Search Engine Optimization: An Hour a Day [Paperback]

Jennifer Grappone (Author), Gradiva Couzin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0470226641 | ISBN-13: 978-0470226643 | Publication Date: April 14, 2008 | Edition: 2nd

Back and bracing as ever, Search Engine Optimization: An Hour a Day, Second Edition offers brisk advice, bite-sized tasks, and smart tools to help you increase visibility for your website on the major search engines. In this new edition of their bestselling how-to guide, SEO consultants Jennifer Grappone and Gradiva Couzin offer surprisingly easy do-it-yourself techniques as well as the very latest SEO strategies for small, very small, and large businesses, as well as for bloggers and web designers.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Put Your Website in the Spotlight

A Step-by-Step Guide

Back and bracing as ever, Search Engine Optimization: An Hour a Day, Second Edition offers brisk advice, bite-sized tasks, and smart tools to help you increase visibility for your website on the major search engines. In this new edition of their bestselling how-to guide, SEO consultants Jennifer Grappone and Gradiva Couzin offer surprisingly easy do-it-yourself techniques as well as the very latest SEO strategies for small, very small, and large businesses, as well as for bloggers and web designers.

• Cut through the trendy jargon to find the "Eternal Truths" of SEO

• Discover the right keywords using the latest research tools and your own gut check

• Get to know your stats and the free stat-collector, Google Analytics

• Optimize your site for search engines and your site visitors so you can be found, then make the sale

• Use the social web to help you reach your business goals, even if you're not a social networking butterfly

You'll also find:

• Essential hints, tips, and techniques for everyone from one-person shops to Fortune 500 companies

• Engaging right-brain vs. left-brain discussions about tackling key issues from two unique perspectives

• Real-world "From the Trenches" case studies that illustrate successes to learn from and mistakes to avoid

Praise for Search Engine Optimization: An Hour a Day

"This book offers a systematic, commonsense approach to the art and science of SEO."
—Chris Sherman, SearchEngineWatch.com

"The book is a step-by-step guide that can help drive targeted search-referred traffic to a variety of websites—perhaps even your website."
—P.J. Fusco, ClickZ Magazine columnist

"The practical and realistic emphasis on business-oriented needs makes the book a great reference."
—Joe Dolson, inter:digital strategies

"Written with clarity and detail, the book leaves little room for confusion about what you can do to improve your website's rank in the search engine results pages."
—Harvey Ramer, marketing designer and blogger, Design Delineations

About the Author

Search marketing consultants Jennifer Grappone and Gradiva Couzin have been improving the Internet presence of Fortune 500 companies and other firms in the media, entertainment, software, retail, nonprofit, and human resources industries since the early days of SEO. Jennifer, a former web project manager and corporate video producer, began focusing exclusively on SEO in 2000. Gradiva, a programmer and civil engineer, has been working in SEO since 1998. Together they deliver a well-rounded, left-brain/right-brain approach to successful search engine optimization.
Visit the authors' site at www.yourseoplan.com, or www.sybex.com/go/seohouraday2e for downloads, forums, and additional resources.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Wiley Publishing; 2nd edition (April 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470226641
• ISBN-13: 978-0470226643
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #502,241 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly great book!, September 9, 2008

By 

Dr Bruce Hoag "Bruce" (USA/Europe) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Search Engine Optimization: An Hour a Day (Paperback)

Search Engine Optimization is a complicated process made so by the fact that Google, the number one search engine, has successfully kept its algorithms a deep, dark secret and continues to do so.

The book is divided into three parts: 1) Foundation, 2) Strategy and 3) Your SEO Plan. Foundation stresses the need to thoroughly understand what you want your website to do for you. Some people want to promote their businesses; but a surprising number just want to provide reliable information or publicize a provocative blog. Once you know what you want, you can start thinking about how to tailor your approach to SEO to meet those goals. Several downloadable worksheets are referred to, and the explanations on how to use them and how they are interrelated are clear and logical.

Many who read this book will be optimizing their own websites; but for those who are fortunate enough to have colleagues on whom they can draw, a number of suggestions for how to obtain their willing assistance are offered. There also is a 50-page chapter devoted to a four week plan on how to get ready to implement your SEO Plan.

The Plan itself covers three months and includes a systematic method for accomplishing the most important optimization tasks in the first instance, and then establishing the habit of checking them regularly thereafter.

At the rate of one hour per day, the average reader should be able to implement the entire program in four months, which is the intent of the book. Those who are more experienced at SEO may be able to complete the program in less time. Four months may seem like a long time, but as I said at the beginning, it is complicated. There is much to remember; and because the Internet doesn't stand still, neither can the SEO process. Although there were a couple of URLs that no longer worked, the authors responded promptly to my e-mail asking for their assistance after I pointed this out to them.

On a final note, I need to say that I couldn't disagree more with the reviewer who thought the book was "poorly organized." Quite to the contrary, it is well organized and well-thought out. I warmly commend it to all who want to increase their Web presence.

Bruce Hoag, PhD
Co-author Managing Value-based Organizations: It's Not What You Think (New Horizons in Management Series)
http://www.p-advantage.com

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Accessible and Comprehensive, December 22, 2008

By 

R. Miller (Carmel, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Search Engine Optimization: An Hour a Day (Paperback)

These experts are not the kind that cannot explain their passion. They are fun to read and cover so much material, breaking it down into meaningful and do-able chunks, but by no means do they avoid important facts. A week by week plan makes SEO happen before you know it and gets the reader into the groove of sticking with it. Obviously, the authors have worked in a variety of situations and offer witty and creative solutions.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good reference book, January 29, 2009

By 

S. Dhaliwal (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Search Engine Optimization: An Hour a Day (Paperback)

As a beginner in SEO, this a great book to start with because it compiles everything and starts with the basics. There's a lot of blogs out there to supplement your education with but start with this book and then expand and enchance your knowledge with internet blogs. Can't go wrong with this book!