Torch BlackBerry phone runs using 624 MHz processor and 512 MB of internal memory that can be upgraded with up to 4 GB of flash storage. Other features wi-fi connection with the latest 802.11n standard.

The specification Blackberry 9800 Torch:

Features
Optical trackpad, High-resolution touch screen, Full QWERTY keyboard, 3G network support, Simultaneous voice and data, Email and text messaging, BlackBerry® Messenger, Instant Messaging, Phone, Browser, Social feeds, Camera and video recording, Wi-Fi®, GPS, Media player, Organizer, Bluetooth®, Tethered modem.

Display

• 3.2” HVGA+ touch screen (480×360)
• Font size (user selectable)
• Light-sensing and proximity detecting screen

Camera & Video Recording
5 MP camera, Continuous auto-focus, Image stabilization, Flash, 11 scene modes, 2X digital zoom, VGA (640×480) video recording, Geotagging.

Battery & Battery Life

• 1300 mAHr removable/rechargeable lithium-ion cell
• Standby Time: GSM® – up to 18 days, UMTS – up to 14 days
• Talk Time: GSM – up to 5.5 hours, UMTS – up to 5.8 hours
• Music Playback: up to 30 hours
• Video Playback: up to 6 hours

GPS & BlackBerry Maps – Built-in GPS functionality, Includes BlackBerry® Maps.

Data Input & Navigation
Trackpad located on front face of device, ESC key to the right, Menu key to the left. Touch screen with on-screen keyboard: portrait SureType®, QWERTY and multi-tap, landscape QWERTY. Slide-out QWERTY keyboard with backlighting.

Voice Input & Output
3.5mm stereo headset capable, Integrated speaker and microphone, Hands-free headset capable, Bluetooth headset capable, Integrated hands-free speakerphone, M3, T3 (open position only) Rating for hearing aids (PDF).

Media Player
Windows Media DRM 10 for music & video, Video format support: MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV3. Audio format support: MP3, AMR-NB, AAC-LC. AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, WMV, Flac, Ogg Vorbis

Ringtones & Notifications

• Tone, vibrate, on-screen or LED indicator
• Notification options are user configurable
• 32 Polyphonic Ringtones – MIDI, MP3

Bluetooth

• Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR; Headset, Handsfree, Serial Port Profile, Stereo Audio (A2DP/AVCRP), SIM Access Profile, Dial-up Networking and Messaging Access Profile.
• Bluetooth Stereo Audio (A2DP/AVCRP)

Memory
512 MB flash memory / 512 MB SDRAM, 4 GB eMMC + 4 GB media card included, Expandable memory – support for microSD card up to 32 GB.

Device Security – Keyboard and screen lock, Keyboard lock.

Wi-Fi

• 802.11 b/g/n
• WPA / WPA2 Personal and Enterprise
• Cisco CCX certified
• Wi-Fi access to BlackBerry® Enterprise Server
• Wi-Fi access to BlackBerry Internet Bundle
• Support for UMA (carrier-dependent)

Wireless Networks

• Tri-band 3G UMTS networks: 2100/1900/850/800 MHz
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks: 850/900/1800/1900MHz

Cashium Admin
Cashium is administered by the owner of a reputable gpt monitoring site EMS or widely known as earnmoneyspace. The site has been coded for months and had undergone a series of tests and brainstorming to provide high quality service to its advertisers and members.

The offer only two types of Membership:
Discoverer

• $0.008 for your own clicks
• $0.004 for your 1st tier referral’s clicks
• $0.003 for your 2nd tier referral’s clicks
• $0.002 for your 3rd tier referral’s clicks
• $0.001 for your 4th tier referral’s clicks
• $0.004 for your rented referral’s clicks
• 500 rented referrals limit
• Wait only 7 day(s) between renting referrals
• $0.33 per rented referral for 30 days

Superior Membership

• $0.010 for your own clicks
• $0.007 for your 1st tier referral’s clicks
• $0.005 for your 2nd tier referral’s clicks
• $0.004 for your 3rd tier referral’s clicks
• $0.002 for your 4th tier referral’s clicks
• $0.007 for your rented referral’s clicks
• 800 rented referrals limit
• Wait only 4 day(s) between renting referrals
• $0.30 per rented referral for 30 days

Length: 1 Year(s)
Price: $85.00

Cashium Payment Proof
They are currently adding some more features specially the payment processors that will be available in the next few days. Some of the terms had been laid and the minimum payout is set to $2 which you will receive through either Paypal or AlertPay. Only a matter of time when cashium payments will start flooding the forum and other websites. Payments are not instant coz you have to wait for a minimum of 1 day or 24 hours to receive your requested earnings. Typical aurora site strategy to audit one account after another.

