Terms of Service

To Our Valued Clients

Your satisfaction is very important to us. These Terms of Service are only so you know what you can expect from us, and what is expected of you. It is our vision of a working agreement that is fair to all. If you need clarification on any point please contact us immediately so agreement can be reached before work begins. Thank you.

  1. Search Engine Optimization & Internet Marketing
  2. Pay-Per-Click
  3. Website Design, Print Design, Logo Design, Animation, Video, Email Marketing, Custom CD/DVD Presentations, E-Commerce, and Custom PHP & MySQL Database Work
  4. Chinese Translation, Layout & Design
  5. Rush Orders
  6. Cancellation

A. Search Engine Optimization & Internet Marketing – The client, in consultation with our representative, will agree on one or more ‘Keyword Phrases’ depending on which package you’ve purchased, for which your website will be optimized. Our goal is always to have your website on Page One of Google, Yahoo and Bing.

  1. “Your Internet Marketing Will Be Profitable or You Don’t Pay” Guarantee

    1. We talk with you about your business.
    2. Then we agree on how many people need to take what kind of action on your website for your internet marketing to be profitable, whether it’s people filling out a form, buying products and services right on your website, or something else.
    3. Your Standard Marketing contract clearly states you are taking advantage of our “Your Internet Marketing Will Be Profitable or You Don’t Pay” Guarantee.
    4. You pay our fees on the 25th of each month for the following month.
    5. After a mutually agreed upon time, if your internet marketing expenditure has not returned a satisfactory profit we keep working at no charge until it does.
    6. We keep you fully informed about what we’re doing on your behalf. We are always accessible.

    Our “Your Internet Marketing Will Be Profitable or You Don’t Pay” Guarantee Program requires your agreement to these two points:

    1. Because we take full responsibility for your success you have to be willing to act on our recommendations.
    2. We have to guard against a well-meaning member of your staff doing something on the internet that inadvertently hurts your business. So we need exclusive control of your entire internet marketing presence including your website, Social Media, Press Releases, Pay-Per-Click, everything.

    Assurance

    1. Internet Marketing is amazingly measurable. You will know exactly how your website is doing in all important areas.
    2. We are in the Customer Satisfaction business. We know that in order to keep you happy we need to keep our promises. We’ve been in this business for 12 years and have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau with no complaints. Generating sales and leads from websites is what we do best.
  2. Double Your Business Guarantee – We Guarantee to double the amount of business you receive from your Yellow Pages advertising budget if you allow us to spend a significant portion of it on Internet Marketing. 
    1. We talk with you about how much your Yellow Pages budget brought you in the past year, and how much of that you’d like to spend in Internet Marketing.
    2. Then we agree on how many people need to take what kind of action on your website for it to bring you Double the Business your Yellow Pages budget brought you, whether it’s people filling out a form, buying products and services directly, or something else.
    3. Your Standard Marketing contract clearly states you are taking advantage of our “Double Your Business” Guarantee.
    4. You pay our fees on the 25th of each month for the following month.
    5. After a mutually agreed upon time, if your internet marketing has not brought in enough business to double your business we keep working at no charge until it does.
    6. We keep you fully informed about what we’re doing on your behalf. We are always accessible.

