SEO "Experts" Fleece Small Businesses

If you are considering hiring a search engine optimization firm, be careful who you choose. Small businesses all over are getting fleeced by so called "experts" in search optimization - who know little or nothing about the science beyond the very basics of optimizing head and title tags.

Be sure you are speaking with someone who is able to explain to you in plain english what it is they intend to do to your site, how much it will cost, and if there are any recurring "maintenance" fees (recurring maintenance fees are often a scam as no additional work is done).

Also be wary of "guaranteed" top 10 results - often this involves pay per click schemes which cost even more money.

The best way to get guaranteed results is to hire a search engine optimization firm that is willing to work with you over a period of time - as effective results over time are based upon a number of factors - which a one time optimization cannot achieve. A one time seo plan may give you short term results, but for long term, sustained placement effort on the part of the client is required (although this effort is minimal). Be sure to ask if training on search engine optimization is included, and if the firm will teach you what you can (and must) do to achieve and maintain top search rankings.