Whether you live in San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, or even Austin - the top ten tips for finding a reliable Search Engine Optimization Company remain the same. It is not a good idea to engage in SEO until you have the ‘big picture’ or how to shop for it! The top 10 shopping tips are as follows… 1. Ask for FULL Search Engine Optimization. Most companies only optimize the home page, or do not create backlinks. You must have all of the pages of your website optimized, and have a significant number of backlinks created for a successful campaign… 2. Find a reliable company. A reliable SEO company will provide you with report examples, actual rankings examples, and demonstrate an understanding of your business… 3. Inquire about specific numbers for the work that is performed. Your SEO specialist should be able to provide you with specific number of how many pages will be optimized, what is included in your monthly report, and what type and how many backlinks will be created/submitted. 4. You should be able to speak with your SEO specialist by PHONE. Even if your SEO specialist is in a different city or state, a good company will be accessible by PHONE. 5. They should care. When you speak to your potential future SEO advisor, your SEO company should demonstrate an understanding or your business and your businesses’ market, services, and/or products. 6. Look for examples and testimonials. They should have examples and testimonials. 7. You should receive a FREE comprehensive analysis that includes your competition. Your report should include information about your competition. If it does not, then your SEO company may be feeding you some bait, without giving you the necessary information about your future success. 8. Ask your future SEO firm how they are staying ahead of the search engine learning curve - that’s right - put them on the spot! If they answer correctly, they will tell you that they are increasing their efforts to maximize social media exposure. Search Engines are not increasingly putting more emphasis on social medial sources such as blogs, forums, press-release, bookmarking, article sites, and other dynamic sources. 9. Some suggestions should be made for improving the customer conversion of your website. SEO efforts are realized, when your website successfully turns visitors into clients. Your SEO firm should have the necessary website marketing experience as well to make suggestions for changes to your site. 10. START NOW - Now that you have the information needed to make an informed decision - START YOUR SEO Campaign.