    Assurance

    1. Internet Marketing is amazingly measurable. You will know exactly how your website is doing in all important areas.
    2. We are in the Customer Satisfaction business. We know that in order to keep you happy we need to keep our promises. We’ve been in this business for 12 years and have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau with no complaints. Generating sales and leads from websites is what we do best.
  3. Charges for Time – It’s important that we bill separately for design work and other services that are not related to SEO. We won’t do any extra work without checking with you first. There will be no surprises. But please understand that when you ask us to do design or construction work on your website, or things like setting up new domain name accounts, we’ll be billing you extra for that work. We’re experts, and we’re fast, but those things take time, and all we must charge for our time.
  4. Monthly Report – All of our SEO customers receive a monthly report usually in the first week of each month on their current rankings on the major search engines.
  5. Writing Your Blog Entries, Social Media websites, and articles – We can do all these services for you in your voice and in a professional manner, but they take time and would require a significant budget. Smaller budgets may or may not allow us the time to set up these accounts and coach you on how to use them. We can talk about that once we’ve analyzed your site and made our recommendations.
  6. Completion Time – We are working to make sure the money you spend on SEO is the best money you’ve ever spent, but it has to be done right. The first stage of SEO work is an analysis of your website to see what’s required to make it search engine friendly, analysis of your competitions’ websites to see what we need to do to get above them, research on the best keyword phrases for you, and providing you with comprehensive recommendations regarding all aspects of your Internet Marketing and Search Engine Optimization. This stage may take 2 to 4 weeks.
  7. Timeline for Results – SEO is not an instant process. If you have a large website even the process of making it search engine friendly may take weeks. Some work to increase your rankings can be done before your website is search engine friendly, but a great percentage of the SEO cannot be done until it is. Also, Google does not like too much to happen to your website and your external links too fast. They like things to appear as if they’re happening naturally. If things happen too fast they penalize your rankings. Another factor is your competitive situation. If you are in a large market or competing for more general keywords, it will take more work and more time to achieve good results, sometimes a number of months.
  8. Price Protection – We guarantee your monthly price will not increase for at least one full year from the original contract date except in exceptional circumstances with your prior approval. The large first month’s payment is due only in the first year.
  9. Prior Client Approval – Before any changes are made to your website we will review it thoroughly and provide our recommendations for your approval or further discussion.
  10. The Google Dance – During the first few months your rankings on Google may vary greatly from day to day and even from hour to hour before they settle down. This is called the “Google Dance” and is very common.
  11. Payment – We require the first month’s payment before work begins, and each month’s payment from your credit card automatically on the 25th of each month for the following month for at least 11 months, and continuing as long as you are happy with our service. Most clients continue on after the first year so if you don’t wish to, please let us know.
  12. Third Party Expenses – Payments to third party service providers are extra, such as some important internet directories and press release distribution companies. They bill you for these services directly. All third party expenses will be approved by you in advance.
  13. Inbound Links – Please do not arrange for links to your website from other websites without having us verify each one in advance. We cannot be responsible for the ranking of your website if you do. Search engines, especially Google, may penalize your ranking if you are part of a link farm or a blacklisted website, and may even put you on their Black List which means they won’t include your website in their listings at all. If you have questionable links we’ll have to verify each one as the first step of our SEO services. This can be time consuming and costly.
  14. Link To Our Website – We request you allow us to put a link to our website in a couple of sentences of text in an unobtrusive place in the body text at the bottom of your homepage or on another prominent page on your site.
  15. Cancellation – We require 30 days written notice for cancellation of your ongoing SEO contract.


B. Pay-Per-Click Marketing

  1. Management – We will be happy to audit your Pay-Per-Click advertising and make recommendations for improvement.  We can also manage your campaigns on an ongoing monthly basis.  For this service we charge by the hour at $95 per hour.
  2. Landing Pages – The most effective Google AdWords campaigns are directed at specially created pages on your website that are customized for each campaign, commonly called “Landing Pages”.  This not only increases the number of sales or conversions that result, but also increases your Quality Score which means you pay a lower cost-per-click.
  3.  Yahoo, Bing, Facebook – We can also set up and manage your Pay-Per-Click campaigns on any other website.
  4.  Monthly Payments – Monthly payments for the clicks, on your Adwords ads for example, are taken by Google directly from your credit card once a month.  That money does not go to us.  Only the management fee goes to us.  We take the management fee for our services from your credit card on the 25th of each month for the following month.


C. Website Design, Print Design, Logo Design, Animation, Video, Email Marketing, Custom CD/DVD Presentations, E-Commerce, and Custom PHP & MySQL Database Work

  1. Minimum Charge – We have a minimum charge for any work other than Chinese Translation of $500.
  2. Input From Client – The client has final say on all decisions for the website, and at the same time we hope you will seriously consider our recommendations. We are professionals with a proven track record. All of our decisions about your website are made with your interests in mind. Our attitude is that if you succeed we succeed.
  3. Website Design Guarantee
    If we design a new website for you we Guarantee you’ll be happy with the new design, or your money back. How Does Our “Website Design” Guarantee Work?

