What is book metadata?
Book metadata is the descriptive details that define and help to categorize your book. These include the core details about your book like the title, author name, ISBN, publisher, and genre, as well as more enhanced fields, like publication date, book description, reviews, and cover image. It also includes details that help libraries, retail stores, and online platforms to categorize your book accordingly.
All together, these different elements make it possible for search engines, library catalogs, retailers, and readers to find your book, categorize it, and recommend it. Without metadata, your book runs the risk of being invisible to audiences who are interested in your genre or niche.
Why does book metadata matter for sales?
These days, most book purchases start with an online search rather than browsing through a bookstore. Metadata is like your book's online storefront. It helps guide readers from the search results to the sales page.
Books that have poorly defined metadata or incomplete information may not appear in search engine results at all and may struggle to be seen on platforms like Amazon, Google, Apple Books, and Barnes & Noble. Professional authors invest in metadata optimization to make sure that their title reaches their ideal audience across all of these platforms and much more.
Now that you have a better idea of what metadata is and why it's important, how do you go about optimizing it yourself? First, it's important to know what you're working with, so let's go through the individual components, one by one.
Individual elements of metadata (and how to optimize them)
All books, no matter what genre or topic they cover, have the same underlying metadata components, which include:
Title and subtitle
The most important out of all your metadata elements, the title and subtitle need to be accurate, search-friendly, and easy to read. For example, imagine you're the author of a romance novel titled A Snowbound Heart. You might include a subtitle like A Winter Romance Love Story to capture terms like “winter romance” and “love story.” Integrating terms like these into your book helps improve your book's discoverability in search engines as well as through online retailers like Amazon.
Author name and biography
Readers often search for books by author name, which means it's important that your name be consistent across different platforms. In addition to making sure your name is consistent, having a solid author biography is important toward building trust with your readers. This is the point where you should share relevant accolades and awards, and incorporate keywords if you can, such as “YA fantasy author.” Including a personal touch can also help your biography connect with fans who are just starting to learn about you as an author.
Book description
Your book description is another way to optimize metadata. Think of your description as your digital back-cover blurb. It provides a compelling overview without revealing spoilers. It's a good idea to provide both short and long descriptions to accommodate the requirements of different distribution partners. This makes sure that everyone, whether it's Amazon or a local library, gets appropriately formatted metadata.
Ideally, you'll want to use keywords strategically and incorporate terms that readers would use in searches. For example, “historical fiction,” or “self-help for entrepreneurs.” The short version of your description should be around 1–2 sentences, while the longer version can be around 1–2 paragraphs.
BISAC codes and categories
BISAC codes sound complicated, but we're here to break it down. BISAC stands for “book industry standards and communications” and is an international method of categorizing books into standard genres and subgenres. Choosing the right BISAC code prevents your book from being misclassified while also helping to make your book discoverable on different platforms.
To illustrate how important it is to choose the right code, one of the most common pitfalls authors experience when choosing BISAC codes happens when they select “education” for a children's novel, when options like “family and relationships” or “juvenile fiction” may be better options.
Here at BookBaby, our experts research and assign the best possible BISAC codes to make sure that your book can be found across a number of platforms, whether it's online, in library catalogs, or on retail store shelves.
Keywords
Keywords act as a bridge between what your potential readers are searching for and your book itself. The best keyword strategy includes three steps:
First, research high-volume search terms that readers use when looking for books like yours. There are a number of free and paid keyword research tools on the market. While these are often used for website search engine optimization, they can work just as well for book keyword research tools!
The second step is relevance. This is where you choose phrases that are directly related to your book's content or theme. For example, rather than just choosing “romance,” you might choose “time travel romance.” Instead of just choosing “science fiction” you might select “post-apocalyptic survival sci-fi horror.” As you can see, there's a great deal of flexibility and the potential to zero-in on the type of audience who can't get enough of your particular genre.
Cover image and visual metadata
Although this isn't a text field like most metadata fields are, cover images are still a part of the metadata for many different platforms. Your cover should be a high-resolution image that meets or exceeds retailer expectations, and it should display correctly as both a thumbnail or full-size image.
