If you had money for 1 SEO book, which book would it be?

[pood]

I know a little SEO, IE backlinking, meta tags, and releveant keywords. Not really sure how to implement it unfortunately.

If there was one SEO book you would buy, what would it be?

Been hearing a lot of great things about SEOBook (SEObook.com). THe price is fantastic and it gets updated it frequently which is great because the engines always change.

So, what book would you get? Max budget at $200

What would be a good SEO course?

Thanks!

[glengara]

Come on Aaron, has it come to this?

[Marcia]

Thus saith glengara, our resident cynic:

Come on Aaron, has it come to this?LOL...

[glengara]

I did edit out the smiley to see if he'd bite :-)

[tommy123]

Seo books will only give the basics of seo, and they are made to sell not to really help u get top 10 rankings. If you were an seo and had a method to get top 10 rankings would you give it away fro 200 bucks? If you did then first of all you would have competition up the wazoo, second your method will not work because the search engines will see all the seo's using it and will adjust their algorythm accordingly. Best advice is to engage an seo expert and try to strick a deal with him/her to either seo your sites or go into a partnership with them. Dont discount overseas seo's but it is extremely hard to find a good one and you sort of have to take a leap of faith.


tommy123

[SEMBasics]

I also have heard good things about SEOBook, and have read a little of what he writes in it and it seems solid. I'm also a big fan of his blog (I check it out often). With that said, my favorite SEO Book is Search Engine News (www.searchenginenews.com) which is a combination of a SEO BooK (called the Unfair Advantage In Winning The Search Engine Wars), a montly journal and 9 years worth of archives (there is a lot of high quality articles in the archives). The e-book is updated each month so as to stay current. Also, and this is particularly important, the articles are well written and are enjoyable to read.

The journal has three sections. The first is an update on what is happening in the world of search marketing, with a particular focus on updates on:

1) Google (including their search engine, AdWords, and AdSense, as well as other new products and/or updates that Google is involved in)

2) Yahoo (again, relating to multiple marketing related services that Yahoo offer)

3) MSN

4) Ask.com

5) AOL

The second section are in-depth articles relating to search engine marketing. Many of these articles have excellent, practical ideas of how to market your site online (recent gems are articles on how to get your site listed in DMOZ and a couple quality articles on social bookmarking sites such as Digg.com and del.icio.us, including an article on how to write articles for Digg.com. The third section are answers to questions that their subscribers have asked.

The cost is $97 for the e-book (which you can download) and a six month subscription to the journal and archives. They take a very practical, business oriented approach to marketing your website. They are not into quick tricks, but rather into solid strategies which help you to create long-term success.

To get a sense of the type of articles that they write check out the following two entries on the Wordtracker website:

http://www.wordtracker.com/articles/index.php/academy/the_ultimate_keyword_primer/
(note, this is an condensced version of the original article)

http://www.wordtracker.com/keyword-research-guide.html
(this is the Wordtracker Keyword Research Guide, which is interesting and worth reading in it's own right. Included in it is an entry by Stephen Mahaney, the President of Planet Ocean Communications, the organization which publishes Search Engine News. I particularly like his entry and think it is worth paying attention to.

Besides that I just want to comment on what tommy123 wrote:

Seo books will only give the basics of seo, and they are made to sell not to really help u get top 10 rankings. If you were an seo and had a method to get top 10 rankings would you give it away fro 200 bucks? If you did then first of all you would have competition up the wazoo, second your method will not work because the search engines will see all the seo's using it and will adjust their algorythm accordingly.

I have not found this to be true with Planet Ocean nor with the advice that I have learned from SEOBooks blog. Here are some reasons why:

1) There are so many different industries and products that can be profitably optimized for that you don't have to really worry about competition. Also, good rankings are not the only key to online success, one needs to have a product or service that they can sell and service well. No one can sell everything. For many products you need suppliers, staff, a warehouse, a quality web site, etc., all of which costs money and takes time and effort. You can't just jump into an industry with an optimized website, it takes much more than that to succeed.

2) Secondly, selling an seo book can be rather profitable in and of itself, you create a product and sell it to hundreds or maybe thousands of people a year for $100 - $200 a pop, not bad (Planet Ocean has a yearly subscription which is even more profitable, I imagine). It's a decent return on one's investment. Plus, if done properly, one then has access to a databse of customers who one can sell other products or services (including SEO services).

3) The search engines don't necessarily change their algorithm so quickly that in the short run it's not worth writing an e-book. More importantly, certain advice is in sync with what the search engines want in the first place (which is to provide the users of their search engines with quality, relevant search results) that there really is no danger of the search engines changing their algorithm if a lot of people follow that advice. For instance, Planet Ocean (and from what I've seen on the SEOBook blog, Aaron Wall also advicates this advice) constantly emphsises the importance of creating quality, content based websites as part of your marketing strategy. That's exactly the type of website that the search engines want to show up in their resutls. They certainly aren't going to change their alogrithm because people are creating the types of sites which the search engines want to rank well just becuase their intention is to rank well.

4) Search Engine News and Aaron Wall don't just give the basics of SEO and they do give advice which is designed to help people rank in the top 10. That, indeed, is why they both have a significant following, because their advice is good. I found out about Search Engine News because of my brother (http://www.internetmi.com/JonMorris.php) who has been successingfully using their advice for almost 9 years. The ONLY reason why he recommended them to me is because he found their advice helped him in his real life optimization efforts.

