| Consideration | AI SEO for Dummies | Ultimate Guide to Link Building |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher | Wiley (For Dummies) | Entrepreneur Press |
| Edition and year | 1st edition, 2026 | 2nd edition, January 2020 |
| Reader level | Beginner-friendly; business owners, marketers and SEO professionals | Readers who already know SEO basics |
| Main focus | Visibility in AI-powered search (AEO and GEO) | Link prospecting and outreach |
| Covers AI search (AEO/GEO)? | Yes; the main subject | No; published in 2020 |
| Exercises or templates | Checklist, 30-day worksheet and trackers in the toolkit | A worked prospecting process in the public excerpt |
| Companion materials | Free companion toolkit, no email required | Not confirmed |
| Best for | A step-by-step start in AI search | Learning how to find link opportunities |
About this comparison
Based on publisher and author information, contents and the sources listed below. We have not completed full reviews of these books.
Quick answer
These books do different jobs, so the choice depends on the job in front of you. If you need to find sites and people who might link to you, read Ultimate Guide to Link Building by Garrett French and Eric Ward. It is the one of the two built for link prospecting. If your question is how your business shows up in AI-powered search, read AI SEO for Dummies.
Disclosure: Top SEO Books is owned by Nathan Gotch, author of AI SEO for Dummies. How we handle this relationship.
What each book is about
Ultimate Guide to Link Building is a specialist book on finding link opportunities. Entrepreneur Press lists the second edition for January 2020 (paperback ISBN 9781599186481). Publisher catalogue, page 31. An authorized excerpt starts with the terms that define a market and uses them to locate different kinds of opportunities, such as expert interviews, resource curators and sites accepting relevant contributions. It also discusses finding existing interviews and building a new group interview from that research. Second-edition excerpt.
AI SEO for Dummies is Nathan Gotch’s first-edition 2026 title in Wiley’s For Dummies series. Wiley names business owners, SEO professionals and marketers as its readers. It covers visibility in AI-powered search, including answer engine optimization (AEO) and generative engine optimization (GEO), in a beginner-friendly, step-by-step format. Publisher details.
Where they differ
The job. French and Ward’s book is about one discipline: discovering the people and publications in a subject area and working out what useful material could belong there. AI SEO for Dummies is about a channel: becoming visible in AI-powered search. Neither replaces the other.
Level. Ultimate Guide to Link Building is aimed at readers who already know SEO basics and need a focused prospecting method. AI SEO for Dummies is written to be beginner-friendly.
Era. The link building book dates from 2020, before current AI search, and its tactics should be checked against Google’s current link spam policy. Its prospecting approach does not depend on a particular tool. AI SEO for Dummies was published in 2026 with AI search as its main subject.
Publisher and companion materials. Entrepreneur Press publishes the link building book, and its authorized excerpt lets you judge the method before buying. AI SEO for Dummies is published by Wiley with a free companion toolkit that includes a quickstart checklist, a First 30 Days worksheet, share-of-voice and citation trackers, a prompt library, report templates and code snippets, with no email required.
Which should you read?
- If you understand SEO basics but cannot work out who might have a reason to reference your material, read Ultimate Guide to Link Building.
- If you need to build an outreach prospect list for a market, read Ultimate Guide to Link Building, alongside Google’s current link guidance.
- If you are new to SEO and your business is asking about AI answers, read AI SEO for Dummies.
- If you are a marketer or SEO professional adding AI search to your work, read AI SEO for Dummies.
- If you have both needs, read each for its own job, in whichever order matches your most urgent problem. Do not expect AI SEO for Dummies to teach link prospecting, or the 2020 link building book to cover AI search.
If you need SEO basics before either, see the beginner SEO reading guide. For other books that cover links, see Ultimate Guide to Link Building alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
Which book should I read to learn link building?
Ultimate Guide to Link Building by Garrett French and Eric Ward. Its public excerpt shows a prospecting process for finding the people and publications in a market. AI SEO for Dummies is not a link building book.
Is Ultimate Guide to Link Building still useful?
Its prospecting approach does not depend on a specific tool. The second edition dates from January 2020, so check individual tactics against Google’s current link spam policy.
Does Ultimate Guide to Link Building cover AI search?
No. It was published in 2020, before current AI search. AI SEO for Dummies (Wiley, 2026) covers visibility in AI-powered search, including AEO and GEO.
Sources & further reading
Source information checked 2026-10-19. Availability can vary by format and location.