Google defuses ‘miserable failure’ Google bomb
In 2007, Google finally defused a “Google Bomb” that had returned U.S. President George W. Bush as its top organic result since December 2003 when searching for [miserable failure].
Originally, Google was of the belief that “We just reflect the opinion on the Web, for better or worse.” Eventually, however, Google came up with an algorithm change to deal with this and other Google bombing “pranks”:
How did this Google bomb happen? A campaign encouraged people to link to Bush’s bio using the anchor text “Miserable Failure”.
And while Google defused this bomb, Bush remained in the top organic position for [miserable failure] on Yahoo and Microsoft Live and in second position at Ask.
Read all about it in Google Kills Bush’s Miserable Failure Search & Other Google Bombs and Happy First Birthday, Google Bomb Fix!
Here was the before and after at the time:
Today, here’s what a search for [miserable failure] looks like on Google – with Wikipedia’s Google bombing page in the top spot.
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From Search Marketing Expo (SMX)
Past contributions from Search Engine Land’s Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
These columns are a snapshot in time and have not been updated since publishing, unless noted. Opinions expressed in these articles are those of the author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.
- 2022: Level-up your PPC forecasting with free modeling tools for Excel by Emma Franks
- 2019: Fighting brand fatigue through A/B testing by Duane Brown
- 2019: How to keep your SEO team (and yourself) relevant by Grant Oster
- 2018: Google Questions and Answers: Everything you need to know by Joy Hawkins
- 2017: Using agile project management for SEO & digital marketing by Marcus Miller
- 2017: SEO priorities for the new year by David Freeman
- 2016: Preserve Your Content Ecosystem By Fixing Link Rot by Garrett French
- 2016: PPC Blunders: Downright Dirty, Inexperienced Or Overwhelmed? by Pauline Jakober
- 2013: How To Estimate Incremental Revenue Opportunities With Impression Share Data by Benjamin Vigneron
- 2012: When A/B Testing Prices, Proceed With Caution by Scott Brinker
- 2012: 4+ Recommendations To Enhance B2B SEO Initiatives by Derek Edmond
- 2012: 2012 Is The Year To Cut Your Site Retargeting Budget by Dax Hamman
- 2011: Why Every SEO Needs A Little Black Book by Ross Hudgens
- 2011: Yandex Keeps On Beating Google In Russia by Andy Atkins-Krüger
- 2011: How To Use Twitter To Boost Your Google Rankings by Kevin Gibbons
- 2010: Enterprise SEM: Q&A With Zappos’ Darrin Shamo by Adam Audette
- 2010: Five Quick Tips For Success On Google’s Content Network by Mona Elesseily
- 2010: Playing Games With Customers: Is Foursquare The Future Of Local Search? by Andrew Shotland
- 2007: 3 Ways To Use Your Competition To Build Links & Targeted Traffic by Nick Wilson
< January 24 | Search Marketing History | January 26 >
