hi,

I am new to SEO. Could anyone suggest how to start with learning SEO ? Should i purchase an ebook (such as seobook by Aarons Wall), or should i follow the instructions provided in online tutorials and forums ? Which of those will work ? I need help immediately regarding this.

Regards,
jessica

I wouldn't buy a book as there is plenty of good information available on the net if you know where to look:
Tips for New SEOs at Highrankings
Beginner's guide to SEO at SEOmoz

Those are pretty good. But there's a lot of bad information out there too, so don't believe everything you read.

..and stay away from the rumour mill at digitalpoint. The amount of crap they talk there is astounding.

Then back to forums for some questions, but first you need some idea about seo and Search Engines.

joining SEO forums can help you to start learning SEO. you can also search the internet for some tutorials and ebooks as well

Jessica, you have to be careful with many seo ebooks, but Aaron Wall's ebook is a good one. Most everything in there is on the web some place, but it can take you a long time to find it. You have to decide whether spending the money is worth more than the time it would take to find the information, but the information in the book is good.

I'd also look at both links gringo posted above.

One thing you should know though is that there is very little that's immediate about seo. Even if you could somehow learn everything between now and tomorrow morning it will still take some time before your sites gain visibility in search engines.

If your approach going into seo is looking for things that will work quickly and easily you've already lost as it won't happen and will likely mean it will only take longer to understand what it's really about.

the best way to learn SEO is from online tutorials and forums because from time to time there's a new techniques to discover.

If you read this or any other forums that involve webmaster/SEO you will learn a lot. I heard they are giving out copies of a book called 'seo made easy' , google it.
wish you the best! Roy

Check out the SEO FAQ's to start with

Originally Posted by gringo

Tips for New SEOs at Highrankings
Beginner's guide to SEO at SEOmoz

Out of this two, I like Randfish's Beginner's guide.
and you can also try Keyword Expert Dan Thies Search Engine Optimization Fast Start

But I can't say Aaron Wall's SEO Book is just a SEO Book. It is more than that. He explained very well about "How to approach and do an online business".

Kirtan I like the Dan Thies book too. It's a little old, but the advice is still good. I also fixed the link for you. I also prefer Rand's beginner guide.

That's true about Aaron's book. It's more than just seo, which I think is good and actually helps you understand seo better by helping you understand what the goals really are.

Check out the morniche website, they have many guides for free, inluding a couple of popular ebooks covering every aspect of the seo process, including starting your website.

good luck
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I am going to go against the grain here.

1) Start with Rand Fiskin's (SEOmoz.org) articles and buy either Aaron Wall's SEObook or Dan Thies's The Search Engine Marketing Kit. These will give you a solid foundation in SEO principals in a secure and timely manner.

2) Until you learn the major SEO principals you should avoid forum and online SEO community discussions. a)There is a lot of bad information in the forums, much of it dressed in sheeps' wool. b)Many who participate in the forums are vocal because they are not succeeding online. Those who are doing well tend not need the forums. c)It's difficult to separate the essentials from the chaff in the forums. and d)It's easy to get distracted.

2a)Yes, nearly all the information in 1 can be found for free in the forums, but you will spend days searching for it when a)you may not be sure what you are searching for and b)see 2a

3)Do come to the forums when you have specific questions about your off-line SEO studies.

4)Do become active once you have learned the major SEO principals and are better prepared to make you own learned judgements about what you see and read online. But first, monitor different SEO forums for awhile to see where you would like to be active. Each forum has its own personality. Find a community that you will be comfortable in.

Tom, you may be going against the grain here, but I don't think there's anything wrong with what you're saying. I've said pretty much the same in other threads here and elsewhere.

I haven't read the Search Engine Marketing Kit, but having read other things by Dan Thies I assume it's good. I have read the other two and will agree that both are good.

I do think all the information is available for free online, though I agree it can take awhile to sift through all the info to find what's useful and what isn't. And depending on how well you can find the information through the misinformation it may well be a better ROI to purchase the books. It depends a little on how valuable your time is.

I do think it's fine though to come to forums even if you haven't read the books. You're right that it will be better to ask specific questions. It's impossible to answer general questions like how do I seo my site or how do I get traffic to my site with anything useful in a single thread.

One thing though is if you can see past the idea of seo being about formulas and trying to figure out exactly where and in what amount to add words to a page you can sort through a lot of the misinformation faster. It also helps if you can accept that seo isn't an overnight phenomenon.