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  1. GENERAL
    1. This is not a fixed-term Agreement with Starbright.
    2. Due to the length of time required to achieve good organic rankings, Starbright suggests a minimum SEO service period of 12 months.
    3. The client acknowledges that Google rankings are governed by factors which are outside the direct control of Starbright. Search Engines are third party systems with unknown variables, algorithms and indexing decisions which can change at any time.
    4. Starbright only uses ethical, legitimate SEO techniques and accepted standards to improve the websites Search Engine Ranking – no duplicate content, no invisible text, no re-directs, no dishonest or unreliable methods will be used.
    5. The Starbright Marketing Department shall state in writing (email) the exact keywords, phrases and the web pages they intend to optimise.
    6. Starbright focuses on Google as it is widely recognised as the largest search engine globally.
    7. Starbright will endeavour to help the client obtain the client’s online advertising goals by providing advice, information and technical services in relation to Search Engine advertising/marketing. Unless specifically stated to the contrary in the SEO Proposal, Starbright does not guarantee any particular rate of return or performance goals of any online advertising (including, but not limited to any particular search results page/s or rankings). Starbright cannot be held responsible for commercial outcomes which are associated with the Internet marketing or management of the client’s SEO.
    8. The client warrants that they will use the services provided by Starbright under the SEO Proposal for business purposes (and not personal, domestic or household use).
    9. Starbright has no control over the policies of search engines with respect to the type of sites and/or content that they accept currently or in the future. The client’s website/s may be excluded from any directory or search engine at any time at the sole discretion of the search engine or directory.
    10. By agreeing to these terms, the client also agrees to specific terms and other notes specific to the product or service proposed as stated in the proposal provided.
      Certain packages stated and / or selected by the client do not provide immediate results and therefore a minimum period is recommended as stated above.
    11. All fees, services, documents, recommendations, and reports shall be treated in a strictly confidential manner.
    12. Due to the competitiveness of some keywords and phrases, on-going changes in search engine ranking algorithms, Starbright does not guarantee #1 positions or consistent top ten (10) positions for any particular keyword, phrase, or search term.
    13. Google has been known to hinder the rankings of new websites (or pages) until they have proven their viability to exist for more than six (6) months. This is referred to as the “Google Sandbox”. Starbright assumes no liability for ranking, traffic or indexing issues related to Google Sandbox penalties.
    14. Occasionally, search engines might drop listings for no apparent or predictable reason. Often, the listing will reappear without any additional SEO. Should a listing be dropped and not reappear within thirty (30) days, Starbright will re-optimise the website or page/s based on the current policies of the search engine in question.
    15. Starbright does not assume liability for the client’s choice to link to or obtain a link from any particular website without prior consultation.
    16. Starbright reserves the right to utilise the success of the campaign(s) of the client for its own future marketing. Starbright shall, however, not disclose any personal information of the client to any third party. All such personal information shall thus be treated in a strictly confidential manner.
    17. The laws of the Republic of South Africa shall govern this proposal.
  2. FINANCIAL
    1. All fees are payable in advance, unless stated otherwise.
    2. All invoices pertaining to the SEO Proposal must be paid in South African Rand and are VAT exclusive.
    3. The client agrees to pay the initial setup fee in full before Starbright initiates the SEO services mentioned in the SEO Proposal.
    4. Monthly invoices will be sent on the 15th of each month.
    5. The client agrees to make payments before the 5th of the forthcoming month.
    6. Should the client’s payment not reflect in Starbright’s account by the 7th, the client’s SEO services will be paused.
    7. Starbright and the client must adhere to a calendar month’s written cancellation notice if either party wishes to cancel the SEO services.
    8. Upon cancellation requests, all amounts owed to Starbright must be paid in full. Any outstanding amounts must be paid to Starbright within 7 business days of cancellation.
    9. Starbright reserves the right to engage a debt collector at the client’s expense, should any invoices remain unpaid 60 days+ after cancellation.
    10. Annual price increase: Our financial year runs from 1 March to 28 February and a standard price increase will occur on 1 March every year. We will communicate the details of the increase to our clients.
    11. Funds are strictly non-transferable between different services. Each service requires its own dedicated funding. This policy ensures that resources are allocated and managed effectively to deliver optimal results for each individual service.
  3. WEBSITE HOSTING AND SEO
    1. The website should be hosted on a reliable server for optimum results. Starbright cannot be held responsible for problems or additional costs arising due to any errors made by third party servers.
    2. If the client’s website experiences downtime due to server error, the search engines could deem the website unreliable and subsequently lower the site’s ranking. Therefore, if the website is down for a period of more than two (2) days, Starbright may not be able to fulfil the SEO service requirements as set out in the Project Brief and / or agreement. Starbright reserves the right to charge additional fees to achieve the client’s requirements, should the need arise.
    3. The client will not hold Starbright responsible for any errors resulting from the client’s website being unavailable for any reason. All/any traffic delivered to the client’s website during this down time will not be credited or refunded. The client can request that Starbright SEO services be put on hold until the problem has been resolved.
