I think you need to post the URL! Have you tried the links from every page? Although personally I would use an include file to reduce errors and maintenance time, but not sure if you are...

View page source shows HTML. If I can't see the PHP file i.e. which generates the HTML it's impossible for me to know how. I'm not very clear on this. You can PM the file to me if you want - but don't send me any passwords please.

Wow. What a nice guy to provide all that useful info!

No strategies that I know of. I read this is something that is down to Google and can't find any info about this (I tried already).

You're absolutely right about wild claims. I think it's fair to say that over 80% of those masquerading as SEO's are scammers or incompetent. I often get clients asking me why I should choose them over others. The amazing thing is that even though I technically prove why they should choose me it's clear that they often don't read proposals properly (I go to extreme lengths to make sure they are completely clear).

I would ask what they have done. The back link analysis you run shows you're already on the right track. They don't necessarily need to be innovative, though. Just provide you with something that works. I'm Indian and sad to say that I generally don't work with companies out of India due to quality control generally being far too low.

I would ask what they have achieved and within what timeframe and budget. Backlink analysis may also show if they've bought dodgy low quality links. I get offers from those wanting to subcontract and want to know which keywords they ranked at which position and within how long. Next step is to see how many results there are for those keywords. Some people try to push their "successes" for rubbish keywords which anyone could rank.

I honestly think that however pushed one is for time, it generally pays to know a bit about SEO, especially if it's a significant part of your marketing budget.

We're booked beyond capacity, but if you want to private message more information I might be able to recommend you somebody based on budget and requirements. There are also comparison sites like Top SEOs but I have never gone through them. I'd still take a look as it may hold interesting info for you.

Good luck!

You need to code it again:

In the HTML I can see on Line 15:

rel="canonical" href="http://www.cherrycreekspine.com<?php echo parse_url($canonical, PHP_URL_PATH); ?>"/>

You need to write everything after href="

and before "/>

in php; probably:

<link rel="canonical" href="<?php echo="" '<a="" class=" " href="http://www.cherrycreekspine.com%26lt%3B/?php%20echo%20parse_url($canonical,%20PHP_URL_PATH);%20?%3E" target="_blank">http://www.cherrycreekspine.com<'.parse_url($canonical, PHP_URL_PATH); ?>"/></link rel="canonical" href="<?php>

If it doesnt sort it, post again and I'll try to help you further.

Also, you either apply canonical values or remove duplicate content (the post title is slightly confused, I think)

I'd go for &.

I optimized a page for "Canada & New England Cruises" some years back. The results were:

canada and new england cruises = 24th of 6,300,000 results canada & new england cruises = 32nd of 7,660,000 results

This indicates to me that Google probably knows the difference.

I personally think that self-referencing links are silly. It's blatantly easy for Google to tell and my instinct says that the link juice for this would simply evaporate rather than passing back to itself.

Does anyone have information backing me up from an authoritative source? I can't find any info about this linked to Matt Cutts, Rand or any of those I look up to.

No strategies that I know of. I read this is something that is down to Google and can't find any info about this (I tried already).

You need to code it again:

In the HTML I can see on Line 15:

rel="canonical" href="http://www.cherrycreekspine.com<?php echo parse_url($canonical, PHP_URL_PATH); ?>"/>

You need to write everything after href="

and before "/>

in php; probably:

<link rel="canonical" href="<?php echo="" '<a="" class=" " href="http://www.cherrycreekspine.com%26lt%3B/?php%20echo%20parse_url($canonical,%20PHP_URL_PATH);%20?%3E" target="_blank">http://www.cherrycreekspine.com<'.parse_url($canonical, PHP_URL_PATH); ?>"/></link rel="canonical" href="<?php>

If it doesnt sort it, post again and I'll try to help you further.

Also, you either apply canonical values or remove duplicate content (the post title is slightly confused, I think)

Wow. What a nice guy to provide all that useful info!