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Resource Review: SEO 2017 & Beyond

SEO 2017 & Beyond Book Resource Review

The very first post in the Resource Review series was all about The She Approach to Boosting Your Blog Traffic. An aBook that gives you the ultimate run down of all blogging basics that will boost your blog to new heights (yet it’s ridiculously affordable!). Today’s book is much more topical (all about SEO). It’s a published book you can physically hold in your hands, scribble in it, rip out pages if you wish to and just fondle it on a much more hands-on level than said eBook. Dr Andy Williams doesn’t pretend he has fancy qualifications in marketing. He does, in fact, have multiple degrees however they are in endocrinology of fish, research and teaching. Does that qualify him to write a comprehensive SEO guide?

SEO 2017 & BEYOND – A COMPLETE SEO STRATEGY: DOMINATE THE SEARCH ENGINES

by Dr Andy Williams

? What’s SEO 2017 & Beyond about?

SEO 2017 & Beyond is a book that very closely reflects on Google guidelines, updates and trends. Dr Andy Williams has written multiple versions of this book in previous years (6 to be precise) and every year he updates and republishes it. This book covers very clearly & thoroughly everything around search engine optimisation. From its definition to Google ranking and more. It’s very very detailed and explains everything from the very basics to the very depth of each particular topic. One particular thing you’ll notice is the structure of this book. It is very much your traditional school textbook starting from definitions and history slowly taking you to modern day and then splitting into 4 key chapters each identifying an important theoretical area to address. At the end of this book you will also find a comprehensive SEO checklist which takes you step by step through implementation of what you’ve learnt.

SEO 2017 & Beyond covers many SEO related subjects (all very tightly linked to Google and its impact on your website):
✒️ On page & off page ranking factors
✒️ Google updates over the years – Penguin, Panda & Hummingbird (starting in 2011)
✒️ Four pillars of post-Penguin SEO:

Quality content (how to create it, header tags, alt tags, keyword & topic search, what to avoid)
Site organisation (sitemap, hierarchy, categories, tags)
Authority (backlinks, anchor text, outreach)
What’s in it for the visitor (responsiveness, trust-building, interactivity)

✒️ SEO checklist
✒️ & more

I find this book very easy to follow. The structure is built logically – from basics to very in-depth information, from theory to practice. It gives you a very clear understanding of what Google wants from you and how to achieve it. Dr Andy Williams doesn’t pretend that this book is perfect – he himself acknowledges that there are some typos. Perhaps his English is a bit of a mix between British & American English. You can most definitely overlook this though for the breadth of information he provides. I love that he explains real SEO issues such as grey & black hat SEO techniques (paid backlinks, listing your website in directories, link schemes, content scraping and much more) in a very friendly voice that doesn’t necessarily make you want to grab a dictionary (or straight up run away). By splitting the book into 4 pillars of SEO you get a very clear sense of your priorities when tackling your own blog. You will be able to prioritise what to update and what to focus on going forward. This book also explores future trends and what to expect from SEO/Google going forward which gives you a good sense of preparedness.

SEO 2017 & Beyond offers a very structured, easy to understand yet incredibly in-depth insight into search engine optimisation in both theory & practice.

? Who is SEO 2017 & Beyond for?

This book is perfect for both complete beginners as well as those advanced in search engine optimisation. It’s not tied to any particular type of website. The targeting ranges from blog owners to online shops. I would recommend this book to anyone who’s looking to really understand SEO from the basics to the top. About 160 pages of this book are solid theory and then another 80 or so are practical tips on implementation. This means that no matter what your level of understanding is you’ll get a lot out of this book. It’s absolutely perfect for those who want to do an SEO cleanse of their blog and really crack down on their blog optimisation. I can guarantee you that this book will boost your domain authority as well as your confidence.

? Value vs Cost

SEO 2017 & Beyond retails for mere £10 on Amazon which is an incredible value for money. Plus it also includes SEO Checklist which retails on its own for £7!! There are many, many courses and eBooks that are much more pricey. Yet they offer just a fraction the information that’s on the pages of this book (you’ll see an example of this next week!). If you’ve already bought The She Approach to Boosting Your Blog Traffic then this will be a perfect companion to that.
I also recommend checking out other books by Dr Andy Williams. He writes about WordPress, fat content, online teaching and many more subjects that you might find useful for improving your blog business. He updates all his books on an annual basis so always look for 2017 edition. You can see all his publications here.

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