On to next step;

Since you have google toolbar, just right click on mouse, and scroll down to "backward links", and click on it. This is another neat feature of Google Toolbar. It tells you how many other sites, or pages that link to page or site in question. Very powerful tool. The site in question... ZERO! Imagine that :)

Even tho this is usually enough to deter me, there is one more simple test, that really takes cake. Just do a search at Google for term "SEO" and "search engine optimisation". Is this site listed in top 10? The top 20? top 100?

In our case, yep you guessed it... A BIG FAT NO!

Ok, so here is a site, selling SEO work, and offereng link packages to thousands of other sites, for hundreds of dollars, claiming to give YOU top search engine rankings when..

1. They have no links to their own site 2. They themselves, don't even have top search engine listings!

Don't get me wrong. There are plenty of successful SEO companies out there. It is a very competitive field, but if you are looking to pay someone to do this kind of work, you need to be informed.

Do some research, and ask some questions;

1.Do they themselves, carry top positions in field they represent?

2.Do they have any real references? (It is not hard to get a top placement for keywords like "top used car salesman of year award", but it IS hard to get a top listing for something like "used cars") if they have helped sites get great listings for top keywords, then they know what they are doing.

3. Do they offer a guarantee or some other sort of compensation if they can't deliver?

These are just a few things that should be considered when hiring out for SEO work, and always ask for advice, if you don't know what you are doing. Your actions can make or break your website, and your business!

If you know what to look for, you don’t need to be paranoid. Sometimes you smell smoke and there is no fire, and sometimes scent leads to a life saving evacuation. In this industry, you have to sniff extra hard because there is no safety net. It is completely unregulated (with Australia being our exception) and only you are responsible for your funds.