How to select an SEO

SEO is short for "search engine optimisation" or "search engine optimiser." Deciding to take on an SEO is a big decision that can potentially improve your website and save time, but you can also risk damage to your site and reputation. Make sure to research the potential advantages as well as the harm that an careless SEO can do to your site. Many SEOs and other agencies and consultants provide helpful services for website owners, including:

* Review of your site content or structure
* Technical advice on website development: for example, hosting, redirects, error pages, use of JavaScript
* Content development
* Management of online business development campaigns
* Keyword research
* SEO training
* Expertise in specific markets and geographies.

Before beginning your search for an SEO, it's a great idea to get a basic understanding of how search engines work. We recommend starting here:

Google Webmaster Guidelines ( http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35769 )
Google 101: How Google crawls, indexes and serves the web. ( http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=70897 )

If you're thinking about hiring engaging an SEO, the earlier the better. A great time to hire is when you're considering a site redesign, or planning to open a new site. That way, you and your SEO can ensure that your site is designed to be search engine-friendly from the ground up. However, a good SEO can also help develop an existing site.

Some valuable questions to ask an SEO include:

* Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?
* 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 services does your SEO Company offer?
* How long have you been in business, are you a local SEO Company ?
* How can I expect to communicate with you? Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site, and provide detailed information about your recommendations and the reasoning behind them?

While SEOs can supply clients with valuable services, some immoral SEOs have given the industry a black eye through their very aggressive marketing efforts and their attempts to influence search engine results in unfair ways. Practices that infringe Search Engine guidelines may result in a negative adjustment of your site's presence in the Search Engines, or even the exclusion of your site from them.