14 Components of a Solid SEO Agreement

Reading Time: 8 minutes

Choosing an SEO agency that meets your expectations is only 50% of the success.

The second half is about establishing mutual terms of cooperation.

Mutual, meaning what?

This is the list of 15 components that your SEO agreement needs to be deemed solid & mutual.

1/ Make Your Contract Transparent

I know it sounds cliché, but how many companies forget about it?

Being transparent from the very beginning eliminates the distance between you and your interlocutor—later, a client.

If you’re unsure about something, clarify it with a specialist who will explain it to you or arrange a meeting with them and the prospect (this always scores extra points).

The simpler and clearer your contract is, the easier it will be to acquire a customer.

Being transparent works not just in business, but in everyday life as well.

The number of keywords (long- and short-tail keywords), the number of links, the number of characters in the content—all of this is important, but focus on ensuring the agreement is simple and as short as possible (though substantive).

When you take care of this element, everything else is just an outcome.

2/ Use Simple Language

Nowadays, plain language is key in business, and simplicity always wins.

Your customers are too busy to delve into your contract thoroughly and find something written in a fine print.

A study investigating the use of simplified language in business agreements found that businesses using plain language reported a 32% increase in deal closures compared to those using traditional & complex legal jargon. 

Customers expressed higher trust and understanding with agreements in plain language, feeling more informed and confident about the terms and conditions.

Keep in mind that it’s not a recipe for everyone.

There are still industries where advanced language is actually an asset, such as the legal industry. But in our field—SEO—complicated language shuts the door on many clients.

Write simpler, gain more customers.

There’s even a rule that says: write as you speak.

Such a small change can make a huge difference, right?

Simple = Better.

3/ Clearly Address Subcontracting

Of course, you’ll need external support.

If your employees collaborate with you on a B2B contract, they are essentially an external entity performing work for your customer.

Mention this in the SEO agreement, sure. But be precise about it.

This aspect is one of the elements I was most frequently asked about.

Who’s the 3rd-party organization?

Don’t be vague; tell your client straight up.

If your company collaborates with an external copywriting agency?

Don’t hide it.

If the creative work is done by a freelance graphic designer for you?

Mention that as well.

Sometimes, a lack of clarity stems from poor communication within the organization (but that’s a separate topic), so if you know the answer, don’t beat around the bush, just be honest.

4/ Termination of the Contract

From experience, I know that the shorter, the better.

3 months? A bit long, unless the contract is based on an indefinite term.

2 weeks?

From the perspective of a large SEO project, it might be complicated to deliver & close all the work on time.

A month is the most optimal and safe duration.

A short notice period increases the likelihood of acquiring a customer, so consider making it appropriate for both parties.

5/ Settle a Minimum Contract Length

I won’t surprise you when I say that SEO needs time to yield the expected results.

That’s why you should focus on a suitable agreement with your customer.

Don’t propose a contract for a month or two, as it won’t produce results, even if the customer pays you an upfront fee of $10,000.

Prepare a longer, more affordable contract and insist on regular action.

This indicates that you are transparent and results-driven, not just focused on pure profit.

In Europe (and I assume elsewhere too), the best contract duration is 6–12 months.

There are shorter and longer contracts, but they are usually based on very individual projects and conditions.

Remember, the right contract length ensures collaboration both for your company and your client.

6/ Include a Fine for Delayed Payments

Of course, the client’s interest is important, but so is the interest of your employees and your company.

Every contract should account for the possibility of delayed payments. Typically, such a period ranges from 2 to 3 weeks. Whether it’s car leasing or a phone subscription, you’re familiar with these terms.

It’s a timeframe that doesn’t severely hurt your organization, and it might help the customer complete the project and pay you.

Over time, the success of the completed project also depends on your SEO, so good SEO equates to earnings for your customer.

Nevertheless, include in the contract a penalty clause for payment delays exceeding 60 days.

It shouldn’t be an unattainable period for your customer.

After that time, interest is charged on the outstanding payment.

It’s a clear provision for your client and risk mitigation in case of a lack of liquidity.

7/ Consider Payment in Advance

A small and simple element that will help you bring your company closer to the client.

Add a clause (and inform your customer about it) that speaks about an upfront payment.

Then offer some bonus.

If the customer pays for 2 (or more) months in advance, they receive, for example, a 5% discount on the monthly fee.

If your client is solvent, they will gladly do this.

Your company earns money for the execution of tasks, and you won’t face liquidity issues.

By the way: Do you want to motivate your salespeople?

Announce to them that for every invoice received with a 2-month advance payment, they will get an additional commission (e.g., those 5%).

A great motivational boost and increased certainty in acquiring profitable customers.

8/ Can I Freeze the Contract?

What happens when a client wants to freeze the contract?

There are some reasons:

• Your customer lost fluidity.
• Your client is changing the current project, and needs more time.
• Your contract is too long, and it’s better for them to freeze it than to terminate it.

It’s a rather complicated process, especially when you’re charging for services that require ongoing work on a particular project.

Including such a provision ensures retaining the client.

