Foreword

In the search marketing industry, Bruce Clay is a legend. Those who sailed the largely uncharted waters of the Great Search Engine Ocean back in 2000 remember fondly his fi rst Search Engine Relationship Chart. It plotted out the relationships between more than 20 different search engines, explaining which search engines generated their original own results versus those that simply white-labeled results they got from others — the "powered by" search engines, as they used to be called. In such a confusing space, Bruce endeavored to bring order, guidance, and education.

But Bruce has been more than a chart-maker, of course. As early search marketers struggled to understand which practices were acceptable to search engines and which weren't, Bruce was among the few leading the calls for standardized best practices and a code of conduct. From the early years, he's also been a leading educator for others coming into the space. Whether writing about search marketing, participating in forums, or speaking in conferences, Bruce has been a consistent font of wisdom. He has freely shared knowledge and helped hundreds, if not thousands, of people successfully tap into the power of search marketing.

Finally, we get Bruce's wisdom distilled into book form. And it's no surprise that he's plotted out a comprehensive guide to the still-vast Great Search Engine Ocean that exists out there. There might be fewer players these days, but that doesn't mean search marketing has gotten simpler. If ...

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