the websites of other successful musicians and see what they are doing on their websites; not to copy their strategies, but to get an idea of how you can make those strategies not only better but unique to you.
Posting links on your social media pages is another great way to boost the SEO of your website. Creating shareable links brings clicks and views from your social media followers, which boosts the visibility of your website. While some search engines may not directly boost the ranking of your website based simply off links to it, the visitors that come to your website through these links certainly will boost your ranking, allowing your website to more easily reach people who don’t follow you on social media.
SEO is important for your website because it increases the odds that your website will gain new visitors who will then turn into new listeners. A great website is an invaluable tool in marketing yourself, so why shouldn’t your website be as great as it can be?
Logan M. Cole is a writer of both fiction and nonfiction, having written articles and short stories on topics ranging from professional writing to paranormal horses. Find his website at www.loganmcole.com.