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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
Comprehensive Guide
I am one who has been very outspoken about the more shady SEO practitioners and about the ridiculously overprices "courses" that are heavily promoted on the Internet. SEO has acquired some of the taint of huckster marketing because of that.
I hope this book helps eliminate some of that. There's no need to pay some self-styled "Internet Guru" hundreds or...
Published 8 months ago by Anthony Lawrence
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
A little too technical for my taste
I've bought a number of SEO books in the last few months. As someone who has little experience with search engine optimization, I was looking for a book that wasn't overly complex but rather could explain key concepts and then give me practical advice on how to implement SEO techniques for my own website. I thought the Art of SEO would do the trick but was very...
Published 3 months ago by Jamie Beth Wachstein
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
Comprehensive Guide, November 17, 2009
This review is from: The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization (Theory in Practice) (Paperback)
I am one who has been very outspoken about the more shady SEO practitioners and about the ridiculously overprices "courses" that are heavily promoted on the Internet. SEO has acquired some of the taint of huckster marketing because of that.
I hope this book helps eliminate some of that. There's no need to pay some self-styled "Internet Guru" hundreds or thousands of dollars for SEO secrets. There are no secrets: every concept, every "trick", every piece of advice is available on the Internet for free. Of course you have to find it all, you have to learn what things are outdated, what advice doesn't work - or you could find 99% here in this book.
Of course it's not for everyone. It assumes some technical knowledge or at least access to someone with that knowledge. As an example, at several points 301 redirects are used as the solution certain SEO issues. Although some minor direction is given about implementing these, you'd need more than is provided here if you were a neophyte - someone using Blogger or [...] isn't going to become proficient with Apache from reading this.
The only small complaint I can make is that sometimes the authors use too many examples, especially for the more basic concepts at the beginning of the book. However, too many is far better than too few, so I won't complain too much. I definitely can't complain that they left anything out: this could serve as a course book for a SEO class.
I'll be recommending this strongly.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
Almost Cutting-Edge, November 4, 2009
This review is from: The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization (Theory in Practice) (Paperback)
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.
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12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
The Art of Missing the Forest for the Trees, December 13, 2009
This review is from: The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization (Theory in Practice) (Paperback)
The Art of SEO is a good book, but it could have been a great book. I reviewed it on my blog, in detail, and as an SEO training and teacher, I am always on the lookout for the latest and greatest in SEO.
The book has a lot of great insights into SEO, but it suffers drastically from a forest-for-the-trees phenomenon. As I have taught several hundreds of people SEO, I know that most people do not need the esoterica. They need the basic process of SEO - from 1) keywords, 2) on page factors like page tags and website structure, 3) link building, 4) metrics.
This book has all the esoterica, with no break outs to the big picture. Tons of small print, and no headlines. Where was the editor? Asleep?
If you could combine the Dummies series in terms of layout with the content of this book, you'd have a fantastic guide to SEO. But, alas, you do not.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
SEO in Depth, January 24, 2010
This review is from: The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization (Theory in Practice) (Paperback)
The Art of SEO is a good solid book full of valuable information about search engine optimization. This is not a beginner's book to SEO, it assumes basic knowledge. It is not on the other hand heavily technical. It does not give a formula for setting up a website to maximize its SEO potential. Websites are unique and require different strategies to maximize their SEO.
The book does give tons of examples and techniques used in various ways that would increase the ranking within search engines. It also discusses, and gives examples of so-called tricks that have been used in the past to increase rankings. It does points out the danger of using such tricks in the present environment.
There is plenty of information for the web developers and webmasters to consider when developing for a site. Such as the drawbacks of using Flash or Silverlight in regards to SEO. The importance of naming conventions for such things as images. The book discusses site hierarchy as it applies to search engine optimization. Linking, the dos and don'ts. What works, what works best.
The book is an easy read, and although it requires some technical knowledge, almost anyone with a basic level of understand should have no problem. If someone wants to be a SEO expert, they might feel the need to read this book will are cover to cover. For others it would make a good reference book or something to be skimmed through picking out the information that may apply to the work they're doing.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
A little too technical for my taste, April 11, 2010
This review is from: The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization (Theory in Practice) (Paperback)
I've bought a number of SEO books in the last few months. As someone who has little experience with search engine optimization, I was looking for a book that wasn't overly complex but rather could explain key concepts and then give me practical advice on how to implement SEO techniques for my own website. I thought the Art of SEO would do the trick but was very overwhelmed by the concepts presented. Additionally, I didn't feel as though it gave me the tangible "here's exactly what you need to do" type of instructions.
As a small business, I'm running sales, marketing, and operations. I don't have a lot of time to learn about all of the SEO theory. After buying a few books, I thought SEO Made Simple was the best. It's a thin book but dispenses with all of the unnecessary theory and just tells you what you need to know and what you need to do - which was more of what I was looking for.
