Turns out that The SEO Guru considered my questions to be good enough to post about on his blog. Bob Massa has been a big help to me over the years in terms of direct services from his company Techndu, guidance and direction in terms of where the web is going, and great clarification on lesser known SEO factors. The question comes as a result of the commonly repeated comment:
The SEO Industry is too new to have important books in circulation…The sentiment which would suggest that the entire body of knowledge on this subject is to be found on the internet. This would be a daunting suggestion indeed especially considering the massive amount of worthless content out there on SEO.
The Guru says not so, there are several classics that are important to study in order to get a grip on the importance of Historical Reference to SEO. There are others that are important in order to develop an understanding of the concept of positioning.
One good reason to get a book like The Google Story is to develop a body of knowledge in the history of the search engine and arm yourself with interesting Google anecdotes to spill when you are in the middle of sales support with potential SEO clients.
It could be useful to you to know
For example, with regard to the news about how Google seems to be butting in the middle of Microsoft’s potential absorption of Yahoo, it may add context and perhaps make it all even a little bit more spicy to know the story of Google’s Acquisition of AOL Europe after Yahoo already had the deal.
What are some other important books for internet marketers?
These are some books that are recommended for SEOs. While not directly about SEO, the principles in these books will apply to many situations you will encounter.
- Don’t Make Me Think
- by Steve Krug - The Purple Cow
- by Seth Godin - The Tipping Point
- by Malcolm Gladwell - The Long Tail
- by Chris Anderson - Marketing Warfare
- by Jack Trout and Al Ries - The Cluetrain Manifesto
