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It used to be that where your storefront was located made the difference in how much your business earned. The more people walked by your store every day, the more sales you'd make. In the online world, a high search engine ranking is far more powerful than a prime physical location-it puts your business on the most bustling streets of every city in the world, and all that traffic is actively looking for you, not just passing by. But getting such a prime online address doesn't come easy. "SEO" stands for search engine optimization. An SEO firm's job is to get your website ranked high in major search engines. As in any business, some SEO firms are top-of-the-line-and some just might get you kicked off Google. So choose your SEO firm wisely. Here are a few questions to ask that will help you separate the wheat from the chaff. How long have they been in business? Be a little skeptical of any firm with less than two years' experience. SEO is very much a trial-and-error business, and it can take that long for a firm to fine-tune their strategy. Don't let your SEO efforts fail because of your firm's lack of experience. Do you have partnerships with major search engines? This is a trick question. The truth is that no major search engine is affiliated with any SEO firm. If they say "yes," this is a big warning sign that the firm isn't on the level. Do they offer a guarantee? Most people don't realize this-but you do not want to hire an SEO firm that offers a guarantee on its work. Why? Because SEO is just another method of advertising-and the effectiveness of advertising can't be guaranteed. Just as you wouldn't expect an ad agency to guarantee a certain response for your next TV or print ad, your SEO firm shouldn't be expected to guarantee a certain ranking. This is because no matter how skilled your firm is, search engines are fine-tuning their algorithms all the time. Firms that guarantee a certain result are putting themselves under immense pressure to perform-and that pressure can lead to unethical SEO tactics that could get your website banned from search engines, once they catch on. Do they have references? That said, you can check the effectiveness of a firm's work. Ask them for links to sites they've worked on. Check out the sites, and then do some online searches using keywords that seem appropriate for these sites. Their sites should come up on searches for at least a few of these keywords. In addition, contact the site managers and ask them about their experiences working with this firm. They should be able to give you insight on whether the firm is right for your company. Does their service include an analysis of your competitors? A strong SEO firm should analyze your competitors' websites to see what they're doing right-and then apply those principles to your site. A firm that doesn't offer this service isn't doing everything it can to get your website top rankings. Which search engines do they focus on? The only search engines you should be worrying about are Google, Yahoo, and MSN-in that order. These are the big players; the others don't command enough market share to make your investment worthwhile. If an SEO firm gives you a long list of search engines they can get you optimized for, they either don't know this basic fact, or are trying to make themselves look good by betting you won't know the difference between search engines and will think a longer list is better than a shorter one. Look elsewhere. How can you measure results? Even though no reputable SEO firm will offer a guarantee, they should offer you a way to keep track of results. High rankings can take some time to build-especially if the firm is using holistic, ethical practices. Picking the right SEO firm can make a big difference in your rankings.
When hiring one, give yourself time to check things out thoroughly
before signing on. Make sure you're putting your future online success
in capable hands. Other SEO consultants we would recommend:
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