PENGUMUMAN
NOMOR : B-1280/BAKO/KKH/KP/8/2010
TENTANG
SELEKSI PENERIMAAN CALON PEGAWAI NEGERI SIPIL (CPNS)
BADAN KOORDINASI SURVEI DAN PEMETAAN NASIONAL
TAHUN 2010

Badan Koordinasi Survei dan Pemetaan Nasional (BAKOSURTANAL) membuka kesempatan kepada Warga Negara Indonesia lulusan Strata 1 (S1) dan Diploma III (D3) untuk menjadi Calon Pegawai Negeri Sipil di lingkungan Bakosurtanal dengan persyaratan dan ketentuan sebagai berikut :

I. PERSYARATAN UMUM

1. Warga Negara Indonesia (WNI)
2. Sehat Jasmani, Rohani dan bebas NARKOBA
3. Berkelakuan baik dan tidak pernah dihukum penjara atau kurungan berdasarkan putusan pengadilan yang memiliki kekuatan hukum tetap.
4. Tidak pernah diberhentikan dengan hormat tidak atas permintaan sendiri atau tidak dengan hormat sebagai PNS/ Anggota TNI/Polri atau diberhentikan tidak dengan  hormat sebagai pegawai swasta.
5. Tidak berkedudukan sebagai CPNS atau Pegawai Negeri Sipil (PNS) dan tidak sedang menjalani perjanjian /kontrak kerja/ikatan dinas pada instansi lain.

II. PERSYARATAN KHUSUS

1. Berusia minimal 20 tahun, dan maksimal 28 tahun pada tanggal 1 Desember 2010.
2. Untuk pelamar S1 dan D3, berasal dari Perguruan Tinggi yang terakreditasi minimal B oleh Badan Akreditasi Nasional atau Perguruan Tinggi Luar Negeri yang diakui Depdiknas.
3. Memiliki kualifikasi pendidikan yang sesuai dengan formasi jabatan yang dibutuhkan :

III. TATA CARA PENDAFTARAN/LAMARAN (REGISTRASI SECARA ONLINE)

1. Pelamar wajib memiliki alamat email yang aktif untuk mengikuti proses rekrutmen CPNS Bakosurtanal.
2. Pelamar harus mengisi formulir pendaftaran secara online melalui link pengadaan CPNS Bakosurtanal di alamat www.bakosurtanal.go.id atau langsung mengakses portal pengadaan CPNS di alamat http://cpns.bakosurtanal.go.id dan mengikuti tata cara pendaftaran di portal pengadaan tersebut pada periode 20 Agustus – 10 September 2010.
3. Mengirim berkas lamaran yang dokumennya telah diunggah pada saat pendaftaran online setelah mendapatkan nomor pendaftaran, dimasukkan dalam amplop coklat tertutup, dengan mencantumkan kode jabatan yang dilamar dan nomor pendaftaran pada sampul depan kiri atas amplop. Berkas ditujukan kepada Kepala Bakosurtanal, c.q Kepala Biro Keuangan, Kepegawaian dan Hukum (KKH), PO BOX 46-CBI Cibinong 16911.
   Berkas lamaran harus diterima panitia paling lambat tanggal 14 september 2010.

