Search Engine Optimization

By: Christopher Nelson.

By: Jennifer Grappone, Gradiva Couzin.

Getting seen on the first page of search engine result pages is crucial for businesses and online marketers. Search engine optimization helps improve Web site rankings, and it is often complex and confusing. This task-based, hands-on guide covers the concepts and trends and then lays out a day-by-day strategy for developing, managing, and measuring a successful SEO plan. With tools you can download and case histories to illustrate key points, it’s the perfect solution for busy marketers, business owners, and others whose jobs include improving Web site traffic.

• A successful SEO plan is vital to any business with an online presence
• This book provides strategies for setting goals and gaining corporate support, developing and implementing a plan, and monitoring trends and results
• Offers hints, tips, and techniques for everyone from one-person shops to Fortune 500 companies
• Companion Web site includes downloadable tracking spreadsheets, keyword list templates, templates for checking rank and site indexes, and a calendar with daily SEO tasks that you can import into your own calendar system

Fully updated and expanded, Search Engine Optimization: An Hour a Day, Third Edition will help you raise your visibility on the Web.

By: Lambert Klein.

By: Peter Kent.

A clear understanding of search engine optimization (SEO) is essential if you want your Web site to appear high in search results. This straightforward-but-fun guide provides you with a clear understanding of how you can use SEO as a key strategy for online marketing. After discussing search engine basics, SEO expert Peter Kent shares tips, tricks, and advice for making your content appealing to search engines. You'll explore new and updated content on Bing, Google's new "Caffeine" search algorithm, localized searches, Google Sidewiki, and more. Packed with invaluable insight for showing up in searches at Amazon, eBay, Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Craigslist, this updated guide puts you on your way to the top of the heap!

• Provides you with a clear understanding of the basics of search engine optimization
• Details the techniques, tips, and tricks for getting your site ranked high and making your content appetizing to search engines
• Offers completely updated material on Bing, localized search optimization, video search optimization, Google's new "Caffeine" search algorithm, and more
• Shows you how show up in product search marketing on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, eBay, Craigslist, and more

The search for the best introduction to search engine optimization is over! Search Engine Optimization For Dummies, 4^th Edition offers everything you need to know to reach the top of the online mountain!

By: Danny Dover, Erik Dafforn.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of creating, formatting and promoting web pages in a manner that ensures that they are ranked highly for chosen keyword phrases after a user performs a Web search. This unique book taps the relatively unknown market of advanced SEO knowledge, and reveals secrets used by only the best SEO consultants.

You'll take your Internet marketing skills to the next level as you gain a thorough understanding of standard SEO techniques such as on-page optimization, off-page optimization, and link building. Packed with real-world examples, this essential guide demonstrates how real SEO consultants work with Fortune 500 companies to get the results they desire.

• Explains the basics of search engine optimization (SEO) and how it enables a specific site to rank high in a Web search based on particular keyword phrases
• Shares little-known tricks and tips of SEO consultants that work with Fortune 500 companies
• Demonstrates how to perform a professional SEO Web site audit
• Reveals the techniques that current SEO leaders use to remain high in rankings
• Divulges secrets for spying on your competitors' ranking techniques

As the only book focused on the subject of SEO consulting, this must-have resource unveils secret tricks of the trade.

From the Author: How to Get Your First Major SEO Client

I have worked with many of the webʼs most popular websites as an SEO consultant, and each of them shared one infuriating trait. While their SEO problems were not that difficult, the process of getting them to hire me was.

Before I can explain how I overcame this barrier, let me set the context. Large clients generally suffer from many or all of the same difficulties:

• The potential major client’s website scaled quickly but without SEO in mind. This makes going back and working with a legacy Content Management System (CMS) very difficult.
• The amount of inbound links is no longer a problem, but optimally passing the value of those links throughout the site is a problem.
• The production of content is no longer a problem, but that same content being duplicated across multiple URLs is massively devaluing that same content’s value.
• Big organizations generally have very big websites. While the raw materials for a search engine optimized site are there, the information architecture is not.

So how do you use this knowledge to get your first major SEO client? The answer is to create solutions to these problems before the potential client even identifies they exist and then sell your services to them in the correct way. Once you have done that, offer your solutions at a cheaper than market price (for your first major client only!) and make it clear you have the follow through necessary to guide these changes through their companies structure.

