search Engine Optimisation

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Choosing A search Engine Optimisation Consultant

Things to consider before contact

• Do they have a contact address, landline telephone number and email address on their website?
• Websites selling products or services with no physical address and mobile telephone numbers should be treated with caution.
• You can check the registrant details at www.nominet.org.uk (uk domains) www.internic.net (international)

Contact considerations

• How long did it take for you to get a response to your enquiry? Longer than 24 hours in any business, generally, is not a good sign.
• Ask for url's of previous clients websites and ranking achievements.
• Ask if they use ethical SEO practices. They are hardly likely to admit that they don't, however, asking them will at least alert them to you knowing what you are talking about.
• Ask how many years experience they have in this field (you can check the registration of the website url as above). SEO is a very fast paced, ever changing business (almost on a daily basis), therefore, a more experienced SEO would be preferable (minimum of 2 years).
• Do they offer a submission service to hundreds/thousands of search engine? If so, be wary, no experienced ethical SEO would try to sell you such services. There are only approx 20 search engines and directories of any importance and these should be submitted to manually.
• Do they offer ongoing search engine resubmission? If so, be wary, once your website is listed with the major search engines there is no need to resubmit. They may, however, offer ongoing SEO, submission to new search engines and directories, pay for placements and link building.
• Where does their website rank for industry related search terms. Ideally they should be in the top 30 of Google and other major search engines. However, don't think that if their site is in the Top 10 of Google that they are the best. Our latest research (July 2005) found approx 30% of the top 20 websites ranking for terms like 'search engine optimization' and ''search engine optimisation' were guilty of spamming techniques and unethical SEO practices that if used on your website could get it penalised or black listed by some major search engines.

Commissioning Guidelines

• If you have reached the stage where you are seriously considering using a particular SEO it is reasonable to ask to speak to two or three previous/current clients. However, you should only request this if you are serious about commissioning their services as no company could possibly allow every person enquiring about their services to speak to previous clients.
• The cost of search engine optimisation can vary dramatically from company to company so do shop around and get as many detailed quotes as possible. Don't be afraid to ask questions, negotiate or ask for some level of money back guarantee.
• Don't worry about the size of the company. An independent SEO can sometimes offer a more personal service with results that equal that of any large organisation. Also, their fees should be lower.

Expectations

• Be realistic: If your budget is modest you will be best placed to target more specific and less competitive terms.
• Remember that search engine optimisation consultants have no control over search engine listings. Like stocks and shares, your website's search engine rankings can go up or down at anytime for a multitude of reasons.

About Search Engine Optimisation

The aim of About Search Engine Optimisation is to provide up-to-date, accurate information to both those wishing to learn more about the industry and those already involved in SEO. We, therefore, welcome feedback and encourage our visitors to report any inaccuracies, outdated links or any sites listed within our directories practising Spam or unethical SEO.

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