Choosing an agency to manage the search engine optimization of your web site can be a minefield. Many will promise page one and even position one listings to secure your business. Some will refuse to detail exactly what they do. Whether or not you choose Top Position to plan and optimise your new search marketing campaign, we have compiled the following guide to choosing a search engine optimization firm.

1. Be Wary of Anyone Who Promises Position One

If you’re looking into search engine optimization, chances are you’ve already experienced some form of pay per click or paid search marketing. You’ll know that being in position one is an expensive business. So, why would you trust a company promising to place you in position one indefinitely in the organic listings? Google’s natural search results can not be bought.

Remember, the reason you opted for paid search in the first place is most likely because it is the quickest and most immediate route to a high profile search engine presence. The beauty of the natural listings is that the space is not for sale – you can be sure that the sites ranking highly are their on their own merit not because of the size of their budget. It’s therefore impossible for anyone to guarantee a number one ranking. Be suspicious of anyone who promises you P1 if you take up their search engine optimization services.

2. Request Full Details of The Service Being Offered

There are two types of SEO – black hat and white hat. If you’re refused details of the service being offered, by very wary. Far from increasing your ranking, unethical or black hat search engine optimization could actually result in you being removed from the natural search results.

At Top Position, we’re happy to provide you with a complete proposal explaining exactly how we intend to improve your search engine presence. The actions of any company you retain will ultimately determine the long term success of your organic presence so make sure you are comfortable with the approach being used. Just like you wouldn’t buy a car without a test drive or a house without a viewing, exercise the same caution before contracting a company to work on your web optimization.

3. Look For Structure and Flexibility

Search engines like Google and Yahoo change their algorithms often to ensure they return only the most relevant search results. If an SEO company presents a proposal that allows for these changes but also offers a realistic schedule of activity, it’s a sign that changes to indexing procedures won’t catch your agency out.

While it’s important to know that SEO activities will develop and adapt, it’s also important to check that you will receive a regular service. Look for a mix of the two to get the best of both worlds.

4. Beware of Rogue Traders

You’d expect Google to know a thing or two about optimization. They have compiled their own list of points almost guaranteed to hinder your search engine optimization efforts. These include:

• Steer clear of SEOs that propose or own shadow domains • Question any agency that wants to puts links to their other clients on doorway pages. These outbound links are of little value. • Don’t trust any SEO practioner that offers to sell keywords in the address bar • Be wary of SEO activity that doesn't distinguish between actual search results and ads that appear in search results • Don’t trust search engine optimization firms that guarantee rankings, but only on obscure, long keyword phrases you would get anyway • Don’t trust an SEO operating with multiple aliases or falsified WHOIS info • Don’t trust gets traffic from "fake" search engines, spyware, or scumware • Don’t trust SEO managers who have had domains removed from Google's index or are not themself listed in Google. Top Position is a Google certified company and as such, adheres by Google’s own good practice guidelines. We’re happy to provide a full proposal detailing exactly how we suggest your unique optimization needs be met and to put you in touch with companies who have previously used our services. What’s more, our SEO team are happy to provide a no-obligation review of your web site, completely for free.

Find out how we can meet your search engine optimisation needs by filling in a project brief .