Beware of Those SEO’s that claim to guarantee search engine rankings !

BIG decision that can potentially improve your web site performance and save time and money in marketing, but , you can also risk damage to your site and reputation. Make sure to research the potential advantages as well as the damage that an irresponsible SEO can do to your site. Many SEO’s and other agencies and consultants provide useful services for web site owners, here is a snap shot of our typical on going SEO services we provide for our clients :

Review of your site content or usability / navigation structure
Technical advice on web site development: for example, hosting, redirects, error pages, use of Java Script ,Flash usage …etc
Content development and content writing
Management of online business development campaigns and social media optimization
Keyword research …on going
SEO coaching
Expertise in specific target markets and geographies.

MUST check into 2 critical areas before engaging a SEO Agency :

1. Experience and Track record ? : Find out , how long they have been executing SEO / PPC / SMO campaigns for clients . How many projects have they executed thus far ? What types of clients (eg) local one zip code contractors type businesses ..etc versus national B2B Companies.

2. SKILLS ? : FIND OUT : HOW MANY ” FULL TIME ” PROGRAMMERS , DESIGNERS AND CONTENT WRITERS they have on staff . & ask about their staffs education and work histories aswell .

Some useful questions to ask an SEO include ( reff from : Google web master central )

No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.
Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a “special relationship” with Google, or advertise a “priority submit” to Google. There is no priority submit for Google whatsoever.

Be careful if a company is secretive or won’t clearly explain what they intend to do. ASK :

Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?
Do you follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines?
Do you offer any online marketing services or advice to complement your organic search business?
What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe? How do you measure your success?
What’s your experience in my industry?
What’s your experience in my country/city?
What’s your experience developing international sites?
What are your most important SEO techniques?
What are some other things to look out for?

There are a few warning signs that you may be dealing with a rogue SEO. It’s far from a comprehensive list, so if you have any doubts, you should trust your instincts. By all means, feel free to walk away if the SEO:

owns shadow domains
puts links to their other clients on doorway pages
offers to sell keywords in the address bar
doesn’t distinguish between actual search results and ads that appear on search results pages
guarantees ranking, but only on obscure, long keyword phrases you would get anyway
operates with multiple aliases or falsified WHOIS info
gets traffic from “fake” search engines, spyware, or scumware
has had domains removed from Google’s index or is not itself listed in Google

MUST DO YOUR DUE DELIGENCE ! BUYER BEWARE ! IT IS YOUR BUSINESS BRAND NAME THAT IS AT STAKE HERE !