In 2005, if you googled ‘miserable failure’, President George W. Bush’s official biography on the White House website would appear as the top result. In no way was this a political act on Google’s part but rather a prank carried by internet jokesters who managed to manipulate the search engine’s algorithm.
The internet in the early 2000s was filled with similar acts like this, to the extent that the phenomenon became known as ‘Google Bombing’.
Similarly, words such as ‘liar’ and ‘poodle’ produced the webpage for Tony Blair, UK’s prime minister at the time while ‘dangerous cult’ returned the Church of Scientology’s website as the first result.
In response to these mishaps, Google has attempted to incorporate AI-generated overviews for certain search queries to improve accuracy and relevancy of content.
What is Google Bombing?
It works in contrast to search engine optimisation (SEO) which aims to improve the search engine rankings of highly relevant websites.
Google bombing is typically carried out for either a business, political or comedic motive. Here’s how it works:
- Anchor Text Manipulation: This is when several websites collaboratively link to a singular site using a similar anchor text. This text is usually the keyword that Google bombers want to associate with the targeted site.
- Link Farming: This occurs when a group of websites or individuals amp up the perceived relevance of a site by creating links that solely target the site with a specific anchor text.
- Social Engineering: This involves coordinated efforts from multiple individuals on various websites, social media sites, forums, and other online platforms to link to the targeted site using the selected anchor text. The more the number of links pointing to a specific site, the more it tells Google that it is relevant to the search query, promoting its ranking.
In 2007, Google adjusted its algorithm to prevent further Google bombing and since then, there have been no major cases of the act.
Why does Google Bombing Matter?
Google bombing matters for several reasons. Here’s why it’s significant:
- Manipulation of Search Results: Google bombing distorts the functionality of search engines. It misrepresents content to users by inflating the importance of irrelevant keywords and phrases leading to misleading content.
- Impacts Content Integrity: Manipulated search results overshadow high-quality, relevant content that deserve higher rankings. This in turns downgrades the user experience as user’s are directed to irrelevant sites.
- Algorithm Challenges: Google has to constantly be on guard and make sure that its search engine is constantly up-to-date to restrict manipulative tactics. This is to ensure that users are only exposed to trustworthy and useful websites.
Ethical Implications: Google bombing raises questions about online behavior and the growing impact of technology. It underscores the need for ethical standards in digital marketing and creates an increasingly wary society of searchers.