When you build an agency, the one thing that you need to do is you need to team up with the right people to boost its growth. The only way to grow from being a start-up to a multi-millionaire company is through staffing and resourcing.
But if you want to reach the appropriate crowd for your company, you should have in-depth knowledge of SEO. In this blog post, you will see the how an organization is structured and in what ways you can get your agency become one of the top names in the organic search rankings.
How to Build the Organization Structure?
When you start an organization, you cannot recruit people to handle different departments. The thing about a start-up is that you need to handle everything on your own. Starting from service delivery to finance, you need to know all the departments.
If you are starting the agency with a few other people, then that is all the help you will get. In the beginning, your agency will not have the required funds to hire different people suitable for the job.
As your agency keeps expanding, you need to establish different departments. It would be hard for you to manage the work alone. You will need people for service execution, management, sales, marketing, finance, and other responsibilities.
When to Start Hiring?
As a recruiter, if you are unsure of when to start hiring, then the right answer to this would be the moment when you feel overwhelmed with the workload. Remember, hiring someone means you are investing in your company. If you can make that kind of investment, then you can start the process.
What Position to Hire For First?
There is no hard and fast rule as to which position you need to fill first. The choice for this would be different for every agency. The entire process depends on your requirement.
To be on the safe side, you can recruit people for the managerial position since they take over most of the tasks that are needed to run an agency. If you are not comfortable doing SEO related work, then you can get an analyst.
When you divide the responsibilities between different people, then you can focus on more important tasks that need your attention specifically.
Where Should You Hire From – Local, Offshore, or Outsource?
You can choose different talents in different positions. Do not offshore talent for a full role and just give them specific tasks that you need to be finished within a deadline. If you need people for communication-related tasks, then you should get local people.
Any communication position should be filled with people who know the local language and are based in your office location. Do not attempt to take in offshore talent for communications. You can outsource people for bookkeeping and finance if you wish.
What To Look For In The People?
This depends on the person that you are choosing and the kind of organizational culture that you want to build. While some people like to keep the environment strictly work-related, some people want their employees to have a fun and engaging work experience.
Make sure that the person you choose has similar personality traits as you. This will help in better communication between you and your staff. Also, keep into account the experience and knowledge of the people.
Where Can You Find The Right People?
(Source : Google Images)
Technology has broadened the channels from where you can appoint people. There are many social media channels, such as LinkedIn, and job hunting sites such as Upwork and other networking events. You will find people everywhere since they are always looking for jobs.
How To Rank Your Agency Higher?
Search Engine Optimization is not just adding keywords in blog posts; you can also use it as an effective marketing strategy. If you want to recruit people, you’ll have to make sure that people see you. Working on your on-page and off-page SEO will drive traffic to your website and help your staffing agency show up higher on the search engine results page. Here are some ways in which you can use SEO strategies to improve your agency’s visibility:
Use on-page SEO: On-page SEO includes doing proper keyword research and understanding which keywords are the right ones for potential clients to reach you. You should place the keywords strategically in the page title, meta description, blogs, etc. Just ensure you are not stuffing the page, and you can make it to the first page of Google.
Leverage off-page SEO: On the other hand, off page SEO encompasses strategies to get organic traffic to your website from different platforms and mediums, such as backlinks, social media sites, guest posts, forums, etc.
Evaluate your SEO metrics: As a recruiting agency, you should know the essential metrics that can be useful for you to determine your target audience. Each metric is different and will work differently for various purposes. Like click-through rate, it works mainly for images. So, you need to learn the metrics to help you achieve a high place on SERPs.
Develop content: Generate quality content at the right time and with the right keywords to show up in the search results, and that will ensure that it reaches the right job seekers.
Check analytics report: Constantly check which keywords bring traffic to your page and continuously optimize it to reach your goals. Keep track of your page’s ranking on SERP and make improvements as recommended.
Endnotes
So now you must know how to rule the search queries to reach the appropriate candidates and employ the best people for your business. SEO is one of the best strategies to leverage in online marketing. It helps you build trust and credibility not only with your target audience but also with the search engines.
By using these strategies and knowing when to use them, your staffing agency can definitely be listed higher on Google searches. If you want to know more about SEO services, you can always contact us, and we’ll provide you with the best SEO solutions to help you be visible online.
