Found this book far more technical than I had expected and a bit heavy going. You really need to sit down and read the whole book to get the best out of it. I was hoping to be able to ‘dip in and out’ and just take the best bits! Too detailed to do that. You really need to have a good basic knowledge for this book to be helpful.
Rating: 2 / 5
This is a good starter guide to the various mechanisms of Internet marketing and Search Engine Optimisation (i.e. in rough English, how to get more people to click your links and earn some money in the process!)
The mechanisms by which this can be achieved are explained clearly enough, so a neophyte like me could understand the concepts. Blankson provides useful links at every juncture and guides the user through the processes without bombarding him or her with too much stuff. I learned a few new things. For starters, I had no idea how useful a sitemap is for search engine indexing, nor did I know how easy such a map is to generate, if you use the correct tools and XML. The use of keywords for searches is also advice I will keep on mind if I market products online in future.
I was also interested by the chapter on social marketing, via blogs, video clips and commentary. I vaguely knew about RSS feeds, but didn’t realise that they were designed to be syndicated on other websites and that links back to your websites could be contained therein. I have a blog myself which is a mixture of personal items, current affairs analysis and embedded clips. While syndication is not an option I would consider now, it was definitely worth looking at all the possibilities.
The use of certain mediums to copyright work was another suggestion I was not familiar with and could use, as well as the suggestions of banners and e-zines.
Regarding BBS and message board linking, Blankson is careful to note the caveats of just barging in and posting spam, i.e. links to your website. I suspect that even with engagement with the topic through posting, spamming posts may well still get deleted by the moderators, but it would be unfair not to say that the reader is duly warned about this. At all stages when specifying methods unpopular with or banned by search engine, the author includes a warning note. I would quibble with an inconsistency here: sometimes the warning note appears before the technique in question and sometimes afterwards, which can be confusing. A good editor would sort that out and correct the occasional typos and spelling errors that occur and which could easily be cleared up with a quick proofing.
Apart from the typos, I would also have liked some more detailed explanations at some points, such as when discussing the link farm, as I felt none the wiser about link farms at the end of the paragraph as when I’d started. But given this seems an expensive and non-recommended practice, perhaps is the aim is to dissuade the amateur from using same – though this should be more clearly specified.
In summary – some editing issues but in general a good guide for breaking down the concepts involving optimisation and marketing.
Rating: 3 / 5
One of the better, if not the best, book I’ve gotten my hands on about Search Engine Optimization! Refreshing in its common sense discussion of what can be a highly technical area, this book offers valuable insight for everyone from the beginning Website Designer to the seasoned veteran looking to gain a bit of an added edge on the competition. Search Engine Optimization also has profit for someone who is not at all involved in the web design field, because of the extensive and thoroughly helpful appendices. An excellent read that I would highly recommend!
I’m someone who has designed and maintained websites for some time. I had never delved into the world of SEO (search engine optimization) because I knew there was A LOT of ideas and methods out there, and I wasn’t sure which worked. Thankfully, I found this book. Turns out there ARE a ton of SEO methods out there, and the author covers them all. I was originally disappointed that there wasn’t any clear indication which methods were the best, but realized that from website to website, much like site needs and design rules, the “best” SEO methods may vary greatly. The author takes the reader through all of them. Also, as is very important with a book of this type, it is quite up-to-date, though it may give a little too much time to BBS. The only complaint I have is spamming message boards with your web address. As a message board owner myself, people who pop in for one post that has a web address in it are the bane of my existence. But to be fair, the author cautions against that as well. In summary, this is a great place to start if you want to learn about SEO.
Rating: 4 / 5
Samuel Blankson’s “Search Engine Optimization: How to Optimize Your Web Site for Internet Search Engines” is the best `How To Book’ on SEO I have ever read. It is written in novice language so anyone can learn with little effort but has so much information that SEO experts will learn some totally new tricks. Leveraging web browsers to achieve high placement on search engines are just part Blankson’s approach. To achieve maximum exposure Blankson thoroughly explains how to use peripheral SEO marketing resources to really optimize! “Search Engine Optimization: How to Optimize Your Web Site for Internet Search Engines” will certainly replace leading textbooks on SEO.
