TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Revised March 2018

 

Panda Media Group Ltd trading as “Salted Panda” agrees to furnish search engine marketing and in some cases social media and web design services to the customer, subject to the following Terms of Service. Use of our services constitutes acceptance and agreement to our Terms of Service.

 

The Terms of Service may be modified by giving 45 days advance warning to customers of impending changes. The customer understands that change to the policies by Panda Media Group Ltd shall not be grounds for early termination or non-payment of search engine marketing services. These Terms of Service shall be construed in all respects to be in accordance with the laws of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

 

  1. Tenure of Service – The customer agrees that the tenure for the ongoing search engine marketing services is scheduled for 1 (one) year. Although we recommend a one year tenure, we will not hold customers to a full one year contract. Upon cancelling a subscription with Salted Panda, services will stop immediately and payments cannot be refunded.

 

  1. Nature of Service – The customer agrees that the search engine marketing service offered is a budget service, offering guarantees on a minimum level of performance expected for selected packages only, and only when explicit guarantees have been agreed in writing.

 

2.1 Panda Media Group Ltd will work hard to achieve top positions based on the package purchased. Although Salted Panda will endeavour to achieve these positions, no guarantees are offered or implied that these positions will be achieved or maintained, unless we have agreed in writing that guarantees can be offered for certain packages. All set up fees, regardless of the plan, are non-refundable.

 

2.2. Any guarantees offered on custom packages are at Panda Media Group Ltd’s discretion. They apply to positions within Google and refer to a first page listing. No guarantees will be made against a specific keyword or specific position.

 

2.3. Should any and all recommendations made by Panda Media Group Ltd not be implemented, any third party work undertaken which negatively affects work carried out by Panda Media Group Ltd, or any work carried out by Panda Media Group Ltd not be kept in place at all times, all guarantees will be forfeited.

 

2.4. If blog creation or setup has been agreed and paid for, Panda Media Group Ltd will endeavour to complete this if possible. This is not included with our blog article writing service unless specifically stated. If blog setup requires more time or expertise than anticipated, this may be deferred to the customer’s web developer, or Panda Media Group Ltd may offer to complete the work at an additional cost. Whether this is necessary will be at the discretion of Panda Media Group Ltd.

 

  1. Customer Responsibilities – for the purposes of providing these services, the customer agrees:

 

3.1. To provide Panda Media Group Ltd with access to their website for uploading new pages and making relevant changes for the purpose of SEO services, or approval to do this through a third party. The scope of our technical changes is limited to standard PHP, CMS and Shopping Cart websites. The overall responsibility of making technical changes resides with the customer and where necessary the customer must ask their web designer or developer to action the recommended changes.

 

3.2. To authorise Panda Media Group Ltd use of all the customer’s logos, trademarks, web site images, etc., for use in creating informational pages and any other uses as deemed necessary by Panda Media Group Ltd for search engine positioning and optimisation.

 

3.3. That if the customer’s website(s) is light in textual content, the customer will provide requested relevant text content in electronic format for the purpose of improving website’s text to HTML ratio.

 

3.4. The customer agrees that optimisation is based on the keywords agreed between Panda Media Group Ltd and the customer. The customer therefore acknowledges the importance of choosing and prioritising the keywords that the customer and Panda Media Group Ltd wish to target.

 

3.5. The customer agrees that listings will appear within multiple search engines.

 

3.6. The customer agrees that where applicable, any time-sensitive guarantees commence once the order has been confirmed and payment cleared.

 

3.7. The customer agrees that where applicable, any guarantees are subject to Panda Media Group Ltd having access to optimise the website, or if access is not allowed, all recommended changes must be carried out to the satisfaction of Panda Media Group Ltd. Should the customer’s site be totally inaccessible, Panda Media Group Ltd reserves the right to use advanced search engine positioning techniques to secure the necessary positions.

 

3.8. Once the customers’ website has been optimised, the customer agrees that they are responsible for ensuring the optimisation work carried out by Panda Media Group Ltd is not overwritten by either the customer or any third party. In the event of this work being overwritten, Panda Media Group Ltd reserves the right to withdraw any guarantees made at the outset.

 

3.9. The customer agrees in the event that the optimisation work is overwritten by either the customer or any third party to contact Panda Media Group Ltd immediately. The customer agrees that Panda Media Group Ltd may, at its discretion, apply an additional charge of at least £100 + VAT for the restoration and remedial work required. Panda Media Group Ltd cannot accept any responsibility for loss of positions whilst this optimisation is not in place on the site.

 

3.10. In the event of the customer not being satisfied, they can cancel at any time (giving 30 days notice); refunds are discretionary. We can not guarantee the amount of traffic being generated to the site or level of sales.

 

3.11. The customer agrees that any decision regarding any re-optimisation made by Panda Media Group Ltd will be final and agrees that no further action will be taken to challenge the decision.

