Let's suppose you want to lose a search engine optimization contest such as the retsambew dash klat for charity competition offered by Webmaster-Talk. How would you go about doing it? Rather than offer theories on how to win first place based on personal anecdotes or debates on SEO discussion forums, consider some reliable methods that will ensure you lose the SEO contest you have entered.
Don't Include Keywords Assuming the SEO contest is similar to most wherein the entrants try to rise to the top of search engine results pages for an obscure and difficult to pronounce keyword phrase such as retsambew dash klat for charity or isulong seoph or supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, you will want to avoid any reference to such keywords in the text, title tags, anchor text, etc. of your competing site. Mentioning these words will put you at a higher risk of not losing.
Don't Rely on Links Links from other sites pointing to your contest site may be seen by search engines as a vote for your site. Make sure you avoid such practices at all costs to ensure losing the contest. If you catch a webmaster of another site linking to your site, it may be advisable to send a brief communication asking that the link be promptly removed. If you are faced with a case where someone absolutely must link to your site, insist that it be done without anchor text inlcuding the SEO contest keywords. "Click Here" is a good alternative.
Forget Strategy To effectively lose a SEO contest, it's important to avoid any temptation of having a coherent strategy. As the contest moves forward, remember not to observe the activities of your competitors in the search engine results (if you must, look at the losers only and learn what you can from them). Avoid SEO forums, tutorials and blogs belonging to search company engineers. If you feel boxed in by all these rules, just trundle along and do what feels good for your site. Following these guidelines will not guarantee that you finish last, but they should put you in striking distance.
