What is SEO and why does it matter for writers and readers
Dr Mehmet Yildiz is a content strategist, brilliant scientist and inventor, and author of 50+ books who knows how to find real readers on the web. He helped me get my bestseller badge on Substack.
From “What the Heck is SEO?” to “I Get It Now”: A Crusty Old Bloke’s Review of Smart and Ethical SEO
Dear Subscribers,
I’ll be honest with you. A year ago, if you’d asked me what SEO was, I’d have guessed it was a new kind of vitamin supplement or worse, another government acronym we were supposed to care about.
As an older academic and scientific writer who grew up with paperbacks, handshakes, and word-of-mouth marketing, I never imagined I’d be reading a book about search engine optimization let alone enjoying it.
But here I am, a recovering SEO-phobe, writing a glowing review of Smart and Ethical SEO by my distinguished and brilliant mentor Dr Mehmet Yildiz. And not just as a reader, but proudly as one of the alpha and beta reviewers who had a front-row seat during its evolution.
This book didn’t just help me understand SEO. It helped me appreciate and use it, making a bestselling Substack author. Yes, you can teach tricks to old dogs like me. And that’s no small feat for someone who once thought metadata was a sci-fi villain.
I even learned about GEO and was wondering what the heck was it as nobody spoke about it before. The Smart SEO book also solved the mystery of smart GEO which I am now paying attention to.
The amazing part in the Smart and Ethic SEO book for me was “RankBrain” by Google which I haven’t heard about before. Dr Yildiz said Google’s answer to SEO and GEO challenges arrived in 2015 with a system that would quietly reshape how we all think about search engine optimization.
After practicing these interesting concepts, suddenly my blog posts have started getting traffic from Google’s Gemini, Open AI’s Chat GPT, and Microsoft’s Co-Pilot. It was not a coincidence as I figured out GEO, as an old block who used to fear AI.
If your stories, newsletters, blog posts, YouTube videos, or podcasts are not getting enough or any views maybe the answer is they lack SEO. It was for me and I even became a guest blogger which helped me gain thousands of new readers for my Substack.
I had no clue how they found my publications but I guess the SEO hero helped me like Aiden’s From Zero to Substack Hero. You can find this course on Udemy with discount vouchers:
From Zero to Substack Hero — Level 1
From Zero to Substack Hero — Level 2
From Zero to Substack Hero — Level 3 NEW
Finally, a Book That Speaks With Creators, Not At Them
Most SEO books I’ve skimmed (and promptly abandoned) were written for data analysts, advertising gurus, or tech teams with more jargon than common sense.
They weren’t written for folks like us writers, creators, authors, and content entrepreneurs trying to carve out a digital home with a limited budget, zero tech support, and a deep resistance to becoming keyword zombies.
But Dr Yildiz? He gets it. He’s walked the walk across Medium, Substack, Patreon, and beyond. And in this guide, he translates decades of SEO know-how into something that makes sense for real humans with real voices and actual values.
This isn’t a book about chasing clicks. It’s about becoming findable by the people who matter for the right reasons.
Visibility Without Selling Your Soul
Every chapter circles back to a powerful truth: visibility matters, but visibility without trust is worthless.
Dr. Yildiz doesn’t waste time with gimmicks. He doesn’t ask you to game the system. Instead, he shows how to align your content with human intent and how to do it without feeling like you’ve just sold your creative soul to the Google gods.
As someone who’s worked with plenty of writers and seen more than a few burnout while chasing trends, I found this book refreshingly sane. It offers grounded, strategic advice for staying visible in a noisy digital world — without selling out, freaking out, or burning out.
What is The S.E.E. Model?
Good question. I had no clue. Yep, Dr Mehmet Yildiz even created a unique framework called “The S.E.E. Model (Signal, Experience, Ethics)” I plan to write a comprehensive article about it later as it is big.
SEO Without the Snake Oil
Here’s the beauty of this book: it reframes SEO as something creative people can do with integrity.
It’s not about ranking first. It’s about showing up when and where it counts.
You’ll learn how to:
- Understand what your readers are really searching for (and why that matters more than ranking).