Rating: 5 / 5
Found this book far more technical than I had expected and a bit heavy going. You really need to sit down and read the whole book to get the best out of it. I was hoping to be able to ‘dip in and out’ and just take the best bits! Too detailed to do that. You really need to have a good basic knowledge for this book to be helpful.
Rating: 2 / 5
This is a good starter guide to the various mechanisms of Internet marketing and Search Engine Optimisation (i.e. in rough English, how to get more people to click your links and earn some money in the process!)
The mechanisms by which this can be achieved are explained clearly enough, so a neophyte like me could understand the concepts. Blankson provides useful links at every juncture and guides the user through the processes without bombarding him or her with too much stuff. I learned a few new things. For starters, I had no idea how useful a sitemap is for search engine indexing, nor did I know how easy such a map is to generate, if you use the correct tools and XML. The use of keywords for searches is also advice I will keep on mind if I market products online in future.
I was also interested by the chapter on social marketing, via blogs, video clips and commentary. I vaguely knew about RSS feeds, but didn’t realise that they were designed to be syndicated on other websites and that links back to your websites could be contained therein. I have a blog myself which is a mixture of personal items, current affairs analysis and embedded clips. While syndication is not an option I would consider now, it was definitely worth looking at all the possibilities.
The use of certain mediums to copyright work was another suggestion I was not familiar with and could use, as well as the suggestions of banners and e-zines.
Regarding BBS and message board linking, Blankson is careful to note the caveats of just barging in and posting spam, i.e. links to your website. I suspect that even with engagement with the topic through posting, spamming posts may well still get deleted by the moderators, but it would be unfair not to say that the reader is duly warned about this. At all stages when specifying methods unpopular with or banned by search engine, the author includes a warning note. I would quibble with an inconsistency here: sometimes the warning note appears before the technique in question and sometimes afterwards, which can be confusing. A good editor would sort that out and correct the occasional typos and spelling errors that occur and which could easily be cleared up with a quick proofing.
Apart from the typos, I would also have liked some more detailed explanations at some points, such as when discussing the link farm, as I felt none the wiser about link farms at the end of the paragraph as when I’d started. But given this seems an expensive and non-recommended practice, perhaps is the aim is to dissuade the amateur from using same – though this should be more clearly specified.
In summary – some editing issues but in general a good guide for breaking down the concepts involving optimisation and marketing.
Rating: 3 / 5
One of the better, if not the best, book I’ve gotten my hands on about Search Engine Optimization! Refreshing in its common sense discussion of what can be a highly technical area, this book offers valuable insight for everyone from the beginning Website Designer to the seasoned veteran looking to gain a bit of an added edge on the competition. Search Engine Optimization also has profit for someone who is not at all involved in the web design field, because of the extensive and thoroughly helpful appendices. An excellent read that I would highly recommend!
Michael
Rating: 4 / 5
I’m someone who has designed and maintained websites for some time. I had never delved into the world of SEO (search engine optimization) because I knew there was A LOT of ideas and methods out there, and I wasn’t sure which worked. Thankfully, I found this book. Turns out there ARE a ton of SEO methods out there, and the author covers them all. I was originally disappointed that there wasn’t any clear indication which methods were the best, but realized that from website to website, much like site needs and design rules, the “best” SEO methods may vary greatly. The author takes the reader through all of them. Also, as is very important with a book of this type, it is quite up-to-date, though it may give a little too much time to BBS. The only complaint I have is spamming message boards with your web address. As a message board owner myself, people who pop in for one post that has a web address in it are the bane of my existence. But to be fair, the author cautions against that as well. In summary, this is a great place to start if you want to learn about SEO.
Rating: 4 / 5
Samuel Blankson’s “Search Engine Optimization: How to Optimize Your Web Site for Internet Search Engines” is the best `How To Book’ on SEO I have ever read. It is written in novice language so anyone can learn with little effort but has so much information that SEO experts will learn some totally new tricks. Leveraging web browsers to achieve high placement on search engines are just part Blankson’s approach. To achieve maximum exposure Blankson thoroughly explains how to use peripheral SEO marketing resources to really optimize! “Search Engine Optimization: How to Optimize Your Web Site for Internet Search Engines” will certainly replace leading textbooks on SEO.
Rating: 5 / 5