 

3.12. Should the customer ask to add keywords that were not originally agreed upon, Panda Media Group Ltd will agree on the acceptance from the customer that no guarantees will apply to the additional keywords.

 

3.13. Panda Media Group Ltd agrees any guaranteed positions will be maintained throughout the tenure of the service.

 

3.14. The customer agrees that while Panda Media Group Ltd endeavours to exceed any guarantees, positions achieved beyond the scope of any guarantees are not guaranteed to be maintained as part of the search engine marketing services.

 

3.15. The customer agrees that Panda Media Group Ltd does not own or control the search engines or directories. The customer understands that should a search engine refuse to accept the customer’s website for inclusion, regardless of any fees paid for submission, a refund will not be taken against Panda Media Group Ltd.

 

3.16. Due to algorithm updates we no longer guarantee inbound links. Any methods used to obtain the links will be at the discretion of Salted Panda. These methods will not be detrimental to the customer, their site or business at the time of placement. However, Panda Media Group Ltd cannot be held liable for links that were built in good faith but later deemed bad by the search engines.

 

3.17. Inbound links built by Panda Media Group Ltd to customers websites are built in good faith and will not be disclosed to customers.

 

3.18. The customer agrees that neither party will be liable for, or will be considered to be in breach of or default under this agreement on account of, any delay or failure to perform as required by this agreement as a result of any causes or conditions that are beyond such party’s reasonable control and that such party is unable to overcome through the exercise of commercially reasonable diligence. If any force majeure event occurs, the affected party will give prompt written notice to the other party and will use commercially reasonable efforts to minimise the impact of the event.

 

3.19. The customer agrees that Panda Media Group Ltd is not responsible for any functionality issues or problems with the customer’s website which may occur as a result of content updates made by Panda Media Group Ltd on behalf of the customer. Any updates to content, including but not limited to any changes to text content recommended or written by Panda Media Group Ltd, whether an additional payment has been made by the customer for the updates to be made by Panda Media Group Ltd or not, are completed at the customer’s own risk.

 

3.20. The customer agrees that Panda Media Group Ltd is not responsible for the maintenance of the customer’s website, including updates for any blog sections, plugins or additional features installed or changed by Panda Media Group Ltd for the purposes of search engine marketing as included in the customer’s chosen package. Content management systems such as WordPress, plug-ins and other elements of customers’ websites may be updated and maintained by third parties, and as such Panda Media Group Ltd cannot be held responsible for any issues that arise as a result of updates to these, or lack thereof. It is the responsibility of the customer to ensure their website and all associated plug-ins and features are kept up to date for the purposes of compatibility, security and performance.

 

3.21. The customer agrees to inform Panda Media Group Ltd of any manual penalties issued against the customer’s website by any search engine, to the best of the customer’s knowledge. If a manual penalty is found to be affecting the organic search rankings of the customer’s website, and Panda Media Group Ltd has not been made aware of this in writing, any guarantees offered regarding organic positions will be void. In any case, an additional charge may apply for any additional work required of Panda Media Group Ltd to resolve the penalty issue.

 

  1. Cancellation – If an agreement is stopped, paused or cancelled for non-payment, or lack of communication, or terminated by Panda Media Group Ltd or the customer at any time, this will result in all ongoing work also being cancelled, including Google AdWords campaign management, social media management and any additional work unless otherwise stated.

 

4.1. In the unlikely event that you choose to end your contract with Salted Panda it is solely your responsibility to remove any access you have granted Salted Panda to, for example, your FTP details, your back office, Google accounts or services or any other accounts.

 

  1. Indemnification – The customer shall indemnify and hold harmless Panda Media Group Ltd (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 Panda Media Group Ltd as a result of any claim, judgement, or adjudication against Panda Media Group Ltd related to or arising from:

 

(a) any photographs, illustrations, graphics, audio clips, video clips, text, data or any other information, content, display, or any other material (whether written, graphic, sound, or otherwise) provided by the customer to Panda Media Group Ltd (the “Customer Content”), or

 

(b) a claim that Panda Media Group Ltd’s use of the Customer Content infringes the intellectual property rights of a third party. To qualify for such defence and payment, Panda Media Group Ltd must: (i) give the customer prompt written notice of a claim; and (ii) allow the customer to control, and fully cooperate with the customer in, the defence and all related negotiations.

 

  1. Limited Liability – In no event Panda Media Group Ltd shall be liable to the customer for any indirect, exemplary or consequential damages. This to include any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or implied warranties arising from course of dealing or course of performance, lost profits, whether or not foreseeable or alleged to be based on breach of warranty, contract, negligence or strict liability arising under this agreement. Loss of data, or any performance under this agreement, even if such party has been advised of the possibility of such damages and notwithstanding the failure of essential purpose of any limited remedy provided herein. There shall be no refunds. Panda Media Group Ltd makes no warranty of any kind in regards to above stated events, whether express or implied, with regard to any third party products, third party content or any software obtained from third parties.

