SEO SERVICES AGREEMENT

This SEO Services Agreement (hereinafter referred to as “the Agreement”) is made on [INSERT DATE ON WHICH THE AGREEMENT COMES INTO FORCE] hereinafter referred as the “Effective Date”) between:

[INSERT NAME OF THE CONTRACTOR], having registered office at [INSERT ADDRESS OF THE CONTRACTOR] (hereinafter referred as the “Contractor” which expression shall, unless repugnant to the context or meaning thereof, means and includes its legal representatives, executors, administrators and permitted assigns);

And

[INSERT NAME OF THE CLIENT], having registered office at [INSERT ADDRESS OF THE CLIENT] (hereinafter referred as the “Client” which expression shall, unless repugnant to the context or meaning thereof, means and includes its legal representatives, executors, administrators and permitted assigns);

The Contractor and the Client shall be collectively referred as “Parties” and individually as “Party”.

WHEREAS:

1. The Client is in the business of [INSERT BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF CLIENT’S BUSINESS];
2. The Contractor is engaged in the business of providing SEO services and has agreed to provide such services to the Client in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement;
3. The Client desires to obtain certain search engine optimization ("SEO") services to enhance the visibility and ranking of its [INSERT WEBSITE/APPLICATION] in search engine results;
4. Both the parties wish to evidence their contract in writing.
5. The parties are duly authorized and have the capacity to enter into this contract.
6. Both the parties affirm to understand the provisions contained herein and in case either party requires clarification as to one or more provisions, either party has had the right to seek clarifications or sought legal guidance.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises contained herein and intending to, be legally bound, the Parties have agreed as follows:

1. SCOPE OF SERVICES
   1. Contractor agrees to provide the SEO services (the "Services") as mentioned below:

[INSERT SEO SERVICES]

• 1. Changes to Services. Any changes to the scope of Services must be agreed upon in writing by both parties and may be subject to additional fees.

