If you are launching a website or have an existing website that is deeply lacking traffic, then it is probably time for you to start thinking about search engine optimization (SEO). Quite simply, you have two options available to you: you can conduct your own SEO, provided you have acquired the requisite knowledge, skills, and resources, or you can simply find a SEO company to do it for you. But beware! Now, I am not going to go into the ins and outs of the search engine optimization process, but rather offer you some simple advice for selecting that ideal SEO company – because some are vastly better than others. And we don’t want you to get ripped off. You should expect the following from your SEO expert: Holistic Service The practice of SEO has changed over the years, with the advent of search engines adopting complex algorithms to crawl, index, rank and positions web pages. In the past, adding keywords to your meta-tags and submitting your website to search engines was enough to get your site ranked. Now, a holistic approach is required that provides adequate on-page and off-page SEO techniques. In plain English, ensure that your SEO company offers: • Research & Analysis (Target Market & Competitors) • Search Engine Strategy • Web Copywriting • W3C Compliant Web Development • Optimisation of Meta Keywords & Descriptions, Titles, Headings, Image Tags and Hyperlinks • Link Submissions to Directories and Authority Websites • Article & Press Release Submissions • Blog Submissions • Social Media Interaction in Forums and Social Networks • Regular Ranking Reports (Weekly is Preferable) Measurability Key to any marketing success is measurability. It is very important to measure how effective your marketing endeavors are to avoid wasting time and money of ineffective methods and to measure the overall returns on successful ones. Measurability allows you to gauge performance – how much closer are you to achieving your initial objectives. Within the field of SEO, measurability relates to how your rankings have improved, how much more traffic is being directed to your website via search engines, and how many more enquiries or sales you are making as a result of this. Ensure that your SEO company can send you weekly reports outlining the status of your rankings, including how much they have increased from the previous report. Top SEO companies use automated software that can make results from all the significant search engines out there. Ask your SEO company how they track your results. If you want to have high rankings in the search results, you can learn more about Saint Louis Search Engine Optimization. Saint Louis Search Engine Optimization not only gives you great knowledge and information about SEO but Saint Louis Search Engine Optimization can defintely give you the number one ranking in the results.