Well done search engine optimisation, often called SEO for short, is designed to allow websites to show up in search results when individuals search for goods and services rather than simply click the next internet site company names. The idea is the fact that people looking for things online are able to locate a business website with virtually no prior knowledge of the business or its name. There are all manner of tricks and methods which fall under SEO, but the good sustainable methods (also sometimes called "white hat SEO") are based around the concept of making your site easier for search engine to read and understand, meaning they rank you higher in searches for appropriately relevant terms.

It is not uncommon to determine to outsource SEO to external marketing agencies and other companies, but there are far too many dodgy types out there who like to take companies seeking SEO - especially local and new businesses - for a very expensive ride. How then does one actually go about finding a great, honest and legitimate search engine marketer?

It's actually incredibly easy to discover a good SEO agency online. Go to a search engine like Google or Bing and type in "SEO agency." Ignoring the paid ads at the very best, whichever firm has landed at the top of the search results are what you want - they has to be very good at SEO or their very own website wouldn't be so high within the natural listings!

To narrow things down a bit, you may try extending your search. Say you live in Essex and want a local agency - just type in "SEO agency Essex." Or if perhaps your web site is specialised and also you want particular help with it you can add your industry or site type - "SEO tourism" or "SEO eCommerce" for example. This can be a good way to find niche SEO agencies who have specialist knowledge in your field.

Sometimes SEO agencies (or at least people claiming to be SEO agencies) attempt to solicit companies by sending them emails or submitting contact forms with various enticements and offers. However if you see something like this come in then it is best to ignore it - if a company which supposedly specialises in search engine optimisation is reduced to spamming inboxes to get business rather than, say, doing SEO so their own website ranks highly and people can find them anyway, chances are they are not very good. The same is true of SEO services advertised on paid ads at the top of internet search engines or on banner ads on other websites. If their search marketing is any good, what makes them having to pay for their placements?

Another thing to bear in mind is to steer well clear of any SEO agency that promises you "top position for x keywords" or something similar. Nearly all modern search engines used personalised searching, meaning that everyone sees web pages in slightly different ranking positions determined by their personal search history. Absolute rankings are a thing of the past, any anyone claiming to deliver this kind of service is lying through their teeth. Modern SEO shall use sustainable "white hat" techniques to be able to bring useful traffic to your site, not use exploits and dodgy tricks, which will constantly get them slapped by search engine updates like Google's infamous Panda and Penguin algorithm changes.

Once you have found an SEO company that looks mostly all right you will need to ask them some questions before you leap into their services. And also the usual checks like existing client list and testimonials, it is a good idea to speak to someone directly on the telephone or even in person.