Be sure that the cover image you choose also matches the book's genre expectations. You'd be hard-pressed to find an audience that would pick up a pitch-black cover with sharp fonts and deep imagery for a romance novel (or a soft, flowy and pastel cover for a murder mystery).
What happens with metadata optimization?
At BookBaby, we offer detailed, comprehensive metadata optimization that precisely tailors your book for maximum discoverability. If you'd like to take advantage of our affordable metadata optimization service, you'll need to add the service first, either during the project setup phase or later via your BookBaby account.
From there, a self-publishing specialist will review and audit every metadata field, from basic to advanced. This includes BISAC codes, book descriptions, and keywords. You'll then receive a notification to review and accept the suggested edits. You can also propose changes via your BookBaby account. Once the metadata is finalized, it's distributed to all of your chosen platforms and retail partners.
It's important to keep in mind that although this service is designed to make sure your book has the strongest possible findability online and offline, it is a non-refundable service and does not guarantee sales.
What if I skip metadata optimization?
Beyond this, if you choose to skip or do a half-hearted job on optimizing your metadata, you're essentially hiding your book from those who are most likely to read it. For example, without metadata, your book won't show in relevant search results on retail sites like Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, and so on.
If you choose an incorrect or overly broad BISAC or category code, readers looking for books in your genre won't see your title. The people who do find it will note that it's not the right match, which drives down conversion rates. Keywords that aren't relevant to your book won't convert to sales, which can hurt your overall ranking in a variety of book marketplaces and platforms.
Search algorithms reward titles that have strong engagement, including click-through rates, sales, and reviews. If readers can't find you, that engagement never happens, so your book sits there, stagnant. Even paid ad campaigns don't perform as well when metadata doesn't support the user's search intent. In essence, you'd be paying for clicks that don't convert.
For this reason, it's crucial that you give your metadata optimization the time and attention it requires, or hire a team of professionals to help you.
Expert book metadata optimization strategies
If you're looking to optimize your own metadata, there are a series of steps and strategies you should follow to make your efforts as impactful as possible across every platform. The first is to take advantage of SEO (search engine optimization) tools. This means using Google's keyword planner (free) to see what readers are searching for in your genre.
You may discover terms you might not have ever thought of, like “cozy romance” or “business leadership.” These tools are a great way to get insights into how your readers think, and more importantly, how they search!
The next step is to carefully analyze your competition. Check out platforms like Amazon or Barnes & Noble to see what keywords the top-performing titles in your genre are using. Focus on the keywords that most closely match your book's content. Some retailers also offer backend keyword slots. These are a great opportunity to use additional search terms to capture your ideal reading audience — take advantage of them!
Choosing the right BISAC codes and categories
If you're looking to choose your own BISAC codes and categories, the first step should be to check out the BISAC subject headings list to find the best fit for your book. BISAC codes are made up of a six-digit alphanumeric code and a text string that shows the category and any deeper subcategories, separated by slashes, so you may have something like:
BUS000000 - BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / GENERAL
The whole list is updated each year and published by the Book Industry Study Group (BISG). It includes hundreds of codes. The full list is available to buy or subscribe to at the BISG website.
Be sure that when you choose your codes, you avoid broadly misclassifying your book. Choosing “fiction” is too generic. Choose something like “fiction / mystery and detective / cozy” if your book spans those niches. Some platforms let you have a primary and secondary BISAC code, which is a great opportunity for you to broaden your book's discoverability.
Don't forget, metadata isn't static; update your codes if your content strategy or marketing strategy changes.
How to craft high-converting descriptions
The description of your book does a surprising amount of the heavy lifting! For this reason, you'll want to create a description that hooks your reader and invites them into the world you've created, or the advice and life experience you're sharing. That means hooking them in the first sentence with a dramatic question or scenario. Include details like what the protagonist stands to gain or lose. For nonfiction, list the key takeaways or chapters and finalize it with a call-to-action to encourage readers to preview or purchase.
Here's an example of a high-converting description:
Can you hear the clock ticking as yet another opportunity slips through your fingers?
In The Productivity Blueprint, bestselling author Jane Doe reveals the exact system that transformed her life from chaotic overwhelm to laser-focused achievement. Without these strategies, you risk burning out, missing critical deadlines, and never realizing your true potential. But with just a few simple changes, you could double your output and finally reclaim control of your time.
