Does anyone know of a good internet marketing company?

[Jonathan Elder]

Disclosure: I work for an internet marketing company, Splice Marketing, in the UK (http://www.splicemarketing.co.uk/), so we are probably too far away to be helpful here, but I can give some hints as to how to select one:

Use a company that knows your area:
Generally, this means the same country, or experience with your country, This makes it easier for them to understand your needs, and to understand the market.

Use a company that takes time to understand your business:
Like any form of marketing, you have to always keep in mind the end objectives. Is it brand awareness, increased site traffic, increased sales, more social media interactions or something else? How do these fit into the overall business plan?

Use a company with a good reputation:
Ask others you know and trust if they can recommend anyone, but if not at least do a general web search for the company and see if there are any reviews, positive or negative. Even the best companies will not suit every client, so some negative reviews should not be too off-putting, but a pattern of them would be.

Use someone qualified:
There are few recognised qualifications available in SEO or Social media at the moment. However, Google offer accreditation for PPC management companies - anyone doing this should be on there, and can give you a link to either a personal or company page with the qualification date.

Be wary of extreme promises:
Any company that promises certain results (traffic or rankings) before even discussing your needs is not likely to be offering a quality service. Some market sectors are more competitive than others, and some keywords more competitive than others, so a good marketing company will give you realistic expectations. Be especially cautious of companies that offer #1 on Google or claim a special relationship with Google - they don't.

Set reasonable Goals:
Working with a potential company, set some reasonable goals, These should be tied into the business objectives, so can be sales, turnover or traffic. Be wary of setting objectives based on traffic or visits - for most businesses, the wrong sorts of traffic provides no benefits.