• SEOmoz, Tuesday, July 22, 2008 11:45 AM

Sarah Bird makes the case for including a warranty or disclaimer in your client contracts, arguing that such provisions help protect both search firms and their clients from false claims and exorbitant expectations.

"Clients forget and/or misinterpret verbal conversation," Bird says. "If it is written down, your client is more likely to remember that you didn't promise the moon and the stars. Thus, your client will be less upset on the day their rankings drop by five results for no apparent reason." A warranty also limits your liability if you can't snag or sustain high rankings.

When including a warranty, make sure the client is aware of it from the proposal stage, and try to use language that clearly explains your stance. Call in legal counsel to check over your warranty, as customer protection laws vary by state.

Bird also reminds search firms that a warranty isn't a cloak to hide behind if they do over-hype their services. "I want to be clear that I am not advocating over-selling your services and then relying on a disclaimer of warranties to either avoid liability or bully clients," she says. "Doing so is dishonest and bad business. I am advocating the use of warranties because every talented and honest SEO consultant is going to run into an over-demanding, unsatisfied client."

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