Most website owners or managers hold high Google rankings as an extremely important business need. Lets face it, if you dont rank well on big G, you will be losing out on a lot of traffic and potential custom.

Most people that are serious about attaining good Google rankings realise that there is a certain amount of skill involved with gaining, and keeping a high rank, but how people go about achieving success varies. Companies can usually be divided into three models:

1)The sole trader The smaller, single person companies tend to either try to learn the basics of SEO themselves, or look to employ an SEO agency to do the work for them, ideally at a low cost. There are many resources on the web that help the average internet savvy small business owner learn the SEO basics, indeed, Google even publish a basic guide.

2)The small business owner employing perhaps a handful of people. These types of businesses tend to either sign 6 to 12 month contracts with an SEO agency, to gain their desired rankings.

3)The final model is the mid to large company. These companies often have their own, in house SEO teams, although many still employ the services of an SEO agency to back up the in house work, and to ensure they stay up to date with all the latest industry changes and techniques.

As you can see, the type of companies employing the services of an SEO agency varies hugely, from the small, one man band type businesses, to large national and multinational companies.

When looking for an SEO agency to help with your web promotion, there is one thing that is really important for businesses of any size, and that is to choose an SEO agency that acts in an ethical manner.

Unethical SEO agencies can not only fail to get you decent Google rankings, but they can actually get your website penalised by Google. Another thing that people dont always consider is how an SEO agencys work can impact on your brand image If someone carries out SPAM techniques in the promotion of your business, it could very easily be seen to the majority of web users that your company was responsible, another reason to choose your SEO team wisely!

Any honest SEO agency should be more than happy to talk on the phone to you, and to explain what they will do for you IN ADVANCE of you parting with any money. Most people wouldnt something like business insurance without knowing what the policy covers, treat SEO agencies the same make them work for your contract, and ask lots of questions about what they will do to promote your website, and in what ways their work is ethical. If they dont like you asking these questions, walk away and find one that is more helpful.