Privacy Policy
Last updated September 25, 2026
This explains what information Searchlight SEO collects, what we do with it, and what you can ask us to do about it. It covers two things: this website, and the websites we build and host for clients. We've kept it short and specific rather than long and vague.
1. Who's responsible
Searchlight SEO is a trade name of 15101344 Canada Inc., based in Ontario, Canada. We're the organisation responsible for the personal information described in this policy, and we follow Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). If you're in the United States, the same practices apply to you.
2. This website (searchlightseo.org)
Browsing this site doesn't require an account and we don't set tracking cookies. When you load a page, our hosting provider (Netlify) records standard server logs: your IP address, the page requested, your browser type, and the time. We use these only to keep the site running and to diagnose problems.
If you fill out the contact form, we collect what you type: your name, business name, phone number, email address, trade, city, and anything you put in the message box. The form is delivered to us through Netlify Forms, which stores a copy. We use it to reply to you and, if you go ahead, to build your site.
The form has a hidden field that real people never see. If it's filled in, we treat the submission as spam and discard it.
If you request a free reputation audit, we also look at public information about your business: your Google Business Profile, your public reviews, and where your listing appears in search results for your main services. We use it to prepare the audit and to talk it through with you.
3. Clients and prospective clients
If we talk on Facebook, by email, by text or on the phone, we keep those messages so we can follow the conversation. When you send us intake answers for a website, we keep them to build and maintain the site. If you become a paying client, we also keep billing details (what you're paying for, invoices, payment status). Card numbers are handled by our payment processor and never stored by us.
We keep client and prospect records in a customer relationship management system (currently GoHighLevel). We use it to remember who we've spoken to, what we agreed, and to send you messages about your site or services. We don't sell or rent this information to anyone.
Marketing: we may email or message you about our services if you've asked us for a site or spoken with us about one. You can tell us to stop at any time and we will.
4. Review requests sent for clients
For clients who buy reputation management, we send text and email review requests to their customers on their behalf. The client provides the customer's name and contact details from their own job records, and is responsible for having the right to contact them. We use that information only to send the request and at most one reminder, and to report to the client how many were sent. Recipients can reply STOP to any text to end messages, and we honour that immediately.
5. Websites we build and host for clients
When we host a website for a client, the client's business is responsible for the personal information collected on it (it's their website and their customers). We process that information on their behalf. In practice, that means:
- The site's contact form collects a visitor's name, phone number, email address, the service they want and a message. It's emailed to the client and a backup copy is stored in Netlify Forms. We can see these submissions in order to keep the form working and to fix delivery problems, and for no other reason.
- Standard server logs (IP address, pages, browser, time) are kept by the hosting provider.
- If the client asks for website analytics (such as Google Analytics), we set it up on their behalf and it's covered by the client's own privacy policy, which we include on every site we build.
- Some sites embed a Google Map or load fonts from Google, which means your browser makes a request to Google when the page loads.
If you've submitted a form on a client's site and want to know what was collected or have it deleted, contact that business first. If you can't reach them, contact us and we'll help.
6. Companies we share data with
We use a small number of service providers to run things. Each one only gets what it needs to do its job, and each is bound by its own privacy terms.
| Provider | What it does | What it sees |
|---|---|---|
| Netlify | Hosts this site and client sites; stores form submissions | Server logs, form submissions |
| Resend | Delivers form submissions from client sites by email | Form contents, the client's email address |
| GoHighLevel | Our CRM and messaging | Client and prospect contact details, conversation history, billing status |
| Fonts on our pages; Maps and Analytics on client sites where requested; Google Business Profile management for clients who buy it | Browser requests when a page loads; for GBP clients, the business's Google listing data | |
| Anthropic | The writing system that drafts site copy from intake answers | Business details from the intake (name, services, areas, description). Not visitor or lead data. |
| Pexels | Licensed stock photos | Nothing about you; we only download images |
| Meta (Facebook) | Where most conversations with prospective clients start | Whatever you send us there, under Meta's own terms |
| Payment processor | Takes card payments for paid plans | Card details, which we never see or store |
Beyond these, we share personal information only if the law requires it, to protect our rights or someone's safety, or if the business is sold (in which case the buyer takes on this policy).
7. Cookies and analytics
This site doesn't set cookies of its own and doesn't run advertising trackers. If we add a privacy-respecting analytics tool in future, we'll update this section to say which one and what it collects. Loading fonts from Google means your browser sends a request to Google's servers, which Google's privacy policy covers.
8. How long we keep things
- Contact form submissions and conversations with prospects: up to two years after our last contact, then deleted.
- Client records, intake answers and site files: for as long as you're a client, and 30 days after hosting ends, after which the site and its backups are deleted (we'll send you the files first if you ask).
- Billing records: seven years, because Canadian tax law requires it.
- Form submissions on client sites: kept in Netlify Forms until the client asks us to delete them or the site is closed.
- Server logs: handled by Netlify under its own retention schedule, typically 30 days.
9. Security
Every site we host uses HTTPS. Access to our hosting, CRM and email accounts is protected with strong passwords and two-factor authentication, and only the people who need access have it. No system is perfectly secure, and if we ever learn of a breach that affects your information, we'll tell you as soon as we reasonably can and explain what happened.
10. Where data is stored
We're in Canada, but most of our providers store data on servers in the United States. That means your information may be processed outside Canada and be subject to the laws there. We choose providers with strong security and privacy commitments, but we can't change where they keep their servers.
11. Your rights
You can ask us, at any time:
- what personal information we hold about you, and to get a copy;
- to correct something that's wrong;
- to delete your information, unless we need to keep it for legal reasons such as tax records;
- to stop sending you marketing messages;
- to withdraw consent you gave earlier, which may mean we can't keep providing a service that depends on it.
Email hello@searchlightseo.org. We'll respond within 30 days, and we may ask you to confirm who you are first. If you're not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at priv.gc.ca.
12. Children
Our services are for businesses. We don't knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you think we have, tell us and we'll delete it.
13. Changes
We'll update this page when our practices change and update the date at the top. For a change that meaningfully affects clients, we'll also email you.
14. Contact
Privacy questions go to the owner directly.
Searchlight SEO
15101344 Canada Inc.
Ontario, Canada
hello@searchlightseo.org