 

  1. The Data Protection Act (1998) – Panda Media Group Ltd is registered under The Data Protection Act (1998). The customer agrees and consents, by agreeing to these Terms of Service, to have personal information stored for the purpose of processing said information in order to provide the services required by the customer. Panda Media Group Ltd is bound by the Act to disclose any and all customer information to any law enforcement agent who makes a written request without further consent or notification to the customer.

 

7.1. Panda Media Group Ltd may from time to time use your information for our own marketing purposes until such time as you ask us not to.

 

  1. Service Rates – The customer acknowledges that the nature of the service furnished and the initial rates and charges have been communicated to the customer. The customer agrees that the Panda Media Group Ltd may change the specified rates and charges from time to time. The specified rates and charges will remain to the customer for the duration of the current Tenure of Service and will not take effect until renewal of the search engine marketing services.

 

  1. Payment – The customer agrees that establishment of search engine marketing services is dependent upon receipt by Panda Media Group Ltd of payment of stated charges. Customers who choose an option which allows for payment to be made throughout the tenure of the service, either quarterly or monthly or yearly, agree to ensure that payments are received as requested throughout the Tenure of Service and understand that failure of payment will lead to all services with Panda Media Group Ltd being suspended. Credit card payment methods on either a quarterly or monthly basis are automatically deducted from the customers’ credit or debit card on the appropriate scheduled dates via ‘Worldpay’, ‘GoCardless’ or ‘Stripe’ once the customer has agreed either verbally or in writing to accept the order and terms and conditions. Acceptance by writing is agreeing to place the order and paying the initial set-up fee.

 

9.1. Customers can choose to pay by standing order, either monthly or quarterly. Any payment requests that fail may incur an additional £25 + VAT administration fee at the discretion of Panda Media Group Ltd.

 

9.2. It is down to Panda Media Group Ltd discretion on whether an additional charge of 2% is payable where a customer’s credit card fails due to the customer’s limits exceeding on their credit card.

 

  1. Refund and Disputes – All overcharges or billing disputes must be reported within 30 days of the time the dispute occurred.

 

10.1. Panda Media Group Ltd agrees to allow the customer to end their search engine marketing services at any time (subject to a 30 day notice period). The customer agrees that, should they choose to end their search engine marketing services, to forfeit all refunds. Any refund requested from the customer based on their own decision to leave will be entirely at the discretion of Panda Media Group Ltd.

 

10.2. If the customer feels entitled to a refund under a guarantee then the customer agrees to make a written request which will then be considered.

 

10.3. The customer agrees that the method of refund will be at the discretion of Panda Media Group Ltd.

 

10.4. The customer agrees that any decision regarding any refund made by Panda Media Group Ltd will be final and agrees no further action will be taken to challenge the decision.

 

  1. Customer agrees that is no telephone support. All support request must be submitted via the help desk/ email. Requests for telephone will result in additional charges at £40 per 30 minutes.

 

12 For certain packages, the customer agrees that it is their responsibility to let us know each month as to how they wish to use their allocated time.

 

  1. On Demand Services – The customer accepts that Salted Panda’s on demand services are operated over a fixed term according to the actions for the project. These services are not an ongoing SEO product, once the company has completed the work (ie offsite SEO and ranking changes) the project is considered closed.

 

Unless agreed prior to the project, the company does not handle on-site SEO, however suggestions are offered to clients during the project. If our suggestions are not followed this can cause results to be limited by elements outside of our control.

 

13.1 DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES (Website Users & Subscriptions)

 

YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THIS WEB SITE (Saltedpanda.com) AND OF ANY SERVICES OR CONTENT PROVIDED (THE “SERVICE”) IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. SERVICES AND CONTENT ARE PROVIDED TO YOU “AS IS”, AND SALTED PANDA EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER IMPLIED OR EXPRESS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

 

SALTED PANDA MAKES NO WARRANTY, EITHER IMPLIED OR EXPRESS, THAT ANY PART OF THE SERVICE, WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, VIRUS-FREE, TIMELY, SECURE, ACCURATE, RELIABLE, OR OF ANY QUALITY, NOR IS IT WARRANTED EITHER IMPLICITLY OR EXPRESSLY THAT ANY CONTENT IS SAFE IN ANY MANNER FOR DOWNLOAD. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT NEITHER SALTED PANDA NOR ANY PARTICIPANT IN THE SERVICE PROVIDES PROFESSIONAL ADVICE OF ANY KIND AND THAT ANY ADVICE OR ANY OTHER INFORMATION OBTAINED VIA THIS WEB SITE MAY BE USED SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK, AND THAT SALTED PANDA WILL NOT BE HELD LIABLE IN ANY WAY.