Want to learn how to make your blog rank well in Google? SEO Secrets is a resource worth considering.
Last year at an SEO conference I met a fellow Aussie by the name of Glenn Murray (pictured right). He introduced himself to me as an SEO copywriter and he made quite an impression. In fact he’s pretty much the only person that I met that day that I remember the name of.
The reason that Glenn was one of the few people that I still remember is that in a quiet and genuine way he stood out from the crowd. Many of the SEO types that I met that day were boastful and proud – Glenn was confident but far from cocky. He knew what he was talking about but didn’t seem to feel the need to let everyone know how good he was over and over again.
Glenn and I have kept in touch since that day – mainly via Twitter – and so when he emailed me recently to quietly tell me about his new SEO training ebook I was keen to check it out.
The ebook is called SEO Secrets and you can read about it and a little of Glenn’s story here.
Typically Glenn’s sales page for this great e-book makes no outrageous claims. There are no promises to make you rank #1 for highly competitive terms or screenshots of hundred thousand dollar earnings on clickbank – just Glenn’s story and a description of what you get when you buy this resource (as well as a sample chapter and Table of Contents) – that’s the kind of guy Glenn is.
The book (currently in it’s second version) is 213 pages (including bibliography, index and glossary) of SEO wisdom. It has a section on WordPress 2.7, sections on link building (including a good section on linkbaiting), choosing keywords, optimizing web content as well as a fairly extensive bibliography for further reading (it is refreshing to see someone citing sources and providing this).
The teaching in this ebook is good – very good – particularly for those at a beginner to intermediate level who are looking for a comprehensive and all in the one place introduction to SEO. Those who have spent many many hours doing extensive research on the topic on their own will probably not find a lot of new things in this guide – but for those starting out it is well worth considering as a practical investment in your education.
Glenn has a gift at explaining concepts that can at times be quite complex – if you’re like me and not wired with the brain of a technical genius you’ll appreciate the way he talks you through the many areas of SEO covered in this book.
If you’re interested in discovering more about SEO check out the sample chapter and table of contents of SEO Secrets for yourself.
You can always tell the difference between those that know what they’re talking about and those that don’t.
It’s good to see someone write a book that truly knows what he’s talking about, and doesn’t make the outrageous claims that you hear so often from others who don’t.
I discovered Glenn a few weeks ago on Twitter and I’ve been impressed by his blog content. He knows what he’s talking about – his web site ranks well for all the main copywriting search terms.
I am watching Glenn’s blog for a while and his portofolio is something that every online marketer is dreaming…Now i want the book :)
Nice design for both his blog and twitter page. Very impressive. I am checking the quote of the ebook with him now.
Cheers
Looks like Glenn is one of the few Names I should look out for on the web… Just reading this post and the comments of the book in the link provided (+ featured here by Darren Rowse), I am convinced that Glenn is no ordinary SEO copywriter.
FYI: this article tells some key factors in search engine ranking:
http://www.seomoz.org/article/search-ranking-factors
I have always heard that SEO is a waste of time, and, if you write good content, search engines will automatically find you site. Is that true?
Thanks,
Nate
I’ve been following Glenn for a couple of days now and today I find that even Darren has noticed his blog! This is not an ordinary guy!
I’ve read the book, it is as good as Darren says. Highly recommended.
This is what I really enjoy about Problogger, quality information with no limits on promoting other peoples great work or important information.
I really respect Problogger’s confidence in themselves and their commitment to continuing to bring quality content from around the web. Thanks!
Thanks for suggesting this book, in many book stores here in the UK, SEO is rather limited so it is nice to hear of a new book out.
Thanks for sharing.
Aside from the fact that… you know… he’s an affiliate making money off of it.
Very interesting, i often find the same, the good SEO’s dont tend to boast also they have a natural interest in discussing the topic, it’s more than just a job and we all know there is no great mystery to SEO the answers are out there if you want them!! Many thanks, great reading!
