You’re faced with the challenge of selecting a Web marketing firm to build anew or enhance your current website, and the challenge seems daunting. As you begin your search you realize that there are untold numbers of SEO marketing firms competing for your attention and your dollar. So how do you narrow the field of seemingly unlimited choices to select a company that’s the right one for you?

Ideally, you will start by speaking with colleagues in your field about their experiences with marketing firms. From those conversations you will likely receive several referrals that can start you on your way toward selecting the best choice. Ask your peers pertinent questions about firms they have worked with. Were they satisfied with their work? Did they perform the appointed tasks on schedule? Was the price satisfactory, and did they feel that they got your money’s worth in the bargain? And most important of all, would you recommend the firm to others?

With several strong leads in hand, it’s time to figure out exactly what you hope the marketing firm you hire will accomplish. Without a clear idea of the work that must be done it’s difficult for a contractor to give you the solid time and price estimates that you need.

It’s most revealing to view and rate the marketing firm’s own Web sites, to see where their firm comes up when you use search engines. This is imperative if you’re hiring an SEO company to help you boost your profile by making a good showing in search engine results.

Analyze whether the marketing firm’s sites are well tailored to the functions that they are meant to perform. Do the sites have the look and feel of a sophisticated, well functioning package that gets the company’s point across effectively? You’ll want to explore these points to ensure that the firm is competent in landing page design.

Explore sites that these SEO marketers and page designers have created, and pay particular attention to whether or not the pages are individually crafted to fulfill the clients’ individual needs. Or do the sites have a one-size-fits-all feel. If the designer has stuffed clients into identical, cookie-cutter-like designs, then you probably should not expect much individualized attention to detail from that firm.

You must establish a budget, and in your case that process may be set in stone, or perhaps you have some flexibility. As you receive bids from various SEO marketing firms you’ll soon discover whether your initial goals can be paid for with the money allotted, or if you’ll need to pare back some of your more ambitious wish-list entries.

By all means ask each firm that you are considering for references. Since those companies have impressed your peers enough to earn a recommendation from them, you can assume that others will feel the same way. Be wary of marketing firms that decline to share references with you. Their reputation may have headed south in recent times, unbeknownst to your colleague who recommended them.

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Numerous articles have been written to cite the benefits or strategies of social media marketing for business. Yet there are very few that actually detail out steps to creating a successful social media marketing strategy, and which can be used as a thumb of rule time and time again.

Step #1: Declaration of Identity

This involves clearly defining who you are, what your value is and where your can be found online. This is done for the sole purpose of informing your customers how you can be of benefit to them. LinkedIn, Ziki and ClaimID are some examples.

Step #2: Identity through Association

This is where the customer associates themselves with your brand by “friending” you, social bookmarking or subscribing for your BlogRoll. StumbleUpon, Furl and Ma.gnolia are some example of where the customer is able to declare their association with you.

Step #3: User-initiated Conversation

This happens most commonly on groups such as Yahoo, Google and AOL Groups where users are able to ask questions or make declarations, and you have to serve them by catering to their questions or needs. Message boards and forums are also examples of this kind of conversation.

Step #4: Provider-initiated Conversation

This is where the service provider will initiate a conversation with its users to find out whether they love or hate their service. Current.tv is probably a shining example of this, while not even being an online company. MySpace, BeBo and Friendster are other examples.

Step #5: In-Person Interaction

Just because you communicate with your customers online that doesn’t mean you can’t do it in person as well. Sites like Upcoming, Eventful can help you find local event or organize your own if you wish to do so.