The reason I am pushing people to checkout the Websites.com website redesign contest, is I was one of the judges for the very first Websites.com best new site contests… Basically I felt that we did not get the showing that we deserved for the first contest. This means if you enter, and entering is free, you have a chance of winning.
Did I mention that second place is $3000! This is like easy money for some of you designers I know out there, and there is not entry fee. If I were a designer I would be all over this. Not just plugging this because I am currently an employee of NTT, the company that owns and manages Websites.com, but I am saying this is a serious opportunity that someone out there is leaving on the table.
I would say enter it and find out! You have nothing to lose. Actually if you sign up and win, and your firm is a design firm, you will get the clout and notoriety of winning this contest. Also, even if you are not a design firm, you need to enter this redesign contest, because this is the best type of SEO you can get. I did not mention this in my SEO in Overdrive blog entry, but basically any type of PR you can get that is from news articles is great for y our pagerank and links out there. So let me know if you have any questions. I am not available to discuss the contest with anybody directly, because of my involvement, and I am not sure if I will a judge again, but I am definitely letting you know to go for it on Websites.com!