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I can’t believe it’s been a year since my post about Harrogate went kind of viral (as viral as anything in the crime-writing-book-festival-niche can go, anyway! 😆).

Blogging may feel a bit old school in the age of TikTok trends and lightning-fast Reels, but here’s a little secret: for authors, it’s STILL one of the most powerful tools out there - especially when it comes to building a long-term, loyal readership and boosting your visibility online. 

I came across the following post on Instagram this week and it brought out a very wry smile in me.

Today, I’m excited to be sharing an interview about a brand new service that I WISH I had had when I first started writing: The Author Clinic. I’ve known the ladies who set this up for a while now, and when I first heard about their new venture, I found it hard to believe no one had thought of doing something like this before…

Oh my goodness I love this website! And I know that sounds a bit boastful of me, but WOULD YOU LOOK AT IT!? It’s such a fab experience when an author has a book with a really distinctive hook, theme and cover that just all come together so perfectly.

Email addresses! When was the last time you thought much about yours? Or more pertinently – when was the last time you changed yours? I suspect not for a long time. Email addresses are a bit like bank accounts – you set one up when you’re young and then stick with it for life.

If you're anything like most of the authors I work with, adding alt text to your images is either a) one of those website tasks you know you should do… but never quite get round to; or b) something you have never heard of.

For the past few days I’ve been feeling pretty good about my writing. I’ve just finished my eleventh novel, and for once, I’m really, really pleased with it.

As you’ve might have seen on the Squarespace website, they offer lots of different pre-built templates, all with their own specific look and feel. There are so many that sometimes it can get a bit overwhelming – when I ask my web design clients to take a look through the templates and let me know which they like best, a lot of the time they say they feel bamboozled and come back to me with the same question: ‘but which Squarespace template is best for authors?’

So, you’ve finally launched your brand-new author website - congratulations! It's a huge step in your writing career. But now comes the next challenge: how do you actually get your website to show up on Google?