As a provider of search marketing services we have many enquiries from companies that have had a bad search engine optimization (SEO) experience in the past and are looking for a reputable company to work with. Often these clients have been banned from search engines because the companies that they have hired to improve their search rankings use quick fix, unethical SEO techniques.

What can you do to ensure that this does not happen to your business? Or if you have had problems in the past how can you be sure that these experiences will never happen again? It is essential that you take care in choosing who you work with as this company will be responsible for representing you and your business. Would you hire a new employee, a lawyer or an accountant without doing any research? There is a lot at stake here so it is essential that you do the groundwork and be as informed as possible.

These companies may be representing you but it will still be your site and your business. It is your responsibility to know what the SEO company is doing and if it is using unethical techniques. It is your site so you should be aware of the techniques being used to promote your business and that search engine guidelines are being followed.

Often these unscrupulous companies offer a guaranteed meteoric rise in ranking and the lure of quick profits. Remember if it seems to be too good to be true then it usually is. Avoid companies that email you their services or even worse - the ones that send out a fake invoice for their services. If they are presenting their services in this manner you probably have a good insight into their general business principles.

What should you do when evaluating a search engine optimization company?

Determine your business goals and your goals for search marketing. Find out what your SEO expectations are. Are you in a competitive marketplace? What is your search marketing budget?

You should ask around. Which companies are people you know recommending? A successful SEO will get a high percentage of their clients from referrals.

Do they communicate clearly with you? Are they interested in your business? Are they trying to inform you about the industry and not just selling?

Where is their site in the search engine results? If the company is good at SEO then their site should be ranked well, if their site is not listed in the rankings you need to wonder why.

Ask for step by step information on what they will do to promote your site. If there is any area which your gut tells doesn't sound right do your research. There is plenty of information available for you to research. Type ethical SEO and search engine spam into Google and you will find lots of data to compare.

What is their Page Rank? A PR of 3 is relatively easy to get with a small site, while a PR of 6 is harder, and above that is extremely difficult. If you're approached by a SEO company (or any marketing company for that matter) with a PR of 0 or an unranked site ask why.

What is their customer support like? When you first approached them did you receive a form email in reply? Did they even look at your website? Did you receive a detailed proposal along with testimonials and other backup material? Ask for references and follow up on them.

Do they know SEO or is it just a sideline to their main business (web design, web hosting, advertising agency). If you speak to anyone in this industry you will find out that keeping up to date on the latest SEO information is a full time job.

How much experience do they have? Are they new to the industry in which case do you want them experimenting on your site?

Has the company ever turned down a site because it could not be successfully optimized? e.g. sites built with frames or flash sites. Or turned them down because they were involved in unethical business practices e.g. link farms.

Make comparisons with other companies. Some SEO companies rely on one aspect of SEO (e.g. linking campaigns), others offer a complete package. Remember to compare like with like. There is no point in comparing a proposal which is just going to cover meta tags and keywords to a proposal which is a full service SEO package including optimization, content creation, and a links campaign.

Does the company provide ongoing maintenance to maintain your rankings? Search engines change their algorithms constantly and without regular monitoring and maintenance rankings will eventually slip. What is good today may not be good tomorrow.

There are a growing number of excellent and ethical search engine optimization companies out there. Do your research and find out who they are. Also develop an understanding of what is involved in developing a search marketing program. Take an assertive stance and become informed. Also, use your common sense. Developing a search marketing plan should be as involved as developing a traditional marketing plan. It requires hard work and dedication. Find out the costs involved and put together a search marketing budget. Shop around and be aware of other business factors being offered by the SEO company such as customer service and payment terms.

If you look upon the process of choosing an SEO company as you would in choosing a business partner then you are headed in the right direction. It could be that a large part of the success of your business is reliant on search marketing - so you should do the groundwork and find out what is involved. Then you can make an informed decision and feel confidant that you have chosen a quality business partner who is dedicated towards helping your business grow.

Copyright James Peggie