Dustin Schmidt

I will admit, the title to this post is a little misleading because when it comes to maintaining any search engine optimization campaign there is always a cost, even if you are passionate about doing it yourself.  If you decide to manage your own SEO, keep in mind that there is an enormous amount of sweat equity in time it takes to sustain an effective search marketing strategy. High expectations are often placed on SEO because hiring a consultant is not cheap.

By all means, if you have more to add to the list feel free to send them are way and we will be sure to include them!

So, if you’re light in the wallet, have an open mind, are battle-tested and have the patience to learn the profession here are some excellent resources to help you get started.

Search Engine Marketing, Inc., written by Mike Moran and Bill Hunt is a no-nonsense book about developing and implementing a search marketing program for your business. It has been my holy book of reference when re-evaluating actions I take regarding SEO for my blog.

The second edition updates all chapters with the important developments in search marketing, including the sea change in paid search toward hybrid auctions, the advent of sitemaps to index your organic content, new keyword tools, and more. In addition, two brand-new chapters have been added:

• Explore New Media and Social Media: Find out how videos, podcasts, and other new kinds of media are suddenly showing up in “blended” search results. And learn how you can get customers to pass along your marketing message through social media.

• Optimize Your Web Site Search: You’ve already learned so much about how organic search works. Why not apply that knowledge to improve the results of the search engine on your own website? Find out how a little extra knowledge can send you on your way to help your customers find what they are looking for once they are on your website.

The SEOmoz toolset – Includes over twenty SEO tools designed to help with every aspect of Search Engine Optimization, including On-Page Targeting, Site Crawlability, Competitive Analysis, Rank Checking and Keyword Difficulty.

SEO Site Statistics Tool by Xinu Returns – Check PageRank, Backlinks, Indexed Pages, Rankings and more.  This is a phenomenal web application that will also help with validation and usability.

SEO Software by Web CEO – Improve SEO workflow with an outstanding Keyword tool and Partner Finder tool.  You can promote your blog in Blog Search Engines and Directories and get registered with Blog Communities with the help of their Submission tool.

20 SEO Tips for 2010 – SEO Design Solutions outlines some basic tricks of the trade that will help you rank higher in competitive verticals.

21 Link Builders Share Advanced Link Building Queries – Link building and link baiting are two very important aspects of creating effective inbound links to your pages. Search Engine Land presents how 21 different companies were able to generate more inbound links through a variety of techniques.

10 Free Google SEO Tools Everybody Should Use – Who knows better how to optimize a website for Google than Google? Here you can learn more about Keyword Density, Link Popularity, Fixing Broken Links, and how to better optimize your site for indexing.

To piggyback on that, I would highly advise following Google Engineer Matt Cutts and the videos he puts up on YouTube. This is a great way to keep up with Google’s indexing trends and new developments.

I hope you found these resources helpful. If you are a do-it-yourself SEO with a toolbox you would like to share please let us know about the free SEO tools you use to effectively generate higher page rank and better placement in organic search results.

By Dustin at 2009-12-28 10:24:54

In Marketing, SEO, View Comments