Where does one begin? Internet marketing has got to be one of the hardest sales professions there is. Why? Because it is a completely intangible product and service. The payoff - although predictable – can never be guaranteed… nor should it. There is no new car to drive off in, there is no new paint on the wall to admire, and (usually) there is no money back if you don’t like the purchase. And… the biggest challenge… there are a lot of companies out there taking advantage of the uncertainty of it all and your lack of knowledge.

Many people don’t understand the mechanics of how Internet marketing works. They know they want it, they want the big payoffs with those number one rankings… but they don’t have the first clue about what it takes to get there. And herein lays the opportunity for the unscrupulous companies to take advantage . Ours is a business that requires a very high degree of technical ability to perform, and technical competence to understand. If you’re like me (having started doing this about a year ago), my computer savvy ended at checking my Yahoo mail and creating spreadsheets for work. So how do you, as a potential client, figure out who to choose for your Internet marketing needs? You do what I did… you learn. You do your homework. You educate yourself.

Once you have done your homework, then what? How do you go about finding and choosing a reliable company? Again… do some more homework. The following list is a sampling of questions you can and should ask any agency you are considering.

• How long have you been in business?
• How many employees do you have working for the company?
• Do you have case studies? Client references? Examples of reporting?
• Who (or how many people) will be working on my campaign?
• Have you ever had a client banned from Google (or any search engine)?
• Have you yourself ever been banned from Google?
• Can you put down on paper and explain all of the services that will be involved in my campaign?
• What terms does your company rank for? (If they can’t do it for themselves… what confidence should you have that they can do it for you?)

These are just a few, but really… there is no limit to the questions you can or should ask. The more you ask, the more you’ll know. Of course every company will tell you they’re the best, so client references and examples of client rankings and reporting are definitely a couple biggies not to overlook.

That said, here are some tactics that you should be wary of should you run across them.

• Guarantees. The number one red-flag… especially when it comes to SEO and rankings. Any company that tells you they will guarantee a particular ranking is just flat out lying. If you don’t believe me… just ask Google. (http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35291&ctx=sibling )
• Did they call you or did you call them? Anyone who calls/faxes/emails you with an offer of rankings for $29.99 a month… uhhh, no. May as well donate that money to charity. At least you get the tax write-off.
• “Proprietary” programs. Anyone that convinces you (and I’m amazed that anyone would fall for it) that their tactics are proprietary and therefore can not be explained – red flag. This goes for website design as well. The whole “we use proprietary software so we can’t give you (or your marketing company) access to optimize it” line… rubbish! Reputable companies like ours all use similar tactics to varying degrees. There are no Holy Grails or industry secrets… however, some companies are clearly better at using the tactics than others.
• Bad-mouthing other companies. This is poor form no matter what your business is. Unfortunately we have experienced this before, first hand, where a competitor slanders our name as a tactic to win a deal. If I am you, the client, and I hear bad mouthing… I’m wondering, “Why aren’t they telling me what they can do instead of telling me what other companies are doing?” Companies should be able to win your business on their merits and not the fear-mongering instilled by unscrupulous individuals.
• “It sounds too good to be true.” Guess what – it is. Nine times out of ten, guarantees of rankings and promises of ridiculous amounts of traffic… all for the low, low price of $49.99 a month… uhh, which charity were you considering for that tax write-off?
• (Lack of) Transparency. There is one company I’m thinking of in particular (although there are many others that attempt this arrangement)… and abiding by my own rules, I won’t mention their name… that does not allow their clients access to their own Adwords account. “Give us $5000 a month and we’ll run your campaign including your spend.” Are you kidding me? You have no idea whether they are spending $1000 of that on your spend and pocketing the rest or where that money is going. Transparency. You should be able to see – at any time – what is going on with your campaign. Whether it is reporting on SEO, looking at analytics or viewing your Adwords campaign – it’s your money. You pay for that privilege.

So, arm yourself. Do your homework. Find a company that you feel good about working with. Trust your gut and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Steer clear of the scam artists and ‘smack’ talkers and listen to the people that are willing to take the time to explain their company, their processes and themselves.

This is an industry where you get what you pay for. The people I know that do the technical work are all extremely intelligent and capable and are paid accordingly. So, when companies are offering ridiculously low pricing, you’re either getting amateurs or they’re just not spending much time on your campaign… or both! One of my favorite quotes that I heard recently holds very true in our industry: If you think it’s expensive to hire professionals, wait until you’ve hired amateurs!