Terms & Conditions

These Terms & Conditions ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Serpbays platform, products, and services, including our website, web apps, and related tools (collectively, the "Platform").

By creating an account, accessing, or using the Platform, you agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy (together, the "Agreement"). If you are entering into this Agreement on behalf of a company, you represent that you are authorized to bind that company, and "you" and "your" refer to that company.

If you do not agree, do not use the Platform.

• Verification. Access may require verification (e.g., email, phone, KYC/AML checks).
• 3.3 Account security. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for all activities under your account.
• 3.4 Business use. If you use the Platform for a business, you agree that Serpbays may display your business name, logo, and contact as needed to operate the marketplace.

• 4.1 Neutral venue. Serpbays provides a venue for Buyers and Publishers to discover and transact. We are not a party to contracts between Buyers and Publishers. Each Publisher is solely responsible for its Listings and Deliverables; each Buyer is responsible for its Orders and compliance.
• 4.2 No guarantee of rankings. Search engine rankings, traffic, or SEO outcomes are not guaranteed. You acknowledge that search engines may change algorithms or enforce policies that impact Deliverables.
• 4.3 Compliance responsibility. You are solely responsible for compliance with applicable laws and third-party policies (e.g., Google Search Essentials, FTC/ASA disclosure rules, local advertising laws).

• 5.1 Accuracy. Publishers must ensure Listings are accurate and up to date (domain, niche, pricing, placement type, editorial standards, turnaround times, dofollow/nofollow, disclosure practices).
• 5.2 Availability & substitutions. Publishers must ensure inventory is available. No substitutions without Buyer consent.
• 5.3 Editorial control. Publishers may exercise editorial discretion to meet site standards; however, any divergence from the Listing (e.g., link attribute changes, placement position) requires Buyer approval through the Platform.
• 5.4 Prohibited practices. Publishers must not:
  • Use private blog networks disguised as independent sites without clear disclosure in the Listing.
  • Place links in hacked/compromised sites or via cloaking/redirect schemes.
• 5.5 Post-publication integrity. Publishers must not remove, re-attribute, drastically alter, or add nofollow/UGC/sponsored attributes contrary to the agreed Deliverables during the Minimum Placement Period (see §10.5) unless required by law, platform policy, or explicit Buyer consent.

• 6.1 Order requirements. Buyers must provide clear briefs (topics, anchors, URLs, disclosure needs, target regions/languages, compliance notes). If content is supplied by Buyer, it must meet the site's editorial standards and applicable laws.
• 6.2 Content responsibility. Buyers are solely responsible for the legality of their content and target URLs, including intellectual property, trademarks, regulated categories, endorsements, and required disclosures.
• 6.3 No circumvention. Buyers agree not to bypass the Platform to deal directly with Publishers discovered on Serpbays for 18 months after the last interaction related to that Publisher. See §17.

1. Placement. Buyer selects a Listing or custom quote and initiates an Order.
2. Acceptance. Orders may be auto-accepted or require Publisher confirmation. If a Publisher cannot fulfill within the stated timeline, they must decline promptly.
3. Delivery. Publisher delivers the Deliverables per the Order (e.g., live URL, screenshots, publication date). Buyer must review within 3 days; lack of response may auto-confirm completion.
4. Revisions. Where the Listing allows, revisions must be requested through the Platform within the review window, limited to the scope promised in the Listing.
5. Completion. An Order is complete once (i) Buyer marks it complete, or (ii) it auto-completes per system rules, or (iii) Serpbays resolves a dispute and marks complete.

• 8.1 Pricing. Prices are set by Publishers or via quotes. Prices will be shown in USD currency; conversions (if any) are indicative, and your payment provider's rates/fees apply.
• 8.2 Wallet. Buyers may pre-fund a Wallet. Wallet balances are non-interest-bearing and may be used only within the Platform.
• 8.3 Service Fees & taxes. Serpbays may charge Service Fees to Buyers and/or Publishers. All fees are exclusive of taxes. Users are responsible for applicable taxes, GST/VAT, withholding, duties, or local levies.
• 8.4 Payment processing. Payments are processed via third-party processors. You authorize Serpbays and its processors to charge your payment method and to credit/debit Wallet balances according to transactions and refunds under these Terms.
• 8.5 Payouts to Publishers. Serpbays will release Publisher payouts after Order completion and any hold/verification period. Serpbays may delay or withhold payouts for fraud checks, disputes, chargebacks, or policy breaches.

