The Complete Idiot's Guide to Growing Your Business with Google (Paperback)

by Dave Taylor (Author)
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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The search engine for success.

Using the Internet to increase the visibility of a small business today is no easy task. It can take a lot of time, energy, and money—especially if you’re not a computer expert. Here, readers can get a valuable overview of how search engines, web sites, ad services, and web logs can all work together to build a business, as well as practical hands-on tips, tricks, and planning tools to help readers create and execute a plan that utilizes the Internet to its fullest.

• Google‚ is widely recognized as the world’s largest search engine—an easy-to- use free service that usually returns relevant results in a fraction of a second

• Author holds an MBA and has started and run several small businesses in addition to being a well-known technology book author

• Perfect for the entrepreneur and small business market

About the Author
Dave Taylor has been involved with the Internet since 1980. He has created, grown, arranged for outside investments, and ultimately sold The Internet Mall, ClickThruStats LLC, and iTrack.com. He is the author of Creating Cool Web Sites and the bestsellers Wicked Cool Shell Scripts, Learning Unix for Mac OS X Panther, and Teach Yourself Unix in 24 Hours, among many other titles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Alpha (August 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592573967
• ISBN-13: 978-1592573967
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #307,709 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a "must have, must read" book..., August 21, 2005

By	Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

As you probably know, I like books. And there are a number of books I think should make an appearance on a person's bookshelf depending on their area of expertise. But there are a small number of books I think are absolute musts to be read, digested, and applied. I had the pleasure of reading one of those books this week... The Complete Idiot's Guide to Growing Your Business with Google by Dave Taylor. It is truly that good...

Contents:
Part 1 - The Business Case for Google: Increasing Your Business Visibility; The Benefits of Increasing Your Visibility with Google; What Is Google Anyway?; Learning About Google Search; Disassembling the Google Search Engine
Part 2 - Building Your Google Plan: What's Your Core Business?; Living in an Online World; Your Business Website; Assessing Your Competitors; Keeping Track of Customers
Part 3 - Improving Your Online Business Site: The Basics of Building a Good Business Site; Developing Online and Offline Content; Stretching Your Marketing Dollars; Secrets of the Online Marketing Masters
Part 4 - Promoting and Growing Your Online Business: Content, Content, Content!; Becoming a More Popular Site; Becoming an Online Expert; Advertising Your Business with Google AdWords; Making Money with Google AdSense; The Advantages of Affiliate Programs; Avoiding Dumb Online Promotional Mistakes
Part 5 - What's Next on Your To-Do List?: Growing and Expanding Your Content; The Future of Findability
Appendixes: Websites Worth Exploring; Glossary; Index

Short of writing a two or three page review, it's really hard to cover all the things I like about this book. First off, Dave Taylor is a talented writer who is able to cut through hype and jargon and convey useful information in a compelling manner. In Growing Your Business with Google, he takes the reader through how Google works, and how it can be leveraged by businesses and web site owners to drive traffic (and dollars) their way. With the concepts and understanding conveyed here, you'll learn how best to structure your site to show up and stand out in search results. Even better, Dave doesn't resort to cheap tricks and unethical methods to accomplish these goals. The recommendations are all solid techniques that work well and won't get you in hot water with search sites.

The chapters that concentrate on Google's AdWords and AdSense programs alone would justify the cost of the book. You'll learn how to launch an effective advertising campaign by bidding on keyword searches through AdWords. On the flip side, you'll also learn how to incorporate AdSense advertising into your site so as to make money on directing people to useful information. There are no unreasonable promises that you can build a site specifically to generate AdSense revenue and retire early. It's just solid information that helps you monetize portions of your site and add to your overall revenue stream.

Finally, Dave Taylor practices what he preaches. I consider him a "virtual colleague" based on chats and email exchanges I've had with him. I also follow his blogs and see how he's put everything into place on his sites. Rather than being an author who jumps on the hot topic du jour, he is truly an expert in this area, and he writes what he knows. As a result, you can trust what he says, because it's actually worked. I'll even testify to the fact that I've increased the AdSense revenue on my site by a factor of 4 based on his recommendations. I'm nowhere near his traffic levels and income totals, but the information *does* work...

If you're a large company, your marketing communications department should read this book. If you're a small business or a website owner who wants more "findability" (and more dollars), you *absolutely* need to read this book. You'll be "the complete idiot" if you don't...

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for anyone with a web presence, November 7, 2005

By	Christopher M. Buechler (Louisville, KY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have a far more technical background than the typical target audience, and have read other books on Google in the past (though all from the usage perspective). I can recite Google search options off the top of my head, and essentially never have problems finding things.

But Dave Taylor has given me a new perspective on Google with this book - not just how to find things, but how to *be found*. This is critically important for your business website, whether it's a revenue-generating site, or more like an online promotional brochure for your company's products or services.

This book also includes numerous great tips on improving the usefulness your website for your customers and potential customers. And even if you don't have a business, this book provides a lot of great information that's equally applicable to promoting any website.

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone looking to get the most out of their web presence.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! Is this complete, March 20, 2007

By	Red Headed Executive (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

I have opted into online courses and even have an MBA where I studied E Business. This is by far the most complete, helpful and timely guide I have seen to succeed with an internet business. It is rare that I read a "How To" cover to cover, but this is an exception. It is certainly the first time I have had my highlighter out since Grad school. If you want to succeed in an ebusiness, this is the way to get started!!