How to Improve Your Author Online Presence and Connect with More Readers
There is a simple exercise I recommend every author, speaker, and thought leader do at least once a year. Open a browser you do not normally use, preferably one where you are not already logged into your accounts, like an incognito window, and search your own name.
Then pay attention to what comes up.
Do not look at the results as yourself. Try to look at them as a reader who has never met you before! Maybe someone mentioned your book at dinner. Maybe they heard you on a podcast, saw your name in an article, or heard you speak at an event. Something made them curious enough to search for you, and now they are deciding whether they want to learn more… or buy your book.
That first impression matters more than most authors realize. And now with artificial intelligence on the scene, it’s become vital.
Your Online Presence Is Already Telling a Story
We spend so much time thinking about our books, our message, our writing, and the stories we are trying to share that it is easy to overlook the story our online presence is already telling. A reader may know nothing about you other than your name, and what they find online may shape whether they continue exploring your work or move on.
Important Note: This is not about vanity, branding perfection, or trying to look impressive. It is about clarity. If someone is already interested enough to search for you, you want to make it easy for them to understand who you are, what you do, and where they can find your work.
Start With What a Reader Can Find
When you search your name, start by asking whether your book is easy to find. If you are an author, your current book should not be buried several clicks deep. A reader should be able to quickly see what you have written and where they can purchase it. If you have multiple books, make sure it is clear which ones are current and where a new reader might begin.
Next, look at whether your online presence actually feels like you. Does your biography reflect the work you are doing now? Does your photograph look current and recognizable? Can someone get a sense of what you care about and why you write?
You do not need to tell your entire life story online, but you do want your presence to feel human. Readers connect with people before they connect with platforms. A warm, accurate biography and a professional photograph can often do more to build trust than a page filled with clever marketing language.
Look for Signs That Your Presence Is Outdated
Then look closely at whether everything feels current. This is where many authors discover little problems that have been sitting unnoticed for years. You may still have a biography that says you are working on an upcoming book that has already been published. You may have an old event listed as if it is still happening.
You may have broken links, outdated photos, or social media profiles that no longer represent the work you are doing.
My team and I recently updated my IG profile and LinkedIn profile. They were badly out of date! It also made me dig a little deeper, and I’ve got work to do on Amazon and Goodreads.
None of these things might seem especially important on their own, but together, inconsistencies can create confusion. When someone cannot quickly tell what is current, they often stop looking.
Make the Fixes Simple and Consistent
Once you identify what needs attention, do not turn this into an enormous branding project. Start with the basics. Choose one current professional photograph and use it consistently across your most important platforms! Write one strong core biography and adapt it as needed for your website, social media profiles, speaking page, podcast appearances, and author pages.
Make sure your book or current work is easy to see, and give readers a clear place to go next. That might be your website, your book page, your newsletter, or a place where they can follow your work. Then click every important link yourself.
You would be surprised how often old links quietly stop working.
Ask Someone Else to Take the Search Test
I also recommend asking someone you trust to do this exercise for you. Choose someone who does not work closely with your business and ask them to search your name. Then ask what they noticed first, what they learned about you, and whether anything felt confusing.
Their answers may be more useful than your own because you already know where everything is supposed to be. A new reader does not.
Ask Artificial Intelligence to Give Its Opinion
I know, not everyone is comfortable at all with AI, but guess what? I recently learned something you should know. According to recent surveys, somewhere between 60-70% of readers are actively using AI-assisted tools.
According to Goldman Sachs, 78% of companies globally use AI in at least one business function. In addition, there is a near-universal 99% adoption among Fortune 500 companies, according to Census.gov. From individuals to businesses, the majority of those who may want to find you or know more about you or your book have access to this information through their AI.
And keep in mind that what Google searches (or other online search tools) say about you may be radically different. Carefully check out both.
Do Not Make Interested Readers Work Too Hard
The most important thing to remember is that you do not want to make interested people work harder than necessary. Authors often spend enormous amounts of energy trying to attract new readers while accidentally overlooking the people who are already curious.
The good news? Someone heard your name. They remembered it. They searched for you. That means they have already taken an important step toward your work!
Your job is simply to make their next step easy.
Make This a Quarterly Habit
Once a quarter, set aside a couple of hours in an afternoon to repeat this process.
Search your name again. Read your biography. Check your photographs. Click your links. Update anything that no longer reflects your work. Look at your website from both a computer and a phone, and make sure your latest book, project, or message is easy to find.
Think of your online presence as a series of doorways into your work. A potential reader may arrive through Google, a podcast, LinkedIn, Instagram, an author page, an AI search tool, or an old interview. You may not know which doorway they will use, but you can make sure that each one leads them somewhere useful.
Celebrate the fact that you are becoming a greater influencer just by making yourself relevant for today’s reader. If someone is already curious enough to look for you, wahooooo! And the great news is that it is not your job to somehow convince them to care. Simply let yourself be present, clear, accurate, and easy to find when they arrive.
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