Thanks for the link Jensen.
That’s really awesome and probably one of the best SEO hot sheets I’ve ever seen – straight to the point with no fluff.
Awesome.
See you at the top,
Forest
The only that is telling me to try this ebook is that it is being you are featuring this on your blog, otherwise I don’t really care what someone is selling and I want to know all the stuff by my own self.
I am a really motived self believing blogger and I am just 15 years old but I have some of my own rules. On my blog I tell people what I know is right and what I have tested it myself because my rule is:
if you don’t fail you never know what to do not to fail
I really appreciate this post but I think buying this will go against my rules and right now I think I won’t buy it but I bookmarked the post and someday if I make money from my blog then I will buy this ebook. Great blog and great work.
————————————————————–
Mohammad Afaq
Free Website Traffic
quality information? come on, this post is just about getting comissions on his ebook, cant you see?
Nate – the ‘blog quality content and search engines will rank you well’ argument is true, to a point.
I personally have seen it to be true, however don’t write off SEO. Good content alone will get you so far, but it is amazing what a few simple tweaks can do to take your rankings up even further. My feeling is that your #1 priority needs to be on creating an engaging useful website – but then do what you can to enhance that by learning the basics of SEO.
Some people go further and obsess about SEO – but in my experience knowing the basics and incorporating them into your site development naturally is the best method. I think what Glenn’s put together here is a great resource for doing just that.
Paul – glad you found the book helpful too.
As someone who is close to starting a new blog I’m glad to have found this ebook and have enjoyed both Glen’s style as well as what he teaches. I am new to this web game and in the last 3 hours of reading feel like I have a very good grasp on a topic that I’ve been previously confused about by reading other so called SEO experts who seem to get caught up in a lot of technicalities and jargon.
Thanks for your recommendation Darren.
Wow! Thanks for the great review Darren! Very nice. I have a lot of faith in the content of the book. I’m proud of it. But to hear I stood out in the crowd at that SEO conference is very cool! To be honest, on the day of the conference, I was stressing out about two jobs that I was working on, and ensuring that I caught an early enough train home to get my car out of the commuter carpark. (I didn’t. I had to call security, wait half an hour, and pay a fee!) I certainly didn’t feel I stood out in any way – other than a little around the belly!
And for what it’s worth, FYI, Darren’s was one of the few sessions at that conference that was worth seeing!
Re the ebook & SEO: I’d echo Darren’s response above. WHAT you blog about is critical. Without great content, you won’t rank, no matter what you do (unless you go black-hat, I suppose). But there’s a lot of quality competition these days, for virtually every keyword, so if you want to rank, you really have to observe at least the basics.
From a blogging point of view, I’d say this comes down mostly to eliminating duplicate content and making your blog social media-friendly (easy to comment, easy to bookmark & well known). The ebook covers all of this in quite some depth.
I’d say that’s much more important than all the hoo-hah about keyword choice and most of the other techo stuff. Yeah, it’s important to use the right words (‘cos then the search engines will know what your site’s about, and they’ll know what searches to include you in). But if you’re genuinely helpful and subject-focussed, your content will naturally be fairly keyword rich. I rarely spend additional time optimising the copy on my blog. I try to use a keyword rich headline, and I throw in “copywriter” wherever possible, but that’s about it. 99.99% of my time is spent structuring the logic and writing something engaging to readers.
Re audience: Darren’s completely correct. The book’s targeted at people who are relatively new to SEO. Particularly SMB owners and marketers. That’s what I am, after all.
Once again, thanks for your review Darren, and thanks, everyone else, for your kind words about the book. It’s much appreciated.
Cheers.
Glenn
@Nate – you are right, high quality and useful content is the #1 factor in a website or blog’s success. You can ignore SEO and make no deliberate effort to optimise your site for search engines and do well.