  4. WEBSITE ACCESS TERMS & CONDITIONS
    1. The client must provide Starbright with current passwords and user IDs necessary for remote access to the client’s website files via FTP (file transfer protocol). Starbright is responsible for maintaining confidentiality of the passwords and user IDs.
    2. Where FTP access is not possible, the client agrees to provide an e-mail address of a technician who can upload requested changes on a timely basis. Starbright cannot be held responsible for delays once the technician has been notified of the upload request. A copy of the request will be sent to the client.
    3. The client shall provide other such reasonable assistance should Starbright require it, including, but not limited to, providing source code and other statistical, diagnostic information and other relevant information required to enable Starbright to comply with its obligations under the SEO Proposal.
    4. Where the service being provided requires, Starbright will liaise with the relevant web agency, hosting company or other third party in order to ensure success.
      1. Starbright shall not be liable for any act or omission by the relevant web agency, hosting company or other third party, if such act or omission results in Starbright breaching its obligations under the SEO Proposal.
    5. Starbright will advise said Third Party Company on the changes that should be made to the website and the content to be uploaded to the site.
  5. CONTENT TERMS & CONDITIONS
    1. Starbright advises that regular, fresh content should be added to the website which will significantly help to improve the stability of rankings within search engines. By accepting the SEO Proposal, the client understands fully that regular, unique content plays an important part in the success of their website ranking on page 1 of Google and that failure to add unique content will lessen the impact of the SEO services provided by Starbright.
    2. The client acknowledges that Starbright will, as part of their SEO campaign, add links and content to the client’s website. If the client chooses to reject these additions, it will lessen the impact of the SEO services provided by Starbright.
  6. SEARCH ENGINE SUBMISSION TERMS & CONDITIONS
    1. The client gives permission for Starbright to set, create and or set up relevant accounts with search engines and business directories on behalf of the client, in order to fulfil its obligations under these terms.
    2. The client acknowledges that search engines will rank websites based on their unique algorithms and ranking factors.
    3. Some search engines use the algorithms and services of bigger search engines. The client acknowledges that any addition or alteration to the listing of the website in any search engine may affect the listing in other non-targeted search engines.
    4. Search engines have differing scheduled times to crawl and index submitted sites into their database, ranging from hours to months. Starbright cannot guarantee an exact timeframe for indexing as part of the SEO services.
  7. SOLE ACCESS TERMS & CONDITIONS
    1. If the client uses a third party (other than Starbright) for SEO, AdWords, Content Writing, Social Media or Web Development services during the SEO contract period between Starbright and the client, Starbright cannot be held responsible for any consequential loss of listings or associated damages that may arise.
    2. If the client or any 3rd party, after engaging Starbright SEO service, makes modifications to the website that use unethical SEO techniques to try and achieve high listings on the Search Engines (such as cloaking, hidden text, keyword stuffing, etc.), or add pharmaceutical, gambling or pornographic links to the website that have no relevance to the website, Starbright will issue a 7 day cancellation request. If the questionable techniques are not removed within that time, Starbright will cancel the existing contract with immediate effect and all fees payable to Starbright will be retained. Starbright will not be held liable for the effects caused by the client or a third party using unethical techniques.
    3. Search engines can change their policy, its algorithms or ranking at any time. This can alter what can be achieved and Starbright cannot be held responsible.
  8. REFUNDS TERMS & CONDITIONS
    1. Starbright is under no obligation whatsoever to accept the cancellation of the services or cancellation of orders incorrectly placed.
  9. DISCLAIMERS, LIMITATIONS, WARRANTIES AND LIABILITY
    1. Starbright warrants that the services will at the time of delivery correspond to the description given by Starbright, by means of the Project Brief.
    2. The client agrees that Starbright is not liable for any failure to carry out services for reasons beyond Starbright’s control.
    3. The client agrees that Starbright is not liable for the absence of service as a result of illness or holiday.
    4. Starbright is not liable for any consequences or financial losses such as, but not limited to, loss of business, profit, revenue, contract, data or potential savings, relating to services provided.
    5. The client agrees that it is their responsibility to comply with laws and taxes which affect Internet e-commerce and will protect, and defend Starbright from any claim, suit, penalty, tax, or tariff arising from the client’s exercise of Internet e-commerce.
    6. Starbright may from time to time recommend to the client that updates are needed for their website to comply with, including but not limited to, new legislations, software releases and web standards. Starbright reserves the right to quote for any updates as separate work. The client agrees that Starbright is not liable for any failure to inform or implement these updates to their site. The client agrees that they shall defend, indemnify, save and hold Starbright harmless from any and all demands, liabilities, costs, losses and claims arising from omission to inform or implement these updates.
    7. Starbright shall not be responsible for URLs or web pages dropped or excluded by a search engine for any reason.
    8. Starbright cannot guarantee that the client will get a top ranking or first page ranking with any search engine.