I was presented with a question on SEOmoz the other day asking, “What’s the one definitive Internet marketing book that covers everything?” Um, does it need to be one book? Because I could not think of THE Book Of All Books – the Gray’s Anatomy of Internet Marketing if you will – the “one” internet marketing book that will answer all questions. There may be a great textbook out there, but the idea of learning Internet marketing from a text book just seems really bizarre in its own right.

So I created a must-read book list. I can say I have read (or mostly read) these books, and there is important enough messages in all of them to share with you here. If you think you’re an expert in one realm, you will be pleasantly surprised what you may learn from a different source. I try to supplement my reading without relying too much on one source for all of the answers. And frankly, picking up a book in addition to the blogosphere is a nice change of pace.

Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug

Marketing in the Age of Google by Vanessa Fox

Web Analytics An Hour a Day by Avinash Kaushik

Web Analytics 2.0: The Art of Online Accountability and Science of Customer Centricity by Avinash Kaushik

The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web by Tamar Weinberg

New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media, Blogs, News Releases, Online Video, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly by David Meerman Scott

Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business (New Rules Social Media Series)

Trust Agents by Chris Brogan

Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs (New Rules Social Media Series) by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah

Pay Per Click Search Marketing An Hour A Day by David Szetela

A Few More On Deck

Of course there are other books I want to read as well, and just haven’t had the time to pick up or dig into. I recently got extremely sidetracked by The Hunger Games Trilogy. It can’t be all work and no play.

Search Engine Marketing, Inc.: Driving Search Traffic to Your Company’s Web Site (2nd Edition) by Mike Moran and Bill Hunt

Landing Page Optimization: The Definitive Guide to Testing and Tuning for Conversions by Tim Ash

Advanced Google Adwords by Brad Geddes

The Art of SEO, Mastering Search Engine Optimization (Theory in Practice) By Eric Enge, Stephan Spencer, Rand Fishkin and Jessie Stricchola

Content Strategy for the Web by Kristina Halverson

Always Be Testing: The Complete Guide to Google Website Optimizer by Bryan Eisenberg, John Quart-vonTivadar

What’s on your marketing book list?

Addendum: Earlier I FAILED to add my friend Alan K’necht’s book The Last Original Idea: A Cynic’s View To Internet Marketing. Entertaining and worthwhile, it shares amusing stories of how Internet marketing has evolved over the years. Some I have completely forgotten about! And fwiw, it’s on the top shelf in the image above on top of Built To Last. It really is.