We work free until you hit #1
No retainer charged until your site ranks top 3 on your target keywords. If we miss the date, work continues free. In writing.
What "free" means
We bill month by month. No retainer is charged until you hit the agreed target SERP position. You pay for ad spend and hard platform costs directly to the vendor. You do not pay NERDSEY for the months between kickoff and target achievement.
Once the target is hit, the retainer starts and continues month to month. You can still cancel at any time. No lock in. No make up invoice.
What counts as "hit #1"
Top 3 organic positions in Google UAE for at least 3 target keywords, measured by GSC authenticated data (not a third party ranking tool).
Target keywords are locked in writing during kickoff. They must be commercial intent keywords relevant to the client business. Navigational and branded keywords do not count.
A single day at position 3 does not count. The position must hold for at least 14 consecutive days on GSC rolling average.
What counts as a "miss"
If 90 days pass from the agreed target date without the top 3 result on 3 target keywords, that is a miss on the original deadline.
A miss does not end the engagement. Work continues free until the target is hit. No extra charge. No renegotiation.
If at any point the client cancels during the free period, both sides walk away. No invoice.
Exclusions
Keywords added to the target list mid engagement reset the clock for those keywords. The original target keywords keep their deadline.
Google algorithm blackout events (major core update, manual penalty outside our actions, indexation outage) pause the clock until GSC reports stable indexing.
Client side delays over 30 days (approvals, content, access, payments for ad spend) pause the clock for the duration of the delay.
If the client adds a direct competitor to their own portfolio during the engagement and requests we not target certain terms, that is a client decision, not a miss.
What working under the clause actually feels like
“We had been running the shop for years without a website, without Amazon, without a single piece of branded anything. Then COVID hit in March 2020 and the walk in business collapsed overnight. Every agency I called wanted a retainer upfront before they would even audit us. NERDSEY said they would not invoice until we ranked on our first five target keywords. The first bill came five months in, after our Amazon listings hit page one on four of them. Six years later they are still our team. That first zero invoice month during lockdown is the reason.”
“We opened in Dubai with nothing. No brand, no listings, no social. I was burned twice before, so when NERDSEY put the until you hit number one line into the contract I asked them three times if they meant it. Month four we ranked on Amazon UAE. Month nine we were live in three marketplaces and eleven countries. They sent no invoice for the first four months. When they did, the number was exactly what we agreed. No line items creeping in. I have pointed five founders at them since.”
“I had a studio with no name. Zero Instagram, zero bookings, zero brand. Ritu personally came to the studio in my first week and told me straight: we do not bill until you are the wedding season go to in your neighbourhood. I thought that was a sales line. Seven weeks later we hit our first influencer driven booking. By month four bookings were consistent. The invoice that arrived was for one month, not retroactive. That is when I understood this was not a sales line. That was the actual deal.”
In writing
Every target keyword, date, and clause lives in the signed engagement letter.
Month to month
Cancel any time after target is hit. No minimum commitment. No lock in.
Senior only
Named senior team members lead every engagement. No junior handoff after sign.
Ready to put it in writing?
Book a strategy call. We will review your target keywords, propose a realistic deadline, and draft the clause before the retainer starts.
Team NERDSEY, Dubai