IV. PROSES SELEKSI

1. Tahapan Seleksi Secara Umum
   1. Pengumuman Pengadaan CPNS
   2. Pendaftaran/Registrasi secara online
   3. Seleksi Administrasi (Seleksi Tahap 1)
   4. Pengumuman pelamar yang lulus seleksi administrasi
   5. Pencetakan Kartu Tanda Peserta Tes
   6. Ujian Tertulis (Seleksi Tahap 2)
   7. Penilaian Ujian Tertulis
   8. Pengumuman Hasil Ujian Tertulis
   9. Wawancara (Seleksi Tahap 3)
   10. Pengumuman Akhir
2. Pedoman Seleksi Pengadaan CPNS
   1. Seleksi Administrasi
      1. Seleksi administrasi terdiri dari seleksi terhadap persyaratan primer (seleksi administrasi primer) dan persyaratan sekunder (seleksi administrasi sekunder).
         Persyaratan primer meliputi batas usia, kesesuaian bidang studi dan akreditasi program studi dan perguruan tinggi.
      2. Peserta yang dinyatakan lulus seleksi administrasi akan diumumkan di web.
         Jumlah maksimal peserta yang dinyatakan lulus dan mengikuti tahapan  seleksi berikutnya adalah 1 formasi : 20 peserta.
      3. Selanjutnya peserta mencetak sendiri Kartu Tanda Peserta Ujian yang harus dibawa pada saat Ujian tertulis serta menunjukkan Kartu Tanda Penduduk (KTP) asli. (Pada Kartu Tanda Peserta Ujian ditempelkan pas foto terakhir, berwarna, ukuran 4×6)
   2. Ujian tertulis terdiri dari :
   • Tes Potensi Akademik (TPA) : TPA dimaksudkan untuk menggali potensi seseorang yang diyakini akan mendasari keberhasilannya dalam memangku jabatan yang memerlukan kemampuan intelektual.
   • Tes Bahasa Inggris (TBI) : TBI dimaksudkan untuk mengukur kemampuan dasar Bahasa Inggris.
   • Tes Kompetensi Bidang (TKB)

Materi TKB disesuaikan dengan formasi jabatan atau pekerjaan. TKB dimaksudkan untuk mengukur kemampuan dan atau keterampilan peserta ujian yang berkaitan dengan kompetensi jabatan atau pekerjaan yang dilamar.

1. Wawancara

Wawancara merupakan tahap terakhir dari seleksi.

V.  PENETAPAN HASIL SELEKSI
Keputusan Tim Pengadaan CPNS Bakosurtanal bersifat mutlak dan tidak dapat diganggu gugat.

VI.  KETENTUAN LAIN-LAIN

1. Seluruh Tahapan Seleksi Tidak Dipungut Biaya Apapun
2. Apabila pelamar yang ditetapkan diterima tidak mendaftarkan diri kembali atau tidak melengkapi berkas lamaran yang dibutuhkan pada waktu yang ditentukan, maka yang bersangkutan dinyatakan mengundurkan diri dan dikenakan denda.
3. Hal-hal lain yang belum diatur akan ditetapkan dan diumumkan kemudian. Pelamar wajib tunduk dan mengikuti ketentuan yang tetapkan.

Dikeluarkan di Cibinong
pada tanggal 16 Agustus 2010
Ketua Tim Seleksi Penerimaan PNS
BAKOSURTANAL,

Agus Prijanto

Dalam rangka mengisi lowongan formasi Pegawai Negeri Sipil Kementerian Perdagangan, kami membuka kesempatan bagi Warga Negara Indonesia yang berminat menjadi Calon Pegawai Negeri Sipil Kementerian Perdagangan dengan ketentuan dan proses seleksi sebagai berikut :

PERSYARATAN PELAMAR

1. Persyaratan Umum :

1. Warga Negara Indonesia;
2. Bertakwa kepada Tuhan Yang Maha Esa;
3. Memiliki Integritas yang tinggi terhadap NKRI;
4. Berusia minimal 18 tahun dan maksimal 35 tahun per 31 Desember 2010;
5. Tidak berkedudukan sebagai CPNS/PNS, Calon Anggota/Anggota TNI/POLRI;
6. Tidak berkedudukan sebagai Anggota atau Pengurus Partai Politik;
7. Tidak pernah diberhentikan dengan hormat tidak atas permintaan sendiri atau tidak dengan hormat sebagai PNS/ Anggota TNI/ POLRI atau diberhentikan tidak dengan hormat sebagai Pegawai Swasta;
8. Tidak pernah dihukum penjara atau kurungan berdasarkan Putusan Pengadilan;
9. Memenuhi jenjang pendidikan dan kualifikasi pendidikan yang ditetapkan.

