34 replies to this topic

[norty911]

Hi guys, I wonder if you could please help me.

Does anybody know of a place where I can copy an SEO disclaimer of some sorts? Something that says I cannot be hold responsible should there not be a significant increase in ranking?

[Jill]

I cannot be hold responsible should there not be a significant increase in ranking?

Who should be?

[arteworks]

Google should be. Sue them.

I have been thinking about this as well actually. I look at it like any professional - a doctor, a lawyer - no results are guaranteed. Especially if the client gets "chinchy" with the funds or has unreasonable expectations.

I would go hire a lawyer for a few hundred dollars and have him or her draw up a standard contract spelling out all of this for you, if that is the route you would like to take.

[norty911]

Basically I just need something to safeguard myself.

[Jill]

I look at it like any professional - a doctor, a lawyer - no results are guaranteed.

But they're still held responsible.

There's a difference between a guarantee and being responsible for doing what you say you will do.

[arteworks]

Well yes. They are held responsible for malpractice. If you do something that actually hurts the client (black hat), then yes, there would be no way out I think.

And Jill makes an excellent point. Don't make any representations you can't back up, and you should be fine.

[Jill]

Obviously you have no control over whether the search engine will index your pages or not, but if you are hired to increase rankings, or increase traffic, or whatever it is you are hired to do, you kinda better do it don't you think?

It's not really fair for someone to pay money for something and not get it. If you are not confident that you can do what you say you will do, perhaps you shouldn't be doing it?

[norty911]

I do understand that I shouldn't falsely advertise something I can't do or achieve - this is something I have no intention of doing. I can do what I say I can do but certain clients may question why they haven't received a no 1 google ranking.

[torka]

Those are the kind of clients you need to weed out before it gets to the stage of money changing hands.

Make sure your contract spells out what you will do and then do it. Don't make any promises anywhere about rankings, make your position very clear in all your spoken and written communications, and don't take on clients who are fixated on rankings. There are plenty of other people out there who either already "get it" or who can be educated to "get it" that you don't have to waste your time with those who want you to guarantee higher rankings.

My

--Torka

[St0n3y]

SEO is like going to a therapist. While the therapist may be good, success still depends a great deal on the clients willingness to do as the therapist recommends.

[Jill]

I can do what I say I can do but certain clients may question why they haven't received a no 1 google ranking.

A disclaimer saying that you can't guarantee #1 Google rankings on a specific keyword phrase is not the same thing (in my mind) as what you originally asked, i.e., that you cannot be held responsible if the client doesn't get significant rankings.

Those are two very different things.

[Leann_Pass]

My advice is to be real with your clients/potential clients. Don't promise anything you don't realistically believe yourself and don't promise anything you don't whole heartedly believe you can deliver. Let your experience speak to you as well as your client about what should be reasonably expected.

You can guarantee to do the work you agree to do, you can guarantee NOT to do anything or use any method that would knowingly create a penalty/ban for their site, you can guarantee to give your client the attention they need/request, you can guarantee to keep them informed as to the status of your work and their rankings (never forget it IS their site, not yours) - and you should!!

However. unless you own and operate G, Y and M - you cannot guarantee top results in their engines , and to do so would be completely insane!

Important to note that even with paid ads (AdWords), Google does NOT guarantee ANY kind of placement, much less results. Millions of people pay them tons of money every month for ads - no matter what amount is paid, they make it clear there is NO guarantee whatsover.


Keep it real!! I hope this helps!

[qwerty]

However. unless you own and operate G, Y and M - you cannot guarantee top results in their engines , and to do so would be completely insane!

You can, and it's not necessarily insane, although I'd certainly never do it myself. If it works for you from a marketing perspective, and you really do honor that guarantee, go ahead. Be prepared to give a number of clients their money back, and make sure it's completely understood how and when it's to be determined whether you've held up your end of the bargain.

And of course, you'll have to explain to some potential clients why this doesn't apply to you:

Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a "special relationship" with Google, or advertise a "priority submit" to Google. There is no priority submit for Google.

IMO, it's not worth it. The important thing is to make sure all of your clients have realistic expectations, and that they understand what will and won't help them. I have a client who's constantly trying to rank for fairly generic terms, even though his services only cover a relatively small geographic area. He knows it won't really help him, but it's apparently a vanity thing, and he (so far) doesn't blame me for the fact that he doesn't have the top ranking for the term

[mortgageoutlaw]

As an answer to your question - arteworks is right - bucking up the $300 for a professional legal document is the way to go. If you are just starting your business, the legal stuff may seem like a good place to skimp, but it's not.

Also, ranking is a hopeless metric to base success on IMO. Instead of pitching clients on how you are going to get them certain ranking, pitch them on how you are going to turn $1 dollar into $2. Then set up a way to measure their ROI. If you really do what you say, you will have more business than you know what to do with.

[Leann_Pass]

You can, and it's not necessarily insane, although I'd certainly never do it myself. If it works for you from a marketing perspective, and you really do honor that guarantee, go ahead. Be prepared to give a number of clients their money back, and make sure it's completely understood how and when it's to be determined whether you've held up your end of the bargain.

Querty - I personally do believe it is insane - but ya know that's just me.

Now looking at this guarantee thing let us please assess what all would/should be included if anyone is in fact insane enough (and I stand by the insane thing) to make a real guarantee based on search results:
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Guarantee includes what?

1) What and how many specific keyword phrases are we going to guarantee?
1a) Who decides on the guaranteed phrases?

2) What specitic search engines are we planning to guarantee top placement in?
G, Y, M - I hope? Are there more?


3) What specific range are we talking about for these SE's and terms?
number 1? top 5? top 10? top 20?

4) How long do these specific terms need to place within the specific parameters within the specified SE's to make it count toward the guarantee?
1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, 3 years?

5) How do we account for differences in data centers?
Gee I see your awesome rankings, why don't you?

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As for SEO guarantees, there has always been more questions than answers, at least as far as I have been able to tell. Seems shakey at best.

All a bit insane to me - but I am certainly open to ideas/suggestions!!

Leann (edited for spelling corrections)

Edited by Leann_Pass, 02 August 2006 - 05:36 PM.