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Google bomb

A Google bomb was a search manipulation technique that made a page appear in Google results for a query unrelated to its content

What it means, how it is used and where it comes up, with its related concepts.

What it is and how it works

It worked by having many websites link to the same page with the same anchor text. Because the search engine gave that text a lot of weight, the page ended up ranking for the phrase even if it did not contain it. It was used as a prank, as political protest or to discredit people and companies; one of the best-known cases linked the query “miserable failure” to George W. Bush's official biography.

Google changed its algorithm in 2007 to neutralise these effects, and the technique is now mainly of historical interest. It remains a good example of why search engines monitor artificial link patterns.

Also known as

Googlebombing, Link bombing

Related concepts