This story is making headlines in the media in Arab countries. For once it's not about attacks or wars, but a fairy tale worthy of the Thousand and One Nights, this time in web fashion...
Ahe story begins in Cairo, in a small shopkeeper's stall like those found everywhere in the souks and bazaars. His name is Saber el-Toony and he sells refrigerators and other washing machines. The business is not doing well in these times of crisis; he doesn't sell much anymore. It even finds itself almost on the verge of bankruptcy, distraught and desperate. He then comes up with an idea that will turn out to be genius: why not make a website to promote his business? As soon as said, as soon as done, here is our man on the web, with a site of absolute banality, as there are millions of them.
That's when the miracle happens and the story really begins.
Internet users typing g-o-o-g-l-e, the six most written letters on the web, on the eponymous search engine, see a list of answers with yes at the top, before Google itself, the site of our little shopkeeper. Saber el-Toony, better referenced than Google!
Result? 6 million visitors, all at once. A flood of new customers, orders, sales by turns. Our little shopkeeper doesn't know what to think anymore. He's overwhelmed. He immediately becomes a star. The Arab and then international media are tearing him away and making him their front page. A star who is better known in Egypt than any successful singer. And business is booming, blossoming at breakneck speed. He's thinking of opening new shops, people are queuing up in front of his stall. He doesn't even have time to answer the interview requests from all over the world. A success story against the backdrop of the unfathomable mystery of the web.
What the hell happened? Our merchant is not a hacker, far from it. He didn't write any secret codes to get ahead in the big race for visibility. No, he simply took advantage of an unknown flaw in the search engine algorithm by a stroke of luck. A small flaw, immediately corrected by the armies of Mountain View developers. But too late; the good was done.
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More info on the technical details of this adventure on Eyad Nour's websitean Egyptian webmarketing specialist, who was behind the discovery of this anomaly.
