Posted by Danny Dover
Disclaimer: This post doesn’t include SEO advice or tactics. Instead it is a request for input on a book I am writing. If you are looking for actionable SEO content, please skip this post and read the other search related posts on our blog.
About three months ago, I was fortunate enough to be contacted by Wiley Publishing and asked to write a book about SEO. (I am pretty sure they are confusing me with Danny Sullivan but I don’t plan on telling them until after the book is published ;-p) I am quite honored by the whole experience and want to make sure I use the opportunity to the fullest. This is where all of you come in
. Below you will find my preliminary table of contents. Most of you are my target audience, and I would love to hear what you want to read.
Search Engine Optimization Secrets
At Google, search engineers talk about 80-20 problems. They are describing situations where the last 20% of the problem is 80% of the work. Learning SEO is one of these problems. 80% of the knowledge SEOs need to know is available online for free. Unfortunately, the remaining 20% takes the majority of the time and energy to find and understand. My goal with this book is to solve this problem by making the last 20% as easy to get as the first 80%. While I don’t think I will be able to cover the entire 20% (some of it comes from years of practice and as far as I know there is no secret shortcuts) I am going to include as much actionable advanced material as humanly possible. My current projection is 450 pages.
Below I have my table of contents for your consideration. Please feel free to leave suggestions and thoughts in the comments or e-mail me at danny (at symbol) seomoz.org
The Truth About SEO
Popularity
Relevancy
Part 2: Understanding How SEO Professionals See The Web
10 Foot View (Individual Content Pieces)
100 Foot View (Web Page)
1,000 Foot View (Website)
10,000 Foot View (Web Network)
Part 3: Picking The Right SEO Tools
View Source
Search Engines as SEO Tools
Search Engine Provided Tools
On-Page SEO Tools
Linkscape
SEO Toolbars
Unix Terminal
Part 4: Learning How SEO Professionals Find SEO Problems
5 Minute SEO Audit
5 Minute Brand Reputation Audit
Identifying Search Engine Penalties
Performing Competitive Analysis
Note: Longer audit processes are included later in the book
Part 5: Learning How SEO Professionals Solve SEO Problems
I am keeping this a secret for now ;-p
(That Danny guy is a jerk…)
Part 6: Making Money with SEO Consulting
(Still a work in progress, I want the content to be more about how to make money and less about the consulting process. Which direction do you think I should go?)
The Consultant Advantage
Identifying SEO Goals
Identifying Priorities
How to Explain Advanced SEO Concepts to Clients
Working With Large Scale Websites
Part 7: Getting to Know The Greatest People in The World (SEO Industry)
Brief History
Understanding The People Behind The Industry
The Importance of Knowing Who is Who
Part 8: Resources That Are Worth More Than The Price of This Book
I am keeping this one a secret for now too ;-p To make up for the sensationalist title, I will spill the beans a little bit and say that one of the chapters will be a compete and annotated SEO audit just like the ones I do for major clients at SEOmoz.
More Information Available On Amazon:
 United States |
 United Kingdom |
P.S. Rand, Eric Enge, Stephan Spencer and Jessie Stricchiola also have a book coming out. I have not read it but I bet it is going to be great. You can get more details at The Art of SEO.
P.P.S I always feel awkward trying to sell myself or my work. I apologize if this post rubs you the wrong way. If it does, feel free to either mail your complaints to me at SEOmoz on the back of a $10 bill or send them via e-mail to sam (at) seomoz.org (totally kidding… but feel free to spam Sam).
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