SALT LAKE CITY — Utah-based SEO.com was named the top search marketing firm in the October 2011 publication of Website Magazine.

Website Magazine has only released the rankings twice this year and both times, SEO.com has been at the top of the list.

According to Website Magazine, rankings are calculated using a proprietary method that focuses on average daily unique visitors and page views over a specified period of time, as reported by multiple data sources. The website with the highest combination of factors is ranked in the first position.

Pete Prestipino, editor in chief of Website Magazine, said this method helped them determine which search marketing agency produces the best search engine results.

“If they can do that for themselves,” he said, “they can do it for their clients.”

SEO.com Vice President of Sales and Marketing Mike Hohl said his team is thrilled to be at the top of the list.

“It’s a terrific honor to be ranked number one again,” Hohl said. “We continue to be absolutely committed to providing the very best service to our clients.”

Jon Reese, SEO.com’s director of marketing, said the most significant trait that sets his firm apart from the competition is its transparency with clients.

“Through regular communication we are able to keep clients up to speed on next steps and truly manage their expectations,” Reese said. “They’re not worried about a lack of success or [return on investment] because we keep them constantly apprised of their campaign’s progress.”

SEO.com’s ability to orchestrate specific, individualized campaigns is another distinguishing characteristic of the firm, according to Reese.

“Search engine optimization is often seen as a kind of magic and we try to clarify it for our clients by keeping them aware of what’s going on with their campaigns,” Reese said.

SEO (search engine optimization) is the process of improving visibility for companies in search engine results. Generally speaking, the better a website ranks in search results, the more visitors it receives. Companies then have various strategies for converting those visitors into customers.

SEO.com has seen huge success over the last couple years, working with such clients as Mrs. Fields, H&R Block and Dell. While working with Mrs. Fields, organic traffic increased by 33 percent, the number of traffic-producing keywords increased by 51 percent and the return on investment with SEO.com was 1,033 percent. Information on this case as well as others can be found at http://www.seo.com.

About SEO.com

SEO.com is a professional SEO company that delivers a big return on investment for its clients by driving traffic to their websites through aggressive search engine marketing. Clients range from small startups to Fortune 100 companies.