1. DUTIES OF THE CONTRACTOR
   1. The Contractor shall provide the services diligently and as per industry standards;
   2. The Contractor shall not provide misleading information about the Client or its services to the customer;
   3. The Contractor shall follow the terms of the Agreement in good faith.
2. DUTIES OF THE CLIENT
   1. Client agrees to provide all assistance and cooperation to the Contractor in order to complete timely and efficiently the Work;
   2. The Client shall make timely payment to the Contractor for the services rendered by it to the Client;
   3. The Client shall not provide misleading information about the Contractor or any of its employees;
   4. The Client shall follow the terms of the Agreement in good faith.
3. TERM AND TERMINATION
   1. The present Agreement shall come into force on the Effective Date hereof and shall remain in force till the completion of the services.
   2. Notwithstanding any other provisions herein contained, and without prejudice to any other rights such party serving notice may have, either party shall have the right to terminate the present Agreement by giving the other party a written notice of [INSERT NOTICE PERIOD FOR TERMINATION] days.
4. COMPENSATION
   1. In consideration for the Service, the Client shall pay the Contractor a maximum total fee for all work under this Agreement of [INSERT TOTAL FEES]. Fees billed shall be due and payable upon the Contractor providing the Client with an invoice.  
   2. The Client agrees to pay the amount mentioned in the invoice within 5 business days. The payment shall be made via [INSERT MODE OF PAYMENT].
   3. The Client shall reimburse Contractor for all pre-approved, reasonable, and necessary expenses incurred in connection with the performance of the Services.
5. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
   1. All materials, including, but not limited to, schematics, software, programs, source code and object code, comments to the source or object code, specifications, documents, abstracts and summaries thereof (collectively, the “Work”) developed by Contractor in connection with the provision of the Services to Client, or jointly by Client and Contractor, or by Contractor pursuant to specifications or instructions provided by Client, shall belong exclusively to Client after the full and final payment has been made to the Contractor. Until the full and final payment is not made by the Client, such Intellectual property shall be the owned by the Contractor. Contractor acknowledges that the Work shall be deemed “works made for hire” by Contractor for Client, and, therefore, shall be the exclusive property of Client.
   2. Pre-Existing Intellectual Property: Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, any software routines, methodologies, processes, software libraries, tools or technologies created, adapted or used by Contractor in its business generally, including all associated intellectual property rights (collectively, the “Tools”), shall be and remain the sole property of Contractor, and Client shall have no interest in or claim to the Tools, except as necessary to exercise its rights in the Work developed by the Contractor in connection with the services.
6. CHANGE IN SPECIFICATIONS
   1. The Client may request that reasonable changes be made to the Specifications and tasks associated with the services. If the Client requests such a change, the Contractor will use its best efforts to implement the requested change and provide the additional price to the Client.
   2. For any additional services which are provided by the Contractor, the Contractor shall raise another invoice for the Client which has to be paid by him in accordance with the Compensation clause of this Agreement.
7. CONFIDENTIALITY
   1. Definition of Confidential Information. As used herein, "Confidential Information" shall mean and include all information disclosed by either Party under this Agreement, whether marked confidential or not, including without limitation the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the services and products, business and marketing plans, technology and technical information, financial information, product designs, and business processes, specifications, network diagram,  (whether in tangible or intangible form, in written or in machine readable form, or disclosed orally or visually). 
   2. Confidential Information shall not include any information that: (i) is or becomes generally known to the public without either Party’s breach of any obligation owed to the other Party; (ii) was independently developed by a Party without other Party's breach of any obligation owed to that Party; or (iii) is received from a third party who obtained such Confidential Information without any third party's breach of any obligation owed to the Party.
   3. During and after the term of this Agreement, Parties will hold in the strictest confidence, and take all reasonable precautions to prevent any unauthorized use or disclosure of Confidential Information, and Parties will not (i) use the Confidential Information for any purpose whatsoever other than as necessary for the performance of the Services on behalf of the other Party, or (ii)  disclose the Confidential Information to any third party without the prior written consent of an authorized representative of the other Party.
   4. Parties agrees to protect the confidentiality of the Confidential Information in the same manner that it protects the confidentiality of its own proprietary and confidential information of like kind, but in no event shall the Parties exercise less than reasonable care in protecting such Confidential Information.
   5. The Parties shall not use any confidential information directly or indirectly to procure a commercial advantage over the other Party or otherwise use any designs, ideas or concepts created by or belonging to the other Party without the express written consent of the other Party.
   6. Upon termination/ expiration whichever is earlier, the Parties shall promptly return or certify the destruction of Confidential Information and all authorized copies thereof.
8. CONTRACTOR WARRANTIES
   1. Contractor warranties that in carrying out the services described in this Agreement, the best technical practices, skills, procedures, care and judgment will be employed, the services will be performed in the most expeditious and economical manner consistent with client’s best interests, and Contractors hall at all times cooperate with the Client so as to further Client’s best interests.
9. INDEMNIFICATION
   1. CLIENT INDEMNITY: Client agrees that it shall defend, indemnify, save and hold Contractor harmless from any and all demands, liabilities, losses, costs and claims, including reasonable attorneys' fees, (collectively "Liabilities") asserted against Contractor, its contracted providers, agents, Clients, servants, officers and employees, that may arise or result from any service provided or performed or agreed to the performance of any product sold by Client, its agents, employees or assigns. Client agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Contractor against Liabilities arising out of (i) any injury to any person or property caused by any products sold or otherwise distributed in connection with the Work; (ii) any material supplied by Client infringing or allegedly infringing on the proprietary rights of a third party; or (iii) copyright infringement and/or litigation regarding content-related disputes. 
   2. CONTRACTOR INDEMNITY: Contractor shall indemnify and hold harmless Client (and its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, co-branders or other partners, and employees) from any and all claims, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys' fees and all related costs and expenses) incurred by Client as a result of sole negligence of the Contractor in performing the services which are in the scope of services. 
10. MODIFICATIONS
    1. Except as otherwise provided herein this Agreement shall not be amended or otherwise modified unless the modification or amendment is done in writing, signed and has been mutually agreed by both the parties.
11. APPLICABLE LAW
    1. This Agreement shall be governed by and constructed in accordance with the Laws, rules, orders and regulations of [INSERT THE COUNTRY OF APPLICABLE LAWS] irrespective of where the Work is used.  
