Book review: "Get into Bed with Google"

Get into Bed with Google: Top Ranking Search Optimisation Techniques

This is a small book (not in terms thickness but in terms of physical size) intended for a non-technical audience. It won't take you more than a couple of hours to read through.

It has been written by somebody who comes across as somebody who had a successful website who then wandered into SEO. In some respects this is refreshing, but in other respects it comes across as very unprofessional. Comments such as 'how do you go about maxmimising your online presence and performance without having to employ some precocious adolescent web designer for more than the GDP of several developing nations?' is one case in point (easy answer, employ a professional who has years of experience and can help guide you on the course to better SEO!).

That said, this book is fairly unique in that it does try to 'work' for non-web developers, and covers off interesting topics that if you follow through with should definitely help your website's rankings. So I'd say if you're a non-techy without much time on your hands then its worth a quick read (trust me it won't take long). There is nothing in here that can't be found by a simple search on the web, the material is organised in a haphazard fashion, it doesn't set the scene of SEO within the field of internet marketing generally, I don't like some of the tools it introduces (forget these so called link analysis sites, just head over to Yahoo site explorer for you, and your competitors, link information) - BUT if you just want to get some simple ideas for some simple things to try as a first step along your route to better search engine rankings, then this is definitely a good starting point.

My favourite Search Engine Optimisation book for clients is still:

Search Engine Optimization: Your Visual Blueprint for Effective Internet Marketing

It is logical, comprehensive (I would have called it Internet Marketing not Search Engine Optimization myself) and yet simple to follow, and you can easily skip any areas that you find too technical to cope with at the outset.