A listing of the personal standards that members are expected to observe in their dealings with all of their clients.

Website, SEO, and Marketing ethics are a complicated subject. There are many opinions, and many justifications for behaviors. What one company justifies as an acceptable course of action, may be loudly condemned by others. The Micro Webmaster code of ethics is based on standards which give the most value and stability to the client, and the least degree of industry established risk.

I will strive to provide the highest possible value, for the most reasonable price to my clients, in all areas of service. Because I provide services which cannot generally be guaranteed by predictable timelines or rapid cost/return evidences, there is a great deal of trust and judgment involved in evaluating outcomes. These standards cannot remove all doubts, nor can they eliminate the unpredictable nature of the results for the work I provide.

I commit unequivocally to the following set of standards:

I will not intentionally engage in any activity which causes harm to my client. I will not make recommendations for choices which will have a potential negative effect for my clients, without first ensuring that they have a reasonable understanding of what the risks of that effect are, and how it might influence their chance of success. I will not continue to use practices that are widely condemned in the industry as risky or harmful practices.

I will adhere to guidelines published by Search Engine Officials, for safe SEO practices. If I place elements on a client page that are considered acceptable in the industry, and subsequent guidelines then declare those elements to be unacceptable, I will inform the client of the change in a timely manner, and offer options for corrections. Because SEO is a hotly debated and often speculative field, I will rely on other published sources when their premise adheres to common sense, and when there is reasonable statistical or experiential evidence to suggest accuracy in the conclusions.

Insofar as it is appropriate to do so, I will leave all decision making authority in the hands of the client, and I will provide the necessary information and assistance so the business owner can make that choice with a full understanding of the ways in which the choice will affect long term performance and outcomes. There is a degree of personal judgment required in meeting this standard, but I will always strive to ensure that the client understands the choices they are making, to the best of my ability. This means, I will help to ensure that I respect the authority of the client, over the services I provide, and that I will assist the client in obtaining the knowledge that they need to retain that authority in actuality, and not just in appearance.

I will be honest with my clients, and will not intentionally mislead them, or fail to inform them of things they need to know in order to make the best choices for their business. I know that the services I provide involve highly technical skills and knowledge, and that they use a language of their own which is difficult for many people to truly understand. I will not take advantage of my client's lack of experience with these aspects, but will do my best to communicate the issues effectively to the client.

I will perpetuate the highest standards of integrity and honesty in all elements that I provide or encourage in a client website. People who visit the client site will not be mislead, nor will there be any intent to manipulate search engine results. Marketing messages and SEO will be accomplished with the goal of providing accurate information, and not of deception or manipulation.

I will respect copyright laws, and help the client to ensure that their site complies with industry standards, and with legal issues which pertain specifically to online marketing, to the best of my ability and understanding. I will not knowingly recommend a course of action which might be potentially libelous, or cause unacceptable liability, or create legal problems for the client.

I will be open and honest with the client about my background and experience. I will not misrepresent my references, and if I have not completed a specific type of work successfully prior to discussions with the client, I will inform the client of that fact.

I will not misrepresent the amount of work that will be required from the client, in order to complete the tasks in a satisfactory and timely manner. Most first time site owners are unprepared for the amount of information and input that they must provide. I will help the client to know what their responsibilities are in the process.

I will not make promises that I do not have a reasonable expectation of being able to deliver on. If I promise a result in 24 hours, the client will get the result within the stated time, unless there have been unforeseen events which were beyond my control. I will not overbook my time, nor will I make promises just to get a contract.

I will honor my confidentiality promises, and I will be completely fair to my clients when I have two clients who may be competitors. In our professional arena, we frequently work for clients who are competitors. When I do this, I give each the full benefit of my knowledge, and I will not ever place the success of one as a higher priority than the success of another. I also will not ever share confidential business information, whether there is an issue of competition or not.

I will not make a recommendation for my client which I do not fully believe will be to their benefit. I will never recommended a particular service or product just so I can sell another item. If I cannot fully justify and explain the benefit to the client, I will not recommend it.

I will inform the client clearly of any necessary or helpful elements which are NOT included in the contract. I promise that my clients will not be left at the end of the job, with features or elements missing that they need in order for the work that I did to benefit the client. For example, I will not build a site that is not registered with the search engines, or that is missing elements that are necessary for it to do what I said it would.

I will help the client to consider long term as well as short term cost containment, maintenance, and ease of growth and expansion. Many long term options take no more time or money initially, but can have a huge impact on long term costs and work required. As I provide services for the client, I will be mindful of their ability to sustain the benefits long term, not just while I am being paid for the job at hand.

I will keep the client's needs, and their best interests, at the forefront of all my recommendations and objectives. I will place the wellbeing of the client above my personal desires for making money, and will do my level best to be fair and honest with my clients at all times.

I will honor our guarantees in the most liberal manner possible. I realize that client satisfaction is dependent on my ability to understand their needs and wishes, and I am committed to taking the time and effort to ensure that I reflect the client's business standards and image in all that I do on their behalf.

I will not accept a job which I cannot honorably perform, or which violates my personal integrity, health, safety, or moral standards. I will maintain the highest standards of ethics within my industry, and will not violate those standards, even at the request of a client. I will not engage in any practice which I feel is unfair to the client, or which compromises the client's ability to succeed, even if the client feels it is acceptable to do so. I will not assist any business owner in promoting the sale or distribution of products or services which I feel will have a negative influence on society.

I agree to abide by this ethics policy, and to integrate these standards into my way of doing business.