The SEO Contract You Never Read

You've got a signed SEO contract you've never read, and somewhere in it is the reason you can't leave. Let's go and find it. Hi, I'm Nikki Pilkington. My site is https://nikki-pilkington.com/ and in this episode of "SEO F**king What", I'm going through the document, not the sales pitch. I've already done an episode on the red flags to spot before you hire an SEO agency. This one's for everyone who already has, and signed a contract they skimmed at best, on the strength of a conversation and a proposal deck that were both a lot friendlier than the paperwork. Contracts aren't inherently a stitch-up, and a decent one protects both of you. What I've got a problem with is a very specific set of clauses that exist to make it hard for you to leave when the work isn't working. Here's what I'm covering: — How a notice period and an auto-renewal turn a 12-month term into 15 months, or another full year of something you'd already decided to stop — My honest position on minimum terms: when three to six months is fair, and when 12 months is about churn — Why a schedule of work full of adjectives can't be enforced — Who owns your content, your links and your accounts when you leave, and why you want to see the word "assign", not "licence" — Exclusivity, non-disparagement, and the clause that blames you for not implementing their recommendations — The handover clause most contracts don't have at all — The two-document test: put the proposal next to the contract and see how much of what you were sold you can actually hold anyone to I also give you five bits of homework, including the one date that needs to go in your calendar today and a one-line email to send this week. I'm not a solicitor and this isn't legal advice. If there's serious money involved, get a proper commercial solicitor to look at it. If you know someone who's about to sign an SEO contract, send them this. 15 minutes now beats a year of regret. Get found. Make money. Stop stressing. And go and find out when your notice period ends. Chapters: 00:00 — Why Your SEO Contract Matters 01:13 — Notice Periods And What You Get 03:35 — Who Owns The Work When You Leave 06:35 — The Two-Document Test And Homework Links mentioned: Non-Wanky SEO Courses (the On-Page SEO Toolkit is free): https://nonwankyseo.com Episode 2, on who actually owns your SEO and your accounts: https://seofuckingwhatpodcast.co.uk/episode/your-seo-sht-who-actually-owns-it Episode 23, on why I don't want you buying links: https://seofuckingwhatpodcast.co.uk/episode/stop-buying-backlinks-ffs The red flags episode, for spotting a dodgy agency before you hire them: [ADD EPISODE URL] What you're actually paying your SEO for (Ep 9, if that's the one she means by "I've covered this before"): https://seofuckingwhatpodcast.co.uk/episode/what-the-fk-your-seo-is-actually-charging-you-for-and-why-its-a-scam Google's own advice on hiring an SEO ("No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google"): https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/do-i-need-seo UK government guidance on who owns copyright in work you commission: https://www.gov.uk/ownership-of-copyright-works Follow Nikki: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkipilkington/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikkipilkington/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/nikkipilkington.bsky.social Mentioned in this episode: ICN Network