FAQ
What is SEO staffing?
SEO for staffing agencies can assist in improving a site’s organic traffic and help build brand awareness. This can lead to improved lead generation and get more clients.
How is SEO helpful for recruiters?
Recruitment SEO helps recruiters when search engines like Google evaluate and rank sites according to their set algorithms. You can use the strategies we’ve mentioned to improve your online visibility and rankings to ensure your site ranks highly.
Why is SEO important for recruiters?
When recruitment agencies don’t work on their SEO, they won’t be able to reach suitable candidates or attract new clients. SEO for recruiters allows those thousands of applicants who carry out a job search on Google or Yahoo to contact the recruiting business and get started with their new job.
Businesses are always mindful of their expenditures. Given the ever-evolving and competitive market, a business owner will look for various ways to cut costs. Even top-tier firms are tempted to slash digital marketing costs if an SEO agency isn’t delivering exactly what they need.
Companies outsource SEO agencies to increase traffic, keyword rankings, and more. However, as an SEO agency, you have to constantly be at the top of your game to keep your clients satisfied.
Every client has different requirements, communication styles, website ideas, and levels of flexibility. It is, in fact, harder to find a new client than to retain an old one. A client will want to stay with you if you provide value, desirable output, as well as honest feedback.
If your client’s website has a fall in traffic or does not attain a high SEO ranking, you risk losing this client. Luckily enough, we have done some extensive research to help you extend your SEO contracts.
This module details ways in which you can understand your clients and their business to pave the way for an extended SEO contract. You will learn everything from analyzing to strategizing and implementation of these steps. So, let’s get started!
Where to begin?
The initiation process of anything is always confusing. It is vital to take well-planned steps after a detailed analysis of your client’s business as well as current SEO status. Wondering how to kickstart this analysis? Take a look at these 3 easy steps.
1. Plan Early
It might sound tough to extend a 6-12 month contract to a 12-24 month one, but early planning can take you places. The first step to ideal planning is appropriate timing. Your planning process needs to start at least 3-4 months before the estimated completion of your SEO contract.
Secondly, effective communication plays a huge role in your analysis. You need to speak to specific people to get specific data. For instance, you can collaborate with the business development team to give you a better look into the future opportunities that a particular company might have. Additionally, the business development team can team up with the operations team to see where a client stands.
If the client is happy, then look for things you can do to increase his satisfaction. If he’s unhappy, you need to check where you’re lacking. Finally, the sales and the delivery team need to work in tandem.
The delivery team needs to find out the gaps in the client’s campaign. Meanwhile, the sales team builds on those gaps to come up with the next pitch for the client. Planning early can make this whole process much simpler and accurate.
2.Understand your Client
As we mentioned earlier, every client communicates differently. You need to understand this style and build a solid rapport with your client. For instance, if you have worked with a client for over 7 months, you’re sure to have built some sort of relationship with them.
This relationship helps you keep up with the client’s needs. A client may ask for things like an increase in website traffic, deliverables, content creation ideas, keyword rankings, etc. It is important to develop a detailed customer report to meet these expectations.
If you plan to download the Google Analytics Report and send it to your client, trust us, it will nullify all your efforts. You need to create a custom report using both Artificial Intelligence and manual research.
This report should be crisp, have necessary numerical data, as well as show exactly how the business is doing. The key here is to be brutally honest. Portray exactly where you succeeded and point out your shortcomings. This way, your client will trust you to make the right decision for his company’s campaign.
Read the next step to understand how you can combine AI and manual analysis to give you the data you need.
3.Acquire Useful Data
AI and manual analysis work hand in hand to produce the data you require to plan a future SEO strategy. Artificial Intelligence or AI tools extract data to show the real numbers behind traffic progressions. Additionally, AI looks into goal completions, e-commerce sales, etc.
(Source: Google Images)
Manual research enables you to look into more intricate aspects like tasks completed, links acquired, as well as content built. This manual research can be done through SEMRush reports, Google Analytics, MOZ reports, Google Search Console, etc.
AI and manual research combined can give you an accurate campaign report. This report helps you pitch an SEO strategy for the next phase to your client.
It is very important to curate detailed and precise reports because clients cannot be underestimated. Some clients may know everything about SEO and SERPs, while some may be clueless about the entire campaign. Either way, it is safe to stick to an ethical and dedicated process.
