Search Engine Marketing Inc. Review

Posted by Miles Evans

Best Marketing Books Review Part III: Search Engine Marketing Inc.

To my knowledge there isn’t a more accurate and thorough book on the subject of web and search marketing than Mike Moran and Bill Hunt’s 2005 book Search Engine Marketing Inc. from IBM Press. Seriously. At 592 pages you get not only in depth details about how any company should handle online/offline marketing, but a very readable history of search on the web.

Search Engine marketing Inc. honestly doesn’t leave anything out - In fact the amount of information in this book is even a bit daunting. They cover everything from the history of search, to the fundamental, to developing a strategy, to finally executing it. The authors also often link to free tools regularly which I found really refreshing.

From it’s cover and size I figured this book was going to be a dull read but I was really surprised to see how conversational the writing is. They go into extremely solid detail of how search engines work, what customers search for, and how to gather the essential metrics that every SEO needs. The book features one of the most comprehensive glossaries of terms I have come across. They also go over nicely what tactics to avoid which many writers on this subject leave out.

Mike Moran is an IBM Distinguished Engineer and the Manager of Site Architecture for ibm.com, IBM's customer-facing Web site. Mike is also sought after as a speaker for his extensive work with SEO. Mike and Bill worked together on IBM’s website of 2 million pages to dramatically increase organic traffic.

I was lucky enough to meet Bill Hunt and see him speak at SES China back in March. The guy really blew my mind and was one of the highlights of the conference. Bill has worked with fortune 500 companies on SEO since 1994 and is CEO of Global Strategies. These guys form marketing plans for high end properties like IBM, webMD, Priceline, Dow, and MGM, to name just a few.

From start to finish Search Engine marketing Inc. should really be required reading for any SEO or marketing manager. You’ll really walk away with a complete understanding how you fit into the increasingly claustrophobic world of search.

Check out some of Amazon's reviews on this excellent resource - They are overwhelmingly positve.

Posted Jul 03, 2006 at 01:41 PM | Permalink | Trackback URL | Del.icio.us | DIGG!