    2. The Parties shall resolve all disputes in connection with the validity or interpretation of this Agreement, unless otherwise expressly stated in the Agreement, in the following manner: 
       1. By direct negotiations between the Contractor and Client. 
       2. If negotiations between the parties are unsuccessful, the matter shall be referred to the competent court sitting at [INSERT THE COURT WHICH SHALL HAVE EXCLUSIVE JURISDICITON IN CASE OF DISPUTE BETWEEN THE PARTIES] which shall have exclusive jurisdiction in all matters arising there from unless otherwise agreed between the Parties in writing.
12. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR
    1. The Contractor acknowledges that they are solely an Independent Contractor and is not an employee, agent, partner or joint venture of the Client. The Client will provide the Contractor with the details of the Services it wants the Contractor to undertake and perform henceforth. The Client shall not withhold any taxes or any amount or payment due to the Contractor and which it owes to the Contractor in regard to the services rendered by it to the Client.
13. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
    1. The Contractor shall be liable for the only the work which is in the Scope of Services which have to be performed by the Contractor. The Contractor shall not be liable for any work which is done by him which is out of the scope of the services provided by him.
    2. The Contractor assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to perform the Services in good faith, and the Contractor will not be responsible for any action of the Client in following or declining to follow any advice or recommendation of the Contractor.
    3. The Contractor shall only provide a 30 days warranty period for the services which are provided by him and shall not be liable thereafter.
14. FORCE MAJEURE
    1. Neither party shall be held liable for any failure or delay in performing its obligations under this Agreement if such failure or delay is caused by events beyond the reasonable control of the affected party, including but not limited to acts of God, natural disasters (e.g., floods, earthquakes, hurricanes), war, terrorism, riots, labour strikes, governmental actions, epidemics or pandemics, power outages, or other similar events ("Force Majeure Events").The affected party shall promptly notify the other party in writing of the occurrence of a Force Majeure Event, providing reasonable details of the event, its expected duration, and the steps being taken to mitigate its impact. Failure to provide timely notice may result in the affected party forfeiting its rights under this clause. If a Force Majeure Event continues for a period exceeding [INSERT THE NUMBER OF DAYS CONSTITUTING PERIOD EXCEEDING WHICH, IF THE FORCE MAJEURE CONTINUES, EITHER PARTY MAY TERMINATE THE AGREEMENT] days, either party may terminate this Agreement upon written notice to the other party without further liability, except for obligations accrued prior to the Force Majeure Event.
15. NOTICES
    1. Any notice, request, demand, consent or other communication required or permitted under this Agreement shall be in writing and sent either via email on the email address as provided by the parties and shall be considered sent when the email is sent to the correct email address of the party or shall be given by personal delivery (including courier) by certified mail (confirmed by mail) addressed to the party for which it is intended at the address below and shall be deemed to be given on the day of delivery or transmission if within during normal business hours, or, if after business hours, on the next following Business Day, or if mailed by registered or certified mail, on the day which is seven (7) Business Days after such notice is mailed during normal postal conditions.  In the event of a postal disruption, any notice mailed will be deemed received on the seventh (7th) Business Day following resumption of regular postal service:
       1. If to the Contractor: [INSERT THE EMAIL ID OR/AND ADDRESS OF THE CONTRACTOR]
       2. If to the Client: [INSERT THE EMAIL ID OR/AND ADDRESS OF THE CLIENT]
    2. Either party may change its address/email address for notices and other communications upon notice to the other party in the manner aforesaid.
16. HEADINGS, WORDS AND GENDERS
    1. The division of this Agreement into articles and sections is for convenience of reference only and shall not affect the interpretation or construction of this Agreement. The words “hereof”, “herein”, “hereunder” and similar expressions used in any section of this Agreement relate to the whole of this Agreement (including any schedules attached hereto) and not to that section only, unless otherwise expressly provided for or the context clearly indicates to the contrary. Words importing the singular number only will include the plural and vice versa and words importing the masculine gender will include the feminine and neuter genders and vice versa. The words “including” will mean “including without limitation”.
17. LANGUAGE
    1. The language of all communications between the parties pursuant to this Agreement, including notices and reports, will be the English language.
18. SEVERABILITY
    1. If any provision of this Agreement shall, to any extent, be held to be invalid or unenforceable, it shall be deemed to be separate and severable from the remaining provisions of this Agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect and be binding as though the invalid or unenforceable provision had not been included.
19. MISCELLANEOUS
    1. Termination of this agreement for any cause whatsoever shall not release a party from any liability which, at the time of termination, has already accrued to the other party or which may thereafter accrue in respect of any act or omission prior to such termination.
    2. Article headings are inserted for convenience of reference only and shall not be deemed to affect the interpretation of this agreement or of any clause.
    3. Each party shall co-operate with the other and execute and deliver to the other such instruments and documents and take such other actions as may be reasonably requested from time to time in order to carry out, give effect to and confirm their rights and the intended purpose of this agreement.
    4. This agreement shall be binding upon, and inure to the benefit of, the successors, executors, heirs, representatives, administrators and permitted assigns of the parties hereto.
    5. A failure or delay in exercising any right, power or privilege in respect of this agreement will not be presumed to operate as a waiver, and a single or partial exercise of any right, power or privilege will not be presumed to preclude any subsequent or further exercise, of that right, power or privilege or the exercise of any other right, power or privilege.
20. ENTIRE AGREEMENT
    1. This agreement along with all the Exhibits constitutes the entire understanding and agreement of the parties with respect to its subject matter and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous agreements or understandings, inducements or conditions, express or implied, written or oral, between the parties. This Agreement may be executed in identical duplicate counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, and both of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. 
21. DECLARATION
    1. Each of the parties hereto covenant and agree to execute and deliver such further and other agreements, assurances, undertakings or documents, cause such meetings to be held, resolutions passed and by-laws enacted, exercise their votes and influence and do and perform and cause to be done and performed any further and other acts and things as may be necessary or desirable in order to give full effect to this Agreement.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties, intending to be legally bound, have each executed this agreement as of the effective date.

Signed, sealed and delivered on behalf of Client

Name: [INSERT NAME OF THE CLIENT]

Signature:

Date: [INSERT SIGNING DATE OF THE CLIENT]

Signed, sealed and delivered on behalf of Contractor

Name: [INSERT NAME OF THE CONTRACTOR]

Signature:

Date: [INSERT SIGNING DATE OF THE CONTRACTOR]