That sounds good but how do I establish myself as a trusted source? That is exactly the correct question! Larger companies usually need hard data in order to make these decisions. This means you will need appropriate case studies. Case studies pay dividends so always be sure to create them after working with noteworthy clients. (I even recommend doing this in exchange for a lower price, if necessary.) Since in this scenario, you haven’t already had a major client in the past, the best case study isn’t really a case study at all. Use the potential clients site as an “in progress case study” and cite actual problems that exist on their site today and show them the results your previous (although smaller) clients got in the past. Back this up with inside information on how others have seen similar results at other major websites. The most cost effective way to get that evidence is to take other SEOs who already worked with major clients out to lunch or coffee in exchange for examples and anecdotes they experienced with past clients. This will both help you become more knowledge and improve your ability to sell yourself.

This combination of pre-identifying the potential major clients’ problems, reassuring them that you have the stamina to push the changes through their company structure, demonstrating the type of results they will likely receive from working with you and basing all of that on case studies and actual examples make up the system you need to get your first big SEO client. While this should get you the results you need, more details are available in this book, Search Engine Optimization Secrets, in case you need more detailed instructions. This system has worked for me and it has worked for others.

Now it is your turn.

By: Bruce Clay, Susan Esparza.

Ten handy minibooks cover how search engines work, keyword strategy, competitive positioning, SEO Web design, content creation, linking, optimizing the foundations, analyzing results, international SEO, and search marketing. You’ll even learn some geeky things like HTML, JavaScript, and CSS, or how to match metatags and keywords to page content.

• Book I explores how search engines work and which ones offer the best exposure
• Learn to develop a keyword strategy and be competitive with Books II and III
• Book IV helps you design an SEO-friendly site, while in Book V you learn to create content that lures your audience
• Tips in Book VI show how to line up relevant links for a better search showing
• Book VII shows how to get more from your server and content management system
• Discover how to measure your site’s success in Book VIII
• Book IX helps you globalize your success by marketing in Asia, Europe, and Latin America
• Use SEO and Book X tips to build your brand

With all this information and a Google AdWords gift card worth $25, Search Engine Optimization All-in-One For Dummies has what you need to make your site a hit with search engines.

By: Kristopher B. Jones.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is an ever-growing and powerful form of online marketing that allows business to grow in a faster, more cost-effective way by increasing traffic and visibility to a Web site. This updated resource remains the only book of its kind to take a visual approach to the essential component of maximizing the effective marketing strategies that SEO provides.

Packed with more than 600 screen shots, top Internet marketing expert Kristopher Jones explores search-engine marketing principles such as keyword generation, on-site optimization specifically regarding Web site structure, internal linking, URL structure, and content creation, and much more.

• Presenting the only known book on the market that takes a visual approach to the powerful and growing form of SEO marketing
• Covers the increasing role of social media Web sites as well as the convergence that is occurring between paid and organic search-engine marketing
• Offers you a strong foundation for developing successful SEO strategies

Search Engine Optimization: Your visual blueprint for effective Internet marketing, Second Edition captures the immense potential of SEO and delivers it to you in a visually understandable way.

By: Eric Enge, Stephan Spencer, Rand Fishkin, Jessie Stricchiola.

By: Jon Rognerud.

Master Search Advertising
Whether they "Google" "Yahoo" or even "Bing," millions of potential customers are searching within your business category--wouldn't you like to capture their business?

Search engine optimization expert Jon Rognerud cuts through the confusion surrounding search engine optimization and delivers a step-by-step plan to gaining greater visibility, drastically boosting website traffic, and multiplying sales numbers. Learn how to create a search-friendly website and employ a powerhouse SEO marketing plan using proven tools and tactics including keyword research, link building, local search, social media and more!

Learn how to:

• Create an attractive website with SEO-enriched content
• Choose the right keywords and create an effective seed list
• Use effective tools to identify and attract quality traffic
• Safeguard your site from becoming spam
• Use cutting-edge tactics to gain local exposure and land on page 1 of Google
• Create relationships with other sites through linking
• Use social media tools to create targeted traffic
• Turn traffic into sales

"Rognerud is a Master in search engine optimization and internet marketing. The tips and suggestions that he offers in his book are easy to understand and to implement even for the novice. He also offers many other powerful strategies that even an old pro like me finds insightful. Ultimate Guide to Search Engine Optimization is one of the few books that I recommend to students at our SEO Workshops." -- Radar by Roy Reyer, Certified Advanced SEO – Search Engine Academy,www.SEOtrainingSW.com

Jon Rognerud owns and runs chaosmap.com, a search marketing firm focusing on SEO, SMM, PPC, client strategy and implementation. He is a technologist with more than 20 years in the industry. His depth of experience includes owning an SEO development company, designing online database web applications and search systems, one of which was licensed to Expedia/Microsoft, and running internal business solutions at Overture/Yahoo.

