This one is for the new beginners who are interested in SEO and looking to get an edge, and for the experienced ones who want a reference point for the best Guides to SEO out there.
When I got into SEO, I had a difficult time starting. It was not as much as the content, but where to find it and which one is worth reading. There are bunch of “definitive” “essential” “step-by-step” or “basic” guides to SEO on the internet, and quite honestly not all of them are just as good. To spare you the trial and error and your time, this here is a list of the best Guides to SEO out there.
This is the methodology I used to select these guides:
- Level of depth & breadth of the content
- Expertise and authority of the author in the field of SEO
- Readability of the text and use of visuals
- Structure of the guide
Even though the following guides are shown in a numbered list – I want you to make your own decision on which one is the most useful to you. At the end the article, there is a poll for you to vote for your favourite one.
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The Beginners Guide to SEO by Rand Fishkin
Why is the author awesome? – Rand is a pioneer in the field of SEO and is also the Wizard (CEO) of Moz. On his company blog, Rand shares numerous insights and cutting edge techniques of SEO.
What is so cool about this Guide? – The guide caters to beginners as well advanced users despite what the title says. It is structured into 10 evenly loaded chapters with good amount overlap for internalizing complicated concepts. Plenty of examples and case studies are included and the guide covers everything from explaining how search engine works, myths & misconceptions of SEO, to measuring performance.
Link: The Beginners Guide to SEO
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The Advanced Guide to SEO by Neil Patel & Sujan Patel
Why are the authors awesome? – Neil Patel is the founder of Quicksprout, KISSMetrics, Hello Bar and Crayzegg – he has worked with big names like Amazon, NBC, and Viacom to increase their online revenues. On the blogs of his companies, he posts several times per week about in-depth insights on a variety of topics related to online marketing. Sujan Patel is a serial entrepreneur who has written several insightful articles on Search Engine Journal.
What is so cool about this Guide? – This guide to SEO is neatly divided into 9 chapters that address advanced concepts for practicing SEO. Each chapter begins with a small intro that tells you what you will learn in the chapter. Chapters are fairly long, so you are covering a lot of material but the information is structured in paragraphs and sub-paragraphs for future references. The guide is meant for an advanced audience and will be somewhat difficult to consume for beginners, nevertheless it is a must-read.
Link: The Advanced Guide to SEO
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Search Engine Land’s Guide to SEO by Danny Sullivan
Why is the author awesome? – Danny Sullivan is the editor-in-chief of Search Engine Land – the most read online magazine focusing on the topic of SEO. He’s also the founder of Search Engine Watch and editor-in-chief of Marketing Land. Danny often writes about new developments in SEO.
What is so cool about this Guide? – Danny’s guide to SEO features a great overview of SEO Factors, in the form of the Periodic Table of SEO Success Factors. The guide is made with the Periodic Table in mind, as each of the chapters addresses different parts of it. In each chapter, there are links to more in-depth articles. The guide covers topics related to ranking factors, penalty, social signals and more.
Link: Search Engine Land’s Guide to SEO
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The Blogger’s Guide to SEO by Aaron & Giovanna Wall
Why are the authors awesome? – Aaron and Giovanna Wall are respectively the Founder and VP Business Development of SEO Book. A website dedicated to creating and sharing insights on how to do SEO properly.
What is so cool about this Guide to SEO? – This guide touches on a lot of different concepts but the main focus is on how to properly SEO your blog. The techniques and concepts discussed in the guide are most relevant for bloggers and online marketing departments that use blogs for their content marketing.
Link: The Blogger’s Guide to SEO
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WordPress SEO by Joost de Valk
Why is the author awesome? – Joost is the owner and creator of Yoast.com – the company responsible for many of SEO related WordPress.com plugins. Joost is a significant voice in the SEO community thanks to his unique insights and specialization in WordPress SEO.
What is so cool about this Guide to SEO? – As the specialization of Yoast.com and the title of the guide suggests, this guide focuses on basic and advanced SEO concepts, specifically useful for WordPress based websites and blogs.
Link: WordPress SEO
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SEO 101 by Stoney deGeyter
Why is the author awesome? – Stoney is the President of Pole Position and with his team, they provide SEO and other online marketing services to SMEs. Stoney has written numerous articles on influential SEO magazines like Search Engine Land and Search Engine Journal.
What is so cool about this Guide to SEO? – The guide by Stoney is actually a meta guide, in the form of a structured collection of other guides (also written by him). Each of the collected guides are dedicated to one specific subtopic of SEO.
Link: SEO 101
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2014 Beginner’s Guide to SEO by John Rampton & Jayson DeMers
Why are the authors awesome? – John is a known voice in the SEO industry. He’s the Editor at Large for Search Engine Journal and regularly writes for websites like Forbes, the Huffington Post and Entrepreneur. Jason is the founder and CEO of Audience Bloom. He’s a regular contributor at Search Engine Journal, Search Engine Watch, Forbes and the Huffington Post.
What is so cool about this Guide to SEO? – This guide to SEO is the only one in the list that specifically discusses post 2014 SEO landscape, tactics and strategies. Although the insights and techniques offered in the other 6 guides are valid in today’s landscape, this guide goes out of it’s way to focus on post 2014 SEO landscape.
Link: 2014 Beginner’s Guide to SEO
This is my list of the top 7 guides to SEO. What is your opinion?
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Alan Draper.
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