Search Engine Optimizaton (SEO) - should I consider this service?

You may be tempted by the mailer or brochure that says a search engine optimization company (SEO) can improve your online search results and get you on the top 10 listings in the organic section of Google.

The answer: Well, maybe...then maybe not.

There are some great SEO companies out there, and there are some frauds. Buyer beware.

Google offers some great advice concerning SEOs - check this out.

Here are some things to think about while you do some soul search on SEOs:

1. You can get much of the effect of an SEO company by doing it  yourself.  Follows Google's guidelines and you'll do much better in search results.
   
2. Do you need lots of hits on your site to be successful?  Many websites are used for presence only, they don't do commerce on the site.  They are largely informational and provide a degree of credibility to your visitors (and potential clients) that you exist and you have invested enough to create a website.  But the "call to action" is often not a BUY NOW request, but a phone call or tweet to your company to discuss their needs in more detail.

So yes, SEO is good and will help to drive more traffic that leads to more business for your organization.  But try out some of the free recommendations and track your results (example, use Google Analytics - it's free and used by many organizations) before you invest a lot of money and effort into using a commercial SEO service.