In short, the fact that there may be many SEO books out there which are not worth the paper that they are written on does not mean that there aren't any quality e-books out there which can be of extremely high value to one's online business or venture.

[Robert_Charlton]

Is it me or does this seems like a very long and boring url drop?

glengara - I think it is, but I also think it's not just about books on SEO. It could be about Planet Ocean and WordTracker and their spinoffs, as they're relentless url droppers, or it could also be about selling overseas SEOs. Hard to tell which one of these guys thought of this topic first.

See my post here...

http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?p=91893#post91893

[evilgreenmonkey]

So, what book would you get? Max budget at $200

Whether Aaron is pood or not, the "SEO Book" e-book is top stuff and would certainely help you on the right road (along with lashings of practice and time).

:cool:

Rob

[glengara]

If P was A I'd give this game up tomorrow, I was just messing to see if he'd respond ;-)

I'll obviously need to be more subtle next time....

[evilgreenmonkey]

I'll obviously need to be more subtle next time....
you? subtle?

:p

Rob

[SEMBasics]

It could be about Planet Ocean and WordTracker and their spinoffs, as they're relentless url droppers

In case there is any misunerstanding about my post, I would like to make the following clarifications:

1) While I AM an affiliate of Planet Ocean and promote Search Engine News heavily on my website I try very hard to make sure that any reference that I make to Search Engine News is of value to users of this forum. I really do think it is the best SEO Book out there and I LOVE the journal and archives. Indeed, that is why I became an affiliate of theirs.

2) I NEVER use my affiliate code when mentioning their site on this forum.

3) I also try to mention, when relevant, other products which are also of value. For instance, I am NOT an affiliate of SEOBook, but I use his blog a lot and find it of value and therefore suggest it on this forum when I think it is relevant.

4) Neither Planet Ocean nor WordTracker know that I participate on this forum and certainly neither one of them has suggested that I "drop their URL" into posts (or anywhere else for that matter). I mentioned Wordtracker solely because, as far as I know, they are the only source of free examples of Planet Ocean's articles and I thought it would be helpful for pood to be able to see an example of their style before forking over $97.00 for their e-book.

In short, I am not try to find cheap ways to promote Planet Ocean, WordTracker, or even my own site.

One more point: I went into detail about Seach Engine News because I find that extra details are usually helpful for the one who is looking for information. Assuming that pood is NOT Aaron Wall then I imagine he would like to have a better idea of what Search Engine News is about in case he is considering ordering it. And even if pood is Aaron Wall, there are other readers of this forum who may find this information interesting. After all, there are a lot of e-books out there on SEO, it's worth hearing which one other people have found helpful.

All the best,

Moshe Morris

[Wilksy]

Glengara that is too funny.

[Marcia]

Gotcha Moishe, we understand. :cool:

Glengara that is too funny.Agreed, it is tooooo funny. I think we may just have to ping Aaron on this one.

If I had just two hunnert bux to fork out, I'd buy Aaron's book on SEO (which is a good 'un I hear and does get updated, and BTW sharing is no threat to him, SEO is an art not a science), Andrew Goodman's book on Adsense, and Mike Grehan's geek_fodder book also, to get the skinny on the dynamics of how search works from the roots on up.

Just my personal 2 shekels, imho it would be 2 c-notes well spent.

[pood]

Thanks for the responses guys/gals! Sorry it took so long to respond.

No, I'm not Aaron Walls, haha.

I understand that no one will just sell their secrets for $200, I'm really just looking for a foundation. All I really need is just a push out the door to get me started. Hopefully in the next couple months I will complete my site that I thought about over a year ago. The release date keeps on getting pushed because I would always come up with excuses to not do it. Now that I've graduated from college and only have a part-time job, there is no more excuses.

I hope that in the coming months I will learn from you guys so I can get my site to the top!

Thanks,

pood

PS, I think I will get the SEOBook, but I won't rule out the SearchEngineNews book. Maybe I'll get both!

[glengara]

*I'm really just looking for a foundation.*

Can't comment on the books but thought the SEOmoz beginners guide excellent when I looked at it, between the two you should be pretty sorted...

[pood]

*I'm really just looking for a foundation.*

Can't comment on the books but thought the SEOmoz beginners guide excellent when I looked at it, between the two you should be pretty sorted...

Ya! I saw that earlier, plan on going through that this week.

[SEMBasics]

Pood,

If you do get more than one book, perhaps you could update us on which one you found most helpful and why.

Best of luck,

Moshe

[pood]

Pood,

If you do get more than one book, perhaps you could update us on which one you found most helpful and why.

Best of luck,

Moshe

Will do! I just got SEOBook last night.

[pilos]

...to late... but in case anyone is interested in a free book.
Check this (http://forum.hostican.com/showthread.php?t=43) posting. ;)

_pilos_

[Marcia]

pilos, that required downloading a demo of software to get the materials. Once there's a condition like that, imho it no longer qualifies as a freebie. The price paid is to accept the download.

[NewKidOnTheBlock]

I've read Aaron's SEOBook...however I wouldn't mind getting another one free..but whats up with the download-stuff? Anyone downloaded/read it, yet?