What Is Google Bombing?
Google Bombing is a black-hat SEO practice that manipulates the search engine results to increase a page’s rank. It works by artificially inflating the number of backlinks that link to a page using specific anchor text—the clickable text in a hyperlink.
When enough links with the same anchor text point to a particular page, Google’s algorithm starts associating that phrase with the page, pushing it higher in the search results.
How Does Google Bombing Work?
At its peak, Google Bombing exploited the processes Google had in place to evaluate and rank websites. By manipulating the number of links pointing to a page and carefully crafting the terms in the anchor text, Google’s algorithm would start associating the page with that specific phrase, even if it wasn’t directly relevant.
The first notable Google bomb was in 1999 when the Microsoft’s homepage showed up for the search “more evil than Satan himself”. Another popular example is when the search phrase “miserable failure” led to the biography of U.S. President George W. Bush.
In response to these (and many other Google Bombs), Google has implemented various systems and algorithm updates that minimise the impact of these tactics. Today, if you search for “miserable failure,” you’re more likely to find articles discussing Google Bombing rather than the original targeted pages.
Why Do People Google Bomb?
While it is not as prevalent as in the past, there were several reasons why people would Google Bomb. Most Google Bombs were used as a political and social commentary about a public figure or to bring attention to a particular topic or event. It could also be used to experiment with search engine algorithms or highlight various flaws or vulnerabilities in search engine algorithms, which would ultimately lead to improvements.
Google Bombing & SEO
Google Bombing has made it clear that search engines are not immune to manipulation. For SEO professionals, it tell us what not to do. While it might be tempting to try and game the system for quick gains, the risks far outweigh the rewards. Google still uses backlinks and anchor text as a ranking factor, but has gotten much better to actively penalise sites that engage in manipulative practices.