    1. We take your deposit.
    2. Your contract clearly states you are taking advantage of our “Website Design” Guarantee.
    3. We talk to you about your business and your customers, what colors you like, other websites you might have seen that you like, and then you give us any photos or graphics you might have.
    4. We put together a mock-up in Photoshop, a still image of what the new website will look like.
    5. You either approve the mock-up or ask for changes.
    6. If you approve the mock-up we consider our “Website Design” Guarantee to be fulfilled and work begins on your website. If you request changes to the mock-up we either keep working on it until you are happy or refund your deposit in full.
  4. Length of Pages – When charging by the page our prices are based on web pages of about 3 or 4 photos and 300 to 400 words of text. If your web pages require more content extra charges may apply.
  5. Files Provided By Client – After we agree on how many pages and the names of the pages, we need to receive the photos and text that will go on each page before work can begin on those pages.
  6. Right to Use Files – We assume that you have the legal right to use all the materials you provide for your project. We request that you hold Standard Marketing Ltd. as well as our staff blameless for copyright infringement or other penalties arising from use of materials you authorize or suggest for your project.
  7. Changing or Adding New Features – Our proposals are calculated carefully based on the number of hours we estimate your project will take to complete, depending on our conversations with you to that point. If features are added or changed after our proposal has been accepted we will be happy to provide an affordable quote for the extra work at that time.
  8. Assumption of Normal Conditions – Our estimates assume conditions are normal, for example, that your existing files are up-to-date and well maintained. If after the project has started we find yours is not a normal situation we will quickly contact you to explain the situation and extra charges may be required depending on how long the additional work takes to complete.
  9. Viewing Work In Progress – For most of our design and production services you will be able to view your work in progress on a private page on one of our websites. We’ll send you the link by email. For print projects we’ll send a low res pdf by email for proofing.
  10. Delivery – Smaller websites can usually be completed in 2 to 4 weeks depending on the availability of text, photos, and graphics from you, as well as your availability for approving work. For larger websites, as soon as we know exactly what features and functions your website will contain we can give you an accurate estimate on the cost and completion date.
  11. Link To Our Website – We request you allow us to put a link to our website in a couple of sentences of text in an unobtrusive place at the bottom of the body text of your homepage, or another prominent page on your website.
  12. Two Design Revisions on Projects Other Than Websites – After discussions with you we will present either a non-functioning mock-up, or a detailed written description of the look and function. After approval by email from you and completion of the first draft of the project, two minor revisions, if necessary, will be done at no charge. Additional revisions are charged at our standard hourly rate. Please be assured that a situation like this almost never arises.
  13. Payment – For projects $3,000 or less a 50% deposit is required before work begins, with the balance due when the work is complete and you’re happy, but before delivery. For larger projects we take a deposit of $1,000 and then installments at previously agreed upon milestones during production. We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, PayPal, Cash, and Cheque. Work can begin as soon as we receive your deposit.
  14. Termination – We reserve the right to terminate work on your project at any time without cause. If this situation ever arises we would charge only for work performed to date.


D. Chinese Translation. Layout & Design. – We need to see the document to be translated before we can provide an estimate of the cost.

  1. Minimum Charge – Our minimum charge for Chinese Translation is $100.
  2. Source Documents For Translation Only – For translation we require a plain text or Microsoft Word document. Extra charges will apply if we have to type the text to be translated from a fax or image file. We require legible, clearly written documents as well as documentation pertaining to the subject matter such as glossaries or previously translated files to ensure consistency in terminology. If the text to be translated is technical in nature our translation fee will increase to reflect the additional expertise required for a qualified translator in your field, and research time required if any. The original formatting of the document will be kept as much as possible.
  3. Layout – Most of our customers ask us to do the layout for their Chinese brochures. This is because Chinese characters are different shape than English text. They are taller and thinner and require subtle but important adjustments to your layout. Also, the same Chinese character can have very different meanings depending on which other characters it is beside. This means line breaks are very important to the meaning of the text. We have a wide selection of Chinese fonts, both Traditional and Simplified, in order to provide an aesthetically pleasing end result. We do very good layout work. All of our customers have been pleased with the overall look and the attention to detail.
  4. Source Documents for Layout – For layout work we require either an Adobe Illustrator file, an editable “Press Quality” pdf, an eps file, or InDesign file including all fonts and linked files. Fonts do not need to be supplied if they have been converted into paths or outlines. Linked image files should be 300 dpi, CMYK. We can charge you less if all the text to be translated is on a separate layer. Files larger than 5 Megs should be sent using the free website www.yousendit.com to our email address info@standardmarketing.ca.
  5. Confidentiality – All information submitted will be held in the strictest confidence. No information will be disclosed to other parties other than to those employees or contractors directly involved in the translation process.
  6. Client Revisions – If you wish to revise our translation we will make every effort to accommodate you, but cannot be responsible for the effectiveness of the translation. No refunds will be issued.
  7. Viewing of Proof – We will send you a low resolution pdf proof by email when work is complete. When you are happy with the work and full payment has been received we will send a high resolution pdf file that any printer can use, or an Illustrator or InDesign file, whichever you prefer.
  8. Payment – We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, PayPal, cash and cheque. For projects under $500 we require full payment in advance. For larger projects we take 50% in advance with the balance before delivery when you’re happy with our work.
  9. Cancellation Fee –Once an estimate has been approved and work has begun, a cancellation fee will be charged according to the amount of work done at the time of cancellation.
  10. Legal Contracts – Our translators are highly skilled and write beautiful Chinese, however, they are NOT accredited to translate legal contracts.


E. Rush Orders – We charge a 50% premium for rush orders on all projects. Usually a rush order is any project with a deadline under 5 working days. We are happy to have the business, but please understand we are very busy and have to stop work in progress on a number of other projects, and then muster and reorganize our people and resources onto different tracks.


F. Cancellation– For ongoing work such as SEO and Internet Marketing and Pay-Per-Click we require 30 days written notice of cancellation.  For one-time projects we charge only for out-of-pocket expenses and work that has been done to date. If the project is cancelled for any reason before work has begun we charge only 5% of the value of the project.

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