The Art of SEO (Theory in Practice) (Paperback)

~ Enge Eric (Author), Spencer Stephan (Author), Fishkin Rand (Author), Stricchiola Jessie (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A well-designed, easy-to-navigate website is useless if no one can find it. If your company is going to succeed in the web economy, optimizing your site for search engine visibility is essential. In this book, four of the most noted experts in the field of search engine optimization (SEO) provide you with proven guidelines and cutting-edge techniques for planning and executing a comprehensive SEO strategy.

The authors clearly explain SEO fundamentals, while correcting many common misconceptions. If you are new to SEO, you'll get a complete and thorough SEO education, as well as an array of effective tactics, from basic to advanced. Seasoned practitioners will find this book useful as a complete reference to SEO best practices.

• Explore the underlying theory behind SEO and how search engines work
• Learn the steps you need to prepare for, execute, and evaluate SEO initiatives
• Examine a number of advanced strategies and tactics
• Understand the intricacies involved in managing complex SEO projects
• Learn what's necessary to build a competent SEO team with defined roles
• Glimpse the future of search and what lies ahead for the SEO industry

About the Author

Eric Enge is the President of Stone Temple Consulting, an SEO consulting firm with offices in Boston and Northern California. He is a regular speaker at search industry conferences, such as Search Engine Strategies and Search Marketing Expo and makes regular contributions on the topic of SEO to Search Engine Land and Search Engine Watch, SEOmoz, and his own blogs. Stephan M. Spencer, M.Sc., is Founder and President of Netconcepts, a leading natural search marketing firm. Clients include Home Shopping Network, AOL, Verizon SuperPages.com, Discovery Channel, and REI, to name a few. Rand Fishkin is the CEO & Co-Founder of SEOmoz, a leader in the field of search engine optimization tools, resources & community. In 2009, he was named among the 30 Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs Under 30 by Business Week, and has been written about it in the Seattle Times, Newsweek and the New York Times, among others. Jessie Stricchiola is the founder of Alchemist Media, Inc., a San Francisco search engine marketing company.

Product Details

• Paperback: 602 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media (October 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596518862
• ISBN-13: 978-0596518868
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,982 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Almost Cutting-Edge, November 4, 2009

By	wes unruh "wesunruh.info" (online) - See all my reviews

I did enjoy this overview of the SEO field. Granted, even though it has a first printing copyright of October 2009, there are already some outdated links, which only serves to highlight the incredible rate of development that the Internet engenders. This is an excellent introduction to a highly volatile field, and I was very impressed with the depth of subject matter. At the same time, I found the repetition from chapter to chapter of nearly identical text somewhat distracting, which is why I hesitate to give this book a full five stars.

In some ways, this book sets the stage for the next evolution in marketing. Pay-Per-Click does not have the return on investment that Search Engine Optimization can have, and the authors do a very good job of outlining exactly why this is - and while there are many, many different signals which can be manipulated to some extent by a search engine optimizer (optimist?) the authors do an excellent job explaining the many pitfalls that can arise when SEO is done incorrectly. Still, I was somewhat perplexed to note that two tools I rely on most heavily seemed completely overlooked in the text, those being Google Alerts (which provides me with endless supply of keyword-relevant content as it hits the net) and Market Samurai, an astoundingly useful tool in my keyword research process.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The 'Bible' on SEO, October 29, 2009

By	Frank Stepanski (PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results as opposed to search engine marketing (SEM) which deals with paid inclusion.

Typically, the earlier (or higher) a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search and industry-specific vertical search engines. This gives a web site web presence.

This book is written by four well-known SEO experts: Eric Enge, Stephen Spencer, Rand Fishkin and Jessie Stricchiola. Each one of the authors demonstrates their ability in explaining to the reader their wealth of knowledge on this subject. This is the first of its kind in my opinion for a book to cover so many aspects of SEO from the planning of your site and audience, to working and testing algorithms of the various search engines, to creating SEO friendly content, trakcing and measuring your results and ROI.

A brief review of each chapters contents:

Chapter 1 : The Search Engines: Reflecting Consciousness and Connecting Commerce
Chapter 2 : Search Engine Basics
Chapter 3 : Determining Your SEO Objectives and Defining Your Site's Audience
Chapter 4 : First Stages of SEO
Chapter 5 : Keyword Research
Chapter 6 : Developing an SEO-Friendly Website
Chapter 7 : Creating Link-Worthy Content and Link Marketing
Chapter 8 : Optimizing for Vertical Search
Chapter 9 : Tracking Results and Measuring Success
Chapter 10 : Domain Changes, Post-SEO Redesigns, and Troubleshooting
Chapter 11 : Honing the Craft: SEO Research and Study
Chapter 12 : Build an In-House SEO Team, Outsource It, or Both?
Chapter 13 : An Evolving Art Form: The Future of SEO

This book should be considered a 'bible' on SEO because I cannot think of any other topic that has been left out. I have already used this book for two websites my company has developed and improved its search results by at least 10-20%. SEO is definitely an art form in a way and so many designers and devlopers overlook this when they are creating a website because either of the lack of time or mainly due to the lack of knowledge.

Even though this book has lots and lots of information, you can take parts or sections of this book and apply it immediately to a website you are currently working on or have worked on like I did.

I cannot stress enough how important SEO is and this book is an invaluable resource.

A must buy!