The Art of SEO is good if you want all the theory behind SEO but, in my opinion, not as practical as some of the other guides that are out there.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Not SEO for Dummies, December 13, 2009
This review is from: The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization (Theory in Practice) (Paperback)
How do you create a web site that ranks high in the various search engines on the web? That is the subject of search engine optimization or "SOE."
This book might be considered a Bible of SOE, it covers most of the available techniques and strategies for making your web site visible in search engines. It is well written, with many examples and specific URLs.
If there is a criticism, I failed to find a ranking of preferred approaches to designing a high visibility web site. I suspect that most of the currently available approaches are listed, but there is no "SEO for Dummies" approach that I could find.
This is the kind of book that you could spend a great deal of time reading, and then wonder where you should start on designing your web site. It states that "there is no such thing as a cookie-cutter SEO plan." That may be true, but there are general principles that may be implemented in the initial web site design, and the design may be tweaked over time to improve rankings and exposure.
With those caveats in mind, this is a very complete book. The authors have started a SEO blog which allows interaction with their readers. This should add to the value of the book over time.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
This book change our company, December 26, 2009
This review is from: The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization (Theory in Practice) (Paperback)
Interesting book, good for training, good for research, for some here a bit technical but it structure make read easy for newbies as well as seasoned SEOs. If you are starting a new business on the internet, this is a most.
We start a company in the Miami area a couple of months ago, and with the help of this book we are improving our SEO to a higher level.
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The Best Book on SEO, July 12, 2010
This review is from: The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization (Theory in Practice) (Paperback)
I hope my competitors do not buy this book :) The Art of SEO has the best and most comprehensive coverage of Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing, written by the biggest rock stars in business. For a highly technical area, the book is easy to read and user friendly, providing many practical, ready to implement solutions.
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Just Perfect for the Professional or Quasi-Professional SEO, June 12, 2010
This review is from: The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization (Theory in Practice) (Paperback)
The Art of SEO is exactly what I was hoping it would be... a dense, detailed exploration of the basics and best practices of SEO. As many starting SEOs know, there is lots of free information all over the web about various tactics, but the lack of a single comprehensive source to look something up in makes it occasionally frustrating trying to find the best tactic or to find a simple explanation of an SEO concept. That's why I wanted to buy a nice, thick book on the subject, in hopes that its authors and editors will have organized a comprehensive source to serve as both a learning tool and occasional reference guide, including a little bit of enlightening info about almost everything you can think of in the practice of SEO. This book accomplishes that, giving you advice that can be trusted, so you don't have to take the risk that a piece of info on some forum post is going to give you the right direction.
I bought this one because Rand Fishkin was involved as one of the authors... his video presentations and blog posts on SEOMoz, along with the rest of that site's contributers, already represent the most central and credible source of good SEO info on the web. The book follows suit in presenting clear explanations, and solid tactical advice on hundreds of areas, with just enough detail to help you talk like an expert, without bogging you down in trivia or tech-ese. A complete beginner might want to start with a more introductory text, or just stick to the web for awhile with the free stuff, as this book does presume a certain degree of knowledge. But if you know a little SEO and are web-savvy, this book will become your right-hand SEO guide.
One complaint that must be noted... the book's index is not nearly as complete as it should be - many terms that I just want to jump to and read about are not in the index. There is some amusing irony in the fact that a book about search is... uh... hard to search in. The Table of Contents makes up for this a bit, as it's relatively easy to scan that section and figure out where you need to go, but it would be better to have a more comprehensive index, because this is not a book you'd be likely to read cover to cover...it's more likely to be used again and again as ideas develop and questions arise. Maybe they will take care of that in subsequent editions, which will surely be necessary for a book covering a field that is constantly changing.
The Art of SEO is a thick, small-font reference guide covering everything that a quasi-professional or even current expert would want to have at hand, and the charts, tables, and resources are extensive and helpful. I don't expect the need to buy another book on SEO anytime soon, as this one gives me much to chew on.
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Excellent SEO Book, June 10, 2010
This review is from: The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization (Theory in Practice) (Paperback)
I've been studying SEO techniques and practicing it for about 2 years. I've scoured the internet for as much information as possible. What others have said is true. Yes, most of what's talked about in this book can be found on the internet for free, but it's a matter of finding ALL of the information and then knowing how to utilize said information for it to be effective. This book does an excellent job of putting all of this at your fingertips in a well laid out, very understandable manner.
I really don't think that SEO is meant for those who are brand new to web work. You should have knowledge of the different markup languages (html, css) and at a minimum an understanding of PHP, Javascript, SQL Databases, Apache/IIS, etc. Without this, you will find the terminology a bit difficult to comprehend or have absolutely no idea what the topics are talking about.
This book won't bring you instant success, as the search engines continuously change, but if you're looking to get up to speed on SEO this is a great start. The rest of the learning process is all trial-and-error.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who's seriously interested in getting started with SEO work.
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