However some attention to SEO, not just in your content but also in other factors such as layout, html tags, meta data, sitemaps etc can give your site a real boost.
As an example I have one blog that has grown organically from 0 to about 6000 visitors per month over 2 years with no SEO effort, just posting useful content. By switching from my own custom WordPress theme to an theme with great SEO (Thesis theme by diythemes.com) within 30 days traffic went from 6000 per month to over 8000 per month and still climbing.
What do you consider “relatively new to SEO”? I don’t want to buy a book that is going to cover the same ole same ole.
Book looks great, I am always looking for new books on SEO. I have added this to my wish list =)
Hi SpanishLady. I think “relatively new to SEO” undersells it a little. I prefer that to overselling. If you’re a serious SEO, it’s unlikely you’ll get a great deal out of it. But anyone else should be able to glean quite a bit. Put it this way: I’ve been an SEO copywriter for about 5 of my 7 years as a copywriter. And I learned a great deal writing it.
In any case, there’s a link to the Table of Contents on the sales page. That (combined with the number of pages dedicated to each topic) should give you a good indication of the subject matter and depth of the content.
Let me know if you have any other questions. (You can email me at [email protected] or tweet me at @divinewrite.)
Cheers.
Glenn
Carl – if this post were just about generating commissions I think it’d read a little differently. There’d be no info on who it was good for and some big sweeping generalizations and hyped up claims about how it’ll be guaranteed to make you #1 for any term you want etc etc etc.
Yes – this is a product that I make a few dollars from the sale of – but I stand by what I’ve written. It contains useful information that is ideally suited to those wanting to take their basic knowledge of SEO to the next level.
As I read it I thought to my self numerous times that it’s a book that I wish I’d read in my first year or two of blogging rather than having to learn it all over years in a very haphazard way.
Ultimately if you don’t want this kind of information or don’t have the budget for it then you’re totally at liberty to decide not to buy it – no one is forcing you to or hyping this up to be something beyond what it is.
If you’re offended by the idea of people making commissions from products then this probably isn’t the blog for you as I both do it and teach people how to monetize their blogs from affiliate marketing.
No offense intended – but this is a blog about making money from blogging – if you’re unable to bare the thought of me doing it then ProBlogger might not be the blog for you.
Further to Darren’s comment above, let’s put this in perspective. Darren probably spent, what, 2 hours writing the post? And so far, the post has generated 3 sales, each at USD $79.95. Darren gets 50% of that, so he’s made $119.93. That’s just $59.96 per hour.
I’m sure if Darren was in it only for the money, he could find far better ways to spend his time.
I agree with Glenn Murray, Darren definitely doesn’t just to generate commission by promoting E-Book, Darren can even does better than it!
I believe that there is a value of the e-book and worth to read. I’m considering to get one in coming days due to tight budget.
Great book you have Glenn Murray! Keep it up! :)
Regards,
Lee
I definitely agree with the few comments above. It’s amazing how on a blog about making money while blogging, people can get all uppity because of an affiliate link to a USEFUL product. If you’re looking to invest in your education, buy it! If not, don’t! It’s as easy as that. Darren’s not out to scam anyone…and why would he be? He’s run this blog that creates very useful content everyday for years now. He’s proven to be honest, and has even given an honest review of his thoughts on it. No hyped up claims…just solid, useful advice.
Regarding the book, I love how it’s directed at SMB types and I will be recommending it for my clients after I get a chance to read it all myself. Great work Glenn!
Ok, I have to donate my 2 cents and I’ll apologize ahead of time if this gets long.
I met Glenn while I was struggling to learn SEO beyond the basic ‘put a keyword here’ stuff. I read his book, and all of the pieces came together to form a solid foundation that I have built the rest of my SEO ‘education’ on.
Do I know everything? Not a chance, but I have no problems running and marketing my own site and feeling confident about it. I have also seen the product I provide to my clients improve as a result.
