SEO Terms and Conditions
The following SEO Terms and Conditions apply to SEO services: On-page optimisation, Off-page optimisation, Technical Optimisation and Local SEO. In addition, please note that separate documents titled “Web Design Terms and Conditions ” are relevant to apply to Web Design Projects and associated services, including website design, website updating, website hosting and website maintenance.
This Contract is entered into between Easy Marketing Ltd and your company (hereinafter referred to as “Customer”) on the day you complete the online form. Easy Marketing will provide Customer with Search Engine Optimisation Services and Reporting Services (hereinafter referred to as “SEO”) as described in this Contract. Easy Marketing will use specific keywords and/or phrases to improve the organic traffic, domain authority, search engine ranking, and/or popularity of the content for the Customer’s website.
1. Definitions
For these SEO Terms and Conditions, the following definitions apply:
- Business Day: any day that is not a public holiday or weekend in England, during which banks in Leeds are open for business.
- Customer: the individual or company that purchases Services from Easy Marketing Ltd.
- Easy Marketing:refers to Easy Marketing Ltd, a registered company in England and Wales with company number 14020630 and registered address at 56 Dawlish Mount, Leeds, England, LS9 9DY.
- Force Majeure Event: any event beyond the reasonable control of the affected party, including but not limited to industrial disputes involving third parties, government regulations, fire, flood, disaster, civil riot, or war.
1.1 Definition of SEO-Related Terms
We will provide definitions for specific SEO terms and jargon that we will be using to avoid confusion and ensure mutual understanding among all parties entering into this Contract. We intend to develop an agreement in plain, unambiguous language to minimise misunderstandings.
Please note that these SEO definitions are provided solely for the purpose of defining terms used in this Terms and Conditions. For a complete understanding of these terms, please refer to our SEO blogs and relevant SEO guidance documents from Google’s Search Console platform. The definitions provided in this Contract should not be considered the definitive guide to SEO terminology. For optimisation content our website design service covers during the website development, please refer to our SEO Website.
- Deliverable refers to a tangible or intangible object created as part of a project and intended to be delivered to the Customer. Examples of deliverables include SEO reports, traffic data reports, documents, and server upgrades.
- SEO, or Search Engine Optimization/Optimisation, is the activity of improving the quantity and quality (such as visiting time and bounce rate) of traffic to a website through organic traffic/organic search results, as opposed to paid advertising through Search Engine Marketing (SEM).
- Social Media Optimization refers to techniques and methods used to generate publicity and increase traffic through social media channels such as Youtube, LinkedIn, Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
- Search Engines are computer programs designed to retrieve relevant documents from a network based on the keywords entered by the user. Easy Marketing prioritises top search engines like Google, but we support other search engines like Yahoo and Bing. As a digital marketing agency with specialised knowledge in the Chinese market, we also pride ourselves on our ability to support website ranking on Baidu. If you have a Chinese website and would like to improve your Baidu ranking, our cross-cultural team can help you achieve your goals.
- Customer’s Competitor is an individual or a company that operates business in the same niche as the Customer and targets the same or similar keywords in the same or nearby geographic locations. This means that the Customer’s competitor is competing for the same audience and market share.
- Keyword or keyword phrase refers to the search term(s) that a user enters into a search engine to retrieve information.
- Keyword Research is a practice used by Easy Marketing SEO specialists to research the search terms or questions people enter into search engines when searching online. This helps in identifying popular keywords and phrases that can be used to optimise a website’s content.
- Keyword Stuffing is an unethical SEO technique in which a web page is loaded with targeted keywords in the title, meta tags or content, which is a kind of Black Hat SEO. Search engines now penalise this practice, which can negatively impact a website’s search ranking.
- Keyword Cannibalisation refers to the issue of having several web pages that target the same keyword(s), which can lead to competition between those pages and reduce their effectiveness.
- URL,or Uniform Resource Locator, is the web page address on the internet.
- URL Canonicalisation is selecting the best URL when there are several choices, usually referring to the homepage, to avoid duplicate content and improve the website’s search engine ranking.
- Link Building is an SEO technique used to get backlinks, or votes, for a website by creating valuable content and outreach to other websites.
- Link Acquisition refers to any content or feature on a website that encourages viewers to place links to it from other websites, increasing the website’s authority and visibility.
- Website Usability refers to how easily visitors can use a website, including navigation, layout, and content organisation.
- User Engagement refers to the level of positive influence that a website has on its visitors and the degree to which they are engaged with it.
- Conversions, also known as goals, can refer to a variety of actions such as orders, leads, downloads, page views, sign-ups, traffic, etc.
- Conversion Rate is the percentage of visits to a website that result in goal conversions, such as the frequency of the visitor visting your website, the online forms they complete on your site and the purchase they complete on your website.
