Review: SEO for Dummies by Bruce Clay and Susan Esparza Reviewed by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson , Web Marketing Today - Sep 29, 2009

Search Engine Optimization All-in-One for Dummies
by Bruce Clay and Susan Esparza
Wiley Publishing, 2009
Paperback, 746 pages
ISBN  9780470379738

Bruce Clay, the lead author of SEO for Dummies, is at the very top of my list of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) experts. Companies with some of the most competitive keywords of all time come to him to get them ranked at the top -- and he achieves it. Thus when he writes "the book" on SEO, I would naturally be excited -- even before looking at the book.

When I received a review copy, however, I was amazed. At 746 pages, the book has a sort of physical gravitas. It claims to be "10 books in one" -- and it sort of is. The volume is arranged into 10 books, each with three to five chapters. With the amount of material covered in the book, this is probably a good approach, though it leads to some overlap. For example, Clay's set of three diagrams of marbles in jars to illustrate content siloing appears three times. But for the most part this arrangement works well.

Here's a list of the "books" included:

1. How Search Engines Work. Here's the introduction to a technical subject for "dummies."
2. Keyword Strategy. Explains the foundational research required for an SEO campaign.
3. Competitive Positioning. Instead of going head to head with successful competitors, describes how to aim their holes and weak spots.
4. SEO Web Design. There a helpful section on what to look for in an SEO-compliant content management system.
5. Creating Content. Explains how to strategically develop keyword rich site content that pulls in targeted traffic.
6. Linking. Describes physical and virtual siloing techniques, as well as a variety of strategies to get links.
7. Optimizing the Foundations - webservers, domain names, and 301 redirects.
8. Analyzing Results, an introduction to web analytics, conversion tracking, and split testing.
9. International SEO, with separate chapters on Asia, Europe, and Latin America.
10. Search Marketing, a brief introduction to paid search and identifying search engine spam.

The book also includes an appendix on "The Value of Training." Though it's called SEO for Dummies, this book isn't for people one brick short of a full load. The authors write for "a small business owner who is pretty new to Internet marketing." While they approach the concepts simply and clearly, you'll find detailed instructions about how to do each different aspect of SEO. This is not a once-over gloss.

If you just want an overview of SEO, this book is overkill, though you'll find a helpful introduction in Book 1. But if you're looking for an accurate guide to all the ins and outs of SEO, this is it. In my opinion, SEO for Dummies is by far the most comprehensive, authoritative, and up-to-date SEO reference available in print. Highly recommended!

At this writing the book was available through Amazon for US $26.39, Canada CDN$24.00, UK £17.54, Germany €15,90, France €30,86, and Japan ¥3,882.