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Almost everyone has heard the phrase black hat tricks when it concerns Search Engine Optimization, but how can you tell if the firm you choose is using black hate methods or what hat. Are they the good guys or the bad guys. Why is that even important?

Simply put playing with the bad guys can get your site delisted completely. But how to tell if a firm is what or black hat?

Well first a reputable SEO firm will tell you what they plan to do and how they will accomplish the goals for your site.

They will not guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a 'special relationship' with Google, or advertise a 'priority submit' to Google or any of the search engines.

You should not need to employ a link to your SEO company. Avoid SEOs that talk about the power of 'free-for-all' links, link popularity schemes, or submitting your site to thousands of search engines.

Some things that are a dead on give away that your SEO guru is wearing a black hat? It's far from a comprehensive list, so if you have any doubts, you should trust your instincts. By all means, feel free to walk away if the SEO:

* owns shadow domains
* puts links to their other clients on doorway pages
* offers to sell keywords in the address bar
* doesn't distinguish between actual search results and ads that appear in search results
* guarantees ranking, but only on obscure, long keyword phrases you would get anyway
* operates with multiple aliases or falsified WHOIS info
* gets traffic from 'fake' search engines, spyware, or scumware
* has had domains removed from Google's index or is not itself listed in Google

These are just a few things to look for when choosing an SEO company, but probably the most important one is comfort, if your gut feel says they are wearing the grey hat run do not walk away, your websites life expectancy can depend on it.