- KPI, or Key Performance Indicator, a measure used to assess how well an organisation or individual is achieving its goals and objectives.
- Link popularity is the measurement of the quantity and quality of inbound links, or backlinks, to a website.
- Black hat SEO refers to the use of unethical and manipulative techniques to increase a website’s search engine ranking. This can include tactics like keyword stuffing, cloaking, hidden text, link spamming, and other tactics that violate search engine guidelines. These techniques can result in a website being penalized or banned by search engines.
- White hat SEO, on the other hand, refers to the use of ethical and legitimate techniques to improve a website’s search engine ranking. This includes tactics like creating high-quality content, optimizing website structure and metadata, building natural backlinks, and engaging in social media marketing. White hat SEO techniques are designed to improve the user experience and provide value to website visitors, rather than simply manipulating search engine algorithms.
- Link farms are websites that exist solely for the purpose of increasing the number of backlinks pointing to another website, with the goal of improving the search engine rankings of that website. These websites usually contain low-quality, irrelevant content and may have hundreds or thousands of outbound links to other websites. They typically employ black hat SEO techniques and violate search engine guidelines. Search engines have become increasingly effective at detecting and penalizing link farms, making them an ineffective and risky SEO tactic.
2. Purpose of the Service
Easy Marketing offers SEO services with the dual aim of providing our clients with increased visibility on search engines and driving targeted traffic to their websites for higher conversion rates and improved user engagement. Our Team of SEO specialists will work closely with you to analyse your website and identify areas that need improvement to boost its visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). Our approach to SEO is two-pronged.
- First, we focus on optimising your website’s technical elements, such as its structure, content, and metadata, to ensure that it is crawlable by search engines and got indexed.
- Second, we develop and execute a comprehensive off-page optimisation strategy to build high-quality backlinks to your site from reputable sources, improving your website’s domain authority, link popularity, and increasing its chances of ranking higher on search engine results pages.
By partnering with Easy Marketing, you can expect to see increased organic traffic to your website and enhance the user experience. Our SEO services are designed to provide our clients with long-term benefits and sustainable growth in their online presence for user engagement, conversion rate and higher KPI.
3. Scope of Work
- On-page optimisation – Easy Marketing may modify the title tags, meta tags, content, alt description, HTML code and other on-page factors of a Customer’s website to make it more relevant to search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing and/or Baidu) for the targeted keywords. We aim to improve keyword positioning/placement to attract additional traffic to the site.
- Link Building– Easy Marketing acquire/request/write for, and submit links from a vast array of websites to improve your website’s search visibility in the search engines through high-traffic backlinks.
- Link Acquisition/Content Development – Easy Marketing may develop and promote content (press releases, articles, guest blog posts) which help in getting additional traffic and links to your site.
- Social Media Optimisation– Easy Marketing may provide advice on social media optimisation and how you can integrate social activities within your website for higher social media traffic.
- SEO Reporting– Easy Marketing will continuously monitor the effectiveness of our SEO campaign via an automated online reporting system that is updated daily.
- Legal Compliance–Easy Marketing may address any legal issues and suggestion for legal compliance to build the credibility for both search engine and the User.
- Content Suggestion-Recommendations on additional web pages or content that can be created to enhance the website’s visibility and improve search engine rankings, creating or suggesting blog posts and social media posts. In addition, Easy Marketing offers recommendations on content development, including what type of content and categories can attract additional traffic and links to help improve conversions or achieve goals.
- Keyword Research Report– Researching relevant keywords and phrases that are likely to be used by target users in search engines and longer tail keyword suggestions which may not bring traffic volumes but can potentially trigger a higher conversion rate. Create traffic and ranking reports showing rankings in the major search engines. Easy Marketing may analyse the Customer’s site traffic to determine how visitors find the website and where they come from. Our team provides reports on traffic and rankings in major search engines to help track progress and identify areas for improvement.
- Technical Optimisation– Easy Marketing may advise fixing any identified issues so that the website works for the Customer’s business and can convert relevant traffic into sales or leads. Analysis and recommendations on optimal website sitemap, structure, navigation, code, and other factors that impact SEO performance.
- Whit-hat SEO Practice– Easy Marketing may also provide guidance on avoiding and fixing negative SEO issues, such as keyword stuffing, duplicate content, URL canonicalisation, hidden text and links, sneaky redirects, and keyword cannibalisation.
Easy Marketing will provide the Best Practice. Easy Marketing can provide the abovementioned Scope of Work, but the service items and price need to be negotiated or requested based on the actual situation and specific requirements.
4. The Customer's Responsibilities
To receive professional SEO services from Easy Marketing, the Customer agrees to provide the following:
- The Customer must grant administrative/backend access to the website to analyse content and structure, which is necessary to perform effective SEO services.
