SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is process, in which a web page or a web site is optimized for search engines. By optimization, a search engine such as Google finds the page, includes it in the index, and displays the page when someone is searching for information.

Unfortunately, billions of web pages are indexed, and millions of web pages are being added every day. It is not sufficient to be included in any search engine index, but also important that potential customer (or information seekers) visit your website. When searching for any product or service, usually, people go no deeper than 3-4 pages. If your web page is embedded deep in the search results, it is unlikely that anyone visit your web page. Therefore, you need to improve the visibility of your web site (or web pages contained in your web site). The answer to this is: Search Engine Optimization.

Yes, you can. But you need to spend time on the following:
1. Familiarize with leading search engines and directories.
2. Know your web site key phrases, and redesign if required.
3. Take care that the website doesn't get banned, for something that you think is not your fault. (For example, linking between sites excessively with a goal of artificially boosting the link popularity may get your website banned)
4. You have time and resources at your hand.
5. Website promotion schedules are not critical, in the sense that you can afford to experiment and learn.

There are several advantages:
1. SEO professionals with proven track record will be working on your site.
2. You can concentrate on selling your company's products and services.
3. Better customer satisfaction. 
4. You can be assured that there would be measurable performance improvement in your website. 

Ask for the following:
1. If they have already done search engine optimization on any web sites? If so, ask for the kind of improvement, and the time scale in which it was achieved.
2. Enquire if they guarantee performance improvement. If they don't demonstrate any performance improvement, whether your money would be refunded.
3. Ask for monthly performance reports based on your industry keywords, for leading search engines. 
4. Know if they submit the website to leading directories also.

You need to provide (preferably):
1. Key phrases for which your website need to be optimized (Ask the SEO for help if are not sure)
2. A minor or sometimes major redesign of the website. If your website is selling any e-commerce goods and services, it is very important to optimize the website using appropriate web design technologies.

You need to calculate ROI for this purpose. Usually, SEO is much cheaper than PPC campaigns.

It normally takes any where between 2 weeks to 6 weeks. If someone promises huge performance improvement at a cheap cost, please be aware of any spamming techniques. These techniques may get your site banned in long run. Ultimately, it is the Return on Investment (ROI) that matters.

Having your website rank high in the search engines is a science and the rules for search engine optimization (SEO) are always changing. Here are some reasons why you may be having poor ranking:

• Incorrect usage of the TITLE tag or no TITLE tag content.
• Too many occurrences of the same word in a page (spamming).
• Missing H1 and H2 heading tag content.
• Missing ALT tag content in your graphic links.
• No meaningful content in the first 250 characters on each page.
• Less than 200 words per page.
• Very few pages on your website.
• No links from other websites to your website (link popularity).

Also, you should always submit your site to any search directories manually. Please do not use automated submission services.

The amount of time required to see results of search engine optimization work range anywhere from 30 days for existing sites in local or niche markets to 24 months for new websites in a competitive of national/global market.

Site ranking tends to be "cumulative" and is dependent on the following factors:

• The specific keyword phrases (search terms) that have been targeted
• The overall competitiveness of your industry - how many players are there
• Whether you are targeting a regional, national, or international market
• How well ranking is monitored and the site tweaked over time for SEO improvement
• The progress of your reciprocal linking campaign
• Number of competitor sites achieving new ranking themselves.

In a word - yes. Every page of a website can be a potential entry point for visitors. You can't predict which page or pages will be ranked the best for specific keywords. As such, each page must be individually optimized to for optimal ranking. Collectively, all pages of your website reinforce the common "theme" of the site, which also can help boost ranking. Don't assume that your home page is the most important page on your site.

SEO is a highly-specialized craft requiring much research, forethought, skill and can be extremely time-consuming to implement correctly. However, compared to offline and print advertising, SEO is quite cheap. The cost of having your website SEO optimized is by far the best advertising dollars spent and the return on your investment (ROI) can be very great.

Nobody can guarantee a number #1 position or specific ranking for your site for a given keyword phrase. There are simply too many factors beyond anyone's control - the search engines changing their ranking algorithms, efforts made by competitors, and new sites being added to the Web.
Obtaining a specific ranking is analogous to managing a portfolio. Your financial advisor will do their best to monitor the stock market and other indicators and to make sure your portfolio is managed to the best of their abilities. However, your advisor cannot guarantee that your portfolio will be at a specific dollar value or even that the amount will be up at all by a given date.