Search engine optimization (SEO) can be a time consuming and tiresome task, even for the experienced guru. Outsourcing this to a company is a good thing and will save you a lot of time and problems. However what you do need to know is that among the good companies out there are some companies who will employ “black hat” SEO tactics that will get you into a lot of trouble with the search engines not to mention all the lost sales that will occur.

Firstly let me explain what “black hat” tactics means. These are when Search engine optimization companies do not play by the search engine rules and try to cheat them. Examples are:

Spamdexing: Doorway pages: Hidden text Keyword stuffing: Link Spam: Mirror sites: Cloaking:

To avoid being taken for a ride by these companies and worse yet facing being banned by the search engines it is best to take a few precautions. Firstly educate yourself in the basic rules of SEO. Do not go into a contract with your eyes closed.

The rules are simple:

- Make your site full of quality content - Link to good complimentary sites who will be good resources to your visitors - Optimize your site by sprinkling your keywords not keyword stuffing - What is good for your visitors will also be good for the search engine robots. - Do not indulge or let your SEO company do any of the above.

Here are some things to check with the SEO Company.

- What methods are they going to use to get you in the top 10? - What services are they proposing to include in the package they are offering you? - What search engines will they be targeting-the main 3 are Google, Yahoo, and MSN - Are they guaranteeing you that your site will be at least among the top 10 in these 3 search engines. - Check out their experience-check for testimonials or how long they have been in business. - What are the specific startup fee and maintenance costs to keep you in a good position. - Make sure you have a formal contract signed and written down on paper. This can be faxed rather than emailed. Be sure you know what you are paying for and that there are no hidden costs. - Be aware of the “black hat” techniques and be sure these are not being used. Check other sites that they have worked for. - You can check the source by going to view to check for any HTML codes and tags that are not compliant with the search engines. - Check the content that it is properly optimized and is not using any keyword stuffing techniques. - Be straight with the SEO Company and make it clear you do not want any of these “black hat” tactics.

With these few points you will be able to save yourself a lot of time and problems. It is wise to take a little thought before outsourcing important jobs like SEO. When you do this you can avoid being cheated by your SEO company and getting into unnecessary problems. Shop around for the most competitive price. Always make sure you are in close contact with your SEO company as they will be your strong partners in your website promotions.