This brings us to the next segment, where we’ll talk about hosting an end-of-contract meeting. This discussion will focus on how to pitch to your client about the extension of the SEO contract.
Pitching an SEO Contract Extension to your Client
Your client needs to know that you’re already preparing a future strategy for his campaign. This requires you to schedule a meeting with your client after your campaign’s SEO analysis. The first step is to be clear about your project plan.
You need to start by explaining the current campaign progress. If the SEO figures are doing well, you can tell the client how you plan to maintain or better these rankings. On the other hand, if things are not so smooth, communicate to your client exactly where you faltered.
The key to getting the client to understand your future potential is to have control over the flow of the conversation. You need to ensure that you give the client a solid assurance of your project plan’s success.
One thing you must remember is that you cannot present the initial pitch to a client and promise to deliver the same thing all over again. You need to think out of the box to come up with fresh and new ideas to impress your client.
Once you’re done explaining the plan to the client, and you see that he’s interested, slide in a firm and confident, “Can I send you the quote?” We’re sure that by following the analysis method dedicatedly, you’d have come up with a solid new campaign idea. The client is sure to see your efforts and consider an extended contract. Consider introducing new link prospecting tactics, too.
4 Effective Ways to Extend an SEO Contract
Here are 4 ways in which you can approach your client for an SEO contract extension.
Restart
This is a pretty effective step for clients that have relaxed budgets and are open-minded. This method works best on low-maintenance clients who hand over the charge to you while they sit back.
The ‘restart’ strategy focuses on the idea of resetting the campaign. The internet experiences whirlwind changes almost every single day. These changes urge SEO agencies to accommodate new ideas for campaigns.
Now, if you’re thinking a little tweak here and there will do the job for you, that’s a big fat negative. Companies that invest freely also like to see visible results. You cannot expect a client to spend hundreds of dollars on you for a mediocre SEO campaign.
This strategy works brilliantly on clients whose businesses are doing fairly well because all you have to do is refresh the SEO campaign with newer ideas. These new ideas can comprise fresh content strategies, advertising plans, or even creative campaign ideas.
2.Cool Down
This method is for clients that are mindful of their budget. Some clients have financial restrictions and do not want to spend a hefty amount on marketing and SEO. This method requires a different analytical approach.
You can approach the client with a plan that includes a slightly different version of the initial pitch. Some campaigns don’t require being refreshed to succeed. Keeping this in mind, you can pitch newer content ideas and other possibilities to the client.
Three things you can do to get the cooldown strategy going are:
●Constantly introducing new topics
This will let your client know that even at a lesser budget, you’re putting in efforts to keep him satisfied. Additionally, this will increase your chance of getting a contract extension. Circling around and repurposing content is also a way that you can add a ton of value while massively growing the exposure of your client’s brand.
●Link generation
This includes offering your client details about how you will analyze the competitor’s backlinks, devise guest blogging strategies, improve the social media campaign, build infographics, and more to generate new links. Creating new target pages for links can also help move the needle in the right direction.
●Monthly report
Your client needs to know that you’re constantly working for their campaign. The best way to keep your client informed is to provide him monthly reports. These reports should be brief, to-the-point, and should reveal accurate SEO statistics.
3.Stack
If you provide complete SEO services like UX/UI design, business development, Facebook Ads, Web Page optimization, etc., this method is for you. This lets you take a break from the tiring SEO process to come up with other ways to add value to a contract.
You can use this step to take your client’s attention away from SEO aspects like keyword ranking, SERP status, link generation analysis, and traffic stats. This method will allow you to pitch fresh ideas to the client to boost the campaign quality.
You can offer to curate video content, engaging infographics, Facebook Ads, an optimized social media campaign, and other design work. This will not only add positive value to your pitch but also let you find different ways to effectively meet the SEO requirements.
You can also use this method to convince your client that their campaign needs optimization in terms of content, design, and other aspects. You may also add that these changes can bring positive changes to their SEO rankings.
Most importantly, taking a break from SEO can help you bounce back from your plan’s failures and give you better ideas for the future. Once you’re back on track, you pitch new SEO-related ideas to your client to better your chances of an extension.
