Terms of Service

Last updated: October 25, 2026

These Terms govern your use of EricStrate.com, including publicly available information, the Free AEO Checker, experimental WARP-related tools, and general interactions with the agency. If you hire Eric Strate for paid services, your signed agreement, applicable order details and these Terms govern the relationship, in that order in the event of an express conflict.

Use of the website does not, by itself, create a paid consulting engagement or obligate either party to proceed with services. Existing purchases and contracts remain subject to the terms that governed them when agreed, unless both parties agree otherwise in writing.

1. What the agency offers

Services may include technical and local SEO, Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), buyer-intent research, AI search visibility assessment, commercial content strategy, entity and structured-data work, WordPress implementation, measurement, and reporting. Actual deliverables and priorities are agreed in writing for each engagement.

The standard managed program combines an initial assessment and onboarding with agreed ongoing work and periodic reporting. Work may be delivered by Eric Strate and qualified team members or specialists engaged by the agency. No unlisted deliverable, number of pages, particular software integration, placement or performance outcome is included merely because it is mentioned elsewhere on the website.

Non-WordPress CMS platforms, custom development, extensive redesigns, larger or multi-location projects, paid advertising, third-party subscriptions and other special work may require a separate quote and written scope.

2. Proposals, fees and engagement term

At publication, the standard managed WordPress SEO, GEO and AEO program is advertised at $4,000 per month plus a $2,000 one-time setup fee, with a six-month minimum initial commitment. These are standard offer terms, not an automatic charge or a guarantee of availability for every website. If a written agreement lists different fees or scope, that agreement governs.

Payment schedules, applicable taxes, invoicing methods, deposits, any additional approved work, renewal rules, notice requirements and changes in price must be documented in the relevant service agreement or order. Renewals or price adjustments are not assumed solely because a visitor reads this page. Changes to an existing engagement require the written process in that engagement’s agreement.

The standard six-month initial commitment does not include an automatic 90-day opt-out or cancellation right. Any right to terminate early, and the financial consequences of doing so, depend on the signed agreement and applicable law.

3. Scope, onboarding and change requests

Onboarding may involve access review, technical and content assessments, priorities, analytics review, buyer-question research and implementation planning. Specific work is performed only within the agreed scope and as access, information, approvals, cooperation and available resources permit.

Work requested outside the agreed scope, including additional websites, CMS migrations, major custom coding, redesigns, extensive paid-media work or unrelated platforms, may require a separate written quote. A recommendation or audit observation does not by itself promise implementation.

4. Client authorization and responsibilities

You represent that you are authorized to request work on the websites, domains, accounts, trademarks, content and data you provide. You are responsible for the accuracy and lawful use of client-supplied information, providing needed approvals and access, maintaining appropriate backups, and promptly reporting security or operational concerns.

Do not send passwords, payment-card information, API keys or other credentials in ordinary website forms or email unless a secure, separately agreed method is provided. Changes that depend on third-party hosting, CMS plugins, platform policies or outside vendors may be delayed or limited by those systems.

5. Communication, reporting and scheduling

Managed engagements normally include periodic progress reporting and a monthly performance and strategy discussion, subject to the signed scope and scheduling arrangements. Search metrics and AI-answer observations are snapshots or estimates, not guarantees of future results. Any agreed delivery dates, approvals or response timelines are governed by the written agreement.

6. Cancellation, refunds and disputes over charges

Fees are governed by the applicable signed agreement, including its initial commitment, any renewal, cancellation and refund provisions. Work already performed or resources reasonably committed may be nonrefundable as provided in the agreement and permitted by law. Nothing in these Terms eliminates refund, cancellation, charge-dispute or other rights that applicable law does not allow to be waived.

If the agency cannot responsibly accept or continue an engagement because of authorization, legal, ethical, security or technical problems, the parties will address the unused scope and any payment consequences according to their agreement and applicable law. Please contact the agency promptly about billing or fulfillment problems so they can be reviewed; applicable payment-network dispute rights remain unaffected.

Existing purchases of previously offered one-time services are not converted to the current monthly program and retain the terms agreed at the time of purchase.

