A search engine optimisation (SEO) services watchdog has been launched to regulate the companies that promise to boost a business's online profitability.

The first quality assurance and consumer reporting verification service for the SEO industry claims to offer businesses cold, hard and impartial facts about different providers to ensure they get the best service available.

SEO Watchdog founder Charles Preston said: "If done properly SEO is one of the most profitable and effective ways for owners to procure sales leads."

He added that he thought the fact that consumers have had to teach themselves about an arcane technical subject in order to find a good service provider did not make sense, sand claimed: "Inexperienced or unscrupulous companies are running rampant."

The intention of the watchdog, according to Mr Preston, is to make the SEO industry transparent, providing "uncontrived news" for consumers.

Reports published on the consumer forum, including positive ones as well as negative, are verified before they are posted to prevent companies submitting fake statements about themselves or their competition.

A main aim of the watchdog's service is a closer union between consumers and providers intended to create stronger bonds of respect and trust in the SEO industry.

Meanwhile, the SEO industry received a boost this week when Google launched its new AdWords search-based keyword tool to help businesses determine the points they should be marketing on.

Living Streams comment:  Unfortunately there are far too many companies offering SEO services which do not deliver worthwhile results - either because they don't improve ranking or because they deliver improved ranking for keywords with low search frequency.  Even where useful ranking is achieved, this needs to be matched with website content / structure which develops these 'suspects' into at least 'prospects' if not (immediately) clients:  Hence our belief in the triad of SEO, analytics and persuasion architecture.      

We thereore applaud in principle the set up of SEO Watchdog.  Our only fear is that it will become dominated by the large players that SME cannot afford and diluted by the need to earns its keep with unverified adverts.  We will watch this space and report back.