4.Terminate
Walk away. Yes, you read that right. Clients and SEO agencies cannot work towards different goals and have conflicting ideas if they want to succeed. Sometimes, finding the right fit can be harder than you imagined.
Some clients prefer using their ideas for a campaign than to give SEO agencies a free hand with their work. Such clients can get irritating and over-demanding, which makes it impossible to work for and with them.
If you’re stuck with such a client, it is better not to initiate an extension because it is pointless. Rigid clients cost you precious time, energy, money, and effort. These clients will see no trouble in ordering tons of rework even if you put in your 100% the first time itself.
Well, walking away is the smartest option in such cases. You might lose a client or two, but you’ll save the time and effort to look for new and better fitting clients.
Endnotes
With this, we conclude our module on how to extend your SEO contracts. We’re positive that this module has given you a clear picture of the struggles of the retention process. However, this module has also detailed how easy it is to retain a client of you think, re-think, refresh, and implement.
Furthermore, clients hire you not just to increase web page traffic, drive new leads, and increase SEO rankings but also to make the optimization process effective and organized. We hope you remember that it is difficult and costs a lot more to get a new client than to keep an existing one happy.
Remember that you need to research well, stay transparent, plan early, and communicate effectively with your client. Another key factor is your communication within your agency’s setup. Your client’s needs and your team’s efforts work hand in hand to give you the results you desire.
So, once you read this module, review and analyze the steps, and watch your SEO contracts extend to longer terms than you ever expected
Remember the days when report cards were the ultimate judgment day? It’s funny how now, in the digital world, we have our own kind of report cards for websites – like SEO report cards.
A report card for SEO in digital marketing shares you data to find out how your company competes with its competitors online.
And what’s the best part? You can get these report cards online in just a few minutes, and that too, without paying anything for it.
So, let’s learn more about it and how you can get one!
What is an SEO Report Card?
An SEO reports card provides an in-depth report on how you can improve your website. It also shows the areas you should work on to improve your position on the search engine results page.
In other words, through this report card, you can accurately see an SEO analysis of your website or a webpage. This helps you know where you stand among your competitors and what you need to do to boost traffic and online visibility.
Of course, you can conduct a site audit, but that may take time, and you might have to hire a service to do it, which could be costly. Therefore, this report card can be the best option to get a summary of your site’s performance without delving too much into the technicalities.
The report card consists of three main elements:
Technical SEO: Technical SEO is a significant factor in that shows your site health by analyzing the site architecture and code optimization.
On-page SEO: This aspect of the report shows whether you use appropriate target keywords in your content. It also looks at the quality of metadata, including page titles and meta description, and the use of markups.
Off-page SEO: This includes the actions on the different parts of your website that affect your site ranking. This can include your backlink profile.
Generating an SEO Report Card
You can use multiple free SEO report card tools and software to get a detailed review of your site. One of the most trusted platforms for this purpose is Upcity. Upcity helps you get a detailed overview of your site, including the primary keyword you’ve used.
The report card divides the audit into different parts:
The report starts with a visual overview of your site in the form of a score after the tool has completed analyzing it. Make sure to get a decent score. If you get a score too low, you should go back and check on your existing strategies.
The second section is Keyword Rank Analysis allows you to check if your keyword has been listed on SERP and how you are competing against your competitors. It shows if you are positioned between the top 10 and 100 on major search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Better position on search engine results means better visibility.
The next Overall Link Building monitors the links bringing more visitors to your website and the number of total websites those links are from. It also checks the number of referring domains you have.
The Homepage Optimization of your report card states if you have optimized your site for the users and the search engine. The tool also tracks the site speed and monitors the robots.txt file to make sure your homepage is appropriate for indexing. It also determines the usage of the main words in meta tags, body content and title of your homepage.
Then comes Domains and Site Visibility. This estimates the domain strength and age of your website. It informs you whether or not the major search engines have indexed your site. Whether you are trustworthy and authoritative will depend on the more strength you have. If you notice any error its time to modify your SEO efforts.
To Wind Up
A report card for SEO is essential to know how your website is performing compared to your rivals. Due to any problems, if you cannot make it to the SERPs; this report will give you a cue on that. You will know exactly where you need to improve your strategies after going through the outcome. Finally, after optimizing your site and making all the improvements, you’ll be well on your way to a top-performing website.
