Google Bombing Explained

Nov 1, 2006

November 2, 2006
By Brian Easter

What is Google Bombing?
Google Bombing has been in the news quite a bit recently, especially given the upcoming mid-term elections, but many people are not clear on what exactly Google Bombing is and the impact it has on search engine results

To understand Google Bombing you first need to understand what Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is and why organizations pay marketing agencies to engage in SEO campaigns. Search Engine Optimization is the process of altering a website so that it does well in the organic listings in search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, MSN and more. In other words, SEO is an online marketing initiative that attempts to increase the chances that a website will rank at or near the top of the search engines when someone types in desired keywords. For example, an owner of a flower shop in Charlotte, NC would want their website to be found whenever a potential customer searches for “flower shops in Charlotte, NC.”

Google Bombing is a technique that some SEO agencies use to help their clients rank for certain keywords. Massive campaigns are implemented in order to get a large number of websites to link back to the client’s website with the same anchor text. Anchor text is the actual text used to link to a website. Consistent and relevant anchor text is the key to Google Bombing because search engines’ algorithms place emphasis on anchor text in determining which sites rank highly for certain keywords.

The objective of the major search engines is to provide the most relevant search results possible thereby increasing the amount of people who use their search engines. Using the anchor text of links that point to a website is one of many factors that helps determine which sites show up for certain keywords. Relevant anchor text in conjunction with the quantity of links allows Google to add a “popularity” or “democratic” component to their search engine results.

Infamous Example
The most famous example (or infamous depending on your political persuasion) of Google Bombing’s impact is the White House’s (www.whitehouse.gov) undesired #1 ranking when you type in “miserable failure” in Google which returns a #1 listing to the White House’s bio for George W. Bush. This of course is an instance of the negative impact Google Bombing can have on a website and is most often used in the political arena.

Instead of attempting to raise the rankings of one’s organizational website, most often political Google Bombing’s objectives are to tie a political opponent’s website to negative terms like the “miserable failure” example above with George W. Bush. As we speak, Ned Lamont’s team is rumored to be waging a heavy Google Bombing campaign against Joe Lieberman in the hotly contested Connecticut Senatorial race.

According to a recent New York Times article, “Fifty or so other Republican candidates have also been made targets in a sophisticated “Google bombing” campaign intended to game the search engine’s ranking algorithms.”

Corporate Google Bombing
In contrast to the aims of political Google Bombing, corporations typically are trying to bolster their chances of ranking at the top of the major search engines on terms that are likely to bring targeted, conversion-likely visitors to their website. For example, my firm NeboWeb uses link building techniques to help us rank for certain keywords such as “Internet Marketing Company” (currently #1 in Google, competing against over 120 million pages). Good link building techniques differ from Google Bombing in the sense that the aim is to build relevant links with the target anchor text, but not in an effort to diminish relevance or manipulate search engine results.

In the NeboWeb example the link building campaign incorporates best practices using tactics such as article creation and distribution, optimized press releases and traditional link building efforts instead of simply trying to “Google Bomb” any site with irrelevant anchor text as described in the political example.

Moreover, since we’re a leading internet marketing company, the fact that we rank highly for that term provides Web searchers with meaningful search results. Quality link building is utilized by most reputable SEO firms and usually heavily complements their Public Relations and Content Generation Campaigns.

Conclusion
The definition of Google Bombing is an effort to manipulate the search engine results for certain keywords by using a large number of websites to link to a particular page with the same anchor text. According to Wikipedia’s Google Bombing entry Google defends their algorithm and quotes Marissa Mayer, Director of Consumer Web Products for Google:

"We don't condone the practice of Google bombing, or any other action that seeks to affect the integrity of our search results, but we're also reluctant to alter our results by hand in order to prevent such items from showing up. Pranks like this may be distracting to some, but they don't affect the overall quality of our search service, whose objectivity, as always, remains the core of our mission."

With the above statement in mind, Google Bombing may have just begun in the political world and is likely to pick up in 2008. Conversely, corporate efforts will most likely stick to the traditional link building and SEO PR as the risks of utilizing “black hat” SEO practices often outweigh the benefits given Google’s propensity for banning sites that violate SEO best practices.

Brian Easter is the CEO of NeboWeb (www.NeboWeb.com).
As CEO, Easter has led NeboWeb to explosive growth, attracting Fortune 500 clients and driving strategic partnerships which have fueled NeboWeb’s expansion. He is well-known in the interactive marketing industry and frequently speaks about capturing the power and potential of online marketing.

As an active member of the interactive marketing community, Easter currently sits on the Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association (AiMA) Board as the Event Chair, is a member of the Technology Association of Georgia's (TAG) Website Committee, is a member of the Appalachian State University Center for Entrepreneurship Advisory Board, and is President of the Atlanta Web Design Group.

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