By: Rebecca Lieb.

“Rebecca’s book is chapter-by-chapter gold for anyone who needs to understand how we find information on the Web.”

Kevin M. Ryan, Motivity Marketing, Inc., and Chairman of Search Engine Strategies Advisory Board

In this book, leading search optimization expert Rebecca Lieb brings together more than 50 absolutely crucial facts and insights decision-makers must know to drive more web traffic through better search engine placement. The Truth About Search Engine Optimization doesn't deliver abstract theory: it delivers quick, bite-size, just-the-facts information and plain-English explanations that executives, decision-makers, and even small business owners can actually use, no matter what kind of sites you're running, or what your goals are.

You will learn how to set realistic goals for search optimization... attract qualified traffic, not just "any" site visitors... incorporate search engine optimization into both new sites and redesigns... write for users... implement search-friendly content management... avoid problems with rich content technologies such as Flash and AJAX... create metatags that actually work... use public relations, blogging, and other techniques to drive traffic... budget and manage search optimization projects... and much more. 

This book reveals 51 PROVEN SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION TECHNIQUES and bite-size, easy-to-use advice that gets results including

• The truth about page rankings
• The truth about best SEO practices and SEO no-no’s
• The truth about link love, keywords, and tags

 Introduction     vii

Foreword by Fredrick Marckini     ix

Part I: The Basics of Search

Truth 1: Getting noticed by spiders, robots, and crawlers     1

Truth 2: Learn to do the Google dance     5

Truth 3: It's not about traffic—it's about qualified traffic     9

Truth 4: Your reputation is on the line     13

Part II: The Truth About Being Site-Specific

Truth 5: SEO is an ongoing project, not set-it-and-forget-it     17

Truth 6: SEO is not an afterthought     21

Truth 7: SEO results aren't immediate or lasting     25

Truth 8: You don't have a homepage anymore     29

Truth 9: Think like a publisher, even if you're not     33

Truth 10: Site and page design count     37

Truth 11: Write for users and search engines will follow     41

Truth 12: Keywords are key     45

Truth 13: Use analytics and keyword research tools     49

Truth 14: Site stats share the bad news, too     53

Truth 15: Think twice about hot new technologies     57

Truth 16: Content management systems matter—a lot     67

Part III: Tag, You're It!

Truth 17: What's in a title? Everything…     65

Truth 18: The relative importance of meta tags     71

Truth 19: Tag images, audio, video, and other media     75

Part IV: The Truth About Links

Truth 20: Some links are more equal than others     79

Truth 21: Building links through online directories     83

Truth 22: Using SEO PR as a link strategy     87

Truth 23: The jury is out on paid links     91

Truth 24: Share and share alike: Reciprocal linking     95

Truth 25: Ads are links, too     99

Truth 26: Build your site in a good neighborhood     103

Truth 27: Blogs are a terrific link strategy     107

Truth 28: Putting the kibosh on link love with nofollow links     111

Part V: You Call That a Search Engine?

Truth 29: Search is going vertical     115

Truth 30: Everyone is local somewhere     119

Truth 31: Get listed to get vertical     125

Truth 32: Optimize off-site searches     129

Truth 33: Universal search and personalized search     133

Part VI: Get a Social Life

Truth 34: Blogs are built for SEO     137

Truth 35: RSS feeds "feed" SEO efforts     141

Truth 36: Users will create content for you     145

Truth 37: Tag images, video, links, and other media     149

Part VII: Search Ranking

Truth 38: Being #1 ain't what it used to be     153

Truth 39: Don't live and die by PageRank     157

Truth 40: Wag the long tail     161

Part VIII: The Truth About SEO Management

Truth 41: In-house or outsource?     165

Truth 42: Hiring a great search professional     169

Truth 43: Great SEOs sweat the small stuff     173

Part IX: Don't Be Evil

Truth 44: Beware blackhat SEO     177

Truth 45: Search engines frown on keyword stuffing and spam     181

Truth 46: Don't cultivate link farms     185

Truth 47: It's very difficult to get unbanned     189

Truth 48: Moving to a new domain is stressful     193

Part X: Going Beyond

Truth 49: Global SEO     197

Truth 50: Mobile SEO is more important than ever     201

Truth 51: Sometimes you don't want to be found     205

About the Author     208

Note: Appendix A is available for free and located online at www.informit.com/title/9780789738318 within the Downloads tab.