by Irene Lizarraga

Created on: July 25, 2009   Last Updated: July 26, 2009

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the science of improving your website structure, content and inbound and outbound links to increase the visibility of a website. Since it's a relatively new discipline and is very Internet oriented, you can find plenty of up to date information on blogs on the Internet, such as SEOBook or Search Engine Watch, but if you're a total newcomer to SEO you might want to purchase a SEO book that will guide you through the basics of understanding SEO and the many factors that influence it, and choosing one will only depends on your preferred approach to SEO. I am giving examples on each of the five categories most people seem to fall under.

I don't really know much about SEO, but I want a hands on approach.
Search Engine Optimization: An Hour a Day is a book composed of small progressive tasks that you can do to improve your website gradually. It won't feel like you're studying SEO, since it has lots of practical work involved and you will be able to see results. As an alternative, if you're partial to the "For Dummies" series of books you'll be pleased to hear they have one about Search Engine Optimization for Dummies that is both cheap and entertaining with loads of good information both to improve your Search Engine Rankings and to generally make your website and content more interesting for visitors.

I am a programmer, but I want to learn about SEO
If you're familiar with a programming language such as PHP or .NET there's more elaborated SEO techniques within your reach. As a PHP programmer myself, I have a soft spot for the Wrox Professional guides series, so my recommendations would be Professional Search Engine Optimization with PHP: A Developer's Guide to SEO (Programmer to Programmer) for fellow PHP programmers and Professional Search Engine Optimization with ASP.NET: A Developer's Guide to SEO (Wrox Professional Guides) for .NET programmers.

I want to know more about online marketing in general
If you are interested not only in SEO, but also on other ways of marketing your Website and create a presence online, Online Marketing Inside Out (Online Marketing: Sitepoint)
is the book for you. Is worth reading not only for the marketing department people, but also by small business owners on a budget that want to make the most of their marketing efforts on the Internet.

I want to know what to do and where to start, not why
A highly recommended book is Winning the Search Engine Wars, by Planet Ocean. With plenty of tips and strategies that you can implement without delving too deeply into trying to guess Google algorithm, this book is practical advice for moderate to advanced SEO users.

I want to know why
Mike Grehen's Books Search Engine Marketing: The Essential Best Practice Guide was written after interviewing the people behind the search algorithms, and tracks how the ranking systems have been changing over time, and why. A better understanding on this will allow you to make a better guess on the probable evolution of search engine algorithms over time, and make sure your website is always on their good side.

All of those books are better read close to the computer and your website (or a test website you want to try things on) to make the most of them.

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