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Music marketing tips and self-promotion ideas for independent songwriters, musicians and bands.
Bob Baker's Indie Music Promotion Blog
News, notes and ideas on music marketing, self-promotion, artist empowerment and more
January 15, 2007
How to Rank Higher on Google
In part 1 of this post, I detailed where my web pages rank on Google for keyword phrases related to my books and online identity: "music marketing" and "music promotion." Now I'll share a few simple tips you can use to rank better on search engines for your own keywords.
As an example, let's say you're in a band that plays easy listening music. Here are the steps you would take:
1) Get Genre Specific
So you play "easy listening" music. Fine. But ask yourself, "Is there an even more specific way to describe what I play?" Easy listening music can be further defined as lounge, cabaret, love songs, mood music, soft rock, and more. What words best clarify your type of easy listening? And more importantly, what words might fans of your music search for online?
2) Title Tag, You're It
Be sure to include your chosen keywords in the Title tags of your pages' HTML code -- especially your home page -- with the most potent words first. Example: "Soft rock love songs from The Smooth Tones." For my purposes, I called my blog "Bob Baker's Indie Music Promotion Blog," which appears in the Title tags of every page. Google loves it when pages specifically reference what they're about.
3) Use a Keyword-Rich Domain Name or Subdirectory
The easy listening band might register SmoothTonesLoveSongs.com or SoftRockLoveSongs.com. I grabbed MusicPromotionBlog.com to reinforce what my blog was about. Again, search engines like to send people to sites that clearly communicate a specific topic, and a well-chosen domain name will help.
If you already have a domain name (such as SmoothTonesMusic.com), add a subdirectory and send people to SmoothTonesMusic.com/lovesongs/. While I own MusicPromotionBlog.com, my blog is actually hosted on my main site at bob-baker.com/musicpromotionblog. Therefore, my blog name, subdirectory name, and Title tags all reinforce the keywords I want to emphasize.
4) Link to Yourself
To show up on Google, you must have incoming links from web sites that are already indexed by Google. The more the merrier, and the higher profile the site, the more weight its link to you will carry.
In the old days of the Internet, you got incoming links by trying to get other sites to link to yours. You can still do that, but these days there are tons of options to create dozens of your own incoming links.
Examples: Include active links to your site (or your specific subdirectory) from your profile pages on MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, Blogger, Amazon, and tagging sites like Del.icio.us and Technorati. Links from these popular sites carry weight with Google.
5) Link Using Targeted Keyword Text
Whenever possible, use your exact keywords as the active link text. Don't just write, visit our "home page" for more info. Better: Check out samples of our "soft rock love songs here."
Use these five simple tips to improve your Google search engine rankings, whether you play "music for the glass armonica" or "Irish drinking songs for cat lovers."
-Bob
As an example, let's say you're in a band that plays easy listening music. Here are the steps you would take:
1) Get Genre Specific
So you play "easy listening" music. Fine. But ask yourself, "Is there an even more specific way to describe what I play?" Easy listening music can be further defined as lounge, cabaret, love songs, mood music, soft rock, and more. What words best clarify your type of easy listening? And more importantly, what words might fans of your music search for online?
2) Title Tag, You're It
Be sure to include your chosen keywords in the Title tags of your pages' HTML code -- especially your home page -- with the most potent words first. Example: "Soft rock love songs from The Smooth Tones." For my purposes, I called my blog "Bob Baker's Indie Music Promotion Blog," which appears in the Title tags of every page. Google loves it when pages specifically reference what they're about.
3) Use a Keyword-Rich Domain Name or Subdirectory
The easy listening band might register SmoothTonesLoveSongs.com or SoftRockLoveSongs.com. I grabbed MusicPromotionBlog.com to reinforce what my blog was about. Again, search engines like to send people to sites that clearly communicate a specific topic, and a well-chosen domain name will help.
If you already have a domain name (such as SmoothTonesMusic.com), add a subdirectory and send people to SmoothTonesMusic.com/lovesongs/. While I own MusicPromotionBlog.com, my blog is actually hosted on my main site at bob-baker.com/musicpromotionblog. Therefore, my blog name, subdirectory name, and Title tags all reinforce the keywords I want to emphasize.
4) Link to Yourself
To show up on Google, you must have incoming links from web sites that are already indexed by Google. The more the merrier, and the higher profile the site, the more weight its link to you will carry.
In the old days of the Internet, you got incoming links by trying to get other sites to link to yours. You can still do that, but these days there are tons of options to create dozens of your own incoming links.
Examples: Include active links to your site (or your specific subdirectory) from your profile pages on MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, Blogger, Amazon, and tagging sites like Del.icio.us and Technorati. Links from these popular sites carry weight with Google.
5) Link Using Targeted Keyword Text
Whenever possible, use your exact keywords as the active link text. Don't just write, visit our "home page" for more info. Better: Check out samples of our "soft rock love songs here."
Use these five simple tips to improve your Google search engine rankings, whether you play "music for the glass armonica" or "Irish drinking songs for cat lovers."
-Bob
posted by Bob Baker @ 3:50 PM
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What About Bob?
Bob Baker is an author, indie musician and former music magazine editor dedicated to showing musicians of all kinds how to get exposure, connect with fans, sell more CDs, and increase their incomes.
Bob's Books
Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook:
201 Self-Promotion Ideas for Song-
writers, Musicians and Bands on a Budget
55 Ways to Promote & Sell Your Book on the Internet
A easy-to-read overview of online marketing
- Killer Music Press Kits
- 70 Ways to Promote & Sell Your Music on the Internet
- Music Marketing & Publicity Crash Courses
- Indie Music PR Bootcamp
- Killer Music Web Sites
- How to Triple Your Music Income This Year
- Online Music PR Hot List
- How to Make a Living as a Full-Time Musician
- Do-It-Yourself Internet Music PR & Publicity
- How to Use Video to Promote Your Music Online
- How to Publish Your Own Indie Book
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Previous Posts
- Google Music Keyword Search Rankings
- Music Promotion Blog Makes the Z List
- What's Wrong With This Picture?
- Where in the World Is Bob Baker?
- Remembering Laurie Z
- MySpace Indie Music Promotion Podcast
- The Worst Year for Hit Albums in 23 Years
- How The Beatles Inspire DIY Behavior
- Indie Music Marketing Insiders Club: Get Your Free...
- Top 10 Indie Music Promotion Blog Posts of 2006
Favorite Music Blogs
- Derek Sivers
- David Hooper
- Andrew Dubber
- Music Think Tank
- Ariel Hyatt
- Artists House Music
- Musicians Cooler
- GarageSpin
- Bob Lefsetz
- Hypebot
- Music Industry Report
Copyright 2004-2010 Bob Baker
All great ideas! Thanks,
www.NakedFaceRecords.com