Review By: Jennifer Cannon
07/14/2006With so many Web sites on the Internet today, what can you do to increase search engine referrals to your site? Shari Thurow has written an informative book to answer that question. She has put her extensive knowledge of search engine optimization in book form in a way that is concise and easy to understand. You don't have to be a “techie” to understand this material. This book is great for anyone who is new to the area of search engine optimization and wants to begin building a foundation of knowledge by quickly learning the basics.

"Search Engine Visibility” is divided into five parts. In part one, “Before You Build,” Sheri defines search engines and directories and how they work. She also goes into the elements of successful Web design and the basics of creating a productive search engine optimization campaign. Part two, “How to Build Better Web Pages,” builds upon the foundation. It details how to create a search engine marketing campaign that produces results. If you already have a Web site, part three, “Page Design Workarounds,” is very helpful. The author presents suggestions that can be used to improve your site’s visibility on the Web without having to change the entire design of the site. Part four, “After Your Site is Built,” discusses the submission process to search engines and directories. Part five, “Best Practices: The Dos and Don'ts of Search Engine Marketing,” offers best practices to increase a Web site’s visibility in the search engines while benefiting the users of your site.

Shari’s book contains a glossary, resources, and a chapter excerpt from the book “Speed Up Your Site” by Andrew B. King.

Although this book can be a helpful guide and resource for anyone involved in creating and maintaining Web sites, I would highly recommend it (as someone relatively new to the area of search engine optimization myself) as a “must read” to all beginners. It’s a great book to “get your feet wet.” After reading this book, I have gone from knowing very little about this area of Web design to having a basic knowledge of the subject. It is an easy read (you could easily finish it in a weekend), and the author presents strategies that are easy to implement into your Web site immediately. She doesn't present a bunch of algorithms and technological terms, but rather simple, commonsense methods like designing the site to allow crawlers to find it and making it easy for the user to navigate. Her knowledge and enthusiasm about this area of Web design are apparent throughout the book.