Google bombing

Definition and History of Google Bombing
– Google bombing is a technique used to manipulate search engine rankings.
– It involves creating a large number of links with specific anchor text to influence search results.
– The term ‘Google bombing’ was coined in 2002 by Adam Mathes.
– The first well-known Google bomb was the ‘miserable failure’ bomb targeting George W. Bush.
– Google has taken measures to prevent and defuse Google bombs.

Uses and Motivations of Google Bombing
– Google bombs have been used as hit-and-run media attacks on popular topics.
– Tactical media Google bombs aim to influence public perception and manipulate search engine results.
– Google bombing can be a way to gain attention from mainstream media.
– SEO competitions were created to test the effectiveness of Google bombing techniques.
– Google bombs have been used to express political opinions.

Impact and Controversies of Google Bombing
– Google bombing can have political, social, and reputational impacts.
– It has been used to criticize politicians, organizations, and public figures.
– Some Google bombs have led to legal disputes and controversies.
– Critics argue that Google bombing undermines the credibility and reliability of search results.
– Google has faced criticism for its handling of Google bombing incidents.

Google Bowling and Commercial Use of Google Bombing
– Google bowling is a practice where a company manipulates a search engine to lower the ranking of a competitor’s website.
– Negative SEO techniques, including Google bombing services, are used to provoke search engines to penalize competitors.
– Website operators adapt Google bombing techniques for spamdexing.
– Google algorithm changes in 2007 reduced the effectiveness of Google bombs.
– Quixtar/Amway accused of using its network of websites to lower rankings of sites critical of the company.

Examples and Notable Cases of Google Bombing
– The ‘miserable failure’ bomb associated George W. Bush with the search term.
– The ‘French military victories’ bomb redirected to a page mocking French military history.
– The ‘English Disco Lovers’ bomb aimed to redirect searches for the English Defence League.
– The ‘abortion is murder’ bomb linked the search term to abortion-related articles.
– The ‘best toilet paper in the world’ bomb displayed the Pakistan flag in search results.

Google bombing (Wikipedia)

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Google bombing" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. (June 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

The terms Google bombing and Googlewashing refer to the practice of causing a website to rank highly in web search engine results for irrelevant, unrelated or off-topic search terms by linking heavily. In contrast, search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of improving the search engine listings of web pages for relevant search terms.

Google-bombing is done for either business, political, or comedic purposes (or some combination thereof). Google's search-rank algorithm ranks pages higher for a particular search phrase if enough other pages linked to it use similar anchor text. By January 2007, however, Google had tweaked its search algorithm to counter popular Google bombs such as "miserable failure" leading to George W. Bush and Michael Moore; now, search results list pages about the Google bomb itself. Since no later than 21 June 2015, the first result in a Google search for "miserable failure" is this article. Used both as a verb and a noun, "Google bombing" was introduced to the New Oxford American Dictionary in May 2005.

Google bombing is related to spamdexing, the practice of deliberately modifying HTML to increase the chance of a website being placed close to the beginning of search engine results, or to influence the category to which the page is assigned in a misleading or dishonest manner.

The term Googlewashing was coined by Andrew Orlowski in 2003 to describe the use of media manipulation to change the perception of a term, or push out competition from search engine results pages (SERPs).