Since the first few read-throughs, I have referred back to Glenn’s book on many occasions since. That refresher is extremely helpful when dealing with other areas of the subject that can get complicated.
I completely agree with what Darren and others have said. It is a top-notch book that is well worth far more than Glenn charges for it.
Angie Haggstrom
Freedom Freelance
Thanks for the valuable information there. And considering the E-book, I assume it would just have all the collected articles from around the WWW as there is no unturned stone in the field of SEO which is not yet put on the internet lately.
But, thanks anyway for informing about another book which deals with the topic. May be this can add one r two interesting points.
This is my first visit.I found this blog very useful for SEO.That book is also very good.
Hi Team Nirvana. You’ve raised a very good point. Thank you.
I’m an SEO copywriter, not a pure SEO. So yes, to an extent, the book’s based a LOT on what I’ve learned from other people. And yes, a lot of that learning came from the Internet.
However…
I AM an SEO copywriter, and I have been for 5 years. So I do have my own professional hands-on experiences too. And that experience colours the content. Both in terms of interpretation and accounts of what’s worked for me. (My website ranks very well for most copywriting related terms.)
Also, I wouldn’t say that I’ve simply gathered articles from the Internet. I researched a LOT and talked to quite a few SEOs who I trust.
And finally, yes, a great part of the book’s appeal and value to its intended audience is the fact that it filters out the crap and brings together the relevant important information.
So to summarise – I’m certainly no SEO guru. What I bring to the table is:
– SEO copywriting experience
– successful SEO of a small handful of sites
– technical writing background (9 years) – my strength is making complex technical concepts inviting and easy to understand
– a reader focus
– an affinity with SMBs (I am one)
– research abilities (postgrad quals)
Thanks again for your comment, Team Nirvana!
Well I saw some of his results on some keywords and interesting thing was the competition and search results. All search results lying between 600 k to 650 k.
So this one clearly proves that he have command over selecting keywords and selecting wisely. Definitely I want to know this tricks from him.
If he have mentioned this one in his book, than certainly I am going to buy it.
Wow, that seems to be a really good seo book. Thanks i needed some advice on promoting my new blog. I hope i can make use of this book fully to boost traffic to my blog. Thanks Darren for the info on Glenn
Regards,
Simple
http://officeinfotips.blogspot.com
Thanks for this ebook. Its really useful for newbie SEO like me. I’m reading some chapters in brief…
This doesn’t really make sense. Being a SEO expert is only one of many factors that contribute to making a living.
Glenn reputedly ranked #1 for “advertising copywriter”: if he really was the #1 ad writer in Sydney, he’d be earning AU$300,000 pa or more a year.
Well I will surely like to know the secrets and would like to inform everybody that SEO is not wastage of time, nothing happen automatically without doing.
First and best advice I got:
Never buy ebooks of any kind.
Hi Tyrone,
I’ve noticed that a lot of people think SEO is a waste of time, however, some are inpatient and expect over night succcess.
A successful online presence, wasn’t built in a day, Darren Rrowse will tell you that and so many other bloggers.
Pleased that you feel SEO is important. It is vital, when I was studying web design on a degree people where saying it isn’t important. How wrong they were.
All the best,
but what can such book bring to us, while we know most of tricks :)
This is very important, I hope I could raise enough money so I could get one to help my blog grow and become page 1 in “G”
In addition to the obvious benefits of having the book reviewed, I also think it says alot about what you can accomplish by being a “nice guy”. In your face tactics are not always the best.
Think about how this story may have played out if Glenn’s demeanor would have been different when he and Darren first met.
I’m just sayin’…
Cheers
George
It is always very easy to spot those who actually know their stuff and the people/companies that are just BS’ing their way through…
It can be frustrating to listen to supposed SEO gurus when they don’t know squat, and it can be very dangerous for the bottom line of a biz who uses an SEO firm who doesn’t do what they say.
Looks like a promising book, thanks Darren for the link. Ill check it out and read the sample chapter to see whether to buy or not.
