Although it's not always easy selecting an SEO firm, many execs looking for help have the same questions: What can the firm do for me, and how much will it cost? Mark Jackson tries to take the guesswork out of finding a reputable firm. He reminds us that you're not just looking for the cheapest way out, but expertise based on experience, references and history of performance. As you weed through the talent pool and assess SEO firms, understand the scope of the work before proposals are put together and presented to you. Will the SEO expert …

Breaking search engine marketing into an a la carte menu containing different services may not be the most effective use of talent and resources, according to Gyutae Park. Companies typically split SEM services into three categories: Organic, Paid Search, and Analytics. Park suggests viewing search marketing as a menu with different courses: appetizer, salad, main course, dessert and maybe even a wine pairing. All work together to complement each other to "magnify results."

Saptarshi Roy Chaudhury provides 10 tips on optimizing for image search. While he covers the basics such as image naming, alt attributes and surrounding texts, he also reminds us that not all site visitors have high bandwidth. Making sure images are optimized at a relatively low file size can help optimize the site. And finally, Chaudhury suggests checking that images are not filtered out in Google Safe Search Filter. He suggests checking the status of the images by using site:domain.com command on Image Search.

Robert Enriquez explains 15 ways to lower your bounce rate. Tips range from adding side navigation scrollbars to using the correct colors to ensuring Web pages load quickly. There's nothing more annoying for a site visitor than waiting 60 seconds for the full page to appear. Get rid of pop-up ads and surveys from the landing page. No one likes arriving on a site only to be slowed down by a few unexpected pop-ups. "If the visitor has a slow connection, then you're going to slow down the most important pages, and your potential buyer will bounce!" he …

A conversation thread on WebmasterWorld suggests the magazine Consumer Reports is sending out link exchange requests to webmasters and SEOs, reports Search Engine Roundtable. Some threads suggest the magazine has asked for links to specific pages and content, but not promised to link back. SEO experts are questioning if the requests actually came from the well-known consumer magazine or if it hired a SEO company to do the bidding. Search Engine Roundtable only points to one post, but questions whether the letters are nothing more than the work of a prankster.

Alysson Fergison provides tips on writing for Sphinn, a social voting- based site created by the team at Search Engine Land that focuses on Internet marketing. Similar to Digg, the goal is to generate enough votes on one's post to make it to the "Hot Topics" page, which brings the content to the forefront. Fergison points out it's important to first introduce yourself to the marketing community by participating in blog discussions before submitting content. She also believes it's important to focus on search marketing-related topics, as well as upload an avatar that presents your likeness when …

Peter Meyers runs through several sets of tools to increase conversions and improve the usability of your Web site. Many of the tools are free. Others can provide benefits for under $100. Most of the easy-to-install add-on tools are based on Javascript. Heat mapping, remote screen recording software and outsourced testing are some tools Meyers recommends. Also: when marketing budgets are tight, test your site yourself by gathering the boss, family and friends. Sit them down in front of the computer and watch their reaction as they go through sections and features on the site. Take notes and ask …

Sometimes marketers don't want ads to show up on certain sites in Google's Content Network "because they're costly, they're not converting well, and/or they're just irrelevant to your offer," writes Stephanie Chen. Some sites have a poor conversion rate, so the smart thing to do right from the start is exclude placement and block domains, she adds. Chen also suggests generating a performance report after running the campaign for a few days to verify any placements have been removed. When typing in excluded placements using the interface or the AdWords Editor, know that the format matters because placement exclusions …

Picking the correct 404 error tracking tool depends on the type of site you're working with, how often errors occur and how quickly you need to fix them. Manoj Jasra provides a list of tracking tools, detailing each. The tools include Google Analytics, Linkgraph, Alex King's 404 Notifier, and Errorlytics. Errorlytics, for example, is a software as a service (SaaS) application with a couple of added features that other 404 error tracking tools don't have, Jasra writes. The application collects information on all 404 errors that occur on the Web site, but also lets the user set up …

Marketers running pay-per-click campaigns need to know how to identify and protect paid search ads against click fraud. Ron Jones defines the PPC model, click fraud, and provides pointers on protecting investments. Jones points to monitoring paid search clicks and site traffic using analytics tools. He suggests looking for patterns or spikes that are outside the normal traffic pattern for the site. Symptoms that might indicate click fraud include a sudden burst in traffic and clicks originating from one IP address or location, or a spike in traffic coming from other countries or regions that differ from normal …