Google defuses link bombs

Saint George Bush is no thirster a "miserable failure," judgment from Google. How did he become one in the first place, and why isn't he one any thirster? No, this article isn't about political relation; it's about Google bombs. Read more to learn about their background, and whether they can still be used efficaciously -- possibly to your own vantage.

"When a shake passes the elbow, it becomes Judo"

Local Nigerian Proverb

Miserable Failure

"Miserable Failure." If you typed this into Google at the time of the 2004 presidential election, the first thing that came up was Saint George Bush's White House life. If you typed "waffles" in during the same time frame, up came John Kerry's official website. George Bush's official web site also has the dubious distinction of being first for the terms "miserable" and "failure."

The History

What started all the hubbub? And what technique did these bloggers use to set up the "Google Bomb?" Saint George Bush's functionary website ranks sec on both MSN and Yahoo for "miserable failure," so it's really a "Link Bomb." It all began when Dick Gephardt claimed during a argument that "This president is a miserable failure on foreign policy ... And on the economic system. And he's got to be replaced."

A month later a Democrat Washington blogger began the linking campaign. In six weeks the White House page on Saint George Bush was at the top of Google SERPs for the key word "miserable failure." At various stages during the alteration to Google's algorithm (and also thanks to some deliberate acts by GOP bloggers), the key word "miserable failure" has also pointed to Edmund Hillary Rodham Bill Clinton and former US president Jimmy Carter.

Politics seems to have brought link bombs into the public light, and quite a number of public figures have been victims of deliberate linking campaigns, both in and outside the United States. Even image search can be included, as image searches for "miserable," "failure" or "miserable failure" give George Bush's much maligned visage.

Lest you think this article is all about Bush Junior, let me explain what I am going to look at. In this article, we have already looked at some of the history behind Link Bombs. We will also look at Google "adjusting" their algorithms in order to remove some of the listings, and the potential effects of this adjustment. Additionally, we will look at how to set up a link bomb, and why you should quickly consider doing it if you are a well known member of a blog community and you have a relevant web site you want to promote. We will touch on Google's probable reaction to your link bomb and examine some of the ethics of "link bombing."