Author website SEO: how to make your site show up on Google
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?
This is something I get asked a lot by clients - and students of my website course.
The first thing I want to make clear is that it TAKES TIME!
If your website is brand new, then please don’t expect it to be listed in Google’s search results the day after you set it live.
Google has to find it, search it, decide what it’s about and then ‘rank’ it - which all takes at least a few weeks to happen.
The good news is, you don’t need to be a tech genius to make it happen.
Especially if you’re using a platform like Squarespace, which builds a lot of SEO-friendly features right in.
With a few strategic steps, a little patience, and consistent effort, your site can start appearing in search results.
Let’s walk through everything you need to know to help your author website get found by readers, journalists, bloggers, and anyone else searching for you online.
1. Make sure your website is set up properly
Before you can even think about search rankings, your website needs to be structured in a way that Google understands.
Here are some of the most important things to consider:
Mobile-Friendly Design: Over half of web browsing happens on phones. Google prioritises websites that work well on mobile.
➔ Good news: If you're using Squarespace, every template is automatically mobile-responsive. You don’t need to do anything extra — your site will adjust seamlessly to phones and tablets.Secure with HTTPS: If your website shows “Not Secure” in the browser bar, that’s a problem. Secure sites use HTTPS, not just HTTP.
➔ Squarespace includes free SSL certificates for all websites, so your site is encrypted and secure by default — another big tick for SEO.Fast Loading Speed: Google doesn’t like slow sites. Compressing images and choosing a fast hosting provider matters.
➔ Squarespace hosts your site on high-performance servers and uses a content delivery network (CDN) to help ensure fast loading globally. You can boost this even further by optimizing your image sizes before uploading.
How to format images for your author website →
2. Submit your website to Google
You might think Google just "knows" about every site on the internet. Unfortunately this is not the case!
While Google will most likely find your new author website in time, it can speed things up to manually introduce it to Google.
Set up Google Search Console: This free tool from Google lets you submit your website and monitor how it performs in search.
How to set up Google Search Console on Squarespace →
Submit Your Sitemap: A sitemap is like a map of your website’s pages, helping Google discover and index them faster.
➔ Squarespace automatically generates a sitemap for your website — typically found at yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml — so you can easily submit it to Google Search Console without needing to build one manually.
3. Focus on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) basics
SEO might sound intimidating, but it’s really just about making your site easy to understand - for Google and for readers.
Here are some simple SEO essentials for authors:
Use Your Name: Make sure your author name is featured prominently: in your homepage title, meta descriptions, URL (if possible), and your page headings.
➔ Squarespace lets you easily customise your site title, page titles, and SEO descriptions for every page - no extra plugins required.Title Tags and Meta Descriptions: These are what appear in Google’s listings.
Example title tag: Charlotte Duckworth | Psychological Thriller Author
Example meta description: Discover the novels of Charlotte Duckworth, bestselling author of twisty, suspenseful psychological thrillers. Read more about her books and upcoming releases here.
➔ In Squarespace, you can edit title tags and meta descriptions directly from the Page Settings panel.Use Keywords Naturally: Think about what people might type into Google - your name, your book titles, genre-specific phrases like "historical fantasy author," etc. Use them naturally in your content.
➔ Squarespace also includes SEO previews, so you can see how your titles and descriptions will look in search results.
4. Create quality content
One of Google’s biggest ranking factors is content. A pretty homepage alone won’t do the trick.
Here’s what helps:
An About Page: Tell readers who you are, what you write, and a little about your story.
A Book Page: Include a page for each of your books, with synopses, buy links, and reviews if you have them.
A Blog or News Section: Regularly updating your site with new posts signals to Google that your site is active.
➔ Squarespace has a built-in blogging feature that makes it easy to create, categorise, and tag your posts - helping both readers and search engines navigate your content.Media Kit: Journalists and bloggers will appreciate a one-stop-shop for your professional bio, headshots, and book details.
Tip: Always write for humans first, not just search engines. Clear, engaging, helpful content naturally performs better.
5. Get backlinks
Backlinks - links to your site from other sites - are one of the most important factors for ranking well on Google.
This is one of the areas I think many authors fall down on with their new websites - not focusing on getting enough backlinks.
Ways to build backlinks:
Guest Posting: Write for book blogs or writer communities.
Interviews and Features: Ask blog tour hosts to link back to your website, or any mainstream media you do press for!
Social Media Profiles: Link to your website from your Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and elsewhere.
Press Releases: Include a link to your site in announcements and PR materials.
Your Agent and Publisher’s Websites: make sure that you ask your agent and publisher to link to your website from their sites.
➔ Squarespace makes it easy to add social links and share blog posts directly to platforms like Facebook and Twitter/X, helping amplify your backlinks naturally.
6. Make your site easy to navigate
A clean, simple structure not only improves user experience - it helps Google understand your site hierarchy.
Best practices:
Simple Menus: Stick to a few clear navigation links: Home, About, Books, Blog, Contact. Don’t try to be clever here, and less is more!
➔ Squarespace's navigation editor lets you drag and drop pages easily to organize your menu.Internal Links: Link between your own pages (e.g., from your homepage to your Books page) wherever relevant.
Clear Calls to Action: Want readers to sign up for your newsletter or pre-order your latest novel? Make it easy and obvious.