FAQ
How to read an SEO report card?
You can measure the effectiveness of your SEO by studying the essential metrics on the report card. These are:
Rank Analysis: This shows how you are placed for your primary keyword. It also shows whether your site is ranking on the first place of SERP. If not, you will have to make some changes.
Backlinks: You will get to know the number of total backlinks you have. Having more backlinks means having higher authority.
On-site Analysis: This looks at the on-page SEO elements such as the content, title, use of important words.
Website Speed: This informs you about the load speed of your website.
How can I check the SEO score of my website?
To check the SEO score follow the steps:
• First, select a free SEO report card generator
• Enter the required details such as your name, email address and website URL
• After giving all the details, it will take a few minutes to create the report
• The final report will be sent to your inbox where you can check the score
What can be the reason for a website not being crawled properly?
The most common reason for an error while crawling can be due to robots.txt file. Problems in this file can intercept the user agents get access to the website. Therefore, this is the first place to examine if your site is not being crawled properly. If the robots.txt file is all good, the next thing to examine is your site’s code. Sometimes, inappropriate redirects could be included that could refrain the crawler bots to scan your entire site. If the code is the problem, rectify the redirects and re-generate the report.
It is very important for agencies to bag an SEO contract from clients to stay afloat. Most agencies see contracts as a secondary or tertiary requirement for their business. This approach is completely wrong and will not be fruitful in the future.
Until you have a signed SEO agency contract in your possession, the deal is never final.
You need to create contracts meticulously to minimize the chances of people finding loopholes in them. These free sample contract templates for SEO need concrete ideas and principles that cannot be wavered easily.
What Do You Mean by an SEO Contract?
Whether you join a new work or buy a property, in every case, there is a contract that you sign that acknowledges that you accept a company’s terms and conditions.
A contract for SEO is just the same, only that it is done between an SEO service provider and the client. It is a legal document that states all the guidelines, way of working, and other provisions related to an SEO project.
Having this contract is essential as it includes all the technical work and processes that will take place throughout the duration of the process.
This helps the service provider convey the strategies related to the SEO services they would be using and the expected duration the project might take. On the other hand, the client will know what to expect from their work and when to expect the project to be completed.
Apart from the duties involved, it also acts as a protective shield for both parties during any mishaps that may occur during the process.
A contract ensures that you, as a service provider, are working up to the best standards and that the clients are receiving professional SEO services from the best SEO consultant who complies with the search engines’ guidelines.
Why Have a Contract for SEO?
The main purpose of having an SEO service contract is to build a trustful relationship between an agency and a client. Apart from that, the agreement also acts as a security for the two parties (client and agency) to set their expectations. That way, both the parties involved know how to work without any confusion.
A contract defines the success metrics of a project and how the goals of a project can be met. Knowing this makes it easier for both parties to work seamlessly without any stress.
When you don’t have a proper contract, you can’t back up any unexpected problems that may arise between the projects. These can be delayed payments, breach of rules, overpayments, etc.
Also, you never know when you might face a legal issue. In this case, having a contract handy can help you escape the situation safely.
Before crafting this contract, make sure you always consult a legal professional who is well-versed in this field. They can suggest how to create an agreement, the legal implications, check whether it complies with the state law, and finally, if it is well structured.
They can also inform you about the possible risks that you may have to face in the project and help you negotiate with your client.
Essential Elements You Should Have In Your Contract
If you are building your SEO agreement template from scratch, here are the essential elements you should never forget to include:
1. Contract Definitions
This is the first and the most crucial part of your contract, where you’ll clarify all the doubts your clients may have. Definitions might not work the same way for everyone. For example, in general, if you are talking about “Apple,” you need to clarify whether you are talking about the fruit or the brand.
In your definitions section of the contract, try to highlight all the important terms, concepts, and phrases and explain simply what they stand for so your clients have a clear idea on each elements of text throughout the contract.
2. Your Responsibilities
Here, you’ll have to mention the different responsibilities you will take up as an SEO contractor or service provider. These can be the services provided to the client, and how deeply you’ll be going to make sure their needs are fulfilled.
It can be anything from keyword research to technical search engine optimization or on-page optimization to off-page optimization. Explain what you’ll be doing so your clients have a better idea of what to expect.
