Choosing a search engine marketing firm.  There are some good, some bad. What should help you decide?   By John Bolduan RealWebMarketing.com

Let me start by saying if you want to choose a good search engine marketing firm, you could just pick me and the problem is solved! Just kidding. I know you want more information than that and even if you decide on someone else I want to help you make a good choice. I'll be truthful, our firm is good for a lot of small to medium sized businesses and that's the market we're trying to serve. We like the business but we can't be all things to all men if you know what I mean. So let me give you some opinion about what I see in choosing a search engine marketing firm. 

In the past, many companies have depended on their salespeople to increase their business. They had control and knew what to expect of a salesperson. If that person worked hard, they knew they would get the results they wanted. But it was a risk. What if he was no good? The internet has changed some of that strategy. Today, when people want to increase their website's rankings and sales, they often choose a search engine marketing firm to help them, not a salesperson. Of course, some companies do it on their own, but that lack of expertise wastes time and money. 

Why not hire a reputable search engine marketing firm that can deliver successful results faster? Many business owners would like to but they have a fear of not finding a good firm to work with. They know there is a certain amount of risk involved and they're entrusting someone else with their future plan. I can understand this completely! Who wants to spend big dollars on something that they're not sure about? Maybe I can help you by giving you some things to look for when looking for a good search marketer. It's very much like looking for a good salesperson.

Like telemarketing salespeople, dismiss the telemarketers or e-mail spammers who claim to increase website rankings.

I know this is obvious to any good businessperson. Good salespeople rarely come out of telemarketing operations and it's the same with internet marketing. Anyone who sounds like they're calling you from a telemarketing operation or is setting up an appointment for you to talk to one of their experts should be avoided at all costs. These people are only interested in quickly getting your money, do a quick fix and getting out. They will not be there for you later. And I don't think I need to explain why you shouldn't do business with someone who is an e-mail spammer, do I?

What is the experience of the person helping you?

Say that you've found some search engine marketing firm that might fit the bill, but don't go on what the company has done in the past. You need to know what the individual person helping you knows and has done to increase website rankings. When businesses hire salespeople, they want to know what they've done individually to make sales, not that their previous company had $5 million dollars in total revenue last year. It says nothing about the individual you might be looking to hire. That's why it's important to ask who you'll be working with and that you want to see their history. If they can't produce individual results, grab your wallet and run.

Ask some questions about their methods for higher rankings.

You wouldn't hire a salesperson who did shady deals to get business would you? It's the same for search marketing. Make sure you feel they're honest and truthful about their methods. Do a little research on what methods they use to increase website rankings. Every good search engine marketing firm will be able to tell you exactly what they do to increase website traffic in a summary way. If you ask for details, they should be able to explain that too. If they can't even do this for you, don't do business with them, you'll be sorry. It's important to get a firm that only uses good methods that won't get you banned from the search engines later. 

Ask about future help and sticking around when you have questions.

Like a good sales guy, a good search engine marketing firm should be around after the work is done to answer questions and give your further help. They shouldn't be giving you a feeling of charging more money for just giving some support. It should be seen as a helpful, friendly relationship that grows over time. If you don't get that feeling, that's something to think about too. If things work, you want this person in your camp helping you more in the future. 

I know that this isn't a laundry list of items to check off. I didn't intend it to be because anytime you're getting involved with people, it's about the relationship. Companies hire salespeople that meet certain criteria and believe them to be a future valuable asset. It's the same way with a search engine marketing firm, people want to get a good value for their dollar developing a long-term successful relationship together.