Many people are entering the search engine optimization (SEO) space. Particularly in the last 18 months, the general public has become aware of the economic value associated with a page 1 ranking on a high volume search phrase. As this understanding has spread, so have the SEO businesses that aim to help others rank well. That's a fairly normal story of the development of a market where there was not really one before. But what is more interesting is the development of the SEO reseller market. SEO resellers operate just like any other value added reseller (VAR) in other sectors. We are all familiar with the VAR approach to selling telephony or web hosting, but in the search engine optimization space, SEO reseller programs are newer.

So if you have decided you want to join an SEO reseller program, how do you decide which one to go with? Here are the decision criteria you should use to make sure you end up with a partner that will help you hit your revenue goals. First, don't join any SEO reseller program from a company that does not themselves have good ranking. As obvious as this sounds, it would be like to see a dentist with yellow teeth. If the SEO doesn't use their own approach to rankings with good results, they will not be a good partner. You need to be with a team that believes in what they are doing enough to use it on their own website. If not, you should be worried about the quality of the search engine optimization.

The second criteria when selecting an SEO reseller partner is to try calling them. If you land in a call center where the people on the other end of the phone don't really understand SEO, pass. You want a team at the other end of the phone that is knowledgeable. No, not every member of the entire team will be an SEO super star - but the training in the organization should be strong enough to keep even their entry-level people from saying things you know to be incorrect.

Finally, the economics of the deal have to be good. I listed this one last because it actually isn't the first consideration. You want an SEO reseller program that satisfies criteria 1 and 2 before you even consider the deal. But then the deal has to be reasonable for you. Don't automatically reach for the deal that makes you the most money on paper. Really think about the entire picture. If you are just getting into the SEO reseller space, you probably have not fully realized how competitive it is. You will soon. And the importance of customer retention will hit you in the face shortly too. For this reason, I would join an SEO reseller program that paid me 20% less but kept the customers on-board 40% longer any day. But without a thorough understanding of the search engine optimization space, you would probably first conclude that higher payments are better.

In summary, the SEO space had come a long way in the last 18 months. By every indication, it is a growth industry and has an economic upside to those who want to enter it. Joining an SEO reseller program is a great way to get into the space without investing in the product development and R&D that is really required. And if you use the decision criteria I've laid out here you will find a partner that will help you achieve your revenue targets in this exciting growth industry.