Introduction

Do you have a great design, submit your website to over 300 search engines and directories, but still don't experience any serious traffic? It may be time for you to consider hiring a SEO (Search Engine optimization) company.

How to Choose

• Research. Never fun or pleasant, but always necessary. A Google query on "SEO Services" returns almost a million results - start by elimninating companies which do not match your goals and interests. This may include companies with overly-long contracts, very short contracts (enter your credit card info and hit "Optimize" kind of stuff), companies which are too expensive and companies which are too cheap (believe it or not but a company offering a complete custom optimization for $2.99 won't supply an extremely high-standard service).
• Clients. A lot of SEO companies will put up a "clients" or "testimonials" page. Visit the clients' websites, do some searches for keywords applicable to their sites and see where they are in the results. Better yet, find out their contact information and ask how pleased they were with the company's services; most people will be more than happy to share their experiences.
• Contact. Send an e-mail to each of the companies which match your goals asking any questions that you may have. If you do not have any questions, send an e-mail regardless and make something up. If you do not get a reply, receive a very unprofessional or delayed reply, cross the company off your list.
• Arrange. Ask for a phone call or if you will be spending a lot of money (tens of thousands) it may be even better to arrange a private meeting for a company. A call or meeting will allow you to further determine what kind of people you are dealing with.

Questions to Ask and Things to Know

There are a number of things you need to know to make sure that you are dealing with a reliable company.

• No company can guarantee a #1 placement in a search engine (unless we are talking about paid listings).
• Be wary of promises of "listings in all major search engines". While a lot of these promises are legitimate, it is best to ask what search engines they consider "major" - for all you know it could be Bob's Home-created Ultra Cool Search Engine.
• Relevant optimization. A top placement is worthless if it's for some obscure keyword: being number one for "Joe's green widgets with plastic boxes included" will bring you much less traffic than simply "widgets".

Conclusion

Being a smart consumer, doing your research and contacting the service provider before you do business with them will put you on the right track while searching for a SEO company.