• 9.1 Buyer cancellations. Before Publisher acceptance (or before work starts), Buyers may cancel; fees may apply if the Listing specifies preparation costs. After acceptance/work start, cancellations are at Publisher discretion unless there is a material breach.
• 9.2 Publisher cancellations. If a Publisher cancels after acceptance without Buyer fault, Buyer is entitled to a refund to Wallet.
• 9.3 Refund method. Unless required by law, refunds are credited to the Wallet, not to the original payment method.
• 9.4 Chargebacks. Initiating a chargeback while a dispute is open may result in account suspension. You remain liable for fees and negative balances.

• 10.1 No guarantee of permanence. The web changes; placements may move or be removed for reasons beyond control. Serpbays does not guarantee permanence unless a Listing explicitly includes a Minimum Placement Period.
• 10.2 Ranking/traffic disclaimer. No promise of ranking improvements, indexation, or traffic is made. Outcomes vary.
• 10.3 Search engine policy risk. Buyers acknowledge that some Deliverables may be considered "link schemes" or "paid endorsements" under search engine guidelines. All risk for algorithmic actions, manual actions, or policy enforcement rests with the Buyer unless a Publisher materially misrepresented the Listing.
• 10.4 Disclosure & attributes. Where advertising disclosure or link attributes (e.g., rel="sponsored") are legally or platform-required, Publisher may implement them. If the Listing promised a specific attribute (e.g., dofollow) and cannot provide it, Buyer is entitled to a remedy per §12.
• 10.5 Minimum Placement Period. If a Listing promises a minimum live period (e.g., 6 or 12 months), and a placement is removed earlier without legal or policy compulsion, Publisher must either (a) restore it, (b) provide an equivalent replacement approved by Buyer, or (c) authorize a refund.

You agree not to use the Platform for content or activity that is illegal or harmful, including:

• Malware, exploits, phishing, hacking, or security violations.
• IP infringement, defamation, hate speech, illegal discrimination.
• Sexual content involving minors or non-consensual acts.
• Promotion of counterfeit goods, illegal drugs, weapons, human trafficking.
• Financial scams or deceptive practices.
• Any content violating applicable laws or third-party platform rules.

Restricted/Regulated Categories:

Gambling, adult content, pharma, financial services, crypto, health claims, and political ads may be allowed only where lawful and compliant and only per the Listing's policy and local regulations. Serpbays may require additional verification or decline such Orders.

• 12.1 Internal resolution. Parties should first attempt resolution via the Platform (messages, evidence, revision requests).
• 12.2 Escalation to Serpbays. If unresolved within 7 days of delivery or deadline, either party may escalate. Serpbays may request evidence (brief, email headers, drafts, screenshots, analytics excerpts, archive captures, etc.).
• 12.3 Possible remedies. Serpbays may, at its discretion: (a) require revisions; (b) authorize replacement; (c) issue partial/full Wallet refunds; (d) release payout to Publisher; or (e) take no action. Serpbays' decision is final for Platform purposes only and does not waive either party's external legal rights.

• 13.1 Your content. You grant Serpbays a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, display, and transmit your content solely for operating the Platform.
• 13.2 Deliverables ownership. Ownership and license to Deliverables are governed by the Listing and Order. Unless otherwise stated, (i) text content commissioned from a Publisher is licensed to the Buyer for the placement context; (ii) republishing elsewhere requires Publisher consent; (iii) images must have proper rights/attribution.
• 13.3 Trademarks. Use of third-party marks must be authorized. You warrant you have rights for marks you submit.
• 13.4 IP complaints (DMCA-style). If you believe content on the Platform infringes your IP, send a notice to legal@serpbays.com with: (a) identification of the work; (b) infringing material/link; (c) your contact; (d) statement under penalty of perjury of good-faith belief; (e) statement that you are the owner or authorized agent; (f) signature. Serpbays may remove or disable access and notify the relevant user.

