Do we really need another Search Engine Optimization (SEO) contest? Yes. Why? Because the SEO Contest that Vizion Interactive is launching today is not a traditional “SEO Contest” in the sense that SEOs (Search Engine Optimizers or those who practice Search Engine Optimization) are typically pitted against each other in an effort to “rank better” than another.
In this case, the SEO Horror Story contest is looking for SEO Horror Stories: and Mark Jackson explains it all very well here.
This Search Engine Optimization is different. This is quite the opposite of a traditional “SEO Contest”. In fact, Vizion Interactive is looking for the worst SEO on the planet. They’re looking for Search Engine Optimization Horror Stories, extreme examples of cases where Search Engine Optimization efforts have failed. And if you have experienced such an extreme example of SEO gone bad, go on over to the contest website: SEO Horror Story.com
So, what will you get when you submit your SEO Horror Story? The first twenty submissions will receive a copy of “The Unfair Advantage Book on Winning the Search Engine Wars” for $1. That book also comes with a three month membership to SearchEngineNews.com and access to the Planet Ocean “Site Strength Indicator tool”. I have been a Search Engine News subscriber for many years now. And if you take the time to submit your own SEO Horror Story and you’re one of the first 20 submissions, getting that book and access to the “Site Strength Indicator Tool” is definitely worth your time and effort: Planet Ocean does a great job at telling you everything you need to know: and may even show you where your SEO efforts failed in the past, so you can correct them.
There’s a lot more cool prizes up for grabs, including:
– 1 free year Raven Tools membership (worth $948)
– 6 months “Pro” account at SEMRush.com (worth $249.95) and 2 months account at SEOPivot.com (worth $296.78) for a total value of $546.73.
– 6 month subscription to Trackur Corporate (worth $528)
– 6 month subscription to SEOMoz Pro (worth $474)
– 3 month subscription to AdGooroo SEM Insight (also includes tools, worth $1197)
– 12 month “Standard Pack” subscription to Errorlytics (worth $179)
– Gold Pass to Affiliate Summit West 2010 (worth $749)
– Two SEMPO Institute courses – Insider’s Guide to Search Marketing and Effective Search Marketing: Social Media (value $700)
Why all the cool prizes? Well, if you have an SEO Horror Story to tell, then you will definitely need one of these search engine optimization tools or access to the great SEO information that you can get. By subscribing, becoming a member, attending, or taking one of the SEMPO Institute courses, you will further enhance your search engine optimization knowledge, what you need to know in order to analyze your own website, analyze your online competitors, and fix what needs fixing.
Who are the judges?
There are some pretty awesome people, SEO Insiders and Search Engine Optimization Experts, SEO Veterans, who are judging the contest:
Aaron Wall, SEO Book
Aaron Wall is the author of SEO Book, a dynamic website offering marketing tips and coverage of the search space, free SEO videos, and free SEO tools.
Andy Beal, Marketing Pilgrim
Andy Beal is an internationally-renowned consultant, author, and speaker specializing in online reputation management and internet marketing. He is the coauthor of Radically Transparent and CEO of Trackur.
Barry Schwartz, SE Roundtable
Barry Schwartz is the Editor of Search Engine Roundtable and President of RustyBrick, Inc., a Web services firm.
Brett Tabke, WebmasterWorld and Pubcon
Brett Tabke is the Founder and CEO of WebmasterWorld and chair of PubCon conferences.Tabke was a founding board member of SEMPO (Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization).
Debra Mastaler, Alliance Link
Based in Williamsburg, Virginia, Debra Mastaler is President of Alliance-Link, an interactive marketing company focused on providing custom link building campaigns and link training.
Lee Odden, Top Rank Marketing
Lee Odden is CEO and founder of TopRank Online Marketing, a digital marketing agency that provides search engine optimization, social media and business blog consulting services.
Mark Jackson, Vizion Interactive
Mark founded Vizion Interactive, Inc. in July of 2005.Mark is a frequent speaker at the Search Engine Strategies in New York, San Jose, Chicago and Toronto and Pubcon conferences in Las Vegas and Austin. He has written a regular column for Search Engine Watch since early 2007.
Rand Fishkin, SEOMoz
Rand Fishkin is the CEO & Co-Founder of SEOmoz, a leader in the field of search engine optimization tools, resources & community.
There is a lot of misinformation out there when it comes to Search Engine Optimization, and let me tell you that I’ve heard just about everything there is to hear: and I’m still amazed that companies are still telling others that you can “submit” to a search engine. In fact, most likely, once you registered your domain name, all the major search engines have visited your website within one week. Sometimes it’s within hours: and I’ve seen Google spider a new domain name within minutes. There are no more submissions to search engines: and that’s just one tiny myth out there still circulating around.
I have to admit, Search Engine Optimization is tough: and many choose to initially go out and purchase keyword ads in order to drive traffic to their website (by the way, purchasing PPC ads on Google AdWords is NOT search engine optimization, that’s search engine marketing). Search engine optimization is only focusing on the organic or “free”, “natural” search engine results, the ones you do not have to pay for.
So, if you think you have been involved in an SEO Horror Story, then get yourself on over to the SEO Horror Story website and make your submission. Contest entries need to be received by October 31, 2009.