The Best Books To Learn SEO Recommended by Pros
Discover the top 8 SEO books recommended by industry professionals. From beginner guides to advanced strategies, master SEO with these expert-approved resources.
What a turn of events!
As you've landed on this page, you are just one book away from mastering SEO.
If you don't believe me, read reviews of those who have learned search engine optimization with the below-listed SEO books.
Doors to SEO Mastery
From beginner fundamentals to advanced tactics
You are facing eight "doors" once opened by business professionals. They can lead you from A to Z of search engine optimization: from SEO definitions and fundamentals to senior-class tactics on optimizing for conversions and little-known SEO secrets.
Take out your magic wand and repeat after me: Revelio. ✨
(Now, I am kidding. Just a huge Harry Potter fan)
So, to the list!
Top Books on Search Engine Optimization
Read the greatest books about SEO, with all its secrets and pitfalls. They have become the most important sources of knowledge for business leaders, founders, and managers who used them as guideposts in optimizing their websites for search engines.
SEO for Beginners
Perfect Entry Point📚 Subtitle:
Learn the basics of SEO in under 3 hours!
✍ Author:
Mark Northwell
📜 Pages:
99
What it covers
Are you a newcomer to the world of search engine optimization? Then this beginner's guide to SEO is the first book to ease you into it.
The author makes it clear why everyone optimizes for search engines today, how your site operates, or what "creatures" crawl your web pages and index them without you even noticing it. He also provides a complete list of keyword research tools.
⏱ Reading Time: 99 pages ÷ 3 hours = 33 pages per hour. Can you manage it?
💬 Professional Recommendation
"I say, always start with the basics. And this SEO book can help you do that. It explains why SEO challenges you first but then lets you reap the rewards. More importantly, it teaches you the essentials to help you put your foot on the grounds of the SEO kingdom.
What I liked the best – Mark Northwell doesn't overwhelm you with technical details or complicated terms. He walks you through a simple and highly understandable guide."
— Jerry Han, CMO at PrizeRebel
3 Months to No.1
Results-Driven Playbook📚 Subtitle:
The "No-Nonsense" SEO Playbook for Getting Your Website Found on Google
✍ Author:
Will Coombe
📜 Pages:
247
What it covers
Imagine you're giving someone your brand-new website and asking them to bring you the first page results on Google in just three months.
This someone is Will Coombe, and in this book on SEO, he demonstrates how he'd do this for you.
🏢 The Four Pillars of SEO:
You'll learn: How to find relevant target keywords, make it easy for Google to inspect your pages, boost user engagement, increase domain authority, and more.
💬 Professional Recommendation
"SEO always seemed a complicated game for my understanding because I didn't know its basic rules. Until I learned those from Will Coombe, a co-founder of the UK's leading SEO agency, in this playbook.
The major revelation, however, was that nobody truly knows how to game Google. And it's more like a cat-and-mouse game between this search engine and SEO pros. There are no super-fast hacks, but there's hard work and certain steps to be taken."
— Jesse Hanson, Content Manager at Online Solitaire and Word of Card Games
SEO Help
AI-Era SEO Guide📚 Subtitle:
20 Practical Steps to Power Your Content Creation, Marketing and Branding in the New AI World of Google Search
✍ Author:
David Amerland
📖 Pages:
198
What it covers
In SEO Help, David Amerland talks about 20 SEO aspects you should know and apply in practice. For example, voice search, structured data, YouTube SEO, podcasting, hashtagging, etc.
🤖 AI & SEO Focus
He particularly outlines the role of AI in SEO and the perspectives it opens in front of businesses. He establishes the connection between artificial intelligence and semantic search.
The 4Vs of Big Data:
✅ Bonus: All chapters end with action checklists.
💬 Professional Recommendation
"My top pick among the best books for learning SEO is the fourth edition of SEO Help published in 2020. The first edition came out in 2010. Since then, SEO has changed a lot. That's why the author updated this release and added tons of fresh content to it.
Interestingly, every chapter is like a standalone book describing a specific SEO topic. You shouldn't necessarily read chapters one by one. You can skip those you don't need and move to the part that kindles your interest most."
— Jesse Galanis, Content Manager at Tech Lockdown
Link Building Is Dead
Link Building Master Class📚 Subtitle:
Long Live Link Building!
✍ Author:
Sage Lewis
📖 Pages:
216
What it covers
So, link building is dead, right?
So wrong.
Would you like to see that it's actually more than alive?
🏆 Proven Case Studies:
🏢 Walmart
🐱 Catster & Dogster
🇺🇸 Obama's Election Victory Strategy
How link-building strategy fueled political success
Sage Lewis proves link building is very much alive through examples and case studies. You can also get easy backlinks just like other companies did. See how exactly in the book.
📱 Bonus: Social media link-building strategy you might need to develop right now to win the competition.
💬 Professional Recommendation
"It's one of the must-read SEO books on link building and its peculiarities. It makes you rethink your approach to getting backlinks. A link builder should be a PR professional, in the first place, not a spammer. That's the key lesson I learned from this book."
— Fernando Lopez, Marketing Director at Circuit
SEO Workbook
Step-by-Step System📚 Subtitle:
Search Engine Optimization Success in Seven Steps
✍ Author:
Jason McDonald
📖 Pages:
360
What it covers
SEO is power.