• 14.1 Privacy Policy. Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and share personal data. It forms part of these Terms.
• 14.2 Controller/Processor roles. Each party acts as an independent controller for the personal data it provides/collects via the Platform. If Serpbays processes personal data on your behalf, a Data Processing Addendum (DPA) may apply.
• 14.3 Security. We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures, but no system is 100% secure.

15) Reviews & Ratings. You agree to provide fair, accurate reviews and not to manipulate ratings. We may moderate or remove reviews that are fraudulent, abusive, or unrelated.

16) Third-Party Services. The Platform may interoperate with third-party tools (payment processors, analytics, communication tools). We do not control third-party services and are not responsible for their actions, availability, or terms.

For 12 months from the later of (i) first contact via the Platform or (ii) last transaction with a counterparty discovered on the Platform, you must not directly or indirectly circumvent Serpbays to transact for similar Deliverables. If a violation is found, you agree to pay Serpbays liquidated damages of 50% of the transaction value, in addition to any actual damages and account sanctions. This does not restrict relationships pre-dating your use of the Platform (you must provide reasonable proof).

• 18.1 User warranties. You warrant that you have necessary rights to the content/URLs you provide and that your use is lawful.
• 18.2 Platform "as is." The Platform and Deliverables are provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.
• 18.3 No SEO guarantees. Serpbays does not guarantee rankings, indexation, traffic, conversions, revenue, or business outcomes.
• 19) Limitation of Liability. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Serpbays and its officers, directors, employees, and agents will not be liable for: (a) indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages; (b) loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill; (c) outcomes of search engine algorithm changes or penalties; or (d) actions of other users. Our total liability for any claim arising out of or relating to the Platform will not exceed the greater of (i) the fees you paid to Serpbays in the 3 months preceding the claim.

20) Indemnification. You will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Serpbays from and against any claims, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or related to: (a) your content or URLs; (b) your use of the Platform; (c) your breach of these Terms; (d) your violation of law or third-party rights; or (e) your transactions with other users.

21) Suspension & Termination. We may suspend or terminate your account or access to the Platform immediately if we believe you violated these Terms, engaged in fraud, or posed a risk to other users or Serpbays. You may close your account at any time; obligations that by nature survive (fees due, non-circumvention, IP, indemnities, limitations) will continue.

• 22) Changes. We may modify the Platform or these Terms at any time. Material changes will be notified by posting the updated Terms and changing the "Last Updated" date.
• 23) Compliance. You must comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including Advertising/endorsement regulations, platform policies, sanctions/export controls and anti-corruption laws. Where disclosure labels or link attributes are required, you must implement them.
• 24) KYC/AML. Serpbays may request identity, address, and business verification documents, conduct fraud checks, and suspend transactions pending review.
• 25) Confidentiality. Non-public information you receive from another user via the Platform must be kept confidential and used only to perform the transaction.
• 26) Communications. You consent to receive communications via email, in-app messages, or other channels. Legal notices to Serpbays must be sent to: legal@serpbays.com.
• 27) Miscellaneous. These Terms and the Privacy Policy are the entire agreement. Failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver. Severability applies. Neither party is liable for delays due to Force Majeure.

Appendix A — Category & Compliance Guidance (Recommended)

• Gambling/Adult/Pharma/Crypto/Financial: Allowed only where legal and if the Publisher's Listing explicitly permits. Buyer must provide required licenses and disclosures for the target jurisdiction(s).
• Health & Finance Claims: Must include evidence/disclaimers required by law; no misleading or unsubstantiated claims.
• Image/Media Rights: Publishers must use properly licensed media (stock, creator's own, or provided by Buyer). Buyers must supply rights-cleared assets when submitting creatives.
• Replacement Rules (where promised): Equivalent domain quality (same niche, language, similar DR/traffic), with Buyer approval.

Appendix B — Non-Circumvention Examples

• If Buyer A discovers Publisher B on Serpbays and later emails B off-platform to place a paid article, that is circumvention.
• If Buyer already had a relationship with B before joining Serpbays and can show invoices/emails predating discovery, not circumvention.