Refrain from mentioning that you’ll be helping them get the number one Domain Authority Ranking because no one knows how things might take turns during the process.
3. Client’s Responsibilities
Now that you’ve explained your duties, it is time to put some light on the responsibilities of your clients.
You must mention the things you want your clients to give you access to so you can work seamlessly, as well as what is expected of them before beginning the entire process.
If you are planning to post any content on their website, they should give you access. Include the mode of communication, how and when they can contact you, and provide feedback for your work so you know whether you are heading in the right direction.
Access to the logos, images, and any other assets of their business should be provided to you.
Most importantly, timely payments should be covered in this portion of the contract to reduce the hassle and confusion of getting paid for your work.
4. Duration
SEO work is not a one-time deal; instead, it is an ongoing process. Compared to any other strategy, SEO is a long strategy, and it may take time to see positive results. Therefore, you need to mention how long your partnership will last during the process.
If you are preparing one, it is important that you properly plan out the course of this contract. This can include how long the strategies will take and the estimated process length.
Since every SEO expert will work according to their skills and different approaches, you should consider everyone and then customize this section properly to outline the duration of the contract.
Specify if you work on a fixed schedule to provide optimal results or on a monthly basis. Clearly state the tenure end of the contract and whether or not the contract can be renewed if needed.
5. Payment
Regarding payment, this section won’t just focus on how much you’ll be getting paid for your work. It should also contain other guidelines such as the payment methods, fine amount if failed to pay on time or what should happen when not a single payment has been made, and any additional fees.
You should outline the consequences that the clients can face if they delay any payment along with the late fees or amount of interest they should pay.
Have a clause for that, too, if you and your client ever get into a dispute or disagreement that involves negotiation, arbitration, or mediation before any litigation.
6. Termination
The termination part of any contract is also one of the most important parts, as it offers a legal foundation to end any partnership mutually and understandably. Here, you should clearly and fairly describe the termination point so you and your client can work together with a clear and open mind.
This section can include:
The consequences faced due to breach of contract which could happen when either you or your client fails to fulfill your duties, deliver results or violate any term of this agreement.
You can include the cost that will be charged if the client fails to cooperate.
If any party decides to end the contract before the set period, what is the fine they should pay, or what should they do before early terminating the contract.
When the client fails to make any payment, the contract can automatically be terminated.
7. Warranties
In the meeting with your client, you will undoubtedly promise to improve their SEO campaign. A client will choose your services only if you promise to reach those goals. This section in the contract allows clients to expect quality and achievable results.
The warranties section is a crucial component of the agreement, embodying a formal commitment from both parties to uphold their respective obligations and adhere to essential guidelines. It essentially outlines the standards of conduct that you agree to follow, safeguarding you against any unethical practices.
This section outlines the core commitments that you and your clients must collectively undertake. However, it’s essential to recognize that the specifics of these promises may vary depending on the region or country in which the contract is being enforced.
8. Liability
It is essential that you have this section in your agreement to protect yourself from instances when your client faces any expected loss. You may try every strategy to help your client’s website rank higher or improve the visibility of their content. But you never know when Google or any other search engine might change their algorithm, which could negatively impact your overall SEO efforts.
This section should convey that whatever loss your clients face that is not under your control, such as low search engine ranking or the leads that you choose did not convert, you will not be held responsible for it.
You can only be held responsible if you are unable to work towards the goals and deliverables that you mentioned in the contract at the very beginning.
Keeping this in mind, managing liability is paramount to ensure you and your clients are safe from financial loss.
Furthermore, this section also helps in placing a clear understanding between both parties and creating a boundary when it comes to liability. This also helps in setting realistic expectations as to what can show results and what can fluctuate.
It is like a safety note that can prevent future hassles, misunderstandings, and possible disputes.
9. Indemnification
The indemnification clause can also be known as a Hold Harmless Clause, and as it is named, its primary purpose is to create a safety net so none of the parties blame each other for any losses faced. Here, one of the parties should agree to cover or compensate for any damages and costs that may arise in a legal dispute.
So, let’s see an example for you to understand its idea better.
You are an SEO services provider, and your client asked you to optimize their website. You made the required modifications and made it to the first page of SERP on Google. But after some time, the website got hit by a lawsuit as it did not comply with Google Webmaster Guidelines, or maybe the search engine caught an SEO strategy used in surplus. This penalty can lead to the clients facing a decline in the reputation of their website and financial loss.