2. Persyaratan Khusus :

1. Lulus Perguruan Tinggi Negeri/ Perguruan Tinggi Swasta yang terakreditasi Badan Akreditasi Nasional Perguruan Tinggi dibuktikan dengan Nomor SK dari Badan Akreditasi Nasional dan tertera pada ijazah/ transkrip nilai.
2. Untuk lulusan Perguruan Tinggi di Luar Negeri, harus mendapat pengesahan dari Ditjen Pendidikan Tinggi disertai dengan konversi IPK ke dalam skala 4.
3. IPK minimal 2,75 dibuktikan dengan salinan Transkrip Nilai Akhir.

C. TATA CARA PENDAFTARAN

1. Setiap pelamar harus melakukan pendaftaran secara online melalui website Kementerian Perdagangan www.depdag.go.id
2. Mengirimkan berkas Lamaran kepada Panitia melalui PO BOX 3433 JAKARTA 10034 yang terdiri dari:
3. Tanda Peserta Ujian yang dicetak pada kertas ukuran A4 sebanyak 1 (satu) lembar yang sudah ditempel 2 (dua) buah foto berwarna terbaru ukuran 4×6 dan ditandatangani pada tempat yang ditentukan (mendownload).
4. Surat Lamaran dan Pernyataan yang dicetak pada 1 (satu) lembar kertas ukuran A4 yang sudah dibubuhi tanda tangan di atas meterai Rp. 6000. (mendownload).
5. Fotokopi Ijazah sebanyak 1 (satu) lembar.
6. Fotokopi Transkip Nilai sebanyak 1 (satu) lembar.

Seluruh berkas pada poin a s/d d dimasukkan ke dalam amplop berwarna coklat ukuran folio yang telah ditempel dengan alamat yang dituju, pada bagian kanan-bawah dan nomor pendaftaran/ nama/ kualifikasi pelamar (barcode) pada bagian kiri-atas (dari hasil download). Contoh amplop yang dikirim sebagaimana terlampir.

D. MEKANISME DAN JADWAL PELAKSANAAN SELEKSI

1. Mekanisme pelaksanaan seleksi :

1. Pelamar mendaftar secara online melalui website Kementerian Perdagangan;
2. Pelamar mendapat id reg dan mendownload berkas yang kemudian dicetak pada kertas A4 (surat lamaran dan pernyataan serta Tanda Peserta Ujian)
3. Pelamar mengirimkan semua berkas sesuai ketentuan di atas melalui PO.BOX
4. Berkas lamaran yang masuk sesuai kuota akan diproses oleh panitia dan pelamar yang berkasnya memenuhi persyaratan akan diterbitkan Tanda Peserta Ujian yang telah diparaf dan dicap oleh panitia (diotentifikasi);
5. Pelamar yang lulus seleksi administrasi akan diumumkan melalui website untuk mengambil Tanda Peserta Ujian yang telah diotentifikasi, sesuai dengan tahapan pengumuman (tahap I sampai IV);
6. Pengambilan Tanda Peserta Ujian dilakukan oleh pelamar pada tempat dan waktu yang ditentukan, setelah pelamar dinyatakan lulus seleksi administrasi;
7. Apabila pelamar berhalangan, pengambilan Tanda Peserta Ujian dapat diwakilkan dengan membawa KTP, dan barcode id reg pelamar;
8. Pelamar berhak mengikuti ujian tertulis apabila telah mendapat Tanda Peserta Ujian yang telah diotentifikasi;
9. Gambar Mekanisme Pendaftaran bagi Pelamar, sebagaimana terlampir.

