No Internet Business Developer will intentionally do harm to a client. This involves the continued use of any technology or procedures (without appropriate care) that are known to result in having the client site removed from search engine indexes or directories, or rendered inoperative. Questionable standards must be addressed via the Robots Exclusion Standard or other ethical means.

No Internet Business Developer will intentionally violate any specifically published and enforced rules of search engines or directories. Should rules and guidelines change (as they often do), the Internet Business Developer will promptly take action to comply with the changes as they apply to all clients. Where rules and guidelines are not clear, the Internet Business Developer will seek clarification and await approval from the appropriate search engine before continuing to utilize potentially harmful technology or procedures.

No Internet Business Developer will intentionally mislead, harm, or offend a consumer. All individuals utilizing a search engine to visit a site will not be misled by the information presented to or by the search engine, or harmed or offended upon arrival at the client site. This includes techniques like "bait and switch" where the client page does not substantially contain and is not clearly associated with the optimized phrase, or may be reasonably offensive to targeted visitors.

No Internet Business Developer will intentionally violate laws. This involves the deliberate and continued violation of copyright, trademark, servicemark, or laws related to spamming as they may exist at the state, federal, or international level.

No Internet Business Developer will falsely represent the content of the client site. This includes the practice of presenting different versions of web pages to different users except where that information is altered solely to meet browser specifications and needs, sensitivity to regional factors such as language, or product specific needs.

No Internet Business Developer will falsely represent others work as their own. This includes the taking of work from others in whole or in part and representing this work as their own. The Internet Business Developer may not make copies of the work of others without the prior consent of the other party.

No Internet Business Developer will misrepresent their own abilities, education, training, standards of performance, certifications, trade group affiliations, technical inventory, or experiences to others. This includes quantifiable statements related to project timetables, performance history, company resources (staff, equipment, and proprietary products), and client lists. Guarantees will be restricted to items over which the Internet Business Developer has significant and reasonable control.

No Internet Business Developer will participate in a conflict of interest without prior notice to all people involved. This includes the practice of choosing to emphasize one client over another in competing keywords because there is more personal gain for the practitioner. All clients should be treated equally and all receive equal best effort in their Search Engine Optimization.

No Internet Business Developer will set unreasonable client expectations. This includes the practice of accepting more than a reasonable number of clients competing for the same keywords and implying that all will be in the top positions in the search engines. This also includes the implication that results can be obtained in an unreasonable amount of time given the known condition of the search engines, client site, and competition.

All Internet Business Developers will offer their clients both internal and external dispute resolution procedures. This includes the publishing of address and phone numbers on primary web pages, the inclusion of third-party dispute resolution links prominently placed within the practitioners web site, and contracts that include sections discussing dispute resolution.

All Internet Business Developers will protect the confidentiality and security of their clients with regards to privileged information and items implying testimonial support for the Internet Business Developer. All staff of said Internet Business Developer shall be bound to protect information that is not generally known as it may harm the client. The Internet Business Developer will not include the publishing of testimonials and logos of client lists, press releases, and other collateral discussing the client without explicit approval.

All Internet Business Developers will work to their best ability to increase or retain the rankings of client sites. Clients are contracting for fee with the Internet Business Developer in order to obtain and retain search engine placement. The Internet Business Developer is charged with an obligation to utilize appropriate and allowed technology and methodologies to improve and retain the rankings for their clients in the face of changing search engine technology, competition, and client web site needs.