7. AI search measurement and no performance guarantees

Google, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, other answer engines and third-party search systems operate independently of the agency. Rankings, indexing, citations, AI recommendations, crawler visits, traffic, leads and revenue are not guaranteed. Results can change with query wording, date, location, platform configuration, personalization, model behavior and algorithm or index updates.

Research and reporting may include experimental methods, representative prompts, first-party analytics, Search Console observations, screenshots or third-party measurement platforms. These describe observations and their limitations; they do not establish causation or promise a particular outcome.

8. Free AEO Checker and other free tools

The Free AEO Checker is a one-page, HTML-based educational diagnostic, not a score issued by Google or an AI platform. Its classifications, heuristics and recommendations can be incomplete or mistaken. A perfect diagnostic score does not prove indexing, expertise, accessibility, factual accuracy, AI citations or improved business results. Free tools may be changed, rate-limited or discontinued.

Only submit public URLs and information you are authorized to analyze. Do not submit confidential client content or credentials to public tools.

9. WARP and WARP Answer Lab

The Web Answer Retrieval Protocol (WARP) is an independent, proposed experimental publishing approach. WARP Answer Lab, where available, can provide structural checks and publisher-reviewable drafts; structural validation is not factual verification or a guarantee of retrieval, rankings, adoption, token savings or AI citations. WARP is not endorsed by Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, Anthropic, Schema.org, the W3C or other search and AI providers.

Users remain responsible for checking facts, sources, quoted material, accessibility, permissions, confidentiality and final publication. Tools may apply reasonable rate, concurrency, payload and caching limits to protect the service.

10. Intellectual property and deliverables

You retain ownership of your pre-existing websites, content, data, trademarks and other materials. Subject to payment and the applicable written agreement, the client may use custom deliverables prepared for its engagement for the agreed business purposes. Rights to reusable tools, WARP specifications, internal frameworks, code libraries, methods, scoring systems, prompts and other pre-existing or independently developed materials are retained by their respective owners unless expressly licensed or transferred in writing.

Do not redistribute or commercialize proprietary audit systems, private code, paid reports or substantial proprietary methodology as competing products without permission. Publicly available educational information may be linked to with appropriate attribution.

11. Confidentiality, privacy and third-party providers

Nonpublic information received for a client engagement will be handled for legitimate business and service purposes, subject to the signed agreement and applicable law. Please avoid sending unnecessary sensitive personal or financial information. For information about website data practices, see the Privacy Policy.

Hosting services, WordPress, analytics providers, payment processors, AI platforms and other third parties may be used to provide the site or services. Their availability, security, policies, fees and data practices are controlled by their respective providers. We are not responsible for changes made independently by a third-party search or AI platform.

12. No professional advice outside scope

SEO, AEO and marketing guidance is not legal, tax, accounting, investment, medical or financial advice. Clients should obtain qualified professional advice on privacy, contracts, accessibility, intellectual property, regulatory obligations and other matters outside the contracted search-marketing scope.

13. Liability limitations

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law and subject to any controlling written agreement, the agency is not responsible for indirect, incidental, consequential, special or punitive damages, including lost profits, anticipated rankings, traffic, AI citations, data or business opportunity. Any applicable cap on liability for a paid engagement is governed by its signed agreement; for ordinary website use without such an agreement, liability is limited to the extent the law permits.

Nothing in these Terms excludes responsibility that applicable law does not permit to be excluded or restricted.

14. Governing law and disputes

These website Terms are governed by California law, except where a different rule is mandatory. Subject to nonwaivable rights and any controlling dispute provision in a signed agreement, disputes relating to these Terms will be handled by courts with appropriate jurisdiction in San Diego County, California.

15. Changes, severability and agreement priority

We may revise these website Terms and post an updated date. A later website revision does not retroactively change a client agreement or earlier transaction without a valid agreement or applicable legal basis. If a provision is unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue to the extent permitted by law.

For paid work, an applicable signed service agreement, statement of work or proposal controls over inconsistent general website wording. No website page or free-tool result unilaterally modifies a signed agreement.