From the Wall Street Journal comes this comment about the “v7ndotcom elursrebmem” contest :via WSJ.com
Several other groups are trying to win the contest by soliciting links via an entirely different route: aligning themselves with charity groups and promising to donate the prize money. SEOs grouse about that tactic, saying it makes the contest a test of heart-string tugging rather than the hand-to-hand combat of SEO-dom.
Button pushing is not marketing. Selling a product or service is more than just putting it in front of someone’s face. Sure that works for the monkey who just wants the banana, but selling something to someone who is sitting on the fence, or may not even be interested in buying is a different thing entirely. Selling something that’s not a necessity requires a more savvy approach, you need to appeal to someone’s hopes, fears, dreams, morality, sense of right or wrong, or even common sense. In short you want an emotional response. Don’t think marketing is part of SEO, well friend then you’ll end up with pages that rank but never convert.
For the record I think SEO contests are silly. While search engines will know most of the tactics involved, people are creative and no doubt anybody watching and studying will pick up a thing or two. So why am I competing, in short it’s all about turning a negative into a positive. If you want to make $7,000, go compete in the pills, casino, credit or any other high paying industry, you will get more greater return for your time investment. By taking the different route and giving the money to people who are in greater need, I’ve set a new precedent that others have followed. If I don’t win I hope one of the other charity players does. Why? If they do it will be the tactic to use in the next contest, providing a real disincentive to starting another one.
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