Well done search engine optimisation, often called SEO for short, is designed to allow websites to show up in search results when individuals look for products rather than simply company names. The idea is that people searching for things online will be able to search out a business website with virtually no prior familiarity with the business or its name. There are actually all manner of tricks and methods which fall under SEO, but the good sustainable methods (also sometimes called "white hat SEO") are based around the notion of making your web page easier for search engine to read and understand, meaning they rank you higher in searches for appropriately relevant terms.
It is not uncommon to determine to outsource SEO to external marketing agencies and other companies, but you can find far too many dodgy types around who like to take companies seeking SEO - especially local and new businesses - for a really expensive ride. How then does one actually go about finding a great, honest and legitimate search engine marketer?
It's actually incredibly easy to search out a reliable SEO agency online. Go to a search engine like Google or Bing and type in "SEO agency." Ignoring the paid advertisements at the very best, whichever firm has landed at the top of the search results are what you want - they has to be pretty good at SEO or their own
visit my website would not be so high within the natural listings!
To narrow things down a bit, you may try extending your search. Say you live in Essex and want a local agency - just type in "SEO agency Essex." Or if your web page is specialised and you want particular help with it you can add your industry or site type - "SEO tourism" or "SEO eCommerce" for example. This can be a good way to find niche SEO agencies who have specialist expertise in your field.
Sometimes SEO agencies (or at least people claiming to be SEO agencies) try and solicit companies by sending them emails or submitting contact forms with various enticements and offers. However if you see something like this come in then it really is best to ignore it - if a business which supposedly specialises in search engine optimisation is reduced to spamming inboxes to get business rather than, say, doing SEO so their very own website ranks highly and people can find them anyway, chances are they aren't good. The same is true of SEO services advertised on paid advertisements at the top of major search engines or on banner ads on other web sites. If their search marketing is any good, why are they having to pay for their placements?
Something else to bear in mind is to steer well clear of any SEO agency that promises you "top position for x keywords" or something similar. Nearly all modern major search engines used personalised searching, meaning that everyone sees web pages in slightly different ranking positions depending on their personal search history. Absolute rankings are a thing of the past, any anyone claiming to deliver this kind of service is lying through their teeth. Modern SEO will use sustainable "white hat" techniques in order to bring useful traffic to your webpage, not use exploits and dodgy tricks, which will constantly get them slapped by search engine updates like Google's infamous Panda and Penguin algorithm changes.
Once you have found an SEO company that looks mostly all right you'll need to ask them some questions before you decide to leap into their services. As well as the usual checks like existing client list and testimonials, it really is an excellent idea to talk to someone directly on the phone or even in person.