@Carl – what is the point of visiting this blog if not for the purpose to learn from the best and make money at it. It is surprising to me that you would make such a comment knowing that bloggers make money from affiliates. Seems to me that you are no stranger and perhaps posted your comment intentionally. I do not understand why you did not link it to your site.
Back to the post. It is rare to find a post that moves you and encourages you to purchase the book. I have visited the site and read the comments of all that have read the book. I must say, this is another recommendation of Darren that I personally cannot afford to pass up.
Newbies and pro’s this is the place to obtain professional and AS IT IS information.
:)
So this is another SEO book. If SEO is climbing the evolutionary ladder and most of the free information available seems to be somewhat outdated ( and really overwhelming) that I kind of stop hunting for these kind of information. The article is really friendly and convincing but what’s in here that’s not already out there.
The seo skills I’ve picked up in the last year really drives traffic to my site. The beautiful thing is that once you’ve set it up properly, it takes care of itself.
As you know, It’s time consuming to get traffic from social sites, which makes it easy to appreciate search engine traffic +_+
@Chris
You are spot on when you mention that being an ‘SEO expert’ as you say is only one important part of online business. Customer relations, accounting, marketing, and many others are equally if not more important.
However, SEO is also one that is filled with myths and unknown facts. Many SEOs don’t even agree on many points. This makes it very difficult to find good, comprehensive resources.
With all do respect kind sir, being #1 in Google has nothing to do with earnings or the quality of a company. The last time I checked, my tax returns are not filed with Google. Also, many excellent companies and service providers would not be struggling with the online promotion portion of their marketing plans.
Spammers, scraper sites, and even unrelated YouTube videos can sit high in the rankings. If Google was that good at judging quality, they wouldn’t tweak their algos consistently in order to provide better results, and be playing with the concept of personalized search.
FYI, the proof of Glenn’s work can be found easily by asking any of the companies and individuals he as worked with. You simply have to look at his portfolio. I don’t buy anything or put my name behind anything I haven’t used and benefited myself.
A bit out of my price range I’m afraid.
Good review of it though. :)
Wow! Heaps of comments overnight. Thanks for taking the time, everyone, to have your say!
I’ll answer some of the criticisms, if I can:
– Chris: You’re absolutely right, SEO is just one factor. No questions asked. But it’s definitely played a big part in my success. I’ve had to spend nothing on advertising, and business has come to me, so I haven’t had to chase it. In regards to being the “#1 ad writer in Sydney”, that I surely am NOT. Although I do offer ad copywriting, web, brochure, SEO, case study and sales letter copywriting is my strength. And I’ve never claimed to be Sydney’s no.1 anything. I’ve only claimed what you can verify for yourself: that I rank no.1 on for “advertising copywriter” on Google.com.au (whether your search worldwide or just Australian pages). And I rank no.4 if you search Google.com for the same thing from within Australia. As to my revenue, I’m a little confused as to how that plays a part here?
– Anderson: You’ve obviously been burned by some bad ebooks in the past. Me too. That’s why I have full confidence in this one. I know it’s not the usual fluff. But I completely understand if you’re uncomfortable with ebooks, generally. As a rule, I am too.
– Blogging Tips & frugalgrad: If you already know everything about SEO, this book certainly isn’t for you. It’s not ground-breaking, it’s just comprehensive, practical and easy to understand. As Darren mentioned in his review, it wasn’t written for the SEO expert. It targets SMB owners and marketers. I think it’s fair to say that most SMB owners and marketers don’t know most of the tricks of SEO.
Thanks again for taking the time to comment (both positive and negative).
Cheers,
Glenn
I recently read an article in Business Week that stated the SEO jobs are on the raise despite massive layoffs in the USA. Mastering SEO has much more benefits than being on Google’s # 1 spot.
Knowledge is power.
Thanks Glenn for your great insight.