SEO Contests : Win $1,000 for Google Ranking
The v7 Network is hosting a new SEO contest for sites around the globe to compete for the #1 thru #5 rankings of a currently non-existant term on Google. The contest is offering a first place prize of $1,000, $500 to the runner up, and $100 each for the third, fourth, and fifth place positions in Google.
The target keywords for the v7 Network’s competition will be a set of two terms (like nigritude ultramarine) and will be announced on Jan 15, 2006. Only catch to the contest is that in order to qualify for the prize, sites must link to the v7n homepage, which boils down to forced linking to enter a Google SEO contest which will pay the top site $1,000. (note, John at v7n has added that “the link can be JavaScript. Or it can have a nofollow attribute. It just has to be human-clickable.”)
Looks like v7n may be ready to pay out $1,800 for a hefty amount of incoming links which would regularly run double to triple the amount – one could consider the contest paid link baiting:
* v7n hopes to build its PageRank above its current ranking of 5
* incoming link PR trickles to its Seven Seek web directory, which may also benefit
* brings Seven Seek’s internal listings above the current PR 1 rankings
* which gives web publishers a reason to pay to list their sites in the directory
Paid Forced Link Baiting which trickles into a paid link directory, my gosh… someone get on the hotline and call Matt Cutts (two time Search Engine Journal Award Winner) to get his feedback on the contest and how this will effect v7n, Seven Seek, all of the sites linking to v7n, and all of the sites associated with those linking neighborhoods. Matt, would you like to drop by and lend a comment?
We’ll have more on the v7n SEO Contest on January 15th after they announce the terms, but in the meantime, Greg Boser at Web Guerrilla has issued a contest which counters the v7n prize and linking requirement with the same prize money and new requirements:
Instead of having to link to v7n’s site Greg is requiring that entries into his contest do not link to the v7n homepage and instead link to the non-www URL of the Matt Cutts blog, which Greg feels needs a bit of help: “I think this plan will greatly benefit the SEO community by getting far more people to participate. And at the same time, we’ll be able to help out a good friend.”
Again, forced linking, which brings two contests for two substancial cash prizes. Best to both v7n and Greg.
So, which contest will you be entering?
