Is It Out of Scope? — SEO & marketing
Is adding paid search management out of scope for an SEO retainer?
Usually yes. Paid search is a distinct discipline from organic SEO — different platforms, different skill set, different pricing model — even though both sit under "search."
It's an easy request to make: "you already handle our search presence, can you just run the ads too?" But organic SEO and paid search (PPC/SEM) are commonly run as separate service lines even at agencies that offer both — different platforms, different reporting, and often different billing structure.
Is it out of scope?
Usually yes, unless the SOW explicitly names paid media as a covered channel. "Search" in the retainer almost always means organic; ad management is a separate specialty even within a search-marketing team.
Clause typically implicated
Clause typically implicated
Exclusions clause→ — SEO retainers typically exclude paid media as a distinct discipline, not simply "more search work."
Example contract wording
Example contract wording (illustrative, not legal advice)
The retainer covers organic search — paid search is a different discipline with its own platform, budget, and skill set, so it sits outside this scope. I can put together a separate proposal for paid if you want to add it on.
How MarginFlow flags it
MarginFlow checks requests against the contract's declared channel list and flags paid-media asks as outside_scope on organic-SEO contracts, with the explanation noting the discipline split rather than treating it as routine scope creep within SEO.