- Structure your posts so they don’t confuse humans or algorithms.
- Write headlines and metadata that inform and invite — not mislead or manipulate.
Better still, the book is full of real examples from actual creators, not made-up corporate case studies. It’s tailor-made for Medium, Substack, Patreon, and any platform where writers and readers still care about meaning.
And thank heavens, it skips the technical waffle, the pointless checklists, and the “guru” nonsense.
Built on Experience, Not Buzzwords
Dr. Yildiz isn’t some overnight SEO influencer with a snazzy TikTok. He’s a seasoned strategist who’s authored 50+ books, mentored thousands of creators, and grown some of the highest-traffic publications on Medium, all while staying humble, ethical, and human.
That comes through loud and clear in this book.
He’s seen it all, the good, the bad, and the algorithmically ugly. And he doesn’t sugarcoat it.
Some SEO tricks were dodgy from the start. Others have simply stopped working. This book helps you ditch what’s dead, keep what works, and build a strategy that actually lasts.
Why I Recommend This Book (and Proudly Helped Shape It)
As one of the alpha and beta readers, I had the privilege of reviewing early drafts and offering editorial input. And let me tell you, this wasn’t some AI-pumped, clickbait machine churned out overnight. It’s been refined with care, feedback, and real-world experience.
This book belongs on the desk of every writer who wants to:
- Stay true to their voice
- Be discovered by the right audience
- Grow without gaming the system
Whether you’re a freelancer tired of SEO advice that sounds like quantum physics, or a startup founder trying to build organic reach without losing your mind, Smart and Ethical SEO is the field guide you didn’t know you needed.
No More Excuses: Time to Get Smart (and Ethical)
So if you, like me, once thought SEO was a dark art reserved for Silicon Valley interns and caffeine-fuelled coders, this book will prove you wrong in the best way.
It’s not a magic formula. It’s a compass for your findability on the massive ocean of world wide web.
And with Dr Yildiz at the helm, you’ll feel a little less lost and a lot more confident, navigating the wild, algorithmic waters of modern content creation.
The preorder is up on Amazon, and early access is available via his Substack newsletter Content Marketing Strategy Insights.
Do yourself a favour, don’t wait for the paperback on Amazon or Ingram, they can get long to distribute to the public. Get the digital and audio guide now. Your future readers are already searching for you.
The book is preorderable on Amazon, and early access is available via discount bookstore at Digitalmehmet Content Ecosystem, Google Books (digital), and Google Play (Audio)
And if you liked my review, check out another great ones by SEO experts like Sana Uqaili and amazing book reviewer and editor Alka Joshi. I link them here so you understand my humble points.
Why Smart and Ethical SEO Belongs on Every Creator’s Desk
A Clear-Eyed Review of Dr Mehmet Yildiz’s Book — Smart and Ethical SEO: What to Do and Not to Do to Grow Your Platformmedium.com
Book Review of “Smart and Ethical SEO: What to Do & Not Do to Grow Your Platform”
Author : Dr. Mehmet Yildiz (Content Marketing Strategist)medium.com
I also wrote a five star review of his recent stunning book Substack Mastery Version 2.0 which will be a game-changer in the content marketing industry.
It is from a person who had no clue about Substack two years ago but got a bestseller badge in 2025 thanks to the author of this exceptional book coming soon to your favorite bookstores
My Foreword & 5 Star Review of Substack Mastery Version 2
From a person who had no clue about Substack 2 years ago but got a bestseller badge in 2025 thanks to the author of…medium.com
Thank you for reading my short newsletter today. I wish you health and great success.
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Lessons Learned from My Personal Stories
I am a retired healthcare scientist in my mid-70s, and I have several grandkids who keep me going and inspire me to write on this platform. I am also the chief editor of the Health and Science publication on Medium.com. As a giveback activity, I volunteered as an editor for Illumination publications, supporting many new writers. I will be happy to read, publish, and promote your stories. You may connect with me on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Quora, where I share stories I read. You may subscribe to my account to get my stories in your inbox when I post. You can also find my distilled content on Substack: Health Science Research By Dr Mike Broadly.
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