Duck Wins SEO Contest

Seraphim Proudleduck very ProudleDuck

SALMONBONES, UK - The world of "search engine optimization" (SEO) exploded today when French mallard Seraphim Proudleduck won the coveted Google-based Salmonbones competition for web page ranking.

Despite Seraphim Proudleduck's undoubted mastery of the online medium, sporting SEO guru status, detractors cried foul (and mallard) at the unfair advantage of her name coinciding with the search phrase, also amazingly "seraphim proudleduck".

Defending Seraphim's confirmed Supergeek status, proud parent's Sergey and Larry Puddleduck exclaimed "if we were cows, we'd be over the moon!".

"We couldn't be prouder of our petit caneton if she'd laid l'oeuf d'or (the golden egg)".

Vocal complainants pointed to Salmonbones.co.uk's sloppy research: "Jeez, it was staring them in the face. They Googled for "seraphim proudleduck" and Google had it in flashing neon - "Did you mean 'seraphim puddleduck'? Duuhh!

Another SEO wannabe, identified only as username: suttoid, snarled: "If salmon bones are soft, the boneheads at salmonbones are soft in the head! They were one click from finding seraphim proudleduck's web site, seraphim-proudleduck-puddleduck.com. Yisshh!"

A bonafide spokesperson for http://salmonbones.co.uk conceded "even if we boned up on seraphim-proudleduck-puddleduck.com, no way could we have guessed she worked under the handle 'seraphim proudleduck' - her mother's maiden name".

The Google-based SEO contest is organized in United Kingdom by Salmonbones agency based on 'seraphim proudleduck' keywords phrase.

The goal of the contest is first place for the exact phrase "seraphim proudleduck" on the Google search engine at 0100 GMT-UTC, 1st January, 2005.

Details of the competition are on the salmonbones.co.uk web site, which states: "Entry to the seraphim proudleduck optimizing contest is worldwide.

"No method of SEO and promotion is prohibited. In part this competition exists to test the strengths and weaknesses of Google.

" Please be aware that some participants in this contest are merely doing so to test their methods of search engine placement and not for the prize (although I am sure would be a welcome bonus)."

First prize is UK£1,000 and bonus prize will be a page rank 7 web site for the top ranked image in Google.