BOOK REVIEW · SEO
SEO for Growth
In short: Jantsch (Duct Tape Marketing) and Singleton frame SEO as a growth system for business owners — connecting search to website, content, and reputation. Strong on the why and the business case; lighter on hands-on technical depth.
What it covers.
This is SEO for the marketing leader and owner, not the technician. It situates search inside a wider growth and content strategy.
- SEO as part of a wider growth system
- Website and content as the SEO foundation
- Local SEO and online reputation
- Mobile and user experience
- How to hire and brief SEO help
- Connecting SEO to leads and revenue
Who it’s for.
Business owners, CEOs, and generalist marketers who need the strategic picture and how to manage SEO — not how to do every technical task themselves.
Evergreen
- The business case for SEO
- Reputation and content foundation
- How to hire SEO help
Read with a 2026 eye
- 2016 tactical specifics
- Pre-AI-search framing
Key ideas worth stealing.
Jantsch and Singleton frame SEO as one gear in a growth machine — connected to the website, content, reputation, and the sales pipeline rather than a standalone channel. That systems view is the book’s lasting value.
Its guidance on how to hire and brief SEO help is genuinely useful for owners. Knowing what good looks like — and what questions to ask — saves more money than any single tactic.
How it reads.
Readable and business-first, written for people who lead marketing rather than execute every task. Light on technical detail by design.
The RGM verdict.
A good bridge book for decision-makers who fund SEO but do not execute it. It will not teach you to debug crawl issues, and it should not — that is what RGM’s technical guides are for. Read it to lead an SEO program well.
Think of it as the book you hand a CEO who keeps asking why SEO matters. It answers that question well, then points them toward the specialists who do the work.
Asked & answered.
Is SEO for Growth technical?
No. It is a strategic, business-owner-facing book. For hands-on technical work, pair it with deeper guides.
Who is SEO for Growth best for?
Owners and marketing leaders who fund and manage SEO and need the strategic picture plus hiring guidance.
Is it still useful given its 2016 date?
The strategy and business case hold up; the specific tactics have moved on. Read it for the framework.