Thanks for posting the thoughtful response to Rand's article. I wonder, though, how many qualified SEO consultants are really out there -- and if they know so much about SEO, why aren't they doing it themselves?

It does certainly seem smart, however, to have an intermediary with enough industry-savvy to help the buyer, with little knowledge, pick out the best seller, who *should* have expert knowledge. And agreed, it is very hard to gauge quality based on standard metrics with SEO, especially since the rules change so much.

While it may be hard to compare agencies side-by-side, I think SEO buyers can also determine a lot from a vendors approach -- i.e., does the service consist of bold claims and irrelevant numbers (how many "submit you to 300 search engines and get rankings for 50 keywords!" people are still out there?) or really try to figure out how your business operates, and how an internet marketing campaign would fit into your long-term strategy? Backed up with industry and customer referrals, and some solid case studies, I think the latter is a good indicator of quality service.