Terms of service

Effective August 11, 2026. These terms govern pufferfishmedia.biz and the services provided by Pufferfish Media, 3548 Indian Creek Rd, East New Market, MD 21631. Where you sign a separate proposal with us and it conflicts with these terms, that document wins for the work it covers.

Services

We provide digital marketing services which may include AI search optimization, local SEO, SEO, website design and development, Google Ads management, reputation management, AI automation, social media and email marketing. What you are buying is set out in your proposal: the services, the tier, the deliverables and the fee. Anything outside that scope is quoted before it starts, never added silently to an invoice.

Term, month to month

Ongoing services run month to month. There is no minimum term, no annual commitment and no cancellation penalty. Either party may end the engagement with 30 days written notice by email, and the final month is worked and billed in full. Website builds are fixed-scope projects rather than subscriptions and run to the schedule in their own proposal.

Fees and payment

• Monthly services are invoiced at the start of each service period and due within 15 days.
• Website builds are 50% on acceptance and the balance on launch. Work begins when the deposit clears.
• Overdue balances may carry interest at 1.5% per month, or the maximum Maryland law permits if that is lower.
• Invoices more than 15 days past due may pause work after written notice, and we do not credit fees for a pause caused by non-payment.
• Prices may change with 30 days written notice. You can cancel before a new price takes effect.
• Fees exclude third-party costs such as ad spend, hosting, domains, stock imagery and paid software unless the proposal says otherwise.

Google Ads spend is not our fee. It is charged by Google to an ads account held in your name using your own payment method, and we never mark it up or resell it. The management fee in your proposal is separate from and additional to whatever you spend with Google.

What we need from you

• Timely access to the accounts the work depends on: website and hosting, domain registrar, Google Business Profile, Google Ads, Analytics, Search Console, and any CRM or social account in scope.
• Accurate business information: services, service areas, licence details, hours and any pricing shown on your site.
• Review and approval of drafts and campaign changes within about five business days. Silence past that window counts as approval so work does not stall.
• The rights to use any logo, photograph or testimonial you supply, and responsibility for the accuracy of claims you ask us to publish.
• A working way to receive and respond to leads. We cannot make a campaign profitable if calls go unanswered.

Where access or approvals are delayed, timelines move accordingly and monthly fees still apply, because the retainer buys capacity we reserve for you.

Ownership of accounts and deliverables

Your accounts stay yours. Wherever the platform allows it, Google Ads, Google Business Profile, Analytics, Search Console, domains and hosting are created in your name with you as owner and us as a delegated user. On full payment you own the deliverables we create for you: website design and code, written content, images we produce and campaign assets. We keep ownership of our own tools, templates, audit methodology and internal processes, and of anything built before or outside your engagement. Third-party assets such as stock photography, fonts and plugins stay under their own licences, which pass to you where those licences permit. We may reference the engagement in our portfolio unless you ask us in writing not to.

No guarantee of rankings or results

We do not guarantee any specific ranking, traffic level, lead volume, conversion rate, revenue figure, or placement or citation inside ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Overviews or any other AI system. Those platforms are controlled by third parties who change their algorithms and policies without notice. Results also depend on your pricing, market, competitors, seasonality and how fast you follow up on leads. What we commit to is performing the scoped work competently and reporting on it honestly, including when numbers move the wrong way.

Results disclaimer

Any figures shown in case studies, testimonials or examples on this site describe specific engagements over stated time periods. They are not typical, not averages, and not a promise of what your business will achieve. Different starting positions, budgets, markets and levels of competition produce different outcomes, and some engagements produce far less than the examples shown. Treat published results as evidence that a method has worked somewhere, not as a forecast for you.

Confidentiality and acceptable use

Each party will protect the other’s confidential information, including business strategy, pricing, customer data, credentials and financial details, and use it only to perform or receive the services. That obligation survives the engagement and does not cover information already public or required to be disclosed by law. You also agree not to ask us to publish anything false, misleading or unlawful, to solicit fake reviews, or to run campaigns that break Google, Meta or any other platform policy. We will decline that work, and neither of us controls a platform’s decision to suspend an account.

Limitation of liability and indemnity

To the fullest extent the law allows, our total liability relating to the services is limited to the fees you paid us in the 12 months before the claim arose. We are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for lost profits, revenue, business opportunity, data or reputation, even if we were told such damages were possible. Nothing here limits liability that cannot be limited by law. Services are otherwise provided as-is. You agree to indemnify Pufferfish Media against claims, damages and reasonable legal costs arising from content you supplied or approved, your breach of these terms, or your violation of any law or third-party right.

Termination and transition

Either party may terminate ongoing services with 30 days written notice. We may terminate immediately for non-payment beyond 30 days, or for conduct that would require us to break a platform policy or the law. On termination you are billed for work completed through the effective date, and a deposit covering work already performed is non-refundable. We provide reasonable transition help: removing our access, handing back credentials, exporting your content and answering a successor agency’s questions. Deliverables not paid for in full do not transfer.

Governing law and changes

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Maryland, and any dispute will be brought in the courts serving Dorchester County, Maryland. Both parties agree to attempt a direct conversation before filing anything. We may update these terms, in which case the effective date above changes and active clients are notified by email. If any provision is unenforceable the rest stays in force. Questions go to adam@pufferfishmedia.biz or (443) 521-3491.