Author bio remains one of the hardest write-ups for many authors out there. Yet, having a solid biography offers many benefits to the author. It is one of the keys to improving your SEO. But how? Before we delve into that, let's see what exactly an author bio is.
What is an author bio?
An author bio refers to that paragraph about you. It contains a brief overview of your achievements, hobbies, and other details you are willing to share with your audience.
But you may wonder what good that small paragraph at the bottom of your articles does? It lets people know who you are and helps in building a solid reputation for you. And to top it all, it is significant for boosting your SEO. How? This article provides the answer to that question.
How Author Bio boosts your SEO
SEO is critical to every website out there. And your biography can go a long way to improve your rank on Search Engine Result Pages [SERPs]. Here are three ways a solid bio can boost your SEO.
It helps to generate backlinks for your website. Backlinks are links to your site on an external webpage. The more backlinks your website has, the higher you’ll rank on SERPs. Many authors have taken advantage of their bio to link users to their site. The same goes for you. All you have to do is add hyperlinks to your site on your biography.
It increases your traffic. Search engines like Google rank websites depending on the number of traffic they have. A solid bio refers readers to the author’s site, thereby generating more traffic.
It builds a solid reputation for you. As an author, having a good rep is essential. As noted earlier, your biography goes a long way in establishing a solid reputation for you. But you may wonder how this affects your SEO. It’s pretty simple. If readers view you as trustworthy, they are most likely to stop and read your articles whenever they see your name. Who knows, you may even get a fanbase. Hence, a good rep increases your popularity, which in turn results in more traffic. Furthermore, high traffic boosts your ranking on Google’s SERP.
How to write a solid Author Bio
As seen above, a solid bio is one of the keys to improving your SEO. That said, it is hard to come up with that perfect biography. So how do you develop an optimized bio? Here are six tips to help you do so.
1. Write in the third-person
You may have noticed that many bios are written in the third-person point of view. While this is not mandatory, it is best to have your write-up in the third person. Writing in the first person may make your bio feel weak.
On the other hand, the third person establishes professionalism and authority in your biography. And of course, the more authority your write-up has, the more valuable search engines view it.
2. Keep it short
Yet another common trait of author biography is their length. Most bios are somewhere between fifty to a hundred words. You may wonder why this is so. Of course, you can write thousands of words about yourself without any stress. However, readers only want to know little about you. If you bore them with words, the purpose of your author bio will only backfire.
Hence, keep your bio short and simple. Tell your readers only a little about yourself and let your article do the rest.
3. Avoid adding irrelevant information
While you need to let people know who you are, ensure you don't overdo it. This is a common mistake many authors make. Instead of developing a bio rich in keywords and facts, they write only about their traits and hobbies.
True, there is no harm in being casual and letting readers know how you spend your free time. As a matter of fact, it shows that you are human and gives readers something to relate to. However, you need to minimize it. More so, if the blog you are featured on represents a business. Do not get carried away. If you do, your bio may end up lacking any facts.
4. Write about your achievements and previous works
Your bio ought to reflect your achievements. Have you written previous articles before? If so, make sure your biography shows that. Additionally, let your audience know your credentials. It will help them view you as trustworthy.
That said, do not overdo it. Without a doubt, you don't want your readers to think you are showing off. Or make them feel unworthy of you. If not, you may lose any trust they have in you. And what's more, you may lose any opportunity for future jobs. So, write about your achievements. But do so in moderation.
But what if you are a new author and have no achievements yet? If so, you can include your interests and hobbies. Or better still, let readers know what you did before you became an author. There's no harm in writing about your achievements in a previous job.
5. Add a professional photograph
Having a good photograph can tremendously boost your bio's SEO. You may think that's strange, but it is true. Your photo is the aspect of your bio that first captures your reader's attention. Hence, a simple-professional photograph helps people identify you. For example, take Neil Patel. On hearing his name, you no doubt visualize his face and grin. And that is because his photo appears in every article he has written.
The same goes for you. By adding a photograph that is easy to remember, you are promoting yourself. Readers will begin to recognize your face even if they don't recall your name.
6. Add a contact link
Your bio is only complete when it lets people know how they can contact you. As a result, authors take the initiative to add a link or two to their website or social media accounts.
Wrapping Up
It is a bit strange that authors are capable of writing hundreds of words about others, but have so little to write about themselves. Yes, having the spotlight on them makes it difficult to express their words freely. However, having a solid biography at the end of your articles offers many benefits to your SEO. So if you don't yet have a good biography, it's time to start writing. The above tips will help you develop that perfect bio.