We ran a website just over a year ago,but could not get it anywhere near page 1 of google. The SEO cowboys want a fortune every month to get you seen.
Within 2 months we closed it down, and opted to sell on ebay. They have regular £1 deals for final fees, so we wait for those now.
Oh yeah, I've dealt with some pretty scummy SEO companies myself. Half of the time they can't show any decent results and just charge you more...