SEO is mysterious.
SEO seems impossible.
And yet, Jason McDonald believes anyone can master this craft.
📋 The 7-Step SEO System:
👥 Team Building: You might need managers, marketers, content writers, web designers, programmers, and outreach experts for your SEO project.
💬 Professional Recommendation
"Jason McDonald has become my coach in search engine optimization. His SEO workout book has taught me how to optimize effectively to get any website in an SEO-healthy shape. I like the comparison he uses in this guidebook. SEO is like physical fitness which requires discipline and smart work, not hard work."
— Alex Milligan, Co-founder & CMO of NuggMD
Ecommerce SEO
eCommerce Specialist📚 Subtitle:
An Advanced Guide to On-page Search Engine Optimization for Ecommerce
✍ Author:
Traian Neacsu
📖 Pages:
400
What it covers
Looking for the best books on SEO to learn how to optimize your eCommerce or dropshipping business website?
Look no further.
🛍 Complete eCommerce Coverage:
🏠 Homepage
Optimization
📜 Listing Pages
Category SEO
📱 Product Pages
Detail Optimization
Any part of your eCommerce store will get just enough attention to make it shine in the eyes of Google and your visitors too.
⚠️ Problem Solving: It will also help you cope with challenging issues like crawl traps.
💬 Professional Recommendation
"Running an eCommerce site requires different skill sets, and SEO is one of the most significant ones. That's why I recommend this book to every small or midsize business owner.
Prepare for a long read, but be sure, it's definitely worth your time. By reading this book and implementing the winning SEO practices from it, you invest in your eCommerce success."
— Jonathan Elster, CEO at EcomHalo
Learn SEO
Customer Psychology📚 Subtitle:
Think Like Your Customers to Get More of Them
✍ Author:
Bruce Jones
📖 Pages:
316
What it covers
What is your potential customer googling right now?
No need to keep the guessing games going any longer with this book for search engine optimization.
🧠 Customer Mind Reading Skills:
🕰 Customer Behavior Analysis
📊 Content Auditing
🔗 Link-Building Techniques
💭 Customer Thought Reading
🎯 Google's E-A-T Quality Metrics:
Expertise
Authority
Trustworthiness
The author uncovers the hidden truth behind how Google uses E-A-T to judge your page quality.
💬 Professional Recommendation
"SEO is the best tool for generating quality leads. It's an axiom – a self-evident fact that requires no proof. For those who struggle to use this instrument effectively, Learn SEO is a bottomless source of helpful instructions. With Bruce Jones' SEO guide, you will become a wizard of both on-page and off-page search engine optimization."
— Michael Maximoff, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Belkins
How To Get To The Top of Google
Plain English Guide📚 Subtitle:
The Plain English Guide to SEO
✍ Author:
Tim Cameron-Kitchen
📖 Pages:
296
What it covers
Show me a business leader or SEO specialist who doesn't want to reach the top of SERPs.
Bet, you won't find any.
If you dream about getting to the first page (surely, you do!), this book is your backpack of foolproof strategies to do that.
🎯 4 Ways to Rank on Page 1 for FREE:
However, you not only wish to show up at the top, but you'd also want to gain a strong footing there, am I right?
💪 Killer Tactics for Staying on Top:
📚 Author: Tim Cameron-Kitchen, SEO guru and founder of Exposure Ninja, shares strategies in a friendly tone.
💬 Professional Recommendation
"How To Get To The Top of Google is a smooth read for non-techies and SEO noobs. It reads like a personal story of an expert in search engine optimization who explains its principles and terminology in a way a 5-year-old would understand.
So, if you strive to make Google rank your site higher, apply the SEO growth hacks from this book. They can help you grow your business on the back of a solid SEO strategy from zero to hero."
— Gerald Lombardo, Head of Growth at Popl
Bonus: More Resources for SEO Mastery
Need a little bit more guidance in search engine optimization?
Just as I thought. Believe me, you'll always crave more because SEO is an unstoppable force. And if done correctly, it can propel your website or blog to unprecedented heights.
After reading the top SEO books, the following materials from Linkio are a good place to continue your learning path:
SEO Case Study
How to build an authority site from scratch with proven strategies.
Link Building Guide
Complete broken link-building strategy and implementation guide.
SEO Webinars
Watch expert-led webinars on advanced SEO techniques.
There you go. Read, watch, and enjoy – and you're welcome! 🚀
Master SEO Like a Pro
Your SEO Journey Starts Now
Your journey toward SEO proficiency may start right now.
Complete Roadmap
You've found the most comprehensive roadmap of reliable books and resources to accelerate your SEO learning process.
Core Skills Covered
Keyword research, content creation, outreach, link building, and other critical aspects.
🔄 Learning Path:
Begin with the basics, then dive deeper into the technical side. Always keep your finger on the pulse and monitor new trends in these mysterious waters.
Pro Tip: Unlock SEO excellence with these books and use the tips and tools they enlist to improve your online business performance.
🛠 Tool Recommendation: Linkio is an all-in-one SEO tool for link building. Start your free trial today and see the difference between winning and wasting time.
Good luck in SEOing and see you at the top! 🏆
About the Author
Written by the Linkio Team - SEO experts and book enthusiasts who have extensively reviewed and tested these resources. Our team helps businesses master search engine optimization through proven strategies and carefully curated educational materials.