- The Customer must provide permission to make changes to the website for optimisation and the necessary authorisation to communicate directly with any third parties involved.
- The Customer must provide unlimited access to existing website traffic statistics for analysis, tracking, which will help measure the effectiveness of the SEO services.
- The Customer must provide access to a valid email address that belongs to the Customer’s domain or a Gmail account to request links and manage the Google Search Console.
- The Customer must authorise using Customer pictures, logos, trademarks, website images, pamphlets, content, etc., as the SEO service provider deems necessary for search engine optimisation.
- If the Customer’s website lacks textual content, the Customer must provide additional text content in electronic format to create additional or richer web pages. This will help ensure the website is optimised for SEO and provides the necessary information to attract visitors and improve conversions.
5. Intellectual Property
The Customer agrees to take full responsibility and guarantees that any elements of text, graphics, video, designs,photos, trademarks, or other artwork provided to Easy Marketing for inclusion on the website are either owned by the Customer or that the Customer has obtained explicit permission from the rightful owner(s) to use each of these elements. The Customer also agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold Easy Marketing and its subcontractors harmless from any liability or legal action arising from such features. The Customer acknowledges that any violation of this Agreement may result in the termination of services by Easy Marketing without any liability to the Customer.
6. Payment
- The Customer agrees to pay the fee for monthly SEO services and confirms this via telephone/email/online form.
- Invoices are provided monthly on or around the date you start your campaign, and all invoices must be cleared within 10 days.
- All payments shall be made in £ GBP (British pounds sterling) unless otherwise agreed by Easy Marketing.
- Suppose the Customer chooses to terminate the project due to insufficient funds, a shift in priorities, or any other reason that does not violate the terms of this Agreement. In that case, the Customer is responsible for paying for all work completed by Easy Marketing up until the point of notification of termination.
7. Disclaimer
The following are important considerations that the Customer must acknowledge regarding Easy Marketing’s SEO services:
- Non-Refundable Fees: All fees paid to Easy Marketing for its SEO services are non-refundable.
- Confidentiality: All fees, services, documents, recommendations, and reports provided by Easy Marketing are confidential and must not be shared with third parties without prior written consent.
- Search Engine Policies: Easy Marketing has no control over the policies of search engines concerning the type of sites and/or content they accept now or in the future. Therefore, the search engines or directories reserve the right to exclude the Customer’s website at any time without prior notice or explanation, at their sole discretion.
- Easy Marketing cannot guarantee that the Customer’s website will achieve the number one position or a consistent top ten position for any particular keyword, phrase, or search term due to the competitiveness of such keywords/phrases, ongoing changes in search engine ranking algorithms, and other competitive factors.
- Dropped Listings: Search engines occasionally drop listings for no apparent or predictable reason. In such cases, Easy Marketing will re-optimise the website/page based on the current policies of the search engine in question should a listing be dropped during the SEO campaign and not reappear within 30 days of campaign completion.
- Paid Directories: Some search directories offer expedited listing services for a fee. If the Customer wishes to engage in said expedited listing services (e.g., delivered directories), the Customer is responsible for all paid inclusion or expedited service fees. Easy Marketing can offer a list of expedited listing services upon request.
- Bad Linking Practices: Linking to “bad neighborhoods” or obtaining links from “link farms” can seriously damage all SEO efforts. The Customer assumes all liability for their choice to link to or get a link from any particular website without prior consultation from Easy Marketing.
- Easy Marketing will not be held responsible for any negative impact on the search engine rankings of the Customer’s website caused by changes made by third parties to the website.
- The Customer must guarantee that any text, graphics, videos, photos, designs, trademarks, or other artwork provided to Easy Marketing for use on the website are owned by the Customer or that the Customer has received permission from the rightful owner(s) to use such elements. If any liability or suit arises from using such aspects, the Customer agrees to hold harmless, protect, and defend Easy Marketing and its subcontractors.
- Easy Marketing will not be held responsible for any overwriting of SEO work on the Customer’s site by the Customer or their webmaster. If the Customer wishes to reconstruct content, they will be charged an additional fee.
Services not explicitly mentioned in this Agreement, such as branded copywriting, blitz campaigns, and additional consulting, will be specified in Services Specification.
8. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
This Agreement and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with it or its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. The parties agree that the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with this Agreement or its subject matter or formation.
9. Arbitration
Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement, or the breach, termination or invalidity thereof, shall be finally settled by arbitration in accordance with the rules of the British Arbitration Association. The place of arbitration shall be Leeds, United Kingdom. The language of the arbitration shall be English. The award rendered by the arbitrator(s) shall be final and binding upon the parties, and judgment upon the award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The parties agree to abide by and perform any award rendered by the arbitrator(s). The costs of arbitration shall be shared equally between the parties, unless the arbitrator(s) determines otherwise.