TechSEO Boost 2019: Call for Research

June 21, 2019

The 2018 TechSEO Boost competition shared loads of new ideas and technical SEO findings with the world, so we’re bringing it back for a second year!

Calling all technical SEO trailblazers, savvy search scientists, and research extraordinaires! Are you doing innovative SEO experiments or research? Are you rigorously testing new ideas, approaches, strategies, and tactics? We want to hear about it! Submit your research or experiment to TechSEO Boost’s second annual research competition for the chance to share your findings and have your work honored by the SEO community. It’s free to submit and you could win the chance the present at TechSEO Boost 2019!

Prizes:

Three finalists will be invited to present at TechSEO Boost. Presentations will be several minutes in length and will summarize the respective research or experiments conducted. Finalists who are unable to travel to Boston to present in-person can opt to send a video file with a pre-recorded presentation that will be aired at the live event.
Winner to be announced live at TechSEO Boost. Winner will receive a cash prize of $3,000.

Finalists:

Thank you to everyone who entered this year’s TechSEO Boost Research Competition. The judges were blown away by the tremendous submissions and the sophisticated research taking place in the SEO community. We’re excited to announce that this year’s finalists are:

Vincent Terrasi, OnCrawl: Generating Qualitative Content in all Languages
Eric Enge, Perficient Digital: Rich Data on How Search Features Impact CTR
Tomek Rudzki, Onely: Taking JavaScript SEO to the Next Level

This Year’s Winner:

The judges have spoken! We’ve selected our winner for the 2019 TechSEO Boost research competition, sponsored by iPullRank. Congratulations to Onely’s Tomek Rudzki who took home first place

Sponsor:

iPullRank is a digital marketing agency focused on Content Strategy, Solutions Architecture, Marketing Automation, SEO, Social Media, Measurement and Optimization. We are based in New York City and we are PROUD of what we do.

Timeline & Submission Process:

Friday, August 30th: Email info@catalystdigital.com to declare your intent to submit research. Participants who declare their intent by August 30^th will receive the opportunity to ask the judging panel three questions to help guide their entry. Note: Declaring your intent to submit is optional. Participants are not required to declare your intent prior to submitting research.
Monday, October 21st: Entries due. Please email completed entry template to info@catalystdigital.com no later than 5pm ET on Monday, October 21^st.
- ***We are no longer taking entries for the 2019 Research Competition. Check back for the finalists on November 4th.**

Monday, November 4th: Finalists announced on CatalystDigital.com & Catalyst social media accounts
Thursday, December 5th: Winners announced live at TechSEO Boost 2019

Scoring Criteria:

Submissions will be scored on the following criteria:

Importance of research area (not results) to industry (no preference given to positive findings)
Relevance of research area (not results) to industry
Novel research approaches
Reproducible research models
Open sourcing of data and modeling
Presentation of research and clarity

Check out the 2018 competition results and the finalists’ research presentations to get a sense of the type of research the judges are looking for.

Why Enter?

Not sure you want to submit? Here are four reasons why you can’t pass it up.

Let your mad scientist shine. Let’s face it – there are not many research competitions singularly focused on SEO. This is a unique opportunity to nerd out on advanced experiments that push the boundaries of what’s possible. We speak your language and want to hear about creative SEO tests that produce new insights, challenge best practices, and maximize results. Don’t hold back, let your mad scientist shine!
The submission process is easy-peasy (and free)! We know what you might be thinking – another task for your to-do list. So, we’ve made it super easy to submit your research. We have a simple and easy-to-use submission template. Download it, tell us a little bit about your hypothesis, procedures/methodology, and results, and then send it off to info@catalystdigital.com. There are no crazy forms, no entry fee, and you can decide how much or how little to share with us. Just keep it under 10,000 words!
Industry recognition and free publicity. Each of the three finalists will be invited to present a summary of their research at TechSEO Boost 2019 in Boston. With hundreds of in-person attendees and thousands more watching via the livestream and recorded sessions, this is your chance to showcase your smarts to a wide audience of marketers, agencies, and other SEO thought-leaders. Can’t travel to Boston for the event? Not to fear! Finalists who cannot travel to Boston to present in-person will have the opportunity to pre-record their presentation. We’ll air it at the live event, so you still get the industry exposure without making the trip to Beantown. Feeling a little camera shy? You can also elect to have someone present on your behalf.
Shape the future of SEO. Testing and experimentation is key to the advancement of all businesses and industries, including the SEO industry. Finalists who share their findings at the event have the opportunity to improve the industry at large. Join the ranks of SEO pioneers who are positively impacting the future of the SEO for everyone.