➔ With Squarespace, you can also use Announcement Bars and integrated Email Campaigns to guide visitors to important actions right from your homepage.
6 great Squarespace features for authors →
7. Be patient (but keep tracking progress)
SEO takes time - it can take weeks or even months for a new site to start ranking consistently.
I know it’s frustrating, but patience is often key!
Meanwhile:
Monitor Google Search Console: Watch for which keywords people are using to find your site.
Track Your Traffic: Squarespace has built-in analytics that show you traffic trends, visitor sources, popular pages, and more - no extra setup needed.
Adjust and Improve: If you notice certain blog posts or pages are getting more hits, create more content around those topics!
The key is to stay active, keep learning, and consistently improve.
8. Bonus: local SEO for authors
If you want to attract readers in your local area (for events, readings, signings), a little Local SEO can go a long way.
Steps:
Create a Google Business Profile: Even if you work from home, listing yourself as an author can help with local search.
Use Location-Specific Keywords: Mention your town or region in your About page and blog posts.
Get Listed Locally: Join local writers' groups, library lists, and bookstore directories.
Final thoughts
Launching your author website is an exciting milestone. But helping it show up on Google is what builds a bridge between your writing and the readers who need to discover it.
If you use a platform like Squarespace, you’re already off to a strong start - mobile responsiveness, secure hosting, built-in SEO tools, blogging, and analytics are all baked into the platform.
Remember:
Set up your site properly.
Submit it to Google.
Focus on smart SEO basics.
Create valuable content.
Build real-world connections.
Track your progress and adjust over time.
Consistency and a little patience are the real secret ingredients. You've already written the stories - now let's make sure the world can find them!
How to set SEO titles and descriptions in Squarespace
Once your author website is live, it’s important to optimise each page’s SEO settings.
Luckily, in Squarespace, it’s very easy - here’s how:
1. Open your Squarespace website editor
Log into your Squarespace account and choose the website you want to edit.
2. Navigate to the page you want to edit
In the left-hand menu:
Click Pages.
Hover over the page (like your Home, About, or Books page) and click the gear icon ⚙️ to open the Page Settings.
3. Edit the SEO title and description
In the Page Settings panel:
Scroll down and click SEO.
Here you’ll find fields for:
SEO Title: This is the title that shows up in Google search results. Make it clear and keyword-rich (e.g., "Charlotte Duckworth | Psychological Thriller Author").
SEO Description: This is the short blurb under the title in search results. Aim for about 150 characters, summarizing the page’s content and inviting people to click.
Squarespace even shows you a preview of how your page will appear in Google — super helpful!
✅ Pro Tip: Keep each page’s title and description unique. Google doesn’t like duplicate metadata.
4. Save your changes
Once you’ve filled in the SEO title and description, click Save.
Repeat this process for every important page on your site — your Homepage, About page, individual Book pages, Blog, Contact, etc.
Quick SEO title formula for authors:
[Your Name] | [Your Genre or Specialty] | [Optional: “Official Website”]
Example:
Jane Smith | Historical Romance Author | Official Website
This little bit of setup work helps Google understand exactly who you are, what you do, and why readers should visit your site - giving your website a big SEO boost without needing any coding or plugins.
SEO title & description templates for author websites
Use these templates to quickly write strong SEO titles and descriptions for each page of your site:
🏡 Homepage
SEO Title:
[Your Name] | [Genre] Author | Official Website
Example:
Charlotte Duckworth | Psychological Thriller Author | Official Website
SEO Description:
Discover the books of [Your Name], author of [genre/series]. Explore latest releases, news, and more.
Example:
Discover the novels of Charlotte Duckworth, author of twisty psychological thrillers. Latest releases, news, and book updates.
👩💻 About Page
SEO Title:
About [Your Name] | [Genre] Author
Example:
About Charlotte Duckworth | Thriller and Suspense Author
SEO Description:
Learn more about [Your Name], [genre] author of [series/books]. Explore their writing journey and upcoming projects.
📚 Books Page
SEO Title:
Books by [Your Name] | [Genre] Fiction
Example:
Books by Charlotte Duckworth | Psychological Thriller Novels
SEO Description:
Browse the complete list of novels by [Your Name], bestselling author of [genre]. Summaries, buy links, and reviews.
✍️ Blog or News Page
SEO Title:
[Your Name]'s Blog | Writing Tips, Book News & Updates
Example:
Charlotte Duckworth's Blog | Book News and Writing Life
SEO Description:
Latest updates from [Your Name], [genre] author. Blog posts, writing tips, book announcements, and event news.
📬 Contact Page
SEO Title:
Contact [Your Name] | Author Website
Example:
Contact Charlotte Duckworth | Author of Psychological Thrillers
SEO Description:
Get in touch with [Your Name], [genre] author. Media inquiries, event requests, or just say hello.
Quick tip:
Keep SEO titles under ~60 characters if you can.
Keep SEO descriptions under ~155 characters to avoid being cut off in search results.
Want me to build you a website?
My streamlined yet personal approach, perfected over the past 6 years of building websites for ambitious authors just like you, means I can create your dream author website without overwhelming you with tech jargon or confusing decisions, supporting you throughout the whole process and gently guiding you with my expertise.
Find out more, then get in touch. I would love to hear from you!
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