Not including it guarantees that the client will do everything to pay you (although don’t take it for granted).

Consider this point as well as the possibility of transferring a contract X to another person. Such a solution always provides additional flexibility.

9/ Create Mutual Delivery Terms

If your client doesn’t pay, delays giving you CMS data, or breaks the contract, you have the right to impose consequences on them.

But what if your company does that to your client?

What if your employees wouldn’t respond on time, or in the potential situation of your company’s downfall, if it were you, who had to break the agreement with your client?

Such situations are rare and rather don’t happen, but according to your client, collateral, this is what builds credibility.

Your client knows that your salesman doesn’t call him to inform him at the end of the day about your company’s bankruptcy. However, having such safeguards greatly enhances the value of your contract.

After all, the client first buys you and then your product, right?

Mutual delivery terms’ is just a stipulation in the contract, but for your client, it shows a sensible approach to mutual cooperation.

10/ Name the Tasks Broadly

As you well know, Search Engine Optimization changes all the time.

Algorithms and their names often change, so your contract also needs to be adjusted to the search engines’ requirements.

Name your tasks broadly, but don’t overdo it.

Instead of going into too much detail, name certain tasks, for example: “on-page elements”.

Don’t get me wrong—I’m not telling you that your contract should be a two-sided sheet with general provisions. This approach has never been appreciated, and it won’t make you rich.

Where necessary, clearly state what your company is responsible for.

Where you can’t precisely name tasks, and you’re unsure if Google might make changes, focus on a general name.

The point is for you to be able to deliver a service to the client through which they can earn more, so the names in the contract also play a key role.

11/ Reporting and Analytics

Frequency of reports, metrics to be included, and tools used for tracking.

Inform your client about how often and from which tools your company will be drawing to provide the necessary reports for your client.

This is an aspect of services that’s so obvious that it’s often forgotten to inform about the frequency of its dispatch.

When it comes to data details, you can be more specific in the agreement—clarify which tools and what the customer can expect.

The matter here is straightforward; you use external tools to generate visibility reports, e.g., Senuto, and you retrieve the results from the tool and send them to the client.

Provisions about metrics and results are of colossal importance; don’t forget about them.

12/ Consider Performance Guarantees

Depending on the billing model, information about performance guarantees can be a real game changer.

Let me be precise—of course, you can’t guarantee a certain position (no one can), but you can bill the client based on specific results.

If the client’s site appears in position 10 for keyword Y, the client pays X. If it’s in position 5, the client pays more. And so on.

In this situation, the agreement boils down to the offer that your company provides.

Essentially, the wider the range of billing models, the easier it is for your company to acquire more clients.

The effect-based billing model is most often chosen by customers.

Why?

It’s simple—because they pay when they see real results.

If you don’t offer this yet in your company, consider it.

It’s surely not the easiest to implement, but this way you’ll build greater trust in the market, and the clauses in the agreement will suddenly cease to be an obstacle.

13/ Backup and Security Protocols

Every solid SEO agreement should detail the measures in place to ensure a client’s website remains safeguarded during optimization processes.

You would have to have a cushion against possible website loss.

Regular backups are crucial to restoring the site quickly in the event of any technical issues.

With the rise in cyber threats and potential data leaks, it’s crucial to have strong security protocols in place.

14/ Be Fair, Learn to Say NO

Often, negotiations might not be enough. 

Customers can have high expectations and might want to make numerous changes.

When it comes to specialized services, there might be times when a client wants to alter something they have little knowledge about.

This is where your role becomes essential in preventing that.

While adapting to a client’s needs is undoubtedly crucial, the safety of your business is fundamental in such situations.

Sometimes a client’s expectations can be so unrealistic that you can’t meet them. In these cases, collaboration might not happen. No worries.

It’s better to acquire fewer customers but have a stable business rather than risk major issues.

Ultimately, every client will appreciate it when you candidly tell them what can be done, what can’t be done, and why certain changes can’t be implemented.

Secure and long-term collaboration wins over acquiring an excessive number of customers without a solid foundation.

Conclusion

A good agreement must be mutual.

A good agreement must also ensure the safety of your company as well as the client’s interests.

Having read these 15 components, you know what a solid SEO agreement looks like.

Sometimes, a change in the agreement involves increasing business models. It’s a sensible solution that will influence the number of clients you acquire in the long run.

And what are your key components in an agreement?

Let me know in the comments, and if you enjoyed reading it—share it with your network.

And don’t hesitate to drop me a message if you’d like to write something with me. Hit me up on LinkedIn or X.

Thanks for reading!

Author Profile

Simon Gorlak

Simon Gorlak is a Digital Marketing Expert with over 8 years of experience. He specializes in 3 areas: SEO, Lead Generation on LinkedIn, and Email Marketing. Simon's blog gathers knowledge that helps Marketers & C-level to increase profits from their online businesses. Also, his content helps to reach the most difficult customers, make others' content to be read & purchased. Besides digital marketing, Simon speaks 4 languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Polish & works as a Head of Business at an Indian Start-up.

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