| If a man can write a better book, preach a better | | | | come across as being "tricky". |
| sermon, or make a better mousetrap than his | | | | Make sure that the SEO consultant has thorough, |
| neighbor, though he build his house in the woods, the | | | | up-to-date knowledge and understanding of the |
| world will make a beaten path to his door - Ralph | | | | major search engines and their algorithms. These |
| Waldo Emerson. | | | | algorithms are ever changing and improving so the |
| This may have been correct in the business paradigm | | | | consultant should be able to show that he/she keeps |
| of the 19th and 20th century, but in the new | | | | up with the ever changing markets by belonging to |
| paradigm of the Internet, it no longer holds true - | | | | various forums, discussion groups and peer |
| especially if you substitute 'house' with 'website'. Over | | | | organizations. |
| 88% of Americans who shop online use Search | | | | Look at their affiliations. Do they belong to the |
| Engines to conduct research on what they are buying | | | | Better Business Bureau (BBB)? Do they belong to any |
| (Source: and the three large search engines have | | | | of the search engine marketing or online advertising |
| over 80% of the market between them (Source: | | | | trade associations? Who are their clients? Are their |
| This means that you must achieve good ranking in | | | | clients reputable? You can usually get a good |
| one or all of these search engines in order to reach | | | | indication of a company's reputation by seeing who |
| your target customers. Because search engine | | | | they align themselves with or who they don't. |
| optimization (SEO) is better left to an expert, this | | | | Another overlooked factor to check is this: Do they |
| means you must choose a SEO consultant to | | | | rank naturally for SEO related keywords? If they |
| enhance your web presence and maximize site | | | | cannot even rank their website for even one |
| usability, thus increasing your profits. | | | | reasonably competitive keyword phrase, this should |
| You would choose a SEO company the same way | | | | set off some alarm bells. After all, how can a SEO |
| you would assess any company you were going to | | | | company do something for you that they can't even |
| purchase a service from. Find out how long they've | | | | perform for themselves? |
| been in business, and see if they'll tell you exactly | | | | Search engine optimization is not a 'once-off' magic pill |
| how it is they do their work. Ask them about their | | | | to get you to the top of the rankings, and beware |
| previous work and clients and check if you can use | | | | SEO consultants who offer this. Ensure that your |
| these clients as references. | | | | SEO consultant not only can increase your ranking |
| Check their methodology. Don't expect exact | | | | but can keep you there with a maintenance program. |
| specifics, but ensure they are offering more than | | | | Check to see what the long-term strategy is going |
| just 'submission services' and 'meta-tag optimization'. | | | | to be employed on your behalf. |
| Look for their ability to perform on-page optimization, | | | | Finally, enquire about their business methods. Do they |
| to improve site architecture, to research good | | | | subscribe to the Best Practices for the SEO/Search |
| keywords, and to optimize content, and to do link | | | | Engine Marketing Industry? Are they using white hat |
| building. SEO doesn't use a "magic bullet" and it takes | | | | or black hat SEO techniques? All these are questions |
| a variety of techniques to improve search engine | | | | are important considerations for choosing the right |
| placement. If they have a blog, read a few of their | | | | SEO for your business. |
| posts and see if their techniques make sense or | | | | |