E. KETENTUAN LAIN.

1. Batas pengiriman berkas paling lambat tanggal 6 September 2010 (cap pos) dan penutupan PO BOX, 2 (dua) hari setelah batas waktu pengiriman berkas. Apabila tidak diterima sampai dengan batas waktu tersebut, berkas tidak akan diproses
2. Kuota pelamar maksimal 5000 pelamar, berkas yang tidak sesuai dan melebihi kuota tidak akan diproses.
3. Pelamar harus mencantumkan alamat e-mail yang benar dan masih berlaku.
4. Pelamar tidak dipungut biaya apapun selama proses Rekrutmen CPNS.
5. Setiap Pelamar hanya boleh mengirimkan 1 (satu) lamaran. Pelamar yang mengirimkan lamaran lebih dari satu, tidak akan diproses dan dinyatakan gugur.
6. Berkas lamaran tidak dikembalikan dan menjadi milik Panitia untuk dimusnahkan.
7. Lamaran yang disampaikan sebelum pengumuman ini diterbitkan dan tidak melalui PO BOX, dinyatakan tidak berlaku.
8. Tanda Peserta Ujian yang tidak ada paraf dan tidak ada cap panitia (tidak diotentifikasi), dinyatakan tidak berlaku dan tidak diperkenankan mengikuti ujian.
9. Pelamar yang tidak melakukan registrasi ulang/ melapor pada waktu yang ditentukan setelah dinyatakan lulus dianggap gugur dan mengundurkan diri.
10. Pelamar dan panitia tidak diperkenankan melakukan komunikasi, terkait proses rekrutmen ini.
11. Pelamar yang nantinya terbukti memanipulasi atau memalsukan data, akan dinyatakan gugur.
12. Keputusan Panitia tidak dapat diganggu-gugat.

untuk informasi selengkapnya dapat di unduh disini

CPNS PU 2010, While waiting for the determination of formation in 2010 of the Ministry of State for Administrative Reform and Bureaucratic Reform, for those interested in following the procurement selection candidate for Civil Servants Fomiasl 2010 Ministry of Public Works can prepare complete the following requirements:

I. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

1. Indonesia citizen, physically and spiritually healthy.
2. Good behavior and never sentenced to prison or confinement based on court decisions that have permanent legal force.
3. Not being bound by the agreement / contract with government agencies / private other.
4. There was never dismissed with respect not his own request or not with respect as CPNS / PNS / Members of the TNI / police, or dismissed with no respect as a private employee.
5. Not located as CPNS / PNS / Prospective Members of Armed Forces / Police and members of TNI / police.
6. Willing to be placed on the entire territory of the Republic of Indonesia.
7. Minimal understand / know the basic use of computers (Microsoft Office) and Internet (browsing & email)
8. The selection process through the system online at http://www.pu.go.id

II. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

1. Postgraduate diplomas (S2), Sarjana (S1) and Diploma III (D3) from the High Pergunian State / Private Colleges that have received accreditation (minimum B) or from the State Higher Education which was approved by the Ministry of National Education, with the requirements Cumulative Performance Index (LPK): D3 and S1 for a minimum of 2.75 (two point seven five), and S2 minimum of 3.25 (three point two five). For S2-educated applicants must also submit transcripts of diplomas and S1.
2. Educational qualifications in accordance with the formation set by the Minister of State for Administrative Reform and Bureaucratic Reform.
3. Mastering English well (verbally and written) as evidenced by the results of English language ability test which is still in force which issued on December 1, 2009 or thereafter. Test results are allowed to be attached is: EFT, published by the Institute of Language and Professional Education (LBPP) LIA with a minimum value: 400 for D3. 450 to 475 for S1 and S2.
4. Educational qualifications for applicants with an advantage for the D3 has a certificate of competency to support the education profession and issued by the competent institutions. (Example for D3 Accounting has been certified Brevet Brevet A or B).

III. NOTE :

1. This information is preliminary information is not intended to be binding on the prospective applicants can prepare for the completeness of requirements. Procurement and educational qualification period will be determined after obtaining approval from the State Ministry of Administrative Reform and Bureaucratic Reform.
2. Each prospective applicant to supply information to monitor the Ministry of Public Works employees in 2010 through the website of the Ministry of Public Works on http://www.pu. go.id/
3. More requirements will be determined at the time of announcement Procurement candidate for Civil Servants Ministry of Public Works formation in 2010.

Jakarta, May 18, 2010

A.N. Sekretaris Jenderal
Kepala Biro Kepegawaian dan Ortala

ttd

Dr. Yadi Siswadi
NIP.  110024626

This guide will show you two different ways to create a USB flash drive that works just like a Windows 7 DVD. In order to follow this guide, you’ll need a USB flash drive with at least 4GB of free space and a copy of the Windows 7 installation disc.

Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool

You are normally given this tool when you purchase from the online Microsoft Store.

The easiest way to turn a USB flash drive into a bootable Windows 7 installer is by using the tool Microsoft offers, cunningly named the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool. To get started, download the installer from Microsoft.com and follow the basic steps to put it onto your computer; you can put it on the computer you plan to install Windows 7 on or another one, it doesn’t matter.