Inside you'll discover:
- Proven daily routines that top performers swear by
- A step-by-step method to eliminate distractions in under 5 minutes
- How to set goals so compelling you can't help but achieve them
- The hidden “80/20” leverage points that turbocharge any project
- Real-life case studies showing ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary results
Ready to stop surviving and start thriving? Preview the first chapter now or add The Productivity Blueprint to your cart and begin your transformation today!
Optimizing your author bio
Your author bio should be relevant and include credentials that matter to your genre. For example, “Ten years as a financial advisor” to back up your finance book. Include a bit of your personality and link to your website or social media. Here's an illustrative example to learn from:
Jane Doe is a productivity coach and consultant with over ten years of experience helping busy professionals reclaim their time and achieve their biggest goals. After nearly missing her dream job interview because she'd overbooked her day, Jane developed the streamlined system she now shares in The Productivity Blueprint. Her methods have been featured in Fast Company and Harvard Business Review, and she's guided hundreds of clients, from startup founders to Fortune 500 executives, to work smarter, not harder.
When she's not optimizing calendars, Jane can be found experimenting with zero-email Fridays, hiking the Appalachian Trail at sunrise, or hosting impromptu “focus jams” with fellow productivity geeks.
Connect with Jane and grab free time-management templates at janedoeproductivity.com or join her community on social media: @JaneProdCoach.
Platform-specific tips
Now that you have a clearer understanding of the basics, it's time to delve into more advanced tips, including retailer-specific research. Every retailer and distributor has unique metadata requirements. For example:
Amazon KDP: Allows seven keyword fields and selects two browse categories — choose both wisely.
Apple Books: Uses genre labels and supports multiple metadata locales (e.g., English, Spanish).
Barnes & Noble: Offers controlled vocabulary for categories — make sure yours matches.
The good news is that you can research these and other retailers directly on their websites. Look at the bestseller lists to see how top titles are categorized and which keywords appear in their descriptions.
Testing and refining your metadata
Remember that metadata optimization is not something you should “set and forget.” You'll want to periodically monitor your performance and look at KPIs or “key performance indicators” including sales velocity, traffic sources, and conversion rates.
It's also a good idea to split test, or A/B test your descriptions. Craft some alternative hooks or keyword sets to see which ones drive higher click-through rates or sales. Also, take the time to refresh your metadata periodically. Update keywords, descriptions and categories in response to seasonal changes or market trends. You may be surprised at the results!
If you choose BookBaby to handle your metadata optimization, you'll be glad to know that you can update it through your account. The edits will spread out to retail partners within 10–15 business days.
BookBaby tools and support
We offer a number of services beyond our metadata optimization service to help you make the most of your book's marketing. If you work with us for metadata optimization, our specialists will craft and align your metadata with best practices that match current marketplace algorithms and trends.
Beyond metadata optimization, we also offer Ads for Authors. This supports your book with paid ads. Having optimized metadata is a crucial part of this process and you'll want to optimize yours before choosing paid ads, as clicks won't convert if there's a lack of metadata (or it's incorrect) on your sales pages.
Last but not least, we also provide consultation services that are personalized to your unique needs. This customized, one-on-one marketing service is offered through Smith Publicity and lets you tailor your metadata strategies into a broader promotional campaign.
Learn more about BookBaby's expert book metadata optimization services
Metadata doesn't have to be overwhelming. However, it's not something you'll want to leave out of your book marketing and sales process, nor is it something to be treated as an afterthought. In fact, book metadata optimization is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve the discoverability of your book and help you drive sales.
With so much competition, even in smaller, traditionally underserved or unknown niches, it's more important than ever to refine your title, perfect your description, research keywords, choose the right categories, and maximize your author profile. By choosing professional services like BookBaby's metadata optimization, you help to position your book in such a way that makes it easy to be found by the readers who are sure to love it the most.
Keep in mind that metadata optimization is something you should revisit from time to time. Check in on your BookBaby dashboard to see how your book is performing and don't hesitate to try out different variations according to changes and shifts in the market or other trends.
By following this complete guide, you'll be well-positioned to give your book not only a solid metadata foundation, but also the best possible chance to stand out in a marketplace that's always hungry for new and exciting material.