SEO Basics: Helpful Links

Basics from someone who’s walked the SEO trail a few years

It’s hard to know where to start learning search engine optimization (SEO). With so many blogs, podcasts, books, and videos, it’s hard to know where to get your sea legs in SEO.

Everything you need to know about SEO is free online. The problem is finding where to start, weighing what’s important, and knowing who to trust. That’s why I’m posting these SEO links. They should tell you about some people I trust in SEO – and help lay the foundation for improving your organic rankings.

Basics

Aaron Wall’s SEO Basics
Search Pros’s On-Page & Off-Page Factors
Vaughn’s One Pager: Google Ranking Factors
Jim Hedger’s Basic Optimization Techniques

Podcasts

Webmaster Radio’s SEO 101
Webmaster Radio’s SEO Rock Stars

News/Blogs

Search Engine Land
Search Engine Journal
SE Round Table
Search Engine Guide
SEO Moz
David Ogletree

(Disclosure: I work for David Ogletree.)

Books and a Final Word

Despite the never-underrated value of the internet, I still like books. Call it a Gen-X thing, but I’m convinced books are still valuable. Trade books help to organize vast amounts of information and are usually very readable. In addition, traditionally books undergo a thorough review process – much more than push-button published blogs. That usually raises the quality of the information.

Books may not be the optimal method for disseminating industry news or temporary SEO tricks, but it’s a great way to lay the foundation for understanding SEO.

Search Engine Optimization An Hour A Day (basic)
The Art of SEO (advanced)