Once it is installed, it should create an icon on your desktop, so double-click that to open. If you can’t find it, use the search function in the Start Menu with a keyword like “USB.” Launching it should give you the above screen, and step one is to find the Windows 7 .ISO file. The tool only accepts .ISO images, so we recommend that you convert yours if it’s in a different DVD image format.

Step two is straightforward: simply choose USB device.

In step three, all you have to do is make sure that you are choosing the correct USB device. If you have other data on the device, move it to your hard drive, another USB device, or somewhere else before proceeding.

The tool will prompt you if it detects data on the device. Once your data is backed up elsewhere, click Erase USB Device.

You will get another prompt warning you that all the data will be wiped. Click Yes to continue.

The format will be very quick, while the copying of the files will take a little bit more time (about 10 to 15 minutes).

Once the process is complete, you should get the above confirmation message. At this point you can close the tool and use the USB drive to install Windows 7. Remember that you’ll have to choose to boot off the USB drive. Before doing so, you may want to open up the USB drive and double click on setup.exe to see if everything looks okay. If you want to be able to do this manually, see the next section, and if you want to be able to install any edition of Windows 7, skip to the section after that.

Manual Creation

Maybe you don’t like that Microsoft violated the GPL with the first version of the above tool (the company has since GPLed the code), or you’re old-school and just love using the command prompt. Regardless of what your reasons are for creating a bootable Windows 7 USB drive manually, we have the scoop on how to do it. First, open the command prompt (if you use UAC make sure to right click it and choose “Run as administrator”), type “diskpart” without the quotes, and hit enter. You can also get here by simply typing “diskpart” without the quotes into the Start Menu and hitting enter.

Now type “list disk” without the quotes and hit enter. Take a look at the Size column and figure out which disk number your USB drive is. Ours is number 1, so we’re going to type “select disk 1″ without the quotes and hit enter. Now we’re going to wipe it by typing “clean” without the quotes and hitting enter (make sure to do a backup of the contents if you haven’t already).

At this point we want to prepare the USB drive for the files and make sure it is bootable. Type “create partition primary” without the quotes and hit enter. Then type “select partition 1″ without the quotes and hit enter. Next type “active” without the quotes and hit enter. Finally, type “format fs=fat32″ without quotes and hit enter (if you choose to use ntfs, you’ll later have to run the “Bootsect.exe /nt60 G:” command to put boot manager compatible files onto your USB flash drive to make it a bootable device). This one will take a while, so go grab a snack, we’ll wait. When that’s done, type “assign” without the quotes and hit enter (this will assign a new drive letter to the USB flash drive).

An AutoPlay window like the one above will appear. Remember the drive letter (in our case it is H:\), close the window, type “exit” without the quotes and hit enter. If you are working with an .ISO image, the best way to do this last part is to mount the file with a program like Virtual Clone Drive. Alternatively, you can extract the files from the .ISO image and simply copy them to the USB drive, but since we’ve been using the command prompt up to this point, we’ll show you how to do the last step with it as well.

If you don’t have the command prompt open, open it with administrative privileges, type “xcopy f:*.* /s/e/f hg:” without the quotes and hit enter. Note that you will likely have to replace “f:” with the drive letter for your Windows 7 DVD and “g:” with the drive letter for your USB flash drive. Don’t worry if install.wim takes a while to copy: it’s easily the biggest file on the disc.

• Review of your site content or structure
• Technical advice on website development: for example, hosting, redirects, error pages, use of JavaScript
• Content development
• Management of online business development campaigns
• Keyword research
• SEO training
• Expertise in specific markets and geographies.

Keep in mind that the Google search results page includes organic search results and often paid advertisement (denoted by the heading “Sponsored Links”) as well. Advertising with Google won’t have any effect on your site’s presence in our search results. Google never accepts money to include or rank sites in our search results, and it costs nothing to appear in our organic search results. Free resources such as Webmaster Tools, the official Webmaster Central blog, and our discussion forum can provide you with a great deal of information about how to optimize your site for organic search. Many of these free sources, as well as information on paid search, can be found on Google Webmaster Central.

