If well understood, you can perform SEO for your own website. Every piece of information required to carry out SEO is present online. What needs done is research on what works and what doesn’t, what’s ok with search engines and what isn’t.

You also need to keep yourself up to date with search engine news, regular algorithm updates, user search pattern, competition check and also monitor the link building partners in order to ensure that your links have not been dropped, update your on-page optimization regularly to ensure that your pages are informative and in tune with the search pattern. These are just few of the things that you need to keep an eye on.

The problem is that even if you have the time, you probably don’t have the resources to research the algorithm to know if it’s changed, which parameters are still important and which have become redundant, what you need to do to stay in the top ten.

In all probability, you would know about the algorithm change only after it has affected your rankings. You would then either research on your own to find what happened, or visit forums where the SEO professionals are discussing what probably went wrong (which again are individual views of SEO experts) and get confused by the different answers. Since you don’t have the resources to validate all the theories, you’ll pick the one that seems logical to you (or the one which is given by one of the more known professionals), implement it and wait to see if the rankings reappear. This would take 5–8 weeks anyways. Then, if the results don’t show up, you’ll try another thing, probably losing another 5–8 weeks of business.

It has been about 16–20 weeks already, another search engine changes the algorithm and search pattern changes – you’ve probably missed the boom sale period and since you were so involved in getting your rankings back, you didn’t even utilize the PPC program affectively.

SEO companies have the resources and are doing this day-in-day-out. Since they are working with more than one industry, they know the search pattern, are pre–warned in case of algorithm changes because of the research and can affectively implement the changes – and test it in quarter of the time you’ll take while consulting you on the alternatives so that you don’t stop making money!

Here is list of questions you must get a 'YES' for from the SEO firm before you consider it to be your Internet Marketing service provider.

1. Do you have a website?
2. Do you have a phone line where I can contact you?
3. Do you have case studies that I can review?
4. Do you have a list of clients I can call for reference if required?
5. Can you send me a copy of your SEO/PPC/LB process?
6. Can you send me a copy of the contract?
7. Can you send me a document listing the SEO practices you consider unethical and would not be carried out on my website?
8. Can the above list of "Unethical SEO Practices – not followed" be made a part of the contract?
9. Can you send me a copy of the SEO Guarantees that you give and don’t give?
10. Can the SEO Guarantees document be made part of the contract?
11. Would I have a Project Responsible assigned from your end?

Once you have the documents, review them and compare the SEO firms for the process details, contract details, unethical practices document and their Guarantees document.

NOTE: Any firm giving you a guarantee of getting rankings needs to be approached very cautiously. No one can guarantee organic rankings. Please read more about SEO Guarantees – what’s true and what’s not.

Once you have reviewed all this, compare the costs. Don’t compromise on the service and the quality – it can cost you your online business.

Avneet Sethi is the co-founder and Director of CueBlocks.com an Internet Marketing firm that helps companies develop and implement successful online marketing strategies.

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