SEOBook review - Can you afford NOT to own it?

“I almost bought [SEObook] a couple of times, but is there really that much info that cannot be found online anyway?” – DP user

“I have always been able to find answers to my questions by either reading through forums or spending a little time digging through search results. This way is free.” – DP User


I joined the Digital Point forums a few months ago (June ’06) after lurking for about a month. Since then, I have made a few posts but have refrained a great deal from speaking up about a lot of issues simply because I didn’t feel that I knew enough about the subject matter to have an authoritative opinion.

So I read. And I read. And I read. And I have learned a great deal from the members here at DP. Most of what I have learned came in the form of what TO do and what DOES work. However, a surprising amount of what I have learned has been through reading about others’ mistakes. Additionally, a great deal of information passed along has been flat out wrong.

When I first came across Aaron Walls’ blog, I quickly bookmarked it like I did just about everything else in my journey to complete information overload. There are, I have found, literally hundreds of “SEO authorities” that are willing to take webmasters’ and online business owners’ cash for their advice and techniques. I tried to bookmark them all. I read and read and read. Sometimes for 30 hours straight. My girlfriend and friends were concerned about me. My dogs had begun looking at me as if I were a stranger.

I thought that this was the correct approach to “learning the ropes.” I kept coming across posts that said things like, “Why pay for a book when you can get all the info you need right here on DP?”

This is an extremely compelling argument and I agreed with it. However, I learned that it is flawed.

DP is a great resource and I won’t ever trash it. It is the first forum of its kind that I found (quite accidentally, I must say) and the first that I registered on. It is the webmaster forum that I think of as “home.” I know many of you feel the same way.

However, there are many, many users that come to DP and they all have their own opinion of what works for them. As you already know, what works for one person will not work for another.

Additionally, many of the threads are highly specific and are quite advanced. There are also a few threads that contain comments that had even a “n00b” like me staring at my monitor in disbelief. It was incomprehensible that someone could actually pass off some of this garbage as correct info. In short, it’s going to take an AWFUL lot of weeding and processing to be able to tell the good stuff from the bad.

A “n00b” first has to know the lingo (technical and business-related), learn to differentiate between different markets, niches, revenue streams…the list goes on and on. On average, I would say that the majority of new users to DP have a moderate level of computer knowledge and a minimum level (at best) of marketing knowledge.

The quickest way to make heads from tails of the discussions that go on here at DP (and any other webmaster forum) is to have a complete overview of what it is to be a web-related marketer. I think that Aaron Wall’s SEObook does that fantastically. I do wish I had bought it sooner.

I would have saved dozens, perhaps hundreds, of hours scouring through the searches to find the most basic of answers. It’s not that the search function on DP is flawed, it’s just that as a complete “n00b” I had questions about topics that almost everyone else already knew. After all, no one is here to teach you anything (if they do and it’s good info, thank them profusely). They are here to “talk shop” and exchange ideas with each other.

I’m not picking on DP at all. I’m only reiterating the point of why I think a book for new entrepreneurs is necessary.

My Review of SEOBook:

Aaron Wall writes in a conversational tone that is not stuffy or elitist. Rather, he prefers to guide the reader through the book without appearing condescending. Additionally, the material isn’t boring. It isn’t akin to reading through a tech manual that may have come with your lawnmower. It flows easily and makes sense. It’s fact-filled without being so “techy” that it will isolate less savvy readers.

The organization of the book is one of its biggest highlights. It literally walks the user through the steps of developing content for, building, promoting, and maintaining a website (or sites) with the sole purpose of success in search engine rankings and viral marketing. Aaron wants the reader to succeed and it shows in the consistent cost/benefit analysis manner of presenting the information. While he is quick to tell the reader about a benefit of a particular technique, he is just as quick to warn of the possible repercussions. I have found this method of teaching to be somewhat rare in this field, as many “gurus” simply sugarcoat the technique(s) that they are selling while conveniently leaving out any possible flaws. This book isn’t about hype.

I won’t list a chapter-by-chapter review of the book because, as it is proprietary information, that would (in my opinion) be too close to actually giving away its contents. However, there are a few highlights that I would like to touch on:

The “Writing for Search Engines” portion of the book is a bit lacking, in my opinion. Perhaps it is because I was an English major in college, but it didn’t deliver enough specific information that I couldn’t have figured out myself. Persons that have not had any formal copywriting training could certainly benefit from it, however. One thing that I did appreciate is that he recommended some great books by other authors on the subject. I strongly believe that effective writing is crucial to effective relationship-building. And what is your website worth unless it creates a relationship with the reader? ​

The “Search Engines” portion was in-depth, and revealed a great deal about the search engines that I never would have thought that I needed to know, but am now glad I do. ​

“Link Building” – This is easily the finest area in the entire book. If there was only one chapter that I would suggest that any webmaster, new or experienced, read and re-read, it’s this one. Looking through the “Link Development” forum here on DP and similar forums elsewhere it is painfully clear that a majority of the people participating need this chapter. The entire cost of the book is more than justified from this chapter alone. I cannot stress this enough. And it’s not that he reveals any magic secret to link building, but the manner in which he guides the reader to go about gaining links and creating working relationships with other webmasters is, IMO, as close to priceless as possible.​

"Pay-per-Click" – Aaron creates an effective “funnel” in organizing this chapter. It is my opinion that far too many people jump into PPC without properly researching the medium resulting all-too-often in dismal or even disastrous results. I’ve read through the threads a thousand times, as I’m sure you have as well. SEObook gives a common-sense approach in an overview of PPC and points the reader in the right direction. IMO, it’s a great foundation and the reader can move on to more advanced research comfortably after this chapter. ​

The section “Bonus Info: How to Improve CTR and Slash Google AdWords Costs to Maximize Profits” had me smacking my head saying to myself “OOOOHHH!!!” Anyone delving into PPC for the first time will find this extremely useful.​

My bottom line: If you are relatively new to the field of internet marketing and web publishing and you have found yourself sifting through hundreds or thousands of posts to find the “big picture” foundation, then this book is for you. I will find myself more comfortable in each decision I make now that I have read this book because I can now make an educated guess as to what may be the result of that action. My largest problem a few months ago was “tying it all together.” If this is yours too, then the price tag is definitely worth it.

The on-page AND off-page SEO in SEOBook is absolutely critical to learn, IMO. Aaron's rundown of serach engines, particularly Google is also imperative to new webmasters delving into SEO.

I have not had time to even scratch the surface of all of the tools and software that is either included or told about with the purchase of the book. I know that this benefit alone is going to save me an awful lot of time, since before I simply did not know that some of this stuff existed. Who knows if/when I would have found them myself?

For the record, I am in no way affiliated with Aaron Wall or SEObook.com. I am not an affiliate nor am I applying to be. I have never met Aaron Wall in person and I have only spoken to him briefly in email once in order to give him the courtesy of letting him know that I was making this post. I will be the first to admit that I am not, by nature, a very altruistic individual but I feel that I found a resource that was so valuable to me that I wanted to let others know.

 

Aaron is a good guy, and very good at SEO... everybody rants and raves about his SEObook, but I never thought to actually buy it until reading this review.

Maybe I was being a "know-it-all" maybe I was being cheap, I dunno. But after reading your post it seems I should buy this thing right now lol.

Thanks for the post SD!

-update: just bought the book. Looking forward to checking it out