Before beginning your search for an SEO, it’s a great idea to become an educated consumer and get familiar with how search engines work. We recommend starting here:

• Google Webmaster Guidelines
• Google 101: How Google crawls, indexes and serves the web.

If you’re thinking about hiring an SEO, the earlier the better. A great time to hire is when you’re considering a site redesign, or planning to launch a new site. That way, you and your SEO can ensure that your site is designed to be search engine-friendly from the bottom up. However, a good SEO can also help improve an existing site.

Some useful questions to ask an SEO include:

• Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?
• Do you follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines?
• Do you offer any online marketing services or advice to complement your organic search business?
• What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe? How do you measure your success?
• What’s your experience in my industry?
• What’s your experience in my country/city?
• What’s your experience developing international sites?
• What are your most important SEO techniques?
• How long have you been in business?
• How can I expect to communicate with you? Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site, and provide detailed information about your recommendations and the reasoning behind them?

While SEOs can provide clients with valuable services, some unethical SEOs have given the industry a black eye through their overly aggressive marketing efforts and their attempts to manipulate search engine results in unfair ways. Practices that violate our guidelines may result in a negative adjustment of your site’s presence in Google, or even the removal of your site from our index. Here are some things to consider:

• Be wary of SEO firms and web consultants or agencies that send you email out of the blue.

Amazingly, we get these spam emails too:

“Dear google.com,
I visited your website and noticed that you are not listed in most of the major search engines and directories…”

Reserve the same skepticism for unsolicited email about search engines as you do for “burn fat at night” diet pills or requests to help transfer funds from deposed dictators.

• No one can 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. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is through our Add URL page or by submitting a Sitemap and you can do this yourself at no cost whatsoever.

• Be careful if a company is secretive or won’t clearly explain what they intend to do.

Ask for explanations if something is unclear. If an SEO creates deceptive or misleading content on your behalf, such as doorway pages or “throwaway” domains, your site could be removed entirely from Google’s index. Ultimately, you are responsible for the actions of any companies you hire, so it’s best to be sure you know exactly how they intend to “help” you. If an SEO has FTP access to your server, they should be willing to explain all the changes they are making to your site.

• You should never have to link to an SEO.

Avoid SEOs that talk about the power of “free-for-all” links, link popularity schemes, or submitting your site to thousands of search engines. These are typically useless exercises that don’t affect your ranking in the results of the major search engines — at least, not in a way you would likely consider to be positive.

• Choose wisely.

While you consider whether to go with an SEO, you may want to do some research on the industry. Google is one way to do that, of course. You might also seek out a few of the cautionary tales that have appeared in the press, including this article on one particularly aggressive SEO: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002002970_nwbizbriefs12.html. While Google doesn’t comment on specific companies, we’ve encountered firms calling themselves SEOs who follow practices that are clearly beyond the pale of accepted business behavior. Be careful.

• Be sure to understand where the money goes.

While Google never sells better ranking in our search results, several other search engines combine pay-per-click or pay-for-inclusion results with their regular web search results. Some SEOs will promise to rank you highly in search engines, but place you in the advertising section rather than in the search results. A few SEOs will even change their bid prices in real time to create the illusion that they “control” other search engines and can place themselves in the slot of their choice. This scam doesn’t work with Google because our advertising is clearly labeled and separated from our search results, but be sure to ask any SEO you’re considering which fees go toward permanent inclusion and which apply toward temporary advertising.

• What are the most common abuses a website owner is likely to encounter?

One common scam is the creation of “shadow” domains that funnel users to a site by using deceptive redirects. These shadow domains often will be owned by the SEO who claims to be working on a client’s behalf. However, if the relationship sours, the SEO may point the domain to a different site, or even to a competitor’s domain. If that happens, the client has paid to develop a competing site owned entirely by the SEO.

Another illicit practice is to place “doorway” pages loaded with keywords on the client’s site somewhere. The SEO promises this will make the page more relevant for more queries. This is inherently false since individual pages are rarely relevant for a wide range of keywords. More insidious, however, is that these doorway pages often contain hidden links to the SEO’s other clients as well. Such doorway pages drain away the link popularity of a site and route it to the SEO and its other clients, which may include sites with unsavory or illegal content.

• What are some other things to look out for?

There are a few warning signs that you may be dealing with a rogue SEO. 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 on search results pages
- 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