Originally Posted by KingPin

You know what? I wouldn't buy any SEO book. Why? because SEO/SEM moves so fast and most of the information is obsolete anyway.

I don't agree with Aaron with everything he says and I never have. I have never read his book and never intend to.

You best going to real SEO forums, like SEO.com, HighRankings.com. There the only two SEO Forums I partake in because most of the people there are knowledgeable.

You can go to my blog, other SEO blogs that are specifically designed and written for beginners (no, im not self-promoting).

You can gain far more understanding on real SEO forums. If you get stuck or don't quite understand something you can ask and get a response quickly.

Yes you get your idiots on them that know jack but you get them on all forums.

I am not a fan of these "Celebrity SEO" people, most of them don't even work in the industry anymore they just write about it.

To many people hang on every word they say.

So what SEO Book should you buy? none, save your money and join them two forums. They will give you more information than any book will and can.

KP

I was a founder member and moderator of HR & Have worked with Jill on SEO jobs

Good recommend.

I have to agree with AAron as well. A friend of mine spent a shedload of cash for a phone consultation with him, purely to see how he went. He said that AAron did very little , it was his sidekick that did all the talking and advising.

Aaron joined Highrankings just after it was set up, he knew very little about SEo, in fact hardly anything at all. What Aaron IS good at, is marketing, and gathering information. Read into that what you will.

In his defense though, his book is probably the best out there, as it is electronic, and gets freely updated on a regular basis. Some of his tools are also usefull to newbie SEO's and also some more seasoned ones.

Personally the LAST thing I would want to do is to carry out keyword research on another marketers website. I mean they can simply have it in their script to pull out and collect all the highly profitable niche phrases. Before you know it you have someone like Aaron competing against you

I have a very good friend that knows Jill very well so I only know her through my friend. I can't say I know you though OWG (personally I mean) but I have seen you around and know some of your work. Just because I have been around for a long time.

I was at HR when it started, not signed up as a user, just a "lurker". It's only in recent times I have decided to sign up for forums. But as the old adage goes "to many cooks spoil the broth". That was my reason for never signing up to any forums.

All you have to do is take a look at DP, the SEO section and well, it's a joke.

I just wanted to stay in the background and do my thing.

I'm not saying everything is bad about Arron and some of the stuff I read is good, but then everyone has their of day's.

From what I hear the book is "ok", my logic tells me to go to the forums I mentioned rather than spend money, invest the time in reading when you can simply save that money and invest your time in forums/blogs.

The tools Arron provides on his website are second to none, that I can't knock him for, not one bit. I use one or two myself.

I don't see why anyone would want to do keyword research on another marketers site, unless your writing an SEO book and looking to compete against Arron then I can see why they would but other than that I don't see any other reason why you would, unless I'm missing something.

As for having Arron or any other "expert" to compete against, personally, it doesn't phase me but I can see what you mean.

KP

KP, what I meant was that Aaron has a keyword research TOOL. and that I wouldn't want to carry out KW research uning that as it is effectively feeding the site owner a nice set of niches to go after.

So what I was satying is that an unscrupulous marketer could provide the KW research tool for free, and use it to have others provide him/her with a string of niches to exploit. That was what I meant by ending up competing against someone like Aaron, you would research a niche, HE also gets the data researched, and can cherry pick the easiest pjhrases etc.

Hope I have made it more clear now.

I believe instead of paying for SEO books, becoming a member in different SEO forums, asking members about SEO questions is more profitable.

Originally Posted by OldWelshGuy

KP, what I meant was that Aaron has a keyword research TOOL. and that I wouldn't want to carry out KW research uning that as it is effectively feeding the site owner a nice set of niches to go after.

So what I was satying is that an unscrupulous marketer could provide the KW research tool for free, and use it to have others provide him/her with a string of niches to exploit. That was what I meant by ending up competing against someone like Aaron, you would research a niche, HE also gets the data researched, and can cherry pick the easiest pjhrases etc.

Hope I have made it more clear now.

Sorry OWG. I read it wrong the first time. Yes I can't agree more, I mean that thing must get hammered on a daily basis.

Arron has enough data to feed him and keep him entertained for a lifetime most likely.


For the OP....

The best thing to do would be this (money and patience permitting.)....

Look up a niche, nothing crazy like "hosting" but something that has low competition. Obviously something that interests you too.

Get a small hosting package, nothing fancy, something basic.

create a site, there are plenty of free templates out there and create some content, unique content mind you. Do a little research on it first.

Then read a select few SEO blogs and join HighRankings.com and SEO.com.

Use the experience of others to apply to your new site like how to write title tags, descriptions properly etc.

Gather back links yourself, in fact, if you don't have the time or simply want an easier way. Take up SMM (social media marketing), I'm sure you use Digg etc already.

Then dominate that keyword/niche you chosen.

Then repeat the process on another keyword/niche but something a little more challenging.

Why do all this? well you will learn everything from how to implement title tags effectively right through to conversion (if you plan on using AdSense).

This way you will also learn from trial and error. I can't think of how many times I have got something wrong, more than I care to share, but you learn from them.

Write down in a notepad what works and what doesn't.

Seriously, doing it yourself is far better than any book/blog or forum can give you but if you need help, myself, OWG, Resonate and other SEO/SEM Professionals alike are here to help in your quest.

KP

@ KingPin Thanks for your advice

Gathering knowledge could never be wasted, though it came from books or net media.. Its always good to gather the knowledge and if getting from books its really worth..It might help the people to get enough information in books rather than asking each every little or big thing.. and waiting for the replies..