The Art of SEO is subtitled Mastering Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and is an essential guide for all who own, design or write for serious websites
Web sites exist for a wide range of reasons but to be successful search queries must be able to find them and so sites need rank well in search results. Most visitors will find web pages by searching through Google, Bing, Yahoo, Baidu and others. As result, good search engine optimisation is the tool that maximises the visibility of the site and is the key to generating traffic for the site.
The Art of SEO sets out to demystify search engine optimisation and explain what search engines need to be able to rank web sites properly. SEO is often seen either as an arcane and mystical process or as a battle between web content providers and the search engines. As The Art of SEO explains in the opening chapters it is neither. In reality, search engines and web site owners with original information to share have a common interest in providing relevant information that matches web searches.
Killing Giants by Stephen Denny is not the first book on the subject of how smaller enterprises can compete successfully with the market leaders. However, it is probably the most accessible and its ideas are straightforward to implement.
The ways in which Killing Giants presents the ideas lend themselves to creating practical strategies for any business that is competing against much larger incumbents. Denny stresses he is not providing advice but telling stories from which the reader can learn. Killing Giants consists of ten broad messages. One, or more, stories, illustrate each section. From each story, Stephen Denny pulls out what he sees as the key lessons and puts them into a wider context.
At the end of each chapter, Denny pulls all the lessons together with the overall message. So while the content is not advice of the form: do this, that or the other, Killing Giants steers the reader to possible strategies. The reader is then left to apply what they have learnt, the ideas, to their own situation. It works well as the ideas are practical and the messages are down to earth so reinterpreting top specific situations is straightforward.
As Stephen Denny clearly expresses the ideas with minimal management jargon applying them to real-world situations should not be difficult. Readers can adopt some immediately and others will require more thought. The ability to move quickly will encourage the smaller business owner to use the ideas. Used with imagination and commitment the ideas in Killing Giants should enable the smaller player to claim their niche.
Detailed guide to strategic preparation needed before writing a business plan. Entrepreneurs must know the risks and threats when starting a new business.
Anyone who has watched the television programme "Dragons' Den" will be aware how ill-prepared many entrepreneurs are when seeking investment. They often do not seem to understand their market or their business. The New Business Road Test guides would-be founders of start-up businesses through the key questions they need to understand if they are going to maximise their chances of success.
As the book’s subtitle suggests, The New Business Road Test guides those starting new business through the analysis needed to write meaningful business plan. It is divided into two parts.
A strong story makes this management self-help book a good read. Is it a novel or a guide for a new Chief Information Officer or IT Director? Surprisingly it is both.
The cover design and the writing style makes The Adventures of an IT Leader look and feel like a novel. As such it has many merits. The characterisation is good and the writing is engaging – it encourages the reader to keep reading - it is a better read than much pure fiction and it yet it still provides a lot of valuable advice.