Dan, our resident SEO expert put together some interesting things to consider when selecting a company to help with your SEO program:

Organic (natural) SEO - Search Engine Optimization

In order to reach the complete online audience companies must engage in both paid advertising and organic search engine optimization. A developing trend within organizations is to only undertake one of these types of advertising which can substantially reduce your online visibility. In a recent study by iProspect it found that over 60% of all clicks occurred in the organic listings (the regular listing area on the page). The result of this and other studies clearly shows that companies must pursue organic search engine optimization as part of their SEO strategy.

What should you look for in an SEO provider? A company that provides clients with the marketing knowledge and experience to research, optimize, and effectively manage all aspects of organic search engine optimization, including:

* Extensive keyword research to uncover highly targeted and niche keywords that are relevant to your customers
* Integrate keywords into key areas of the page, file, and image structure
* Optimize specific areas of the page content with the appropriate keywords
* Establish links with reputable and relevant websites
* Submit the site to the top search engines
* Write and optimize a description for submission to the major directories

I often equate SEO to growing a bonsai tree. It takes quite a bit of trimming and grooming to keep it growing right. An integral part of and SEO program is ongoing maintenance.

Maintenance should include:

* Continuously search for relevant linking opportunities
* Monitor competitors, including any possible spamming tactics that effect your website rank
* Monitor changes or trends in the search engine algorithm (the way a search engine determines the rank of a website) and make adjustments when necessary
* Recommendations on where content development is needed to promote the performance of a keyword
* Tracking and reporting of the selected keywords within the major search engines.