I wrote this book to make SEO managers in SEO agencies redundant, my own included. It is the third edition, and it is on this website in full. Every chapter, free to read, no email address, no gate.
The primary goal of this book is to deliver a framework - that is, a way to think about - SEO. If you have online experience, whether you are a manager, developer, editor, product owner, or hacker, you should be able to read and comprehend this book. You should then be able to use what you have learned to make informed SEO decisions for your business.
This book does not waste space replicating technical specs. It explains what you need to do, when you need to do it, and why. It is heavy on theory and light on examples, and it is about SEO, organic search, not about Google Ads.
If you are an SEO manager within an SEO agency, then this book is not for you. You are part of the problem, not part of the solution. This book exists to make you redundant, which is also why this company is an un-agency.
The short version of the whole approach is the SEO basics article.
Most SEO books are out of date in a year. This one is still recommended, nearly a decade later.
First edition December 2017, 222 copies, launched at VREI Vienna on 6 December and sold out within days. Third edition 2018. A few thousand print copies later the print run is gone, and the ebook still sells copies every month and still gets recommended, by readers and by c't magazin.
Nassim Taleb calls it the Lindy effect: "If a book has been in print for forty years, I can expect it to be in print for another forty years." (Antifragile, 2012).
His reading rule follows from it: books that have been around for ten years will be around for ten more. Google changed its interface, its algorithms and its name for the results page many times since 2017. The framework in here did not have to change, because it is about users, business goals and systems, not about tricks.
That holds for Part I, the system. Part II starts where the book starts giving best practices, and best practices evolve - that is their nature. The book says it itself: "Unquestioned best practices become worst practices over time!" Every Part II page carries that note.
Great book - I literally read it back to back the day I got it! Enzenhofer gives a comprehensive overview of all things SEO (technical, content, distribution). It's all easy to understand (also for non-technical audiences!) and includes lots of useful recommendations, that you can start to implement right away without having to hire a developer or agency. He covers strategy, execution and KPIs, but also talks about the organizational set-up needed in order to execute an SEO strategy. If you work in online marketing, have a website or just want to know what Enzenhofer and Wittgenstein have in common, get this book!
Femtech InsiderReviewed in Germany, 14 December 2018Verified Purchase3 found this helpful
The one and only relevant book on SEO. A highly practical guide to understanding and attacking SEO. Franz even manages to get you excited about a topic, which is notoriously perceived as dry - trust him, it’s not. This no BS approach makes the topic only more likable with every page. A must read for every marketer, entrepreneur, programmer, writer/journalist and many more. SEO is solved, as is how to teach and understand it.
Andreas M.Reviewed in Germany, 26 December 2018Verified Purchase2 found this helpful
Excellent reading material to understand and execute all things SEO
If you read this excellent book Understanding SEO and start to execute the learnings right now, your digital business will have a great time in 2019. Thank you Franz for eliminating all the BS, and putting together those 150 pages of pure SEO knowledge, which every business owner – from individual bloggers to CEOs – should be aware of.
T. SommereggerReviewed in Germany, 2 January 2019Verified Purchase1 found this helpful
Very good to understand what seo is, how it works and what are the organizational challenges. I also had the chance to attend one of the workshops of Franz. I can 100% recommend them!
TommyReviewed in Germany, 11 January 2023Verified Purchase
Quite impressed with the product, with loads of attachments. Used it once only but it did what it was described. Unfortunately one of the attachment had a manufacturing defect. Not moaning, because seller was very quick to compensate and refunded.
ImranReviewed in United Kingdom, 9 January 2021Verified Purchase
Franz Enzenhofer is an SEO expert and his approach how to do Search Engine Optimization nowadays is robust. His book describes strategies on how to build and structure web assets which will bring the right visitors to you. Forget the many hocus pocus resources out there. His knowledge is built on many years of experience and the only resource that counts - Google.
Klaus-M SchremserReviewed in Germany, 2 February 2019Verified Purchase
Best resource about SEO - Had to read it in one go!
When Franz launched the booked in Vienna, I was there and of course got a copy of it. (now got it on Kindle as well) I read it from front to back the next day. It tells you in detail how Franz thinks about SEO, and with his approach, he helped many of the biggest companies in Austria and others to grow their organic search traffic. Highly recommend it. It might change your whole perspective on SEO.
ChristianReviewed in Germany, 31 January 2019Verified Purchase
Best, easiest, and most down to earth SEO Book ever
I remember the day I got fed up with SEO. I fired up google and typed in [No Bullsh*t SEO]. and the First result was this book. I ordered it that day, and ever since I couldn't put it down. This book changes the way you think about SEO. It's full of so much useful information. From guiding you through how you can create targeted content, how to structure your site, best practices for optimizing existing content, to finding the best and only places for SEO troubleshooting on the web (all official google docs). If you are finally looking for a serious, no B.S book on SEO, look no further.
SmurfReviewed in Canada, 2 January 2019Verified Purchase
This is probably the best SEO book ever published. The author explains well how SEO and Google work such that the idea and the philosophy behind search engines can be understood. Making use of this concept will allow you to stop looking for SEO tricks but to put your SEO efforts on a much more robust basis rather than on a short-living trend.
Amazon KundeReviewed in Germany, 26 December 2018Verified Purchase
I bought this to help inspire some SEO training materials I needed to put together. I've been in the industry for more than a decade but it was still a very useful read with some clear advice, and I was particularly pleased to see what it said not to bother with. It's a few years old now but most of the tips are still bang on.
BushmeisterReviewed in United Kingdom, 11 October 2022Verified Purchase
