10 Most Complete SEO Guides You Can Read For Free
Nowadays you can find online, literally, thousands of SEO articles that talk about an individual SEO matter like backlink building techniques, on-site SEO, off-site SEO, mobile index SEO etc.
However, there aren’t many SEO guides that talk about learning SEO from A to Z. I’ve selected the best 10 SEO guides you should read to learn SEO or improve your SEO skills.
While some of these SEO guides are quite old without being updated for years still worth checking. That’s because you will see the long journey of SEO updates and what has been done over the years, what worked in the past and what should be avoided today.
So here is the list of the best SEO guides I’ve compiled for you:
#1 — SEO Starter Guide by Google
This official search engine guide was created by Google, almost 7 years ago to help webmasters optimize their websites for search engines.
Even considering the fact that was not updated since 2010 is still a good starting point as it points out what Google expects from you.
The sections of the guides are SEO Basics, Improving Site Structure, Optimizing Content, Dealing with Crawlers, SEO for Mobile Phones, Promotions, and Analysis.
Although this guide won’t tell you any secrets that’ll automatically rank your site first for queries in Google (sorry!), following the best practices outlined below will make it easier for search engines to crawl, index and understand your content.
[ Download Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide by Google ]
#2 — Beginner’s Guide to SEO by MOZ
According to MOZ.com, the Beginner’s Guide to SEO has been read over 3 million times and provides the comprehensive information you need to get on the road to professional quality Search Engine Optimization or SEO.
Beginner’s Guide to SEO by MOZ
The guide has 10 chapters that will guide you the world of SEO explaining to you how search engines operate, how people use search engines, why you need SEO, Keyword research, Backlinks, SEO Myths and how to track your success.
[ Read online Beginner’s Guide to SEO by Moz ]
#3 — Search Engine Land’s guide to SEO
Search Engine Land’s Periodic Table Of SEO Success Factors is designed to depict the factors that will help your website succeed in gaining more visitors from organic search.
The SEO guide from Search Engine Land takes quite a similar approach to Moz. It was written around 2010, but have many links to the huge database or Search Engine Land’s huge database or articles which make it worth taking a look.
SEO Periodic Table by Search Engine Land
There are nine chapters in the guide that covers the following topics: Type of SEO factors, Content & SEO Factors, Site architecture and SEO Factors, HTML Code & SEO Factors, Trust, Authority, Identity, Link Building, Personalization, Social Media and Violations & SEarch Engine Spam Penalties.
[ Read the Search Engine Land’s Guide to SEO ]
#4 — Search Engine Journal guide to SEO
SEJ’s e-book, A Complete Guide to SEO, provides an extensive overview of today’s search engine optimization landscape. It is one of the most complete guide and it is updated to cover all changes that happen over the years in SEO industry.
With the help of some of the top influencers in our industry, they split the info into 19 easy-to-digest chapters, so you can read it from start to finish, or just head straight to the topic you want to learn more about.
Search Engine Journal guide to SEO
The guide is available as a downloadable PDF but you have to enter your name and email address or you can read it online without any hassle.
[ Read the SEJ’s Complete Guide to SEO ]
#5 — SEO Tutorial For Beginners in 2017
This guide is a beginner’s guide to effective white hat SEO. No one-page guide can explore this complex topic in full. What you’ll read here are answers to questions the author had when he was starting out in this field.
One important feature of this guide is that references a lot of official Google tutorials. Also, it has a list of over 60 answers of questions done by Google officials in Google support forums.
[ Read SEO Tutorial For beginners by HOBO ]
#6 — The Advanced Guide to SEO by QuickSprout
This guide is written by Neil Patel and Sujan Patel and they claim it is “the most extensive and detailed guide of advanced SEO techniques that exist today”. They suggest that readers should first read the beginner’s guide by Moz or any other basic SEO guide before reading the advanced guide.
There are nine chapters: Indexation & Accessibility, Site speed & Performance, New search, WordPress, Advanced Data Research, Keyword Research, Link Building with content, Link Building Techniques and finally Search Verticals where they focus on the mobile index, local SEO and image.
Every technique is accompanied with images and explanation making it very easy to read, understand and you can replicate what you just learned on your own website with ease.
[ Read The Advanced Guide to SEO by QuickSprout ]
#7 -Video SEO Guide by Backlinko
Brian Dean is a very known name in the SEO industry. His website, Backlinko.com, is one of the main sources for everyone that wants to learn SEO techniques as he explains everything so you can easily adapt and replicate in your niche. This guide has everything you need to know about video SEO.
Video SEO Guide by Backlinko
There are six chapters that will guide you through Video Keyword Research, How to create awesome videos, Video Optimization, Channel Authority, Ranking Videos in Google and finally Video Promotion Strategies.
You may download the Guide as a PDF if you subscribe to the list or read it online without any complications.
[ Read Backlinko’s guide to Video SEO ]
#8 — The Definitive Guide to E-commerce SEO
If you want to know how to rank your e-commerce site read this step-by-step guide, and you’ll be on your way to becoming an SEO savvy business owner or marketer.This is the definitive guide to e-commerce SEO, which will help you make the most out of your e-commerce website.
Neils Patel Ecommerce Guide
As most of Neil Patel’s guides, this one too comes with a lot of images, actionable tips and of-course pieces of advice based on extensive research.
[ Read Neil Patel’s Ecommerce SEO Guide ]
#9 — Guide to Local SEO: 2017 Edition
The Local SEO Guide by ImproveMySearchRanking.com contains 16 chapters and they call it “the most comprehensive local SEO guide on the internet”.
Here are all the 16 chapters of the guide: Introduction to Local SEO, Google my Business Setup, Bing Places, Keyword Research, On-Page SEO, How to create Schema Tags, The definitive list of Local SEO Ranking Factors, Local Citations, Optimising to Rank in Local Map Pack Results, Building Credibility and Reviews, Backlink Building, Google Analytics and Google Search Console Setup, How to Run a Local SEO Audit, How to Audit your Competitor’s SEO, How to track progress of your local SEO Campaign and in closing how to bring everything together.
The Most Comprehensive Guide to Local SEO Ever- 2017 Edition
I recommend this guide to everyone that is interested in optimizing their websites for local searches being one of the most all in one resource I’ve found regarding local SEO.
[ Read The Most Comprehensive Guide to Local SEO Ever ]
#10 — Link building for SEO by Backlinko
And another guide from Brian Dean made the top. Link building is still a crucial aspect when we talk about SEO, especially for sites that are new or don’t have a huge authority yet. If you want to rank you still need quality backlinks, plain and simple.
Link building for SEO by Backlinko
The Link building guide has 8 chapters: Link Building Fundamentals, How to Find High-Quality Links, Content Marketing, Email Outreach, Black Hat Links, Link Building Strategies, New Case Studies and Advanced Link Building
[ Read Backlinko’s Link Building Guide ]
Conclusion
So there you have it. A complete as possible list of SEO Guides you can find on the internet. I encourage everyone that wants to learn SEO to check them because these guides are written by SEO experts are contain a lot of quality information and actionable tips you can implement on your websites. Read them and save thousands of $$$ that you would otherwise spend on paid courses or hire people to do SEO for you.
Even if you don’t want to do SEO and prefer to hire freelancers or company you should still learn and see if they follow the guidelines that would keep you out of trouble.
Do you know any other SEO guides that we should add to the list? Let us know in the comments below. Also, tell us which one is your favorite and you would recommend to your friends.
Originally published at monetize.info on October 22, 2017.
