The document discusses the importance of using contracts for SEO services. It notes that contracts provide legal protection, prevent clients from failing to pay or constantly changing requests, and clarify expectations and timelines. The document recommends including project details, payment terms, timeframes, liability issues, cancellations, and copyrights in contracts. It identifies SEO proposals, contracts, and work orders as the most common documents used, and provides examples of what they should contain. Overall, the document advocates for the use of clear, comprehensive contracts in SEO business.

1. The Importance of Using
Contracts in SEO
by John Romaine
http://www.seostartupkit.com
SEO Consultants Tips and Hints

2. The Importance of Using Contracts
in SEO
 Using comprehensive contracts in your SEO
business will prove invaluable. Not only will you
feel more confident about running your
business, but you will also have peace of mind in
knowing that you are covered from a legal
perspective should any issues arise.

3. The Importance of Using Contracts
in SEO
 I think it goes without saying that having a
contract is a must for any type of service you
provide, especially if you deal with thousands of
dollars of service value.

4. The Importance of Using Contracts
in SEO
 Not using a contract could cost you dearly in
this business, especially if a client chooses to
take off before they pay you. Then there’s also
the worry of them making continual change
requests throughout the project lifecycle if they
decide to stick around.

5. The Importance of Using Contracts
in SEO
 This is why a contract should clearly specify
milestones, expectations, specifications and
project schedule to allow both parties – client
and consultant – to monitor deadlines and the
project overview before getting started. To be
qualified as valid, a contract will need to be
mutually agreed upon, meaning both parties
must sign and date the document. Once your
client signs the contract, he or she clearly accepts
the conditions laid forth within.

6. Components of a Solid Contract
 One thing you should always keep in mind, is to include the essential
components of your project. To give you an idea what could be included in
an seo contract, here are some examples ;
 Work scope
 Payment terms
 Timeframe of the project
 How to deal with delays (initiated by either party)
 Dealing with liability issues
 Cancellations
 Copyrights, etc.
Obviously this is just a rough guide, but certainly a basic framework for you to
work from as a starting point. Again, having a solid contract is a smart move
in the world of SEO – not having one can lead to serious legal problems.

7. Key Contracts
Whilst there are numerous contracts, documents and letters that
you will be using daily, by far the most common contracts and
documents that I’ve found myself using time and time again,
regardless of the project type are :
 SEO Proposal
 SEO Contract
 Work Order
Let’s look at why these contracts are the most used contracts in
freelance web design.

8. SEO Proposal
 The SEO proposal is the corner stone document of any SEO business. Put simply, its
your entire sales pitch on paper. This document allows you to showcase your overall
proposed solution to your client. It’s the one document that has the potential to gain
interest from the prospect and help secure the deal.
 The SEO proposal should contain the following information :
 Project overview
 Site recommendations and objectives
 Project benefits
 Functional specifications
 Technical specifications
 Information architecture
 Considerations, assumptions, constraints etc
 Cost summary including itemised quote
 Project phase or workflow

9. SEO Proposal
 In a nutshell, the SEO proposal is intended to assist in
the understanding of the proposed project for the
development of the client’s website. It provides
outlined functional specifications and requirements in
brief that are intended as guides only without
obligation, to the business owner or director. It is
designed to direct project and overall implementation,
and to give a better insight as to the procedures
involved with promoting the requested site, along with
estimated costing.

10. SEO Contract
 As already stated, not using a contract before getting started with any client is certainly not
advisable. The complications and issues that could potentially arise are endless. By using a
contract, you clearly define the project, set limitations to the amount of work requested, and
layout your terms and conditions, including payment terms.

 The SEO contract should contain the following information :
 Maintenance agreement
 Payment terms
 Project workflow
 Change requests
 Copyrights and trademarks
 Liability
 Indemnification
 Content ownership
 Non Disclosures
 Project cancellations

11. SEO Contract
 The main purpose of the contract is to ensure
both the client and the consultant understand
they are entering into a binding contact of which
they both have obligations and responsibilities.
Particularly useful especially when disputes or
legal matters arise. If ever you have a prospect
that refuses to your terms and conditions as set
out within your contract – don’t do business
with them!

12. Work Order
 The work order is the essential “what’s gotta be
done?” document. This document is perfect to
use when itemizing each particular section of the
requested task. Whether it be an entire website
audit, restructure, or a quick fix, the work order
allows you to clearly outline in detail exactly
what has to be done, and what doesn’t.

13. Work Order
 I’ve found over the years that’s its always smart
to include “exclusions” in the work order as
well. This prevents the client from suggesting
that they requested something afterwards that
wasn’t originally part of the project specification.

14. Work Order
 The Work order should contain the following information :
 Name of both parties, date and work order number
 Project overview
 Project benefits
 Completion dates
 Project specifications, including exclusions
 Agreement terms including payment, cancellations and general notations
 Obviously the more involved the work, the more detailed the
work order needs to be, however the basic principle still applies
– itemize the requested work ahead of starting to ensure both
yourself, and the client are on the same page.

15. Understanding Contracts
 One common argument business owners and clients
often have is the way in which the contract is specified.
Unless you are a lawyer who is familiar with legal terms
it can be hard to really understand what the contract
actually states.
 My advice is to double-check with your lawyer or
solicitor to make sure you walk on familiar grounds. It
is important contracts are written with the human in
mind; they should be easy enough to understand and
comprehend while clearly stating the legal side of doing
business with your clients.