In this situation, you wouldn’t want the client to knock at your door and blame you for it. When you don’t have this condition present, there’s a hundred percent chance that you may have to pay the compensation from your pockets.
But if you include it, you can be free from this worry. Having an indemnification clause will make sure that you will not bear the charges in cases like this, and if there’s any penalty that your clients may face, you will not be held responsible.
10. Force Majeure
Whether it is physical work or digital one, some situations cannot be controlled, and that could hinder the speed of the work. These situations can be any natural events like cyclones, hurricanes, pandemics, wars, floods, earthquakes, etc. If you are an SEO service provider, you are most exposed to internet outages that could disrupt your work.
Having this condition in the contract will protect both you and your clients during this situation. So, if your area is prone to any natural disasters or regular internet outages, make sure to include that in your agreement so neither of the parties is held responsible for delayed work or interruptions during the process.
This will make the client aware of what they may expect and then further decide whether or not to take the services from you. You can only work with a client that can understand how you work, even in unnatural situations.
11. Jurisdiction and Interpretation
This is also a major element you must consider while creating your agreement. The jurisdiction clause allows the local court to become involved in any future conflicts that might arise.
Having your local law and jurisdiction involved can reduce the hassle of traveling far to a different state to resolve any disputes. But before you include them, it is best to contact an attorney and check with them if all the legal needs align with the chosen jurisdiction.
The interpretation clause, on the other hand, secures all the meaning stated in the definition section of the contract. This ensures that the meaning you’ve stated is true and cannot be interpreted further by either party.
12. Confidentiality
Confidentiality, even in layman’s language, refers to the privacy of any personal information. By having a confidentiality clause, you and your client are both protecting yourself from any misuse of personal or sensitive information.
This is also known as a non-disclosure clause that encourages you and your clients to keep all information confidential. This will instill trust between you, and both will have a clear understanding of what data is being used.
When you and your client agree on this, both are encouraged to protect confidential information and take preventive measures not to leak it. This information can include anything from phone numbers to bank account details, among other sensitive data.
Accepting this clause builds the foundation of trust and promises to keep information safe and secure.
13. Signature
Signature is the final part of any contract. By signing the contract, it proves that both parties have accepted the terms and conditions by carefully reading and understanding them.
Upon contract signing, make sure to provide a proper space where you both can sign and also mention the name and date, making it easier to know when you closed the deal.
Try to make the process uncomplicated and seamless. You can send a hard copy of the contract to your client by post. They can easily sign it, make copies, and send it back to you. You can even call them to your office to get it signed.
However, if you prefer to do it digitally, you can email the contract to your client and ask them to sign it digitally.
If they are unaware of digital signatures, you can guide them through the process, as there is a wide variety of e-signature software and applications available online.
One option is Signaturely, which is free and very simple to use. Users just have to upload the document and add their names and signatures.
This will be time-saving both for you and your clients.
Endnotes
Now that you know how important these agreements related to SEO are, you should prioritize them in your business functions, too. Make sure you customize all the contracts you send to different clients and learn everything about them. You need to know the rules inside and out to play by them and avoid any potential legal problems that come with running an SEO agency.
To have a trustful relationship and get the SEO project done seamlessly, it is important to have one. If you are new to the field and do not know how exactly to create an SEO agreement, you can follow our guide and include the elements we’ve suggested. Include the services provided to your clients as a part of this agreement to set realistic expectations so you don’t face any problems later.
Remember to get some legal advice, and you’ll be well on your way to crafting a perfect contract template for your future SEO service deals.
FAQ
What is an SEO contract template?
It is an outline of a contract that you can use to create an agreement related to SEO. These include important elements that are customizable, so you can have your own clauses or slightly change the content according to your conditions.
What happens if you don’t have one?
If you don’t have a written contract, it can disrupt trust between both parties, lead to legal battles, and prevent a proper way of working. Clients or service providers may even take advantage of this and blame each other for any technical or financial losses.
Can I get an it for free?
Yes, you can definitely get it for free. You just have to look for it online and check the ones that you feel are easy to use. Once you find one that you can customize, you can start working on it according to your terms.
