What Are the Best SEO Books?
We asked SEO professionals from various backgrounds, including strategists, consultants, and founders, to share their favorite books that every SEO professional should read. From mastering content operations and scaling to strategizing, discover the top 11 book recommendations that these experts believe are essential for success in the SEO world.
- Content Operations by Emilia Korczynska
- Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
- Product-Led SEO by Eli Schwartz
- The Link Building Book by Paddy Moogan
- Content Chemistry by Andy Crestodina
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) by Jennifer Grappone and Gradiva Couzin
- Entity SEO: Moving from Strings to Things by Dixon Jones
- Screw It, Let’s Do It: Lessons in Life by Sir Richard Branson
- The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization by Eric Enge
- The Best Damn Website & E-Commerce Marketing Optimization Guide, Period! by Stoney deGeyter
- Good Strategy/Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt
Content Operations by Emilia Korczynska
This is a perfect book for SEOs who need to focus on content creation. It details how Emilia Korczynska scaled content production and publication in her role as Head of Marketing at Userpilot, a B2B SaaS company.
I think many SEOs know how to rank a page or blog post, but structurally creating and publishing many posts a week can still be a daunting task. Content Operations: How to Build and Scale Your Content Ops provides many insights and tips on how to shape that process.
Thomas Frenkiel
SEO Strategist, Funnel
Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle is a good beginner book for learning how to focus on one thing at a time. I suggest this option because there are thousands of different ranking factors that professional SEOs have to look into, on top of everyday tasks, to keep a website trending in the right direction.
It can easily get overwhelming, and I’ve seen many people give up on the industry because it can get mentally exhausting having to do it all, and then explain to clients how it all works.
This book can help start you on a journey of being able to pause and prioritize with the power of being in the present moment. It may help your personal life and work too!
Lora Bovie
Sr. SEO Strategist, Revelo
Product-Led SEO by Eli Schwartz
Written by Eli Schwartz, Product-Led SEO: The Why Behind Building Your Organic Growth Strategy is a great refresher for SEO professionals who have been in the game for a while. Schwartz, an absolute rockstar in the SEO field, has gifted us with a new lens through which to look at organic strategy.
At the core of his book is the following sentiment: “Product-Led SEO builds a great product for users first and optimizes for search second.” No more writing content just for content’s sake, and no more trying to manipulate content to fit within the parameters of the latest Google algorithm update.
It’s an easy read and has little Easter eggs of insight tucked neatly between the pages. And honestly, it’s worth the read just for his hot takes on backlinks and the value of keyword rankings.
Lacey Rasmussen
Sr. SEO Consultant, The Starters
The Link Building Book by Paddy Moogan
The Link Building Book by Paddy Moogan is still one of my favorite resources on SEO! I read it first when I was starting my SEO career. This book has provided me with deep knowledge and understanding of links’ role in SEO success.
Not only that, but the book also covers what makes links good or bad, and how to build links well. While some concepts may be outdated—I still think it’s a fantastic read for anyone who’d like to fill in the gaps in their link-building knowledge.
And the best part is—the book is free!
Aleksandra Jovicic
Freelance SEO Specialist, Aleksandra Beka
Content Chemistry by Andy Crestodina
Content Chemistry: An Illustrated Handbook for Content Marketing by Andy Crestodina is a must-read for all SEO copywriters. This book offers a unique and refreshing approach to content creation that is both informative and entertaining.
The illustrations are clear, concise, and visually appealing, making it easier for readers to understand complex concepts. The author’s practical tips and advice on creating effective content are invaluable and can apply to any industry.
Mouna Boubdir
Senior Content Creator and French Writer, mounaboubdir.com
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) by Jennifer Grappone and Gradiva Couzin
Search Engine Optimization (SEO): An Hour a Day by Jennifer Grappone and Gradiva Couzin is designed for busy professionals like me who want to learn SEO but have limited time. It provides a daily plan for optimizing websites and improving search engine rankings in just one hour a day. The book covers both on-page and off-page optimization, keyword research, and link building, and provides practical tips and checklists to help you stay on track.
Jeff Tse
Co-founder, Craze Cosplay
Entity SEO: Moving from Strings to Things by Dixon Jones
Dixon Jones is the CEO of InLinks and he’s got one of the best SEO books on the market with Entity SEO: Moving from Strings to Things. A bit more of a technical primer rather than a how-to guide, though there is still plenty of that on semantic strategies and other useful tidbits, the premise of the book is to break down some of the mystery behind entity SEO and semantic search in a relatively easy-to-digest format. I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to get a bit more clarity about what entity SEO is all about and how and why you should include it in your marketing strategy.
Dragos Badea
CEO, Yarooms
Screw It, Let’s Do It: Lessons in Life by Sir Richard Branson
Screw It, Let’s Do It: Lessons in Life by Sir Richard Branson is an absolute gem if you’re interested in entrepreneurship and need some inspiration in your quest to live the life you want. It can also be immensely beneficial if you’re just trying to live a happier life. You’ll read valuable lessons shared by one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the modern world.
The book is easy to read, fun, inspirational, and full of hopefulness. I’d honestly recommend it to everyone. Maybe you want to grow in the world of entrepreneurship, see what one of the most successful people on the planet thinks about life and business, or just get a positive energy boost during tough times. In each case, Screw It, Let’s Do It: Lessons in Life will change the way you look at the world for the better. I promise!
Predrag Petrovic
SEO Strategist, Optimized
The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization by Eric Enge
This book provides a comprehensive guide to SEO that covers all aspects of the industry. It starts with an overview of SEO fundamentals and best practices and then goes into depth on keyword research and analysis, on-page optimization and technical SEO, link-building strategies and tactics, analytics and measuring success, local and mobile SEO, social media and SEO, SEO for e-commerce sites, and international and multilingual SEO. It has been updated several times to reflect changes in the industry and provides practical advice for businesses of all sizes.
Rene Delgado
Founder and CEO, The Indoor Golf Shop
The Best Damn Website & ECommerce Marketing Optimization Guide, Period! by Stoney deGeyter
This is an excellent book by a highly experienced SEO specialist. With this book, you have all your basics covered. It takes you from 0 to 100 and by the time you’re done; you have sufficient knowledge of everything from keyword research and meta tags to optimizing your heading tags. If you’re looking for a book to lay a strong foundation with and dive into advanced topics as well, this is the pick for you.
Harry Morton
Founder, Lower Street
Good Strategy/Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt
I recommend everyone both in SEO and broad marketing to read Richard Rumelt’s Good Strategy/Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters. With the digital landscape becoming increasingly crowded and tougher for businesses to thrive, formulating a strategy that gets results has become crucial.
I still come across many examples where the concepts of strategy and tactic are used interchangeably, which shouldn’t happen in the project economy we’re living in at the moment. Also, the lack of a logical strategy makes it harder for marketers to get any support or recommendations implemented.
Montserrat Cano
International SEO and Digital Marketing, Consultant
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