SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a subject near and dear to my heart. As the primary teacher, organizer and cheerleader of the JM Internet Group, I (of course) have my own SEO book for 2017: The SEO Fitness Workbook. Newly updated for 2017, it comes with worksheets and links to videos as well as a step-by-step methodology that starts with keywords, takes you through ON PAGE SEO such as HTML page tags and website structure, and ends up with OFF PAGE SEO (links, social mentions, and social authority). That said, I often get asked by my students for a list of the best SEO books for 2017. Here’s my updated list of books on search engine optimization. If you have a recommendation, please contact me.

Updated: January 22, 2017

Recommended Books on SEO for 2017

SEO Fitness Workbook

Jason McDonald (yours truly) has written the definitive, hands-on book on search engine optimization. Newly updated for August, 2017, the book is your PRACTICAL guide to everything SEO. It goes from keywords to page tags, website structure to press releases and blogging, and covers everything in Off Page SEO (links / social authority / social mentions). Finally it concludes with metrics, and the fabulous SEO Toolbook.

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SEO 2017 & Beyond: A Complete SEO Strategy – Dominate the Search Engines!

Andy Williams writes, ‘Do you want to learn an SEO strategy that works? SEO where you can build authoritative links that will catapult you to the top of the SERPs, without risk of a Google slap or penalty? I’m talking a pure White-Hat SEO strategy where you can sleep at night, and build traffic-busting websites. In 2017, how many SEOs can offer that type of search engine optimization? This book can!’
Rating: 4 Stars

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SEO For Growth

Authors John Jantsch and Phil Singleton have brought a new book from a more ‘marketing’ perspective to the area of search engine optimization. They see and advocate the value of organic SEO efforts, but are a somewhat lacking on technical details and a systematic approach.
Rating: 4 Stars

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SEO 2017 Learn Search Engine Optimization With Smart Internet Marketing

An updated 2017 version of a very popular SEO Book by author Adam Clarke. In its own words, ‘No matter your background, SEO 2017 will walk you through search engine optimization techniques used to grow countless companies online, exact steps to rank high in Google, and how get a ton of customers with SEO.’
Rating: 4 Stars

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The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization

Eric Enge, Stephan Spencer, and Jessie Stricchiola have brought us the ‘Bible’ of SEO. This is a very, very, very, very detailed book about technical SEO. What’s a canonical meta tag? Are 301 redirects better than 302s? How should you deal with duplicate content, and is correlation really the same as causation? Nerd alert: this book will give you the gory, gory details of SEO at a technical level. Excellent book for those who know the basics. Published: 2015.
Rating: 4 Stars

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SEO 2016: Learn Search Engine Optimization

R. L. Adams has written a strong, conceptual book on the basics of SEO, which is unfortunately light on the todos and technical aspects. The book starts with ‘trust,’ and how to build it vis-�-vis Google. Beyond basics such as Keywords, it continues this theme of ‘building trust’ as a metaphor to understand the do’s and don’ts of effective SEO optimization. It also extends to social media marketing, and Google’s more than 200 ranking factors. Published 2015.
Rating: 3 Stars

Search Engine Optimization All-in-One For Dummies

Author Bruce Clay is one of the most respected and venerable experts in the field of Search Engine Optimization. As part of the Wiley ‘Dummies’ series, he brings his expertise to the public. This book is a step-by-step guide to SEO, beginning with Keywords and going through both On Page and Off page SEO. Published: 2015.
Rating: 3 Stars

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SEO Decoded: 39 Search Engine Optimization Strategies To Rank Your Website For The Toughest Of Keywords

Shane David brings us some strategies to help rank on difficult keywords. The book covers the basics of On Page and Off Page, and includes a chapter on WordPress SEO. It also has a list of tools.
Rating: 3 Stars

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Seo 2016: Learn the best search engine marketing strategies fast

According to the WordPress Genie, ‘In 2016, it is vital to know how to use Google search engine optimization (Google SEO) to position your small business website for search engine visibility, page views and sales conversions. SEO is CRITICAL for your business as it boosts your website’s Google rankings and places it in the top of the search engine results and as an online small business owner or simply if you have a website online, you want two things: traffic directed to your website, and the conversion rate of traffic to sales. ‘
Rating: 2 Stars

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SEO: Marketing Strategies to Dominate the First Page

Grant Kennedy’s 2016 SEO book begins with some history about SEO, especially so-called ‘White Hat’ vs. ‘Black Hat’ strategies. He gives you tips and strategies, and covers the basics of AdWords at a conceptual level.
Rating: 2 Stars

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SEO Myths and Half-Truths: Slice through the Veil of Misinformation to Uncover the Secrets to SEO Profits

David Hood brings a dose of cynicism to the books on SEO. This book discusses the myths and half-truths that dominate the public information on SEO. What’s good about the book, therefore, is that it exposes you to the idea that a lot of what is taken as ‘true’ about SEO isn’t true at all, and/or there are a lot of huckster SEO people out there, so buyer beware. It includes some coverage of how to hire an SEO expert.
Rating: 2 Stars

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Internet Marketing 2016 – Quick & Dirty Online Marketing Strategies To Get Tons Of Traffic

Uday Shankar Byri has brought us a short quick book that crosses social media marketing and SEO. He explains, for example, how to write ‘killer’ headlines for your blog posts that not only show on Google but get a lot of social sharing. He covers podcasting, viral marketing, and even SlideShare as tactics. So, rather than really be a book about SEO, this is more a book about social media and content marketing. It’s the new, new thing!
Rating: 2 Stars

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Seo: Seo Bible & Tips – Google, Bing, Yahoo!

Published in May, 2016, SEO: SEO Bible & Tips is a short, sweet to-the-point booklet about SEO. It has a heavy emphasis on content and content-marketing, and is a bit short on the technical details such as tag structure on pages, and the site content structure as a whole. If you’re looking to understand SEO-friendly content marketing, it’s a good investment and at its price point, why not?
Rating: 2 Stars

A Strategy for Starting SEO in 2017 Using Books on Search Engine Optimization (or not)

Ok, before you buy all the SEO books. Step back for a moment, and think about the big picture. Your strategy to approach the optimization of your website, vis-a-vis Google and Bing.  Here are some steps. First, write down your marketing goals. Who are your customers? What do they want? How does what you sell match what they need? Second, figure out the keyword connection points. SEO is all about search, so they must be searching by some keyword that “matches” what they want to what you offer. You gotta know those keywords in a very, very systematic way. Third, after reading some of the books above, you should understand page tags and SEO. Inventory your current site content vis-a-vis tags such as the TITLE, META DESCRIPTION, HEADER, ANCHOR, and IMG ALT tags. Make sure you have your keywords in those tags! Inventory your website structure and links between pages. Inventory your home page content. Fourth, turn to links and off page SEO. Links are the currency of the Web. Who links to you, and why? How can you get more quality links? Take a look at social media: what are your social profiles like (especially Google+), and how can you improve them? Are you popular on Twitter? Finally, turn to Google Analytics and metrics. Measure your rank on Google, and measure your inbound traffic.

SEO, like physical fitness, takes the desire to learn, the courage to implement, and the tenacity to stick with it.

Finally, if you’d like to suggest an SEO book for my 2017 